Lessons girls teach us.

I learned something today from these Beautiful Young Ladies!
Today's Post is so easy!
Three videos!

What we do?

Why orphans, women at risk, starving pastors?

Because in our trials we found something.

This song speaks of trials

God's Heart yearns for us to know Him. At 3:20 Selena Gomez whispers "thank you Jesus." Yes in pain and suffering we scream "Why God?" But as we step back and pray, as we release "me" and surrender to His will we find the true meaning of blessing and prosperity. Even in our trials we whisper "Thank you Jesus."

What if a blessing is a trial that brings us to intimacy with God?

I know I said three - but as a bonus, just when you think you think you know what you know you stumble upon something and you realize you know nothing ... sorry Taylor - what a precious young lady. Be Blessed

Taylor Swift sings Adele

but that's not the point 

... her most beautiful wonderful beautiful performance ever.

No one will never convince me otherwise.

Thank you.

Why orphans, women at risk, starving pastors?

Because in our trials we found something; we found the meaning of Blessing.

thank you Jesus

OK - one more ... Thank you Adda for all the work you do in this ministry.

Romans 12:12 "Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer"

Redefining Blessing in 2016.

When will we learn? Leviticus 19:34

Leviticus 19:34 "The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."

Christmas comes. We seem to pause. Christmas goes. Then in mere hours we are back at it. "At least 32 people were killed and 90 wounded in two bomb explosions in Homs, Syrian."

We talk of the power of words. Here is a word for you: religious. Religious violence is an oxymoron. The Bible defines and refines the word. Religion is pure and undefiled before God, the Father. It is to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. Where is the violence, murder or bombing or the need to terminate life in any of this. Pure Religion brings life and is behaviour shaped and flowing from "love the other as you love yourself."

What would the world look like if we really did for the other all the generous things we do for our self?

The reaction of a world separated from God to Jesus never changes. We think the world is more advanced, enlightened and civilized yet in our heart the people's response has remained constant. Herod "became enraged. He sent men to kill all the children in Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under." We want to demonize Herod and push him aside as if we would never be like him ... yet the number of young lives extinguished in the civilized west alone since Christmas far out numbers the Bethlehem massacre of innocence that we remember today.

When will we ever learn? When?

Matthew 5:43-47 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be like your Father in heaven ... For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the sinners do the same, don’t they? And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do? Even the Gentiles do the same, don’t they?"

Church: is it time for some communication transformation?

Church: is it time for some communication transformation?
(opinions welcome in comments!)

"I need hope!"

Here is a nice precise, plain spoken Blog by James McDonald: The War on Christmas

As I listened to Queen Elizabeth this Christmas day I realized I blew it. In the
Church we use words that have been hijacked - these words are so compromised that when the Church uses them one must wonder if it is the Truth or a banality that is heard. We use these words, but what meaning is heard?

We say Love ... but is something felt for pizza or the Montreal Canadiens heard?
We say Peace ... but is this just the absence of strife?
We say Hope ... but is this heard as a possibility?
We say Joy ... but isn't this just great happiness?
We say Light ... but perhaps a type of luminous radiant energy is imagined?
We say Name ... isn't this what your mama calls you?
We say Jesus ... and they think wow - what a nice guy.
We say enlightenment ... and perhaps this is heard as an increase in knowledge and abstract thinking?
When we say Christmas? Do you hear a day of celebration of family and prosperity with gift giving, feasts and quaint (but harmless) Victorian, Germanic, Pagan and Animist traditions?
I say Good ... do you hear 'only God?'

Many of the words, the similes, the metaphors and the analogies have been hijacked by the culture of the day.  I think we need to talk less and say more. I think we need to define the words we use constantly; culture has made our theological language homonyms of a sort - they sound the same; but within the Church they mean something so much deeper and richer than what is heard. Love your neighbour - three words that each need to be defined ... see what I mean? Did you hear the great commission?

Recently a young man gave his testimony. What brought him to Christ? A direct clear no-nonsense plain-spoken pastor. This young man went from loving himself and chasing after the world to: "No, I’m gonna do this because [God] Loves me. I’m gonna do this because He’s amazing and not because [I] have to, [but] because [I] want to.’" ... the name of this young man: Justin Bieber - his God is now the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I actually teared up when I heard him speak. He is on a journey - we all are. Please pray for our pastors and preachers - pray we all will learn to speak the clear, plain and direct message of Jesus.

We are interested in collecting your thoughts on ways we (Christ's Church) could communicate better. What Christianese words do you think people misunderstand?

Join the conversation!

Subscribe and Comment below.

Share on your social media.Thank you.

(P.S. One word that I truly dislike is the term Christianese ... fyi ... :-) )

Today's Hashtags: #queenelizabeth #queensspeach #love #purpose #onedirection #jb #justin #selenagomez #belieber  #taylorswift #jdb #justinbieber #bae #justindrewbieber #bieber #justinbieberfans #purposes #purposetour #bieberfever #believe #whatdoyoumean #sorry #justenbieber #justinbiebermania #belibers #justinb #justindb #neversaynever #justinbieberconcert #justinbieberimagine #beliebers #believetour #bieberlove #justinfan #myworld #TimKeller #passthesoap #walkonwater #StStephen #StPeter #ONE #Jesus #ACrossMission #peace #joy #hope #BillyGraham #JamesMacDonald #Christianese

Suggest other tags in the comments below! Can you believe we communicate in "#" !!!

Joel Osteen and St. Stephen? Irreconcilable Differences?

The Stoning of Stephen

Today is St. Stephen's Day.

In this blog we are interested in listening as well as talking. Tomorrow I will make a case for thinking about our Christian way of speaking. Today an illustrative question:

"If you can name it, God wants you to claim it."
"God's desire is for you to be prosperous."
"God wants you healthy. God wants you wealthy."
"When you focus on being a blessing, God makes sure that you are always blessed in abundance."

St. Stephen's Day:
Acts 7 "But they covered their ears, shouting out with a loud voice, and rushed at him with one intent. When they had driven him out of the city, they began to stone him ... Then he fell to his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” When he had said this, he died."

