The New Year And The Old Year

There is a tendency to think that new is better: new technology, new phones, new fashions, new house, new job.

 

'New' suggests hope and potential.  'New' suggests improvements.

 

In the same way, there is a tendency to view the new year as being guaranteed to be better than the old one, simply because it is 'new'.  We can look towards the new year as a sign of hope.  We can find ourselves full of excitement and anticipation for what's to come.

 

But in emphasising the goodness of the 'new', sometimes we can dismiss all of the 'old' as being bad or inferior.  It is easy to throw it all out in one go, without sifting through to find the things of value.

 

Instead, we need to learn to accept the good and the bad in our lives, in others and in ourselves together.

 

David prayed,

 

         "Investigate my life, O God,
         find out everything about me;
         Cross-examine and test me,
         get a clear picture of what I’m about;
         See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—
         then guide me on the road to eternal life."

 

         [Psalm 139:23-24 MSG]

 

 

As the old year comes to a close, and we inevitably spend time reflecting on the year past and the year to come, let's acknowledge both the good and the bad and ask God to guide us on the road to eternal life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Time Next Year

I read a really interesting article today: it imagined that it was the end of 2013 and reflected on what had happened over the past year.

 

It made me think about what might happen to me and for me in 2013 and what I'll be thinking or feeling this time next year.

 

So often, we have a tendency to drift through life, without really paying attention to what's happening.  We keep our heads down for the most part and only raise them at significant moments - birthdays, Easter, Christmas, holidays - and when we raise them and look around us, we are astonished at how quickly the time has passed. 

 

Sometimes we can feel as though we haven't really achieved anything or moved forwards in any way.  Time drifts past and we remain unaltered.

 

But if we want to look back this time next year and feel that things have changed - that we have changed - we need to be intentional about it.  We need to look around us and take stock of things and decide what we want to happen in the next year.

 

Obviously not everything is in our control, but often a lot more is in our control than we realise.  Sometimes it is nicer and safer to assume that nothing is in our control - we don't have to feel responsible when things don't go our way.

 

The best thing is to take some time to honestly assess where we are right now and to spend some time thinking and praying through where we hope to be this time next year.  For although we can plan where we'd like to be, God's plans are not always the same as ours.

 

        "'My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,' says the Lord.

        'And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

        For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,

        so my ways are higher than your ways

        and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.'"

 

        [Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT]

 

 

No matter what we can plan or imagine for the year to come, God's plans will always surpass ours.  His plans are bigger than ours.  Unimaginable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shopping In The Sales

I went sales shopping today and was surprised at how quiet it was, compared to what I was expecting.

The post-Christmas sales tend to be incredibly busy with people rushing around, desperate to get more for their money.

I was amazed at some of the adverts on Christmas day for Boxing Day sales which started at 6am! It seems that, in this time of recession and financial insecurity, everyone is desperate to get the most for their money.

Everyone is hungry for more.

But I think even if I had unlimited resources, I would never be satisfied with what I could buy. I would always want more. There would always be something in me which didn't feel quite satisfied. Indeed, isn't the sole purpose of fashion to perpetuate our dissatisfaction with our lives?

It is easy to say we should be satisfied with what we have, it is so much harder to do.

There is a hunger deep inside all of us, and we try so hard to fill it and satiate it with different things.

But only one thing will satisfy.

Only one thing will give us all that we want.

"The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

[Psalm 23:1 NLT]

I love the words of this song,

"Hungry, I come to you

For I know you satisfy.

I am empty, but I know

Your love does not run dry.

So I wait for you

I wait for you."

Instead of rushing to find our satisfaction in the sales, let's take our hunger to God. And wait for Him to satisfy us.

It Will All Be Alright In The End

I have learnt not to trust cooking programmes. 

 

They do not present a realistic view of what a kitchen really looks like when one is in the middle of cooking.  Instead, they are air-brushed and clinically clean - not an accurate reflection of real life in the kitchen.

 

Whenever I am cooking a big meal, my kitchen looks an absolute mess during the process.  When I am halfway through, there are pots and pans stacked by the sink, soaking to get them clean again.  Every utensil I own is scattered somewhere about the kitchen.  There will be food out on every available surface and it will all look a complete tip.

 

However, by the time it comes to serve everything, I will have tidied away the left-over ingredients, washed up the stack of dishes and cleaned every surface so that my kitchen once again appears presentable.

 

When I'm in the middle of cooking, I never worry about the mess around me.  I know that it will be alright in the end.

 

As Paolo Coelho said, "It will be alright in the end.  If it's not alright, it's not the end."

 

However, I rarely apply this principle to the rest of my life. 

