Forever

In a world where nothing is built to last, it is important for us to reflect on the gift that God gives to us - it is a LOVE that will last forever. If you don't believe me, please read the words of Ethan, in Psalm 89.

¹ I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever!
    Young and old will hear of your faithfulness.
² Your unfailing love will last forever.
    Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.

³ The Lord said, “I have made a covenant with David, my chosen servant.
    I have sworn this oath to him:
⁴ ‘I will establish your descendants as kings forever;
    they will sit on your throne from now until eternity.’”  - Psalm 89

Thought: Let us be mindful of the precious gifts that last more than one Christmas season.

Living in Grace

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Beautiful gifts come in small packages

"In telling the Christmas story, the Gospel writers remind us that when things seem darkest, joy can come in unexpected places and small packages. Children remind us of the joy of playing, giving, learning, and loving. In the presence of such joy, our inner child can awaken our Christ nature and then the Messiah is truly born.

Christmas is not an event that happens only in December or 2,000 years ago in Palestine. Christmas happens as we open to the possibility of hope, when we live in the understanding of peace, and when we give love." - Rev. Kevin Daigle

Luke 2:12 - This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

May we not fall into the trap of believing that the 'biggest gifts' are the best. The smallest of children have changed the world. One child offered hope to millions of people - his name is Jesus. 

Living in Grace

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Who said this? - "Life is not easy for any of us."

 

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.” – Marie Curie

In celebration of Women's month I have been scrolling through many quotes from remarkable women. Marie Curie is no stranger to any of us, as we remember her significant work in the discovery of radium and research into radioactivity.  Amongst other achievements, she is the first women to be awarded the Nobel Peace prize.

Her quote for today made we think on how God has created each one of us with unique gifts and talents. When these talents are offered up to the Lord, I strongly believe that God will help us to use these gifts with the world.

What gifts are you hiding from the world? 

1 Corinthians 1:14 -  I always thank my God for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to Christ Jesus.

Living in Grace

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The great mediator

Jonathan Edwards wrote “The redeemed are dependent of God for all. All that we have—wisdom, the pardon of sin, deliverance, acceptance in God’s favour, grace, holiness, true comfort and happiness, eternal life and glory—we have from God by a mediator; and this mediator is God."

Is there any one of these gifts that stands out for you today?

I am thankful for everyone of them, but today I am most grateful that Jesus is my mediator. Jesus stands in the gap on