In the light of Stephen how do we hear Joel Osteen's prosperity, health, wealth, blessing and blessed name it and claim it gospel?

How does St. Stephen's experience end up here?

Does Mark 9:39 make all this ok? "But Jesus said, 'Do not stop him, because no one who does a miracle in my name will be able soon afterward to say anything bad about me. For whoever is not against us is for us.'"

Can the "name it and claim it" gospel stand in the face of the biblical witness of Stephen the Martyr?

We are collecting your thoughts. Join the conversation!

Subscribe and Comment below.

Share on your social media.Thank you.

Awesome video for today

Found this video on a CD-R (remember those!!) just now.
Thought I would share it because it is a wonderful way to end this day.

Not sure where the video came from. But is was an awesome gift to find it this night of Christmas. Click here for Baba Yetu

The Lyric:

Baba yetu, yetu uliye Mbinguni yetu, yetu amina!
Baba yetu yetu uliye M jina lako e litukuzwe.

Utupe leo chakula chetu Tunachohitaji, utusamehe Makosa yetu, hey!
Kama nasi tunavyowasamehe Waliotukosea usitutie
Katika majaribu, lakini Utuokoe, na yule, muovu e milele!

Ufalme wako ufike utakalo Lifanyike duniani kama mbinguni.
(Amina)

The translation from Swahili:

Our Father, who is in Heaven. Amen!
Our Father, hallowed is Your Name.

Give us this day our daily bread, forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive others who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one forever.

Your kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
(Amen)

What better way to end this Holy Day?

Be blessed.

Explaining the Advent 4 Candle called Joy

The Advent 4 Candle called Joy

Psalm 118:24 "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."



The Advent wreath extends the analogy of Light into the very experience of life; by it we come to know God engaging our senses, our emotions, our hearts, our minds, our bodies and our souls. Jesus calls Himself the Light of the World. The Christ Child then is the dawn; the return of Light to the World. Christ came into the darkness so that His beloved people living in a great darkness might be redeemed. As Light dawns we are called to see and know God and realize our desperate need of Him.

What is this image of dawning Light if not the very image of God who emptied Himself of all He is to communicate Himself to us? Christ is the Light: born He came to die - it is only the Cross which shines meaning in the manger. This is why in this blog we have adopted the tradition which ends Advent in Joy - what is Joy if not the purest emotional reaction to the dawning knowledge of God's Love! We celebrate and we rejoice because God is Light, because God is Love, because God is God.

The fourth candle is often called the Angel Candle. Why? I can only imagine the reason comes because of something like this:

(if you do not see a video here click this link: Ode to Joy  - my dad would have loved this!!!)

After almost an hour of drifting through turbulent ebbs and flows of sound, Beethoven's Symphony #9 in Dm (his last symphony and his only "Choral") erupts in celebration. The Symphony speaks of life, trials, failure and redemption. Beethoven, a deaf, sick, beleagured old man brings us to a moment - a moment that occurs in the fourth movement which like our fourth candle is known for Joy. The melody has been hinted at and we have been teased and lured, but then there is the call (I can't help but say the call of God). There is a quiet, a moment of reflection and redemption. Then the choir, having stood silent until this very moment sing as if every Angel of Heaven is rejoicing at the recovery of a lost child ... they sing for Joy. (watch the video again - it is amazing!)

We sing in Joy. There is an energy, a vibration, a sound of sorts in every molecule of creation. This vibration inhabits us. It is as if God shapes us in this vibration to know its resonance and to respond to it. It is the wave, the music of our inner most being. This music is God's call to us. It is measured in time and formed in emotion. We hear it as children hearing the voice of our Father. In music we respond - we call it worship - we call it praise - it is the response of Joy overflowing the heart. Our song is the returning to the creator of what is His. In music there is birth and rebirth - vibration joining to vibration in an eternal chorus within a cloud of witness - the Church. We are born of Love, to sing in Joy and to worship our God. That is the way I imagine music given over to God. That is the way I imagine the Joy we enter into in Christ.

Psalm 98
1 O sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
have gotten him victory.
2 The Lord has made known his victory;
he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.
4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.
7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those who live in it.
8 Let the floods clap their hands;
let the hills sing together for joy
9 at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.

Day Twenty-six: We're almost there. The Virgin's Song

Day Twenty-six: We're almost there. The Virgin's Song

Artwork courtesy of Rhonda Lovell*

Tonight let us begin with a song:

Luke 1:46-55 "My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has begun to rejoice in God my Saviour, because He has looked upon the humble state of His servant.
He has demonstrated power with his arm; He has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance of their hearts. He has brought down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up those of lowly position; He has filled the hungry with good things, and has sent the rich away empty. He has helped His servant Israel, remembering His mercy, as He promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to His descendants forever. For from now on all generations will call me blessed, because He who is mighty has done great things for me, and Holy is His Name; from generation to generation He is merciful to those who fear Him."

Can you imagine a young girl barely beyond her childhood? Maybe fifteen; she is passing through a village of mud walled and thatched roofed buildings. On her back, bundled in a worn length of coloured blanket is her infant. In her belly, another child. She is thin. She is so young! The image shocks me still. It was my first encounter with this aspect of life among the Kuria tribe of Tanzania.

Can we imagine anything more vulnerable than a child bearing her children? Each Christmas we are given this very image in Mary. Yet too often we run from her - the image spoils our nativity scene. The truth of Mary is too stark; it shocks and unsettles us. So in our imagination we subdue and reform her public image. We add a few years to her age. We mature her. We clean her up. We dress her in white silk; we drape her in a clean blue period appropriate costume - no tatters, no tears, nothing threadbare. We pass quickly by the archaic claim of her virginity. We're ok with her being a single mom. We liberalize her village and minimize the peril brought on by this pregnancy - violence is such a downer at Christmas time. After all, it is a silent night - a Holy night - a quiet night - when lullabies of heavenly peace are sung. Christmas is no time to consider the physical, criminal, social and religious threats. Let us keep it easy and accessible.