 

I panic if I am in the middle of sorting something out, or working on something and processing or creating something, and it looks messy.  If things don't appear to be in control, I begin to feel uneasy and doubt that everything will be alright in the end.  I lack the long-term vision that seems to come so easily when I am cooking.  Instead, I get caught up in the mess that surrounds me.

 

But God promises that everything will be alright in the end.  John writes in his revelation of heaven,

“Look, God’s home is now among his people!  He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  All these things are gone forever.”

 

[Revelation 21:3-4 NLT]

 

No matter what life might look like now, no matter how often I find myself in the middle of the mess, I know that it will all be alright in the end.  Because of Him.

 

 

 

Just As I Am

I've been having a sort out over the past few days and have rediscovered lots of my GCSE and A Level Art work.

One project that I worked on was called 'Embellish' and I looked at the way that we embellish things in life, especially ourselves - our appearances and our stories.

My sketchbook is full of black and white images (both photos and sketches), which I have painted over in bold colours and adorned with beads and sequins and fabric to illustrate the way we hide our true selves.

There is one black and white image of a naked woman which I have painted over with a bright pink sequinned dress.

In the same way that I have embellished the images in my sketchbook, we can embellish ourselves. Sometimes we feel that the naked truth won't be enough. Or we feel embarrassed or ashamed of the truth.

And so we cover up the truth with layers of embellishment. We layer on colour and beads and fabric and hide our true selves.

But God sees the truth. He sees through the layers and the embellishments and He loves us just the same.

I am slowly realising that God's love for me is not at all related to what I do or don't do. It's not related to the layers that I put on to make myself 'presentable', or to embellish myself.

It's about Him.

"We love because he first loved us."

[1 John 4:19 NIV]

As Mark Darcy says to Bridget Jones, "I like you.  Just as you are."

We have no need for embellishment or disguise, we can simply come as we are before God. And He will love and accept us just as we are.

Think Outside The Box

When I was younger, I used to think that Boxing Day was so called because there must have been a big boxing match on somewhere. As I got older, I began to think it must have got its name from the fact that people box up their Christmas gifts on this day.

However, it seems both are wrong. Boxing Day apparently got its name from the fact that servants were traditionally given a box of gifts after the rest of the family had celebrated Christmas. In recent years, the meaning seems to have changed again to signal the day that people box up their gifts to return them to the shops in search of something better.

I think we can be in danger of 'boxing' Jesus up too, on Boxing Day. We remember His birth in the run-up to Christmas and on Christmas Day itself, but after that, how quickly do we pack Him away again until next year? How quickly do we seek to exchange Him for something else?

But Jesus didn't just come to change one day. He didn't just come so that one day of our lives would be better with food and drink and presents and a day off work. He came to change our whole lives: to change the way we see ourselves and God and to bring us back to our Father in heaven.

Jesus said,

"Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me."

[John 15:4 MSG]

I wrote earlier in the week about Jesus coming, not just for a visit, but to live with us - to move in. In the same way, He invites us to live in Him, to make ourselves at home in His love.

To paraphrase a popular RSPCA advert, "Jesus is for life, not just for Christmas."

Instead of neatly packing Jesus away until the start of Advent next year, let's remind ourselves of why He came and make ourselves comfortable and at home in Him.

Let's consider what life might be like if we didn't pack Him away in a neat box, but invited Him deeper into our lives.

Let's think outside the box.

The Word Becomes Flesh

The best way of communicating with people is always in person, face to face.

When we write letters or texts or emails, there is often room for confusion or ambiguity. It is not always clear what we mean to emphasise or draw attention to. Intonation is lost or, worse, misconstrued.

Even speaking on the phone has its problems: without the aid of non-verbal clues, subtle meanings can be missed.

Yes, the best way to communicate with someone is in person, face to face.

God sent His Son at Christmas so that He could communicate with us in person, face to face. In the past, God had spoken through prophets and through signs (He spoke to Moses through a burning bush and followed the Israelites when they left Egypt as a pillar of cloud in the day and fire at night). But He hadn't spoken face to face with anyone since Adam and Eve. walked with Him in the Garden of Eden and spoke to Him face to face.

But after our disobedience, we could no longer enjoy this uninterrupted, unspoilt communion with our heavenly Father.

Until the birth of Jesus.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning [...] The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

[John 1:1-2, 14 NIV]

John describes Jesus as the Word - He is the embodiment of everything that God wanted to say to us.  He provides the way for us to have a conversation with God in person, face to face.

I love these words in the carol 'O Come All Ye Faithful'

"Word of the Father

Now in flesh appearing."

