New Year thoughts

I hadn't planned on writing anything for today. However somehow I have been prompted too. Resolutions are not my strong point. I do make them and some I keep and some I fail on. All part of being human I suppose.

I have been carrying around one set of resolutions for years it is a bit dog-eared now as you can see.

My failing is that I can stick to this for a while and then drift off. In 2013 I am going to be more faithful. I will edge forward. Notice I don't say how much more faithful! But I will move forward on this...

The two other things I want to mention are:

On honeymoon Debs and I were prayed with powerfully by the guys at this place Bribie Christian Outreach Centre - the Spirit seems to be moving with these people- have a look at what they were saying to their young people "In a moment Jesus can transform your worlds..." (hoping the link will take you to the right place).

We need to expect more of our God. He is the everlasting, everloving creator of you! You are his work of art. We must not limit his love for us by failing to respond. It is the smallness of our own vision that holds us back from living in the fullness of his love.

The Holy Spirit is breathing his healing grace on humanity. Catch the wind of the Spirit in your sails and let it guide your life's  path.

May the Lord bless you in 2013 may he rescue you.

"God with us" and "God among the poor"

We celebrate the birth of the Christ child. "God With Us" who was born into the humble surroundings of a stable. He dwelt amongst us in grace and truth. Living simply and in solidarity with the poor he taught us about God and the love that God has for each one of us.

So "God with us" and "God among the poor" is what I have been thinking about over Christmas. I felt God prompting me to think again about how radical God is in his deep love for humanity. But how God placed Jesus in quite a simple life style. He was birthed into a workers family not into some cushy number. 

I feel maybe God is also making the point that all we need for our lives is actually a sufficiency to supply our food, clothing and shelter - our true wealth is not in palaces but in our love for family, friends and of course God our saviour.

At the start of his ministry in Luke's tells us that Jesus uses words of the prophet Isaiah to announce his purpose, he read out to those in the synagogue "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour." (Luke 4:17-21) and then said “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
It seems to me that if we are to have a share in his ministry we need also to bring Good News to the poor.

Jesus exercised what some Christians now call a "preferential option for the poor". I need to recognise that when I serve the poor I am responding to a call that comes from God and so in doing so you serve Jesus himself. This may sound strange so I suggest that in order to try and understand further you meditate this week on the following:

"I tell you, indeed whenever you did this for one of the least important of these brothers of mine you did it for me!"(Matthew 25:40). The longer passage can be found between verses 31 and 40

A quote from St. Augustine "God does not demand much of you. He asks back what he gave you, and from him you take what is enough for you. The superfluities of the rich are the necessities of the poor. When you possess superfluities, you possess what belongs to others." from an Exposition on Psalm 147:12.

Dear Lord, help me to find my riches in my relationships and to be generous to those in need. Amen

Why?

I have been hesitating to write about the recent events in America. The shooting of so many innocent school children is so sad and heartbreaking for their parents, and relatives and friends.

The situation as it unfolds shows the worst and best of the human spirit at the same time. The worst being a young man who uses his freedom of will to gather weapons and destroy. The best of the human spirit being the sacrificial courageous action we have heard about of teachers hiding their students but then so sadly losing their own lives as a result.

Life shouldn't be like this! But so often it is.

Our own choice, daily, is to choose to bless and not to curse. We have it in our power to do good or to do bad. Let us choose good. Make us strong Lord. Remove our hardness of heart so that we may love tenderly.

For reflection:

John 1:5 GNT
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.

Romans 12:14-21 GNT
Ask God to bless those who persecute you—yes, ask him to bless, not to curse.  Be happy with those who are happy, weep with those who weep.  Have the same concern for everyone. Do not be proud, but accept humble duties. Do not think of yourselves as wise.
If someone has done you wrong, do not repay him with a wrong. Try to do what everyone considers to be good.  Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody.  Never take revenge, my friends, but instead let God's anger do it. For the scripture says, “I will take revenge, I will pay back, says the Lord.”  Instead, as the scripture says: “If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them a drink; for by doing this you will make them burn with shame.”  Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good.

Wait for the Lord; be strong

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! Psalm 27.14

"I know that the messiah will come, and when he comes he will tell us everything!" When I hear those words spoken to Jesus by the woman at the well they trigger in me the memory that Jesus birth, death and resurrection was foretold and written in scriptures centuries before he was born. To me just as exciting is his reply "I am he, I who am talking to you."

In the shopping haze before Christmas it is good to break off a piece of time and use it to stand back and think about the prophecies that foretold Jesus coming.

For centuries the Jews had waited for the coming of the messiah. The prophets had predicted that he was to come. There was a period when to some it seemed that God had gone silent. But his birth was as predicted slowly and inevitably rolling towards them.

We as humans are not very good at waiting. But God is good and sometimes his perfect plan has to unfold slowly, or even majestically, in order to give us the fullness of his mercy. His saving hand is over the lives of all.

Today we live at the crossroads for humanity, and the extraordinary time between the first coming of the messiah and the second coming. It has been preordained. We must be as sure as that Samaritan women was and speak out into our own lives in faith "I know that the messiah will come"

We need also to have the faith of Simeon. A man who listened to the Holy Spirit  - who as he held the baby Jesus in his arms said "with my own eyes I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples: a light to reveal your will to the Gentiles and bring glory to your people Israel" and then "this child is chosen by God for the destruction and the salvation of many in Israel. He will be a sign from God which many will speak against and so reveal their secret thoughts." Read the whole passage here Luke 2:22-38

Also for reflection Luke 1:39-56 Mary's song as she is full of joy is beautiful!

Dear Lord, as we prepare for this Christmas renew our faith. Give us again the excitement of knowing your joy in out hearts. Amen

Take action to change

This is the last in the mini series "God has a plan for your life" - so it isn't about change for changes sake. It is about changing to be the best version of ourselves that we can be. To do this we need to align our heart with what love requires of us and then take action to try and achieve that. The thing is we are never going to be perfect. But it is better to try to change rather than to think we can stand still. Because the human reality is that we never stand still, we are always changing either for better or for worse. The Dylan song puts it "he who isn't busy being born is busy dying"

So we want to be born anew and know that change is scary for the human heart. Yet we need to put fear aside and realise that when we pray we are entering a spiritual dynamic that inevitably changes us.

So! Here is the check list... Like driving a car some things just need to happen before we proceed.

The key in the ignition is daily prayer and Scripture reading. Allocate some time for this. It doesn't have to be a huge amount of time. Persistence is more important than quantity.

Turning the key gets the engine on. This is the exciting bit - movement is imminent. You are listening to what God and your life is saying to you.

When you reach the point where you want to go forward you need to put your foot on the accelerator. God has shown you what you need to do, perhaps it is who to forgive, who to ask for help, perhaps what you need to give up. You are moving forward in the knowledge that God is with you.

Be bold - take that step

For reflection:

Isaiah 55:6-11 NIV

Seek the Lord  while he may be found;
call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord , and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the Lord . "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Dear Lord, we rely on your mercy, bless our lives with your abundant love, let us fully comprehend it. To know you is to know the beginnings of joy in our life. Amen