But Mary is important to our Christmas. As we reform Mary we take away her voice. Mary was not a defiant modern activist, a reformer, a rebel, a revolutionary, a militant nor was she a zealot - yet her voice sings out at Christmas and she has something very necessary to say. Will we listen? 

We look for Hope. We look for Peace. We yearn to be Loved. We wander the highways and byways of life seeking our self fulfillment in self reliance believing this to be the key to the contentment we lack. But then there is this child mother; powerless, in poverty, judged and rejected who in her peril sings praise full of the Joy and the contentment we lack. Mary is the precise opposite of the self-fulfillment and self reliance we chase, yet she is full of the Joy and contentment we desire. How can this be?

Mary does not claim she has done a great thing. Mary herself says she is a slave, a servant in the lowliest state. She is marginalized, she is in trouble and as her belly swells she moves further down the road of her rejection. Mary know's God's Law and know's too well the criminal, social, marital and religious implications being deliberated upon all around her. In all of this she concentrates her mind on God's glory and in her heart she thanks Him. How can this be?

In Mary we hear Scripture's song - a song sung from Genesis to Revelation. This song resonates with strains of innocent trust in and obedience to God; these strains form notes and these notes communicate the symphony of Joy that rings across every verse of Scripture. It is the symphony of worship. The lead part this night is sung by a virgin child in direst peril - yet her song is a pure song sung in a mother's love to bring hope, peace, love and joy. In this song tonight, in the soft voice of a young mother we hear the persistent call of God. Will we listen? Do we ever?

Tonight, let us welcome this Christmas in the very depths of our heart. Can we see the full tapestry God has woven into this Holy Night? Let us hear the symphony and choral of Christmas in Joy. Let us hear the virgin's song. Let us ponder in our hearts the witness of this child mother. Let us hear her as she is. For unto us a child IS born - this child born of the virgin is the answer we seek. Let us listen. Let us adore Him, this Christ of Christmas.

Our final Scripture for this Christmas Eve

Be blessed this night and by it be blessed always. Merry Christmas.

*thank you Rhonda!

The Candle of Joy In Christ

Advent draws to a close as we light the candle of Joy. We thank God that because of all that He is we know the Joy - the Joy of the certainty of Hope, the Joy of His peace and the Joy of being Loved.

(together in Christ we light the candle of Joy)

O LORD, raise up, we pray thee, thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; through the satisfaction of thy Son our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

Isaiah 42:16 "And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them."

Please share this blog with your friends, by email, Facebook and Twitter.
It is an easy way to bring Christ into other's lives this Advent season.

If you are interested in other missional opportunities visit  ACrossMission  - we would love to share this ministry with you,

Day Twenty-five: Lambs, shepherds and messengers. Ezekiel 34:11-16

Day Twenty-five: Lambs, shepherds and messengers. Ezekiel 34:11-16

Ezekiel 34:11-16  "I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. As a [good] shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy, dark day. I will bring them out from among the peoples and gather them from foreign countries; I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams and all the inhabited places of the land. In a good pasture I will feed them; the mountain heights of Israel will be their pasture. There they will lie down in a lush pasture, and they will feed on rich grass on the mountains of Israel. I myself will feed my sheep and I myself will make them lie down, declares the sovereign Lord. I will seek the lost and bring back the strays; I will bandage the injured and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them—with judgment!"

Yesterday we talked of stars and magi from Matthew 2. For the rest of the week we will look at some of the other threads and images that God weaves into the tapestry of His Nativity. These threads communicate richly the beauty of this Love Story we call salvation. So today we talk about Lambs, shepherds and messengers in Luke 2.

Shepherds are often preached as crude despised members of 1st century Israeli society. We need to be careful with this idea - it is not appropriate to this particular time and place. We note that when shepherds are mentioned in Scripture most often they are associated with "heroes of faith" - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and David. Peter calls God the Chief Shepherd. Christ Himself says "I am the good shepherd." If shepherds are not "worthy" in a particular instance, Scripture makes that clear. So there must be more to this notion of the Shepherds' witness to Christ's Nativity than that of Christ being born among the poor and marginalized!

The Mishnah, which forms the first part of the Jewish Talmud (Jewish thinking on God's Law) teaches that the Messiah would be revealed from the "Migdal Eder"; a tower that stood near Bethlehem (this name literally means "House of Bread") on the road to Jerusalem in the fields where the temple flocks were grazed. This Mishnah confirms then that the lambs at Bethlehem, tended by our "Christmas shepherds" were raised for temple sacrifice at the Passover; these lambs were the "Lambs of God." These shepherds would be called out by the Chief Shepherd to attend the lambing; yes they would assist distressed ewes, but largely they were there to surround and contain the lambing, record the births and report them accurately to the Temple authorities.

So at this point Christian minds are swirling with images and associations brought about by the weaving of these idea-laden threads together: Messiah, Bethlehem, Bread, Shepherd, Sacrifice, Jerusalem, Temple, Lambs, Blood Passover and Christ. Christ the Bread of Life. Christ the perfect Sacrifice. Christ the Bread of Heaven. Christ the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Christ the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the other. Christ the Pascal Lamb whose blood brings life.

Look at what God is saying in the images of the Nativity: Christ's birth was attended by the men (shepherds) who were set apart to attend the birth of God's Lambs. These tenders of the sacrifice were called out that night by God's (the Chief Shepherd's) messengers ( ἄγγελος - angels - literally God's messengers) to this birth, to bear witness to the birth, and they (to the wonder of all who heard it) gave their report. These Shepherds, these tenders of the sacrifice witnessed the good news of great joy that the Sacrifice, the Saviour, who is Messiah and Lord is born. The people of Israel were very literate in Scripture. These reports by the tenders of the sacrificial flock would create in them a swirl of images and a certainty of understanding. God's Messiah is born. The full revelation of Christ the perfect sacrifice was yet to be understood, but in that moment Messiah was known.

