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

Advent 3rd December

Monday 3rd December

“After this, I looked around. The earth was barren, with no form of life. The sun, moon, and stars had disappeared. The mountains were shaking; no people could be seen, and all the birds had flown away. Farmland had become a  desert,  and towns were in ruins. The Lord’s fierce anger  had done all of this.  The Lord said, I have made my decision, and I won’t change my mind. This land will  be destroyed. although not completely.” Jeremiah 4:23-28    

Readings:

Psalm 18
Jeremiah 4:23-28

Romans 13:11-14

Reflection

I am sure  you have been discouraged at some point of your life. When working through a difficult situation you realise you are back to square one and have to start again. Jeremiah paints a prophetic picture of bleakness and desolation. Disaster has struck and some of Jeremiah’s catastrophic words are identical to Genesis 1:1—there is no light. Four times Jeremiah “looked” and could not take his eyes of the ruined land. Deserted wasteland, quaking mountains and swaying hills yet in the midst there is a glimmer of light. When the Lord says “I will not destroy it completely” (v27) there is hope. This note of hope emerges through the Old Testament and finds fulfilment in Jesus.

At some point in our lives we experience periods of dark times— there are times of bereavement, illness, job loss, financial difficulties, family issues..the list seems endless.  We know of others too—their names and faces come to mind. Does it help to know you are not alone in your period of anguish?  Can you join with the prophet Micah “Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light” (Micah 7:8)

Prayer

Comforting God,

I pray for all experiencing darkness and I pray that your light may shine on their pathway and in their hearts, that they may know that even in difficult times you walk alongside them.

Amen

Advent 2 December

2 December - 1 Sunday in Advent

“Don’t suppose that I came to do away with the Law and the Prophets. I did not come to do away with them, but to give them their full meaning. Heaven and earth may disappear. But I promise you that not even a period or comma will ever disappear from the Law. Everything written in it must happen.  If you reject even the least important command in the Law and teach others to do the same, you will be the least important person in the kingdom of heaven. But if you obey and teach others its commands, you will have an important place in the kingdom.  You must obey God’s commands better than the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law obey them. If you don’t, I promise you that you will never get into the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 5:17-20

Readings:

Psalm 103: 10-12,
Malachi 2:17-3,3a,5

Matthew 5:17-20

Reflection

Here we see a link between the Old and New Testament. In this passage Jesus makes it perfectly clear that He did not come to abolish the law of the Old Testament. Instead He came to fulfil it. This means that the entire law as articulated in the Old Testament finds its completion in the person and work of Jesus Christ

Indeed our Saviour is the “long-expected Jesus,” foretold and foreshadowed throughout the Old Testament. He is “Israel’s strength and consolation,” as they looked to Him for atonement for their sins, as we do as well. And He is the “joy of every longing heart,” because the only real relief for our deepest longing is a right relationship with the living God through Jesus Christ. May that joy transform us into men and women who rejoice in our Saviour’s first coming and gladly anticipate His second coming.

May that transformation direct our lives and impact our relationships. 

Prayer

Loving God,

I remember your coming again in Jesus Christ,

Your gift to humankind,  your sharing of flesh and blood and honouring of age-old promises.

I thank you for the reminder at this time of the year that you are a God I can depend on. May your Kingdom come—may you will be done.  Amen

Advent 2012

Cover of Advent Booklet

Advent – a season of reflection and for many of us busyness, plays, and presents fill up our time. This season is also one in which the world pauses briefly to think about peace on earth and goodwill toward others. The name of Jesus is spoken more and we hear “Christ” floating in sung melodies. By the time December hits, shops and stores are buzzing with pre-Christmas excitement. But imagine the anticipation of Israel.

Imagine—they had been promised a saviour, a messiah, for as long as they could remember. Imagine what it must have been like to wait and wait and wait and wait...far longer than any  advent season has ever been.

And then, born in a stable, the promised morning star.

This Advent devotional focuses on Jesus Christ, our fulfilment. He fulfils the law on our behalf. He fulfils our desperate need to be connected to our Creator. He fulfils the hopes and fears of all the years. Jesus is the Saviour, Deliverer and Redeemer. He is God in flesh.

This booklet of devotions is designed to encourage you in your pattern of private or family worship or to help you establish a pattern if you don’t already have one. There is a daily scripture passage, a reflection and a prayer that I hope might help to deepen your relationship with God.

May our hearts this Christmas see more clearly the riches that have been lavished on us in Christ, and may we share this great and inexpressible joy with our families, friends, and neighbours.

Glory to God in the highest!

Light and Darkness

Light from Darkness

The writing of a journal for some is a therapeutic and helpful process. It focuses the mind and heart - at least that's what the websites say. On one of my bookshelves are six beautiful journals - leather bound, lined with stunning graphics and though provoking texts - all empty until now.

I began writing "my journal" a couple of months ago as a way of helping me to ponder and reflect. It all seems just self-indulgent, as does writing a blog sometimes, but maybe just maybe it allows us to reflect even more deeply than before.

You see my memory is not so good, and it is getting worse, when I walk into the kitchen I sometimes forget why I have gone in there. At least when I walk into the loo there is a hint and not so many choices! So the point of a journal has been designed to help me consider and re-consider thoughts, feelings, frustrations, hurt... the list is endless. And it helps.

In The Chronicles of Narnia, Lucy, one of the visitors whispers to Aslan, (a talking lion symbolising Jesus - “Aslan, Aslan, if ever you lived with us at all, send us help now.” C.S. Lewis writes, “The darkness did not grow any less but she began to feel a little — a very, very little – better.”

How lovely to feel just a little better when darkness threatens to consume.

Lewis continues the story saying at about the same time a crewmember sees a tiny speck of light ahead, which, again, “did not alter the surrounding darkness” but did light up the ship.

Wow a powerful reminder that sometimes the darkness seems not to disappear immediately and the storm does not always cease ..but,, BUT  there, just there in the clouds there is God. And keeping a journal - even for a few weeks has helped me see the light shining through.

Why not try it?

Run the Race

 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us".

 

 For those that know me well I am not one for walking. When told about some great feat of stamina or expedition e.g. a marathon run, mountain climbed or cycle rode my tongue in cheek response is normally "why not drive?" In fact someone , who I admire greatly, finally convinced me to walk from one of my churches to a neighbouring one as part of the historic churches walk.  Great I thought through a thoroughly convincing smile "can I get a lift back?"

 

Some would, rightly, call me lazy and perhaps I would agree. I'd just rather do it all quickly and get on with the next thing. Does that make me strange? Yes, but it makes me like a lot of people who just rush about with their eyes fixed on the next thing sometimes negelcting the current. The next appointment, the next meeting, the next person you want to talk to .... the next race.

 

So the big question is simply "Where does God fit into this?". In the hurry of life, the  hustle, the bustle, the busyness, the fast paced aspect of our lives where is the one who give us our breath?  

 

Running the race marked out for us is edifying, it reminds us that God is involved. Yet the race is more difficult because of the burdens we carry and the sin reminding us we are not worthy. We cannot run the race when we are carrying suitcases and bags that weigh us down. What a picture that would be in the upcoming olympics. 

 

Friend, will you lay it all down and run the race set before - the race God intended? Will you sore like the eagle or slither like the snake?