December 24th Advent day 28

ITS CHRISTMAS!!!

So, we have made it. we have shopped, we have dropped, we have wrapped and hidden away and posted and stamped and shopped some more.  We have filled the biscuit barrel and the drinks cabinet. We have stuffed the fridge and the freezer with more food that we thought possible.  We have run out of Sellotape, already eaten too many mince pies and remembered the crackers  ( you didn't forget the crackers did you??)  We have already watched a few Christmas movies, surfed the channels to make sure we record everything we need to watch between Christmas and New Year. All the doors on the advent calendar are opened. The excitement is building to fever pitch. We are tracking Santa's progress on Norad.  Christmas is officially here.

I wonder what your Christmas tradtions are.  We all have them dont we?  The things we carry over from our own childhood which makes Christmas significant to us.  And sometimes we start our own.  I was not brought up in a Christian home, hardly ever went to church.  Christmas for us was about Santa and presents. Lots of presents.   So because we want a different emphasis for our children we have developed a new tradition of making a birthday cake for Jesus and singing Happy Birthday to Him on Christmas day.   Its a bit of fun but it is a reminder in the middle of our day that we are celebrating His birth.  And that the presents are birthday presents :-)

However you are celebrating Christmas this year I pray that you will be able to find a moment somewhere in your day to reflect on Jesus. Saviour and Lord.  Sovereign and Friend.
 Hope,
          Help,
                  Here.

December 23rd Advent day 27

Was walking down a beautiful, long, sandy and totally deserted beach in the warm sunshine this afternoon with the boys.  They were jumping in and out of the sea and collecting hundreds of pebbles and shells.  I was just wandering and thinking.   When just in front of me on a totally clear patch of sand I saw a very white, shining, smooth stone.  About the size of a kiwi fruit.  It just looked so pristine sitting there on the sand.  And I was reminded of the verses in Revelation


"Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give some of the manna that has been hidden away in heaven. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.  Rev 2 :17


On doing a bit more research into this  I discovered a number of things.  In Biblical times white stones were significant for various reasons.  They were used as an admission ticket, they were given to special guests at feasts and festivals with messages of appreciation and praise written on them.  They were also used in the judging of the Levites as to whether they were fit for service or not.  Those passed by the sanhedrin or the judges as fit for temple service would be given a white ' stone of the temple'.
The Greeks used white stones to signify acquittal in a court case.   The Romans used to give a white stone to the victor in the public games.


Its all so interesting isnt it?   John, writing the book of Revelation, would have been aware of all of this symbolism as he saw in his vision the white stone on which was written the new name of every believer.

I wonder what my new name will be?   Im quite looking forward to having a new name.  Never been totally enamoured with the name Ive had in this life .  I can imagine that whatever it is that God decides to name me will perfectly sum up everything that I am.  ( Names are fascinating.  If you have never looked up the meaning of your name can I strongly suggest that you do so.  You might be surprised.)


What has this got to do with Christmas?   Ummmmmm......... not sure really. Except I suppose that it is the end of the story which started 2000 years ago.   A tantalising hint of what awaits us.  A symbol of all that the incarnation has achieved for us.  Our pardon, our fitness for service in the most holy place, our victory in the race of life, our place as honoured guest at the wedding feast, our entry ticket into heaven.


Thank you Lord that Your life and death purchased it all for me.  I honour and worship you this day with all I have and am.

December 22nd Advent day 26

Three more sleeps!  Boys are starting to get very excited and are asking what they are getting ( even though they pretty much know already)  Josh tried to do a deal today.  'If I give you one of your presents early can I have one of mine early ?'   Can't blame a boy for trying !   

Waiting.  We are all rubbish at it.  Why is that?  Why is it SO hard to wait for something?
The children are finding it hard to wait for Christmas.  They cant make it come any more quickly but they seem to think that by asking five hundred times a day ' Mummy, how many days?/ how many sleeps?/how many hours?/ how many doors on the advent calendar?.......'   that somehow it will speed its arrival.   Most adults I know don't get too excited about Christmas, but we get fractious about other things.  The very worst time I remember having to wait, was for the ten day late arrival of all three of my children.   When you have been pregnant for ten months and you know there is a fully formed person in there all ready to come out, every minute that you go past your due date is utter agony.   You know it is going to happen.  You aren't sure when.  And the waiting is just excruciating.  Your whole focus, every minute of every day, is on the arrival of this long awaited person.