Scripture is remarkably rich in the fabric it weaves for us. Truly we live not by bread alone, but by every Word breathed by God. The more we hunger the more we seek and the more that we learn of the magnificent Nativity teaching revealed in the Christ of Christmas.

Revelation 7:17 "the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life."

Day Twenty-four: The star witness for the world

Day Twenty-four: The star witness for the world

Psalm 8:1-4
O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?

An old man stood on the crest of a ridge - the night was very dark and clear. The sky shimmered, each star a precise pin point of light. The moon a clear full disc rising late beyond distant hills. Beside him was a child. The man pointed into the night sky and asked the child "There, what do you see?" "Where? Where grandpa?" "There" he pointed again "Right there." "I see the tip of your finger" was the child's reply...

God placed each star in the night sky. At the birth of Jesus He placed a particular star in the sky. How marvelous was that? How awesomely wonderful! How do we, wise people, respond to this majestic fact? We look for an explanation. Isn't that odd that so many of us search for a finite cause for this infinite event? Was it a comet? Was it the conjunction of planets? Wasn't it a miracle - an expression in the finite of the infinite nature of our marvelous God?

In the time of King Herod how did the wise respond to that star? The foolish thought to thwart God and undermine what He spoke through the prophets. The wise observed His star, were overwhelmed with joy and knelt humbly in worship before the Christ Child. The wise did not ask why the star? The wise looked beyond the star to the Creator and saw His love for us; and they were filled with Joy.

The wise across all the ages have journeyed to know the Christ. The wise still seek Him even to this very day.

..."I see the tip of your finger" was the child's reply. "Your eyes must see beyond the finger tip" the old man smiled "and beyond the stars to the very heart of the Creator. Seek the One who breathed life; these stars are the workmanship of His fingers. And when you see Him then you will ask me: 'Why grandpa, why did He do that?' Then my child you will begin life's great journey; a journey to know the great Joy God gave us in His Christ" - the Christ of Christmas."

1 Corinthians 1:18-12 "For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will thwart the cleverness of the intelligent.” Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Mosaic law? Where is the debater of this age? Has God not made the wisdom of the world foolish? For since in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching. For Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom, but we preach about a crucified Christ, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength."

Day twenty-three: God is fixing this.

Day twenty-three: God is fixing this

Zechariah 1:3 "Thus says the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts."

Malachi 3:7 "From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," says the LORD of hosts. "But you say, 'How shall we return?'"

A few weeks ago a headline caught my eye. "God Isn't Fixing This" - that day man's inhumanity to man again (however briefly) commanded our collective attention. The image of a wife armed to the teeth as she and her husband executed mass murder created fear which reached across every level of society. Call in radio shows were full of expressions of fear and expert statements decrying the rise of anxiety, pain, panic and hate in America, France and the "West". We heard of neighbours turning against neighbour fearing they had been "radicalized." In "God Isn't Fixing This" the editors essentially quipped: ya thanks for the prayers but prayers are useless. "God Isn't Fixing This" called for concrete action and assets to be brought to bear to effect change; they argued that prayers are not enough. However, our history clearly draws us to a different truth: there are not enough prayers.

"God Isn't Fixing This" presumes that we can fix this. This is our error - it is symptomatic of our illness. As we turn to "me" we are turning further from God and things are not getting better. Scripture tells us that this has been the persistent condition in our misguided existence; that we have exchanged greatness (our intimacy with God) for error (our way apart from God). We are hurt by this. Yet we persist. Why are we so determined to turn from Him? We are destroyed by our lack of knowledge. Our ways are not His ways. We judge Him foolish. Yet the broken road of our history belies the presumption: we can't fix it. Things are not getting better. History shows our fixes lead to larger brokenness.

Our hearts are far from God but God is never far from us.

We've tried the human fix for over 2000 years. Can we try God's way now? "IF My people, who are called by My Name will humble themselves and [IF My people will] pray and [IF My people will] seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I [your God] will hear from heaven, and I will forgive sin and will heal the land." "Be full of wonder at this; be full of Joy, O heavens." God is with us - He stands at our door and knocks.

Perhaps this will be the Christmas. Perhaps this will be the one when we return to our God. Our history is a long and broken road but it has lead us to an old and seldom used door. There we hear the persistent urgent sound of One knocking. We hear a voice calling out. Again this Christmas, like 2000 and more that have gone before we stand on the threshold. Can this be the Christmas we finally seek His face? Can this finally be the Christmas we become children of God. Can this Christmas finally be the moment we set ourselves aside and accept God's Way. Can this finally be the day when we open that door and see the face of the Christ of Christmas? Let us pray.

Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me."

Day Twenty-two: Joy is more than being really happy

6 

Isaiah 55:6-12 "Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."

At the realization of God all creation must sing! This is the lesson of the angels "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God" - suddenly, rejoicing!

This week of Advent begins and ends with great Joy.

First we must shed the secular idea that joy has something to do with just being really happy. Joy is not as fleeting as happiness - it is constant. Second - Joy is linked inseparably to God.

What then is this Joy we speak of?

Joy is our response to εὐαγγέλιον (God's good news), the Gospel. μεγάλη (great) χαρά (Joy) is the Greek for this response - it means more that just an emotional response. Joy in this sense is a response in a particular "ah ha" moment - a dawning moment in which God's Grace is finally known. χάρη is Greek for Grace;  χάρη is derived from the same root as χαρά (Joy). God's Grace and our Joy are inseparable. Joy is the understanding of God's favour and knowing God's Grace. Any feeling separated from knowing God is not Joy - it is counterfeit - it is an illusion - it is a delusion. Yes, Joy is emotional! Yes, Joy is cognitive! Yes, Joy enlivens our spirit. Joy is comprehensive delight felt and found in the dawning realization of God's great Light.

