Advent 6th December

The Lord will teach us his Law from Jerusalem, and we will obey him. He will settle arguments between nations. They will pound their swords and their spears into rakes and shovels; they will never make war  or attack one another.  People of Israel, let’s live by the light of the Lord.  Isaiah 2:1-5

Readings:

Psalm 72,
Isaiah 2:1-5
1 John 4:7-12

Reflection

Having been born after Christ’s death and resurrection we look back and realise that Isaiah’s prophecy about the coming Kingdom is the Kingdom we are in now. I wonder if those to whom Isaiah wrote had any grasp of the future reality of the picture he was describing. Reading around these passages, you will hear a message of great judgments coming on God’s people because of their continued living in sin. But wait: He also promises this great hope that in the latter days,  the mountain of the house of the Lord (where God dwells) shall be established as a placevisible to all and to which all the nations will come. There is great hope! Could Isaiah actually have some idea that God would not only dwell with His people, but that all the nations of the world would come and yield their weapons of war to Him in surrender? It doesn’t stop there either. What happens to the weapons of war? They are redeemed into tools for ploughing and cultivating. What was once used for violence will now be taken and used to encourage growth and health and maturity with visions of loving relationships. Instead of fighting, the nations will now be seeking to tend to and lovingly care for all of God’s creation in order to honour Him and bring great glory to His Name. So friends,  let us not be afraid to plough and to plant, for we shall reap in joy!

O come all you faithful, come to rejoice and adore, come and know God.

Prayer

God of Strength and comfort,

I need your courage.
You offer to make firm the knees that are weak, and there are many weak through war and conflict.
Give me strength where I am weak and help to
redeem even the most difficult situations. Thank you for the hope of healing I have in you. Amen

Advent 5th December

"I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, I will establish your seed forever And build up your throne to all generations." Psalm 89:3-4

Readings:

Genesis 9:1-17,

Psalm 89
Matthew 1

Reflection

What do you do with a high and holy God who independently makes a promise to those whom He has created? Take a moment to try to find one thing that you and I have to do or be in these two verses from Psalm 89. Is there even one thing that is demanded of us? God says, “I have made … I have sworn … I will establish … and [I] will build up …” It’s all Him. All of it! All God. Then God says to David, “I will establish your seed forever and build your throne to all generations.”

Now before we start questioning God on His promises and bring up the mess that David’s kids made and the divided kingdom and exile and 400 years of silence—perhaps we can ponder that God was completely faithful. The hymn “Once in Royal David’s City” explains it well when we realise that Jesus Himself was from the line of David. Christ and those in Christ are the fulfilment of this promise of God. David’s lineage produced the Messiah who established His throne and “He leads His children on to the place where He is gone.” That friend—would be you and me being led to Heaven by David’s Seed. That Child of Bethlehem is the fulfilment of the Promise and we are a part of the generations that He leads, because God said that it would be so. And God is faithful with all of His promises.

Prayer

Lord God I praise you for creating me and restoring me through Jesus.
Word becoming flesh, Word indwelling
Word transforming, Word restoring
Word challenging, Word healing
Word sharing  my weakness and making me whole

W

Advent 4th December

"I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel, and shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth.” Numbers 24:17

Readings:

Numbers 24:17,  
Psalm 118:19-29
Revelation 1:1-8

Reflection

“I see Him but not now… I behold Him but not near”. We truly live in the ‘Now and the Not Yet’… What do you look for and hunger for? We are living now but we long for what is to come. The kingdom is here—now– amongst and within us. And yet, we wait, we long for that time when this kingdom will be fulfilled in the glorious light of eternity. the star.

We approach again the Christmas story and it appears without fail and guides us to the familiar place, moving us step by step through the familiar story. The angels, shepherds, hills and manger, all remain the same but we have changed this year – events, situations and circumstances this year have changed us and we are different. Into this difference the angels speak and into our lives the Christ Child comes.

May we make room in our minds and our hearts for Christ this year.  The coming of the Lord was a coming of the Light in the midst of darkness.  And the coming of the Lord always makes us aware of the darkness, because the light dispels the darkness.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…God is with us but we wait eagerly for his return…shall come to thee, O Israel.

Prayer 

Thank you Creator God for the gift of this day.
From the blazing sunrise through a cloudy winter sky to the setting sunset thank you for your faithfulness.
May I have your sight and insight this day to be aware of your grace lighting up my life. As I wait and watch in silence for your coming may I be filled with a sense of your presence in my life. Amen