We can often question how we can hear God's voice or what He might say in different circumstances.  But rather than feeling hopeless at the idea that we don't know what He is saying, we can turn to Jesus, who embodies God's message of love and grace and forgiveness.

'Twas The Night Before Christmas

Call me crazy, but I think I prefer Christmas Eve to Christmas Day.

I love going to a nativity service, I love going to midnight mass, I love preparing delicious food. I love seeing friends and family and starting to exchange gifts. I love wrapping presents and putting them under the tree.

I love all of the preparations.

I love the feeling of excitement and anticipation as it gets closer to Christmas Day.

But when it comes to spiritual preparations - preparing my heart for the arrival of the Messiah - I'm not sure I'm as excited or organised.

When Isaiah is prophesying the arrival of the Messiah, he says,

"Thunder in the desert! 'Prepare for God's arrival! Make the road straight and smooth, a highway fit for our God. Fill in the valleys, level off the hills, smooth out the ruts, clear out the rocks. Then God's bright glory will shine and everyone will see it. Yes. Just as God has said.'"

[Isaiah 40:3-5 MSG]

I love this line in the carol 'Joy To The World'

"Let every heart prepare him room."

Whilst I'm finishing off my final preparations this evening, I want to give myself time to prepare my heart as well, and to make sure I prepare Him room.

From The Squalor Of A Borrowed Stable

I'm a country gal, so I'm one of these people who simply loves the smell of a farmyard. 

 

However, whilst I love the smell whilst I'm out walking, it's not a smell I would like in my own home.  Far less, when I was giving birth.

 

We tend to have a preconceived, polished idea about the nativity scene: we send each other Christmas cards with an air-brushed Madonna and baby.  The shepherds and wise men are strategically placed to frame the newborn baby and the animals look as though they have just been washed and cleaned for the occasion.

 

But the reality is that Jesus was born in amongst the animals.  It would have been messy and smelly and dirty.  It wasn't a clinical, sterilised maternity ward with midwives on hand to ease this new mother's birth.

 

"[Mary] gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them."

 

[Luke 2:7 NLT]

 

When you think that God could have chosen to enter the world in any way possible, we must ask why He chose to be born in such dire conditions.  The circumstances of His birth are hardly the stuff of fairytale.  Nor do they suggest His true identity or royalty.

 

But I love that Jesus was born into a messy, dirty situation.

 

It reminds me that He lovingly steps into the mess of my life, too.  I don't have to 'clean up' or make myself tidy or 'presentable'.  I don't have to tidy the mess of my life before I can come before Him.

 

I don't have to pretend to be perfect, or go through some sort of ritual to make myself good enough to come into His presence. 

 

And what's more, I know that He understands what it means to live in messy conditions - both literally and metaphorically.  He can understand my struggles.

"This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.  So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God.  There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."

 

[Hebrews 4:15 NLT]

 

 

That's the kind of King I want.

 

 

 

Moving House

I helped some friends to move house today.  We spent a long time packing up all of their belongings into different sized and different shaped boxes.  And then those boxes moved across town into a new house, into a different neighbourhood. 

 

Now the long process of unpacking will begin, as they make this new house their home.

 

The Bible describes how at Christmas, God made his home amongst us too.

 

John writes in his gospel,

 

"So the Word became human and made his home among us."

[John 1:14 NLT]

 

and in another translation we read,

 

          "The Word became flesh and blood,

          and moved into the neighbourhood."

 

[John 1:14 MSG]

 

Jesus didn't just come for a flying visit, or a short trip.  He didn't just come with a weekend bag.  He came to unpack all of His boxes in our hearts and in our lives.  He came to make Himself like us.  He came to make His home among us and to move in with us.   

 

He came to live with us. To experience all of life with us.  And to stand by us through it all.

 

 

 

Letting Go

I've just been watching the film 'The Wedding Date' which I haven't seen before. 

 

At the beginning of the film, the main character - Kat - is struggling to hand over an envelope (containing some flight tickets) to a messenger.  They tug the envelope back and forth between them for a couple of minutes, before Kat finally says, "I'm trying to let go, but I might need some help."

 

The messenger eventually physically removes Kat's hands from the envelope, so that she can let go.

 

Sometimes I know that I am trying to let go of things, but I need help.

 

I need someone to step in and remove my hands from the things that I'm holding on to. 

 

Sometimes I hold on to things because it is comfortable and familiar and safe, even though there is no life left in them.  But whilst I am holding on to these things and my hands are full with the past, I am unable to receive anything new.  I am unable to look to the future with excitement and anticipation.