I had coffee with a doctor recently. He told me of the most beautiful death he had ever attended. There was joy in both the living and in the re-telling of this story. I asked if he had known Elizabeth before her death. He asked me how I knew it was her he spoke of. I told him this: Elizabeth's Joy when facing death has inspired many people to seek to know God and His wonderful mighty Love for us. Her joy in death was literally tangible. I have had more than one conversation about the joy that surrounded Elizabeth even amidst the suffering that took her mortal life. Joy is the emotional response to knowing God's Grace and God's favour in all movements of life. Joy shines brightly and is not dimmed in any ebb or flow of this present darkness.

Today at New Hope Christian Fellowship my friend Peter led a song:
"Joy, unspeakable joy, an over flowing well no tongue can tell
Joy, unspeakable joy, rises in my soul never lets me go"

I felt Joy in that worship - Christ has come. Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again! Joy - unspeakable joy.

God with us. Joy never deserts us. The opposite of joy is not sadness; the opposite of joy is not knowing God. μεγάλη χαρά, great joy rises in knowing that born for us is a Saviour, the Messiah, the Lord, the Christ of Christmas.

Luke 2:13-14 "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!'"

The Candle of God's Love

And so we draw together and close the third week of Advent - we light the candle of Love. We thank God that His Love is freely offered to be freely received. We weep for those who turn away - we celebrate all who turn seeking to be Loved and to love.

(together in Christ we light the candle of Love)

O LORD Jesus Christ, who at thy first coming didst send thy messenger to prepare thy way before thee; Grant that the ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at thy second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

Isaiah 42:16 "And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them."

Please share this blog with your friends, by email, Facebook and Twitter.
It is an easy way to bring Christ into other's lives this Advent season.

If you are interested in other missional opportunities visit  ACrossMission  - we would love to share this ministry with you.

Explaining the Advent 3 Candle called Love

The Advent 3 Candle called Love

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life."

As I have repeatedly said there seems to be no authority or standard governing the tradition of the Advent wreath. In orthodox circles the third Sunday of Advent is named Gaudete (Rejoice) to reflect the theme of the liturgical chant used on this day; this in turn led to this week being named in that tradition "Joy" - for in Joy we rejoice. Joy was given the color pink. Why? Because orthodox Advent liturgy is modeled in parallel to Lent liturgy. Gaudete is the midpoint of Advent as Laetare is the midpoint of Lent. In the early Church the "Pope" presented honoured citizens of Rome with a pink rose on Laetare, this led to pink robes at Laetare, as well as at Gaudete (Advent 3). As such, when the Advent wreath came along the 3rd candle became pink to follow this tradition.

For this Blog we have followed a different theological pattern: As certain Hope brings Peace we experience God's Love which gives us eternal Joy - these are the names and colors of our Advent journey in this blog. Also note our candle colors brighten in this pattern as the Light of the World is revealed: from deep dark blue or purple we cross the spectrum to violet to rose and finally to pink. This represents the growing light in Advent which is finally revealed to us in the Christ Child: "the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned."

This theological pattern runs parallel to the other naming tradition we have been following: Prophecy in certain Hope points "the Way" to the Peace found in the Love incarnate in Bethlehem and proclaimed with Joy by the Angels. So this week' candle of Love is sometimes called the Bethlehem Candle or the Shepherds' Candle - Love was witnessed in Bethlehem by the Shepherds.

While contemplating these symbols of Advent something deep within me aches - it is an ache for Christ's return. I am certain this was the intent of all those who have gone before us and who have collectively left us our traditions.  The only way I can describe this yearning is to compare it to the ache I felt when my first son was born. He was taken to the intensive care unit immediately after his birth; I was unable to hold him even for a moment. I waited for hours. They were among the longest hours of my life. I ached to know him and hold this newborn son. That's the best I can do to describe the emotion and anticipation of Advent - an aching to know the One who yearns to be loved. For unto us a child is born and unto us a Son is given and this Son is the Light of the world, the incarnation of God's Love seeking love.

Yes there is a diversity of meanings and traditions assigned to the candles of Advent - its not nice and neatly packaged and done up with a Christmas bow! But in this diversity and difference we find paths which inspire our aching hearts toward the Saviour of the world wrapped in swaddling cloths laying in a manger.

Such is the great Love we come to know in the advent of Christ.

Day Twenty-One: Love, the Gift of the Magi.

Day 21: Advent points us to Love: The Gift of the Magi

(The Gift of the Magi)

Matthew 2:9-11 "they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

So often we preach the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh in reference to their market value - the opulence of the gifts get linked to a notion of value denominated in their desirability (as if these costly gift have inherent worth). Do these gifts have real value? No - not really. They are costly but make no mistake - the cost is not a market price. We preach and speculate on the meaning in these costly gifts, we wonder if they are linked to Christ's future life and mission among us but they are never mentioned again in Scripture. The true costliness of these gifts is in their distraction. Our lust for material wealth blocks us from seeing what's really going on; it blocks us from seeing the truth that gives value to the gifts.

Does this statement make sense? The day after the death of the wise person gold, frankincense and myrrh have the same value to the wise person they did the day before the death.

In 1905 "The Gift of the Magi" was published. It is set during a Christmas in the early 1900's. The story is of Jim and Della a poor, young married couple unable to buy each other a gift for Christmas. Each sacrifices their greatest treasure to give to the other. In market terms their meager sacrifice was nothing, a pittance really. Likewise, the gifts then obtained and exchanged were equally pittances. In truth, the real value was not in the physical gift at all. The real value came in the willingness of each to put the other before themselves - to love the other sacrificially. These stories (both from year 0001AD and 1905AD) of Magi gifts then, illuminate the Love story of God's incarnation.

Sacrifice, humility, obedience and love are the value in the gifts of the Magi. The true value is not a commercial or financial concept denominated in currency. The true value is an eternal concept denominated in Love. Sacrifice, humility, obedience and Love are the mindset we are called toward in Jesus; these then are the values that lead us to the eternally valuable gift of the Christ of Christmas.

Philippians 2:2-5 "make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus."

Day Twenty: Love is so precious ... (Jeremiah 5:30-31)

Jeremiah 5:30-31 "An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?"

Love is the truth from which God created and toward which creation is restored. I am sure somebody has said this before (I am not sure who) but that was the thought in my mind as I woke up this morning.