Israel was like this before the birth of Jesus.  Pregnant. Waiting. Expectant.

Come thou long expected Jesus  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoye-iqMylw&feature=related

Its a bit like that when we are waiting for answers too.   Waiting for God to do something.  To shift our circumstances.  To heal the sickness.  To solve the problem.  To save our friend or family member.  We find patience almost impossible.  Because we know the end we desire, the  ' right' outcome.  We know what God ' ought' to be doing and we find it hard to understand when He doesn't do what we want when we want it to be done.  NOW!!

But if the Christmas story tell us anything it is that God does not colour within the lines.  He is unexpected, unpredictable and downright odd sometimes.  I mean who would have thought that the Saviour of the world was going to have the start in life that Jesus had??   Not the answer to the prayers of the people of Israel that they were expecting.  Not by a long chalk.

So how can we trust a God like this?  A God who doesn't always answer in the way we desire in the timeframe we expect?  Who makes us wait when we think we can't wait.   Who sometimes doesn't heal when we have begged and pleaded.  Who is unfathomable and never seems to be in a hurry.   Well, its hard.  Trusting always is.   But by experience ( our own and that of others) we learn about His character as we go along.  We look back and see the threads that He has been weaving in the times when nothing seemed to be happening.  And His word assures us that He is entirely trustworthy and that the learning to wait is all part of the plan to bless us and grow us up.

December 22nd Advent day 24

December 21st Advent day 24

A Night of Heroes is on the television this evening.  Its that programme which presents awards to those military personnel who have done outstanding things for others.  Selfless acts of courage.  Brave deeds done by ordinary people placed under extraordinary pressures in extreme circumstances

And today’s reading is about Joseph. J

We don’t know much about Joseph so I’m going to speculate a bit here.  We know he was of the royal line of David.  So he would have been well respected in his community.   He was a carpenter – handy, practical, creative, strong.  And he was unmarried.   We don’t know how old he was but people assume he was significantly older than Mary.  And the marriage will have been arranged between the families so not necessarily a love match.  But in Matthew 1 we read that when Joseph hears of Mary’s pregnancy he does not wish to shame her in public.   And this despite the fact that he is pretty sure that she has shamed him in public.  He is a kind man.  Quite possibly heartbroken, angry, jealous.  Someone else has been sleeping with his wife to be. She doesn’t love him , she loves someone else.   He is well within his rights to call for a very public and shameful divorce – possibly a stoning.  But this is not his first response.

And then, as he is fretting over what to do, he is visited by an angel in a dream

 ‘ Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife!  What she has conceived is conceived through the Holy Spirit, and she will give birth to a son, whom you will call Jesus for it is he who will save his people from their sins’  Matthew 1 21

( You can almost hear Mary the next morning saying ‘ See. I TOLD you!!’)

So good old Joseph does just that.  He braves the gossip and the disgrace.  Protects his finacee and her unborn child and later takes them on the week long trek to Bethlehem so that he can be with them in that protective role, so that he won’t miss the birth.   He later has to trek to Egypt with a new born baby and make a home for his new family in exile.  Then trek back again to pick up the threads of his old life and begin again.  What an extraordinary man.   Not what he had signed up for when he agreed to marry Mary!!!  AaAA   A bit of a hero  A  A 

A bit of an unsung hero.

Lord Jesus,  sometimes we do not understand.  Often we look at the circumstances and only see what we see.  We don't see what You are working behind the scenes.  Help us to respond like Joseph did.  Graciously and kindly within the limits of our understanding, but always listening for Your voice and willing to obey it even when what You say seems difficult and unlikely.   Give us grace today to be kind and patient.  Give us strength to be obedient.

December 20th Advent day 24

Today the reading is Mary's song of praise and the blurb is about a heart of worship.  And I suppose I should be wanting to explore that really.  As its ' my thing'.   But Im not sure that I do.

