The Great Gift Exchange

Christmas is over!  One of the news items on Boxing Day (apart from the sales), is how many unwanted gifts are put up for exchange on various internet sites!  An incredible number of gifts given yet unwanted and now up for grabs for the bargain hunters, and people hardly blink an eye at this.  Many of the gifts are expensive electronics pieces.  I'm sure the customer service counters at shops have also been busy handling exchanges.

It makes me think about why these gifts are unwanted.  We have all been in the position, I'm sure, of not knowing what to give.  Some people in our family are incredibly good gift buyers but I am not one of them.  I love to give but I am not observant enough to know what people need and like. Charity gifts have become a very practical and easy way out of that bind, while blessing the needy.  

Many people put a lot of thought into gift buying and others just 'throw money at it'.  The latter is probably where a lot of the unwanted gift syndrome occurs.  Also it's very difficult to buy a gift for someone who has everything.

This great gift exchange got me thinking about a different kind of exchange that God offers to those who will receive the greatest gift of all.....the Lord Jesus Christ.  It was a very costly gift but did not involve money.  It was a life laid down to bring reconciliation between sinful man and a perfect God.  Followers of Jesus are offered these things:

He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted

and to proclaim that captives will be released

and prisoners will be freed. 

He has sent me to tell those who mourn

that the time of the LORD’s favor has come, 

and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.

To all who mourn in Israel, 

he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,

a joyous blessing instead of mourning,

festive praise instead of despair.....

                                                                        Isaiah 61:1-3

That looks like a great exchange to me....

if  you have a broken heart you can find comfort in Jesus

if you feel you are caught in some kind of prison he 

offers you freedom

if grief has overtaken you he brings hope for a great future

for the ashes of disappointment he will give you beauty and peace

he can turn your mourning into praise.

Receiving the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ is the best gift you could ever receive, and if you have already done that make sure you walk in all the benefits that go with that gift. Leave behind all that is negative and destructive in your life as we say goodbye to 2018. Enter fully into the abundant (full to overflowing) life that he has promised you. 

Prayer:  Father God, thank you for the good things I have learnt this year, help me to remember them but please help me to let go of the things that hold me back from fully receiving the blessing of the abundant life you offer.  As I enter 2019 may I more truly receive all that you offer me.  I ask in the name of Jesus Christ who died to give me life. Amen

Chosen for A Great Event .....God's Way

Mary– a young girl, not noteworthy, except to God.....for her faith 

            and humility….

            Chosen to be the bearer of the Son of God.

Joseph–  neither learned nor a prince…a humble carpenter 

               Chosen to be the earthly father of the Son of God.

Elizabeth– a woman pregnant for the first time in old age.....
                   with the one who was to announce the Christ to 
                   the world...

                  Chosen to be the first to announce the unborn Child’s

                  destiny to His mother.

Bethlehem – a small, insignificant town in Judah…….  

                      Chosen to host the arrival of the Son of God.

A baby - helpless and dependant……

               Chosen to embody the God of the universe and 

               experience every facet of life as we do.

A stable -  not a palace, not even a simple room in an inn……

                  Chosen to be the birthplace of the Saviour of the 

                  world.

A manger – the feeding trough for animals……

                     Chosen to be the bed for the One who would feed 

                     thousands with his words and his miracles.

                   

Shepherds – simple men minding their flocks – not religious 

                      leaders…..

                      Chosen to be the first of mankind to see the 

                      Messiah.

Wise Men –from Gentile lands afar and of different faith– 

                    not priests  from the Holy Land.  

                     Chosen to bring prophetic gifts to this holy Child.

Prophets -  Simeon, an ordinary but devout and faithful man; 

                    Anna – an old praying widow.

                    Chosen to be the first to welcome the Saviour 
                    and Redeemer of the world to His holy temple.

Nazareth – an obscure town, we are told, out of which 

                    nothing great was expected.

                    Chosen as the hometown for Jesus Christ, 

                                            Son of God

                                                   King of Kings

                                                          Lord of Lords.

God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise.  And he chose those who are powerless to shame those who are powerful.  God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important; so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God.  

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 (NLT)

Christmas Light

The city lights burn brightly

Bring a sparkle to the night

That, as I look around me

Cause pleasure and delight.

A starry night with moonlight

Is such beauty to behold

Creation speaks God’s glory

His wonders to unfold.

Yet one light so much brighter

Then these must now shine forth

As we prepare for Christmas

Thinking back to Jesus’ birth.

God sent His Son among us

Bringing light and life to man,

Breaking sin’s strong hold upon us

Was the Father’s loving plan.

Let Jesus be your light today

Shine deeply, search your heart.

May He find there a welcome place

Where darkness has no part.

May He help you be transparent 

A lamp to shine so bright,

Then Jesus will be glorified

As on that Christmas night.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:16

Be Still and Find Hope

Be still......now that is some challenge in our busy world, but it seems like a particularly impractical challenge in this season of the year that is often known as the 'silly season' because of the incredible frenzy of activity that people engage in leading up to Christmas.

I have been challenged about being still lately and I have to admit that when I take time to attempt to actually be still I am acutely away of the difficulty of doing it, even though my life is not frantic. When I am deliberately still I become aware of the lack of stillness in me, the jangling of the fibres of my being tell me that I need a whole lot more practice.  Why is it important?  You could take a few minutes to answer that question for yourself.  

Some call this 'being still' the practice of 'mindfulness' and it is being brought into schools to help children cope with life's challenges, of which there are many these days.  Mindfulness though, lacks a helpful focus. It is an attempt, I believe, to replace what Christian education used to give, and that is hope.

Our mental health statistics in this country are 'through the roof' and it is of great concern to our government.  So many people without hope of a future.  There is no hope when they listen to the news, and the scientists who tell us that time is running out for our world as we know it.  So where do we look?

My own challenge to be still has a focus, 'Be still and know that I am God.....' Psalm 46:10.  The mindfulness of meditating on God is powerful and brings great hope.  Children have been denied the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the One who can give them real hope and stability.  Most don't learn about God in their homes because their parents don't have a personal faith.  Now the schools deny entry to Christian instruction and we are seeing the results.  We just have to take a look at America, which calls itself a Christian country, to see what taking God out of schools does.  They did that many years ago and the results are tragic.  Kids have nothing to live for so they take the lives of others and kill themselves.....nothing to lose, or so they think.

To know the God who sent Jesus Christ to rescue us from hopelessness is to know the God of hope, the God of love, the God of peace, the God of all comfort, the God of mercy and the God of grace.  To deny that we need any or all of those things is foolishness.  Likewise, to deny that we need the God who created us in His image is also foolishness.  To do life your own way without God is sin.  Sin separates you from God, even if you are a most noble and good-living person.

God's word is full of hope which is sure and true.  My challenge to you today is "be still and know that He is God"; my prayer for you today is from Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer:  God of all hope, help me to be still and really know you.  Amen