This truth is so fundamental that its enemies must guard it from us very carefully. Scripture tells us the tactic of the enemies of Love "who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves." They speak "destructive heresies" and "ways of sensuality" and many of us will follow them and be lost.

Somewhat stupidly I typed "Love is" into Google Image search just now - I quickly cleared the screen. IF there was an image that could represent Love it was hidden amongst fluff, erotica, porneia and imo/hipster counter-culture. What "Love is" is hidden by the clutter - the way of Love (God) is blasphemed - He is hidden in the clutter of the causal use of the word love. Winston Churchill said "In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies." Our notion of Love is so distorted and distracted that we hardly recognize it when it is staring us in the face. God establishes His victory in Love. Thus it is Love which the enemy of Love must attempt to undermine in its futile attempts at victory over Love.

We live in a time of war. Most who read this blog live in the battlefield of a modern western post-Christian society. We live in a society in which ideology is the standard against which Theology is examined. These ideologies cannot leave Love unattended.

Here is our hope found in Christ alone: Love may be surrounded with dark lies but God's Love will never be overcome by darkness - Love will always shine and the darkness will not overcome it. Love is always available to any person who seeks the Christ of Christmas.

John 1:10-13 "He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God."

Day Nineteen: God hates but God Loves.

Psalm 11:5 "The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and his soul hates the lover of violence."

God hates but God Loves. That is a radical, politically incorrect, shocking - yet accurate- statement.

I think before we get too far along with all our talk of Love we must challenge a common misunderstanding about God.

First let us remember that God is omnipotent - that means He can do anything and is constrained by nothing apart from Himself - it also means He cannot be compelled or bound by anything outside Himself to do something. God by His perfect nature is Love (1 John 4:8) but this does not mean God must love. God chooses to Love and wants to Love. God loves (Rom. 5, John 3) but Scripture is clear that He can also "hate" (Hosea 9, Psalm 11, Romans 9, Proverbs 6). God does hate sin (as is popularly coined) but God can hate groups of people and yes even individuals (Malachi 1) because of their sin and because they hate Him. God is Holy, Just and Righteous, so if God stands apart from people (hates them) it is with perfect cause.

It is important that our consideration of Love is God focused. Love cannot exist apart from God - any ideas we call "love" that do not begin with God are not Love. Evil and hate are nothings; they are the absence of the the eternal cosmic substance; the absence of Love. Have a look at this: Albert Einstein: Evil does not exist; it is the cold and darkness. It is trite - but it makes the point.

God is not bound to Love any of us. God does love us all as He created us to be - but - we must acknowledge we are not as God created us. When pop singers proclaim we are loved by God as we are because we were born this way or are a creation of God they misrepresent God - they misrepresent Love - they forget who we are before God. We are sinners. Our sin, our addiction to sin, our determination to sin and our defense of our right to sin all separates us from God casting us into our self-created darkness. Yet God's response is Grace! Anyone who truly turns to God seeking to shed sin and be restored to relationship with God by God can be assured of the Light of God's Love. God sets apart those who seek Him and call upon His name - He gathers them to be His holy people. Biblical holiness describes a wonderful unique relationship based in God's love. To be Holy is to be set apart for God to be Loved by God. In this way Holiness and Love are forever linked. And the others? Well, saddened by the rejection of the warmth and brightness of His Love God does respect their choice. God suffers the cold and endures the great darkness constantly providing moments and opportunities for all to know and return to Him. 

As we enter this third week of Advent we contemplate God's Love. God's love cannot be presumed or demanded or assumed. God's love is available to all and freely given to all who seek Him. So in Advent let us seriously reflect upon and earnestly respond to God's wondrous Love. God help us know Your warmth and light incarnate in the Holy Child of Bethlehem, our Christ of Christmas.

John 3:17-18 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God."

Day Eighteen: Love endures all things (Isaiah 63:7)

Day Eighteen: Love endures all things

Isaiah 63:7 "I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord, the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, because of all that the Lord has done for us, and the great favor to the house of Israel that he has shown them according to his mercy, according to the abundance of his steadfast love."

In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul says this “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”

"This passage is not just about Love: it is about each of us ..."
"If we pay attention to Paul's advice think of the impact on our relationships ..."
"This is practical advice for us and our relationships ..."
"In our sermon today we will examine ways we can be more loving..."
"Today we will look at 16 ways to improve your love life ... "
"Today we look at what the Bible says our love should look like ..."
"Replace the words “Love” and “it” in the above passage with your name and read it aloud."

These could all be wonderful sermons ... but I think perhaps they miss the point. Love is not about me; it is not an "I" thing; it is not a "self" thing. It is about the selfless. 1 Corinthians 13 is the call to look upward not inward. 

There is a purpose to everything under heaven: When I go to change the oil in my car I don't take the Bible for detailed instruction. I did not study the Bible to pass my accounting exams. I made stew yesterday - I didn't look for a recipe in Scripture. There is certainly talk of oil, money and meat in the Bible but car maintenance, business and cooking are far from its primary purpose. The Bible is the story of God and His Love for us.

Scripture, from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 is about God. God created out of Love, God provided out of Love, God became incarnate out of Love, God suffered in the flesh and laid down His life out of Love, and God will come again because of Love. God endures all things out of Love. The tapestry of Biblical narrative is magnificently woven together in intricacies beyond human imagination; it brilliantly illustrates who God is, our need for Him and His desire to restore our relationship to Him. Scripture clearly states our need for God; this too is an act of Love.

God is Love. Scripture calls us to lift our heads up, stop gazing at ourselves and see the Light that is Love. Replace the words “Love” and “it” in 1 Corinthians 13 with God, then read it aloud. No matter how you view it, the very definition of God is Love - that is the Love we are coming to know as we seek the person and the purpose of the Christ of Christmas.

1 John 4:7-12 "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us."

Day Seventeen: Christmas in the Trenches.

Day Seventeen: Christmas in the Trenches

Isaiah 2:4 "He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."