Having sat here for an hour looking at a blank page with nothing particular coming to mind I went back to Mary and her song of praise.  And in my mind I somehow started to associate this with a flashmob I saw today.  A video clip of people singing ( rather brilliantly) Ding Dong Merrily on High.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH8FvERQHtM&feature=share

This phenomenon of flashmobs has suddenly sprung up from nowhere in the past couple of years.  Did it start with a tv advert for a phone company?   But suddenly people took hold of the idea and they just started springing up all over the place.  Some of them are totally amazing.  Hundreds of people appearing in train stations and supermarkets and shopping malls.  I love them!   And the reason that I love them, and that everyone loves them, is that they are unadulterated good news.

Not for money ( I assume).  Not for fame and fortune ( although they do tend to go viral on the net) but mostly it would appear, just for the fun and joy and delight of surprising the general public with something creative and talented and fun.   We need more fun in our work driven, stressed, dull lives don't we?  We need to be surprised by joy occasionally.  It lifts our spirits, reminding us that life is good.  I really really hope to be caught up in the middle of a real live flashmob at some point in my life.   Maybe I should organise one myself.

Anyhow, what has all this got to do with Mary and her song of praise? or her statement of praise .  Im not sure that she actually sang it  Well, its a bit tangental I suppose, but Mary just spontaneously burst forth, out of the blue as an expression of what was going on in her heart.  I can imagine her dancing around Elizabeth's kitchen jumping and dancing, singing like a child would sing, exuberantly, possibly not terribly tunefully, but joyfully.  Singing is such an expressive thing. It's good for us, for our health and our mood.  We should all sing more. We should all shout for joy sometimes - be more expressive.  Especially in church :-)

' My heart is overflowing with praise of my Lord, my soul is full of joy in God my Saviour'  Luke 1: 46

When was the last time my heart was overflowing with praise?   When was I last full of joy?   As I have got older I think I have found it harder to be truly abandoned.  I have become analytical and critical and tired.  It takes energy to be overflowing.  You have to give yourself 100%, body soul and spirit to really worship.  It costs something.   I fear I have become less good at it over the years.  Why is that??
 Mary chose not to worry about what was going to happen.  About how she would be reviled.  About the practicalities of being the Mother of the Son of God.  She just rejoiced that she had been chosen.

This is Joyce Huggets prayer for today.  it says what I want to say better than I could say it myself

Lord Jesus
This Christmas as I sing the familiar carols, hear the familiar readings and ponder the familiar mysteries
give to me the gift of pure worship; that ability which Mary had of attributing to You Your true worth, Your full value, your inestimable greatness.  Teach me to be reverent, yet teach me to express the love that burns within my heart as I think of Your goodness to me;  That You have come to be light in my darkness, hope in my despair, strength in my weakness, shelter in the storm.  Yes, and my Saviour.

December 19th Advent day 23

 ²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

 ²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

 ³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

 ³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called^[a]the Son of God. ³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.”

 ³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.    Luke 1

Six months previously Gabriel had appeared to Zecharaiah and Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, was now pregnant.    Surely there was no way that Mary would not have heard about this amazing angelic appearance.  No way that the whole family would not have marvelled and rejoiced and wondered at the news. And had to help poor old Zechariah in his new found inability to speak.  Mary must have already been so excited at the thought that God had visited her family members - and Gabriel reminds her of the miracle that God has already done.   But she seems to miss the central point.  The part where she is told that Jesus is going to be King over the people of Jacob forever.  His reign shall never end.

Both Mary and Joseph can trace their lineage back to the royal line of the house of David so it might not be outwith the bounds of possibility that a child they bore could become king.  However, how could an earthly king reign forever?  Mary doesn't focus on this impossibility, instead she asks how it is that she can bear a son when she is not married.   And she is told that she will be overshadowed by the power of the most high.

Dynamis.   The greek word for power. Dynamite. Explosive power. 

I wonder what Mary actually experienced when 'it' whatever 'it' was, happened to her.   I'm betting she knew about it.  I don't suppose she went to sleep one evening and woke up the next morning pregnant.  I don't think the shadow of the dynamite power of God passing over you would go unnoticed somehow.   I'll bet she felt something incredible.  Something undeniable that she could hold onto for the three or four months before her pregnancy became obvious.  