 

Isaiah spoke about the need to let go and look to the future:

 

        "Forget about what’s happened;
        don’t keep going over old history.
        Be alert, be present.  I’m about to do something brand-new.
        It’s bursting out!  Don’t you see it?"

 

        [Isaiah 43:18 MSG]

When we fix our eyes and our hearts and our attention on the things we're holding on to, when we keep going over old history, we miss what God might be doing right now.  We miss the new things that He is bringing to life.

 

Sometimes we have to let go in order to let God release new things in our lives. 

 

 

 

The Real Deal

I haven't had much of an appetite over the past few days.  I have had a bit of a stomach bug and haven't felt much like eating.  And when I have eaten, it has been predominantly carbohydrate-based.

 

I have had very little fruit or veg over the last few days; in fact, my Vitamin intake today has consisted of a Vitamin C fizzy tablet in water.

 

I'm sure it's still good for me, but it can't be as good as eating actual fruit and veg and getting the vitamins and minerals that way.

 

In the same way, I think I sometimes skimp on my 'spiritual food': I make do with supplements and 'tablets'.  I listen to talks and worship songs and I read books and blogs and all of these things are good.  But they're not the same as spending time with God myself.  They don't have the same 'nutritional value'.

 

If we want to know what God is like, if we want a relationship with Him, if we want to grow and change and become more like Him, we need to see Him.  And we need to spend time with Him.

 

And we do that through Jesus, who came to show us what God Himself is like:

"God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful."

 

[2 Corinthians 4:6 MSG] 

 

Sometimes it's much easier and cheaper to pop a pill, rather than buying and preparing actual fruit and veg, but it's never as good.  It's not the real deal.  It's not as good for our bodies, or for our health.  And in the same way, spending time reading or singing or writing or talking about God is never as good as spending time with God.

 

 

 

Who Am I?

I've been rewatching one of my favourite American soaps over the past few days: Ugly Betty.  In one episode, Amanda is trying to find her birth father, after discovering that she is adopted.  She says that she will struggle to know who she is until she knows who her father is.  She says, If I don't know where I've come from, how can I know who I am?

 

I think it's the same with us sometimes: we don't really know where or who we've come from and, therefore, we don't really know who we are.

 

But Jesus was confident about who He was and where He had come from.  He knew to whom He belonged.

 

This is one of my most favourite verses in the Bible:

"Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God."
 

[John 13:3 NIV]

 
Jesus was completely confident of who He was, where He had come from and where He was going, so He was able to serve others whole-heartedly, without seeking His identity in them. 

He knew who His Father was.

It can be the same for us, if we want it: we can know and understand who our Father - our heavenly Father - is.  We can know and understand our pasts and we can know where we have come from.

And it is in understanding these things that we can understand who we really are.

This Little Babe

There have been lots of Christmas programmes on TV recently with recipes and decorating suggestions and gift ideas - all sorts of things to help us prepare for Christmas.

 

Several things that I've watched recently have mentioned the fact that Christmas is all about the family, but something I watched this afternoon kept repeating that Christmas is all about children.

 

However, I would suggest that this isn't quite true.  Chrstmas is not all about children.  It is all about one child.  It is all about the baby Jesus, the child of God.

 

Luke writes,

 

"There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood.  They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them.  They were terrified. The angel said, 'Don’t be afraid.  I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Saviour who is Messiah and Master.  This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.'"

 

[Luke 2:8-12 MSG]

 

A Saviour who is Messiah and Master. 

 

I always marvel at the idea that the shepherds (and later, the wise men), worshipped a baby.  I can understand someone worshipping a King, or worshipping a god.  But worshipping a baby?  The shepherds understood something about this child which we can so easily miss.

 

I love the words in this song, 'This Little Babe' by Benjamin Britten which tell of the true nature and identity of this tiny baby -

 

This little babe, so few days old

Has come to rifle satan's fold

All hell doth at his presence quake

Though he himself for cold do shake

For in this weak, unarmed wise

The gates of hell he will surprise

 

With tears he fights and wins the field

His naked breast stands for a shield

His battering shot are babish cries

His arrows looks of weeping eyes

Jesus was no ordinary baby.  He was the child of God and He was worth worshipping.

 

Christmas is all about the child.

 

 

 

Once In Royal David's City

There is a line in the Carol 'Once in Royal David's City' which I refuse to sing every time.

Christian children all must be

Mild, obedient, good as he.

Mild.  Obedient.  Good.

I don't disagree with the idea of Jesus being good or obedient.  In fact, He is only worth worshipping because of how good He is and how perfectly obedient He was to God's will. 

But mild?