It happened in France, 1914; that first Christmas amidst the trenches of World War I. The peace was spontaneous; men simply refused to kill. For a moment Love shone bright like a Christmas star. The hymn "Stille Nacht" rose and was carried on a gentle breeze through a silent night across no-mans-land, men left their trenches, they met face to face and they shared life with each other. That Christmas they lived and they let live because something created in them pushed forward, spoke truth and gave them the courage to stop and allow peace to unite them in Christmas as brothers. (Christmas in the Trenches and THIS)

As a kid I would visit an old man; a neighbour. Ed Marshal was a veteran of WWI; he taught me my first drum rudiments. His voice was weak and raspy. He was bed ridden - lungs a victim of war and cigarettes, eyes blind "because they had seen too much." He and I would bang out my rudiments on a metal tray laid across his bed. He would tell his war stories to my wide-eyed-wonder: how they'd crossed the waste land as their comrades fell victim to bullets, shrapnel and poisonous gas; how he'd scrambled up mud embankments to shoot down into the enemy trenches. Except, he would say from time to time, they were not really enemies. "We got to know the Germans, we could hear them. The trenches were so close at points and the walls so thin we could speak with them." He'd show me his war medals; he'd let me hold them. From time to time he'd say something like "you learn a bit about yourselves too." I imagine war does that. Dark nights feeling insignificant, lonely and expendable standing watch up to your knees in mud, any movement could be an attack that would bring your death. "We knew death" - he said the corpses could lay for days in "no-mans-land" and they'd smell those smells of death mixed with the lingering smell of the mustard gas and gun powder that killed them. The threat of death hung close by constantly. Surely life was made for something else? Ed was not part of the Christmas truce, but I think he explained it well. In his coughing raspy voice he said: "we're not made for death son, we're made for life". (One last thing to watch)

If God is Love and God is infinite and God is eternal then Love is everything, it always was, it is and it always will be. Love then is not made - it simply "is" - it saturates and permeates creation. Love is our natural state. God created us because He is Love and He created us in the abundant overflow of His Love. We were created to live forever because we were created to be Loved forever. We are not made for death.

Just as certainly as "high command" on both sides of the Christmas truce responded with accusations of treason and threats of summary executions; just as certainly as they ordered extra attacks, extra fierce bombardments and extra killing to eradicate the memories of brotherly love, sharing and peace, our modern world responds in its vain attempt to eradicate God's Love. Our accusations are shrouded in pluralism, our threats in humanism, our bombardments in commercialism and our killings are the ultimate deaths brought on by secular ideologies. Just as certainly as we crucified the ultimate Gift of Love some 2000 years ago our world still seeks to eradicate God's Love. But just as certainly as Christ rose from the grave confirming and proclaiming God's undying Love for us, God's Love remains and is confirmed and proclaimed as we seek  Jesus.

The hymn "Stille Nacht" will rise from our buildings and homes this Christmas Eve; the song will be carried out on the breezes of that silent night and into the no-mans-land of our post-Christian world. The question posed for us on this and every Christmas Eve until the end of the age is will we rise up out of our trenches in Christ's peace, meet our fellows face to face and share courageously the truth, the life and the Love that can only be found in the Christ of Christmas.

Revelation 21:3-4 “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his people, and God himself will be with them; He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away."

Day Sixteen: Christmas - It's a Love Story ... (Isaiah 43:1-4)

Day Sixteen: It's a Love Story ...

Isaiah 43:1-4 "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior... you are precious in My sight, and honored, and I love you."

We are a funny race of people! (How's that for an opening statement?!).

It occurs to me just how addicted we are! We are addicted to the material, the physical, the social, the sexual and the political; we are addicted to the finite. We are so blindly fixated on being finite that we forget we are created for more - infinitely more than we could ask or imagine in fact! We are promised a relationship with the infinite; with God. From the moment of creation God has given us all that we experience with awe and wonder; He gives because He loves us. All God seeks, not demands, is for His Love to be responded to and returned.

We love love stories, especially those where love triumphs against all odds. In many of these stories we witness the heart breaking, unreciprocated love one has for their beloved. We are saddened as the beloved is distracted by suitors and seems oblivious to the obvious true love readily before them. We watch as the suitors woo and court the affections of the beloved with trinkets, empty promises and ulterior motives. Our hearts ache as these loveless suitors' scheme to entrap the beloved. Our hearts sing for joy when finally a grand expression of love causes the beloved to finally see clearly; the beloved responds to the one who offers true love. The loveless suitors are finally known for what they are - distractions and interference. We weep as love triumphs and the two become what they were created to be: in love.

Christmas is the grand expression of love in THE cosmic Love story.

In Christmas we witness God's heart breaking Love for us - His beloved whom He created to love. We are saddened to see humanity distracted by suitors who tempt us away from "the One" using trinkets, empty promises and ulterior motives. Why are we so oblivious to the obvious love the One has for us? How are we so tempted by material wealth, physical comfort, social prestige, sexual pleasure and political power? God's heart aches for His people to be His people and to be His beloved; yet we stubbornly remain beguiled and in fact willing accomplices in the schemes which entrap and distract us. Christmas begins God's grand expression of Love. In Christmas the One sacrifices everything He is to reach and recover His beloved. The motivation for the incarnation, the life, the death and the resurrection of Christ can be summed up in one statement: God Loves You. Christmas is a Love story in which God's grand expression of Love is revealed in the Christ of Christmas.

John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him."

Day Fifteen: Good News - its about God not "me." (Deuteronomy 6:5)

Day Fifteen: Good News - its about God not "me"

Deuteronomy 6:5 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."

I sat today in a hospital lounge. The young women across the way were clearly having relationship issues. "If he expects me to love him then he'd better start _______" (you fill in the blank) sums up the loud conversation. There were lots of demands voiced; lots of conditions and expectations that must be met; lots of ultimatums; and he'd better do better in the Christmas gift department or else. (laughter)

Sadly, very nearby, off to one side a young woman sat. She was dressed in a blue hospital gown, clutching a child's new teddy bear - I've seen well loved teddy bears all ratty and worn before - this one was new - the ear still bore a tag. An older woman (her mother perhaps) was comforting her. The mother wept ... the daughter sobbed.