' I am the Lord's servant'  or another translations says ' I belong to The Lord body and soul'.    You don't lie to an angel.  You don't exaggerate or talk yourself up in front of someone who can see right through you and who knows your very thoughts.   When Mary said it, she meant it.  She was a good girl, a devoted lover of her God.  She was about to became the very first person in whom the Lord God lived.  The prototype of all those who followed after her, who were willing to say to Him ' You can have my body, my soul, my spirit and my whole life to do with as You will'   The miracle of the incarnation.

Lord Jesus,

when Mary invited You into her life she became host to the miracle of the incarnation.  When we invite you into our lives no less of a miracle happens.  You come to indwell us by Your Spirit.  You are able to do this for us because she agreed to do that for You.  We are so thankful that she was prepared to be a mother to your Son and thankful that You were willing to give Him up from your presence in heaven to become part of the human race for us.

December 18th Advent day 22

Today Joyce Hugget's notes are examining the birth of John the Baptist to Elizabeth and Zecharia.  A familiar story which I have read and heard countless times.  But today as I was reading it again, I suddenly had a thought I've never had before.  What was the point of John The Baptist??   Why was he so important?.  All 4 Gospels start with reference to him.  There must be a good theological, reasonable reason for his appearance in the plot.  Hmmmmmmm.


I Googled it ! 


And I found something I didn't know before.   Love it when that happens.    There was screeds of it, but here it is in a nutshell as written by someone else.   ( apologies if you have known this for ages :-)  You can just skip to the end and be thankful that you have more revelation than me!)


In the Old Testament, when a person sinned, they were able to atone by laying their hands on the head of a sacrificial animal that was without blemish. In this way, the sin was passed onto the sacrificial animal and the sacrifice died with those sins. Then the animal's throat was cut and the priests placed the blood on the horns of the altar of the burnt offering. This was the way to atone for daily sins. In the case of yearly sins, Aaron the High Priest offered the sacrifice for all the people of Israel. In the Old Testament, Aaron and his sons were ordained by God to serve in perpetuity. All sins had to be washed away through Aaron and his sons. It was as God had ordered.
Because John the Baptist was born to the house of Aaron, ( see Luke 1:5)  it was proper for him to be the high priest, and God predestined him to be the last High Priest, according to His promise of redemption.

So, when John the Baptist laid his hands on Jesus, he passed onto Jesus all the sins of the world. John the Baptist was the representative of all humanity and the last high priest because the Old Testament ended when Jesus Christ was born. John the Baptist passed all the sins of the world onto Jesus when he baptized Him. This would be the last need for the Old Testament method. 

If you want to read the whole thing it's here  http://www.myspace.com/john_the_baptizer/blog/352627177

Now it all makes sense!  I've always wondered why Jesus seemed to need a trailer   ' Coming soon to a wilderness near you! Jesus, Lamb of God!  Hurry hurry hurry, repent before it's too late!'     Jesus didn't need anyone to go before Him and announce His arrival.  Did He?   I don't think so.  Not really.   But as the sacrificial Lamb of God maybe He did technically and legally need a High Priest to lay hands on him and place on Him the sins of the people.

It seems clear that John gained some understanding about what was happening at some point before , and possibly during the baptism, as he explicitly refers to Jesus as the sacrificial offering

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ³¹ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

 ³² Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. ³³ And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’³⁴ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”  ( John 1)

You've got to feel sorry for Elizabeth dont you?  She spends years suffering the agonies of being barren.  Then she has a son who is filled with the Holy Spirit from birth - which must have been an interesting parenting experience.  Then he goes off to live in the desert and eat locusts and honey.  And once he has had his short moment of fame he is beheaded. :-(  Im hoping Elizabeth and Zacharia weren't around for that.  Maybe that's why God waited until they were already old before they had him.  

Lord, Christmas isnt just about a baby lying in a manger, it is about an intricate plan set in place before the foundation of the world.  It's about You working to bring every piece into the right place at the right time to fulfil every prophecy and all of the law in order that You can declare us righteous before You.  A rescue mission.  Maybe we shall never understand all that you did 2000 years ago, but I thank you for every detail of Your plan and for every person who said YES to you when You required them to be involved in it.