 

The Oxford online dictionary defines 'mild' as -

 

not severe, serious, or harsh; not intense or extreme; gentle and not easily provoked

Yes, Jesus is, at times, gentle.

 

But He was also wildly provocative.  He asked uncomfortable questions, He gave uncomfortable answers.  He didn't just follow the religious leaders of the day with their hundreds of rules and regulations.  In fact, He frequently opposed or flouted them. 

 

Many times in the Gospels, we read that the people plotted to kill Jesus, because of the things that He said or did.

 

That's not mild.

 

On one occasion, Jesus was provoked by the way people were abusing the Temple by selling animals for sacrifice at extortionate prices.

 

"Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice.  He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves.  He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”

 

[Matthew 21:12-13 NLT] 

 

There is something wild and passionate and furious in the heart of Jesus here.  Something provocative and provoked, something intense and serious. 

 

He is far from mild.

 

As C. S. Lewis wrote about Aslan,

 

"Safe?  Who said anything about safe?  'Course he isn't safe.  But he's good."

 

 

He is not safe and He is not mild.  But He's good.  And He's on our side.
 

I love these words in the chorus of Jeremy Riddle's song 'Furious'

 

          "His love is deep, His love is wide

          And it covers us

          His love is fierce, His love is strong

          It is furious

          His love is sweet, His love is wild

          And it's waking hearts to life."

 

 

Perhaps this year, I won't sing mild, obedient, good as he, but wild, obedient, good as He.

 

 

 

 

 

Silent Night

I can't help feeling that whoever wrote the Carol 'Silent Night' didn't have children or have any friends with young children.

 

       Silent night, holy night

       All is calm, all is bright

       Round yon Virgin Mother and Child

       Holy Infant so tender and mild

       Sleep in heavenly peace

       Sleep in heavenly peace.

 

Whilst not a parent myself, I am surrounded by friends with young children, all of whom can testify that the first few weeks following the birth of their child/ren was anything but silent.

 

All was not calm.

 

They did not all sleep in heavenly peace.

 

However, I have noticed that there is a sense of calm that descends on a room when there is a baby around.  All eyes will turn towards the child, conversations will peter out and a sort of hush descends on the room. 

 

There is something calming and soothing about the presence of a baby.

 

It's the same with Jesus - both the baby and the man.  There is something calming in His presence.  When we look to Him - really look to Him - we find that the other things in our lives fade away.  The everyday busyness is stilled and we find ourselves at peace again.

 

       "You will keep in perfect peace
       all who trust in you,
       all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
       Trust in the Lord always,
       for the Lord God is the eternal Rock."

 

       [Isaiah 26:3 NLT]

 

 

When we look to Jesus and put our trust in Him, all becomes calm and we can sleep in [perfect] heavenly peace.

 

 

 

 

 

Peace And Quiet

As a child, every year, at our village church Carol service, I would read the passage from Isaiah which foretold Jesus’ birth.
 

This year, I am back by popular demand.

 

It is one of my favourite Christmas passages and I probably know it off by heart. In fact, I even mentioned it on this blog just over a week ago.

 

       “The people walking in darkness

       have seen a great light;

       on those living in the land of the shadow of death

       a light has dawned […]

       For to us a child is born,

       to us a son is given,

       and the government will be on his shoulders.

       And he will be called

       Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,

       Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

       [Isaiah 9:2, 6-7 NIV]

 

Last night, we were discussing this verse in detail and were considering the different names given to Jesus.  In particular, we considered what the title Prince of Peace meant.

 

When we think of ‘Peace’, we tend to think of it as being partnered with ‘Quiet’.  We enjoy a moment  of ‘Peace and Quiet’.  Peace is lying in the bath, relaxing with a glass of wine.  Peace is passive and still and tranquil.*

 

Or is it?

 

If we think of Peace in a war-torn land, or Peace between two fighting families, we find that Peace is something immensely valuable.  Peace is something worth fighting for.  Peace is the absence of conflict, it’s the end of a struggle.  Peace takes effort and sacrifice and intervention.  Peace doesn’t just happen.

 

Jesus came to bring Peace to men on earth.  Peace between men and Peace between man and God.  He came to bring wholeness and completion.  And He fought for it on the cross, until it was won.

 

Now, if we want it, we can have true, deep, lasting Peace, through a relationship with Jesus.  In the same way that a city can sleep peacefully because it knows its watchmen are vigilantly guarding the walls, we can have peace because Jesus is vigilantly watching over us.

 

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

 

[Philippians 4:7 NIV] 

 

 

* Or Peace is, as the 70s would have it, all-embracing, all-accepting, totally awesome.