I am not sure where we got the idea that "I" am central to the universe? This viral idea infects us and strips us of any hope of love and any possibility of joy. Have we lost our grasp on the very foundational notions of what love is? Love is not service of me to satisfy me, attention to fulfill me or ministrations that provide me ecstasy and joy. Me-love brings dissatisfaction, emptiness and misery; "what's in it for me" may be the mantra of this age but it's killing us. Me focused love is a deadly epidemic.

What is the cure for this? I am certain the cure is knowing just how radically God-centered reality really is! But how? How can this culture of "me" be turned around? Perhaps it is hearing anew the wondrous message from on-high come to us incarnate in the flesh of a newborn child, a child born to die, a child who left His mother sobbing at the foot of a cross; the cross borne in selfless Love by the Christ of Christmas.

1 John 4:7-10 " Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins."

The Candle of God's Peace

In the Old Testament we find the beautiful Hebrew word, shalom. Shalom is the expression of the desire for the very best for a person. For the Christian this is the wish for a person to know Jesus. The Christ follower knows the highest desire, the ultimate good, THE Shalom is the presence of Christ which brings persistent peace. We understand that peace is not what is outside and around us but rather that true peace is Christ in us. As we've come to the close of the second week of Advent - we light the peace candle.  We thank God for our Christ and wish each other Shalom.

(together in Christ we light the Peace candle)

BLESSED Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

Isaiah 42:16 "And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them."

Please click the "G+1" on this blog page!
Please like on Facebook!
Please share this blog with your friends, by email, Facebook and Twitter. It is an easy way to bring Christ into other's lives this Advent season.

If you are interested in other missional opportunities visit  ACrossMission  - we would love to share this ministry with you.

(If your browser will not display a video below you can see it here: Bing Crosby and David Bowie)

Bing Crosby, David Bowie - The Little Drummer Boy / Peace On Earth

Explaining the Advent 2 Candle called Peace.

In this blog I have called the Advent 2 Candle, "Peace."

John 1:1-9 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the Light, but he came to testify to the Light. The true Light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world."

There is an interesting Advent wreath tradition which calls the first candle "the Baptist" Candle and the Second, "The Way" Candle. Many of us will immediately hear John's words echo in our minds: "Prepare the way of the Lord." We may also remember that the Baptist Candle correlates to the Hope/Prophecy candle and that certain true Hope leads us on "The Way" to Peace in God. So in this way, prophecy relates to our certain Hope in God's ever present Peace. John the Baptist was the first true prophet since Micah who's prophecies close the Old Testament. In Micah we hear the encouragement towards repentance as he points us on our way forward to Bethlehem and the scene for God's next redemptive act.

Also, in our memories we might hear "the Way" and recall Christ's words: "I AM the Way". Now John the Baptist's words "Prepare the way" take on both of the Advent nuances: our preparation/repentance to be ready to receive our Messiah, both then and now, both Child and King, both Saviour and Judge; and words of prophecy "Be ready" your Christ is coming (and coming again).

All these ideas and images well up in us to reveal the wonder of Scripture and to humble us in gratitude for Scripture. The intricate multifaceted brilliances of the Word could never be authored apart from God! As the candles of Advent are lit, let us know, in awe and wonder, the fact of God's Love: He gave His only Son. Let us know the Peace this brings.

Like the first candle of Advent the second is most often blue, purple or violet. These colors are associated with repentance - the message of the prophets and of John the Baptist - the Way to God's Peace. In this second candle of Advent we are called to listen - to hear the words of the ancient prophets; to hear the words of the Baptist; to hear the Word of God. In our hearing, Truth is revealed. Truth dawns in us as a great Light dawns in darkness. Those who follow this Way will never again walk in darkness but will have the Light of life.

Advent 1 - some opening comments:

I was asked if I could explain the Advent wreath. Right off I confess there seems to be no consensus or authority around the wreath. Some despise this tradition - others cannot imagine Advent and Christmas without it. To some it is occult, animist or pagan practice, to others sacred Christian liturgy. So - the short answer is no I can't explain the "symbolism" completely. I can and will provide some thoughts if that is OK?

The first thought I will offer is this:

Symbols and ritual have no power or authority in and of themselves. They are inert. Any other thinking is fanciful mystic nonsense. Symbols and ritual can be and often are a significant part of the communication of the Gospel. The Gospel is alive and vibrant; should our communication of the Gospel not be likewise? As we communicate the wonder of the Gospel why would we not engage all our senses, all our emotions, our mind and our spirit? Word, movement, sound, light, form and texture all offer avenues that can honour God and thus enhance the communication of the Gospel. God's history of salvation is the ultimate love story, the ultimate drama. I suggest the Church should embrace telling this story with every tool of communication God created in us. We should use the beauty of God's creative genius to communicate, encourage and remind all people of God's Love. Christian symbols, ritual and liturgy are tools used to convey the good news - the Gospel. So let's not let our imaginations get carried away and distract us. OK?

The Advent 1 Candle I have called "Hope" in a Protestant tradition.

Isaiah 9:2 "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;

those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined."

Some call the first candle the "prophecy candle" to remind us Jesus' coming was foretold hundreds of years before the incarnation and is known eternally. This is consistent with the name Hope: first, because (as we have seen in the week 1 blog posts) our Hope founded in God is certain as are prophesies received from God; and second, because the prophecy of Jesus is the pronouncement of ultimate Hope.

The first candle is often blue, purple or violet; these colors have been associated with the repentance to which we are called in anticipation of the coming of Christ. In Advent this word "coming" is a double entendre: first, because as we are approaching Christmas it alludes to the birth of Christ and thus His coming in flesh among us. Also, in Advent we look forward to Christ's coming again in glory at the end of time. So in this season we figuratively wait in darkness for our prophesied restoration to God as Israel once waited for the birth of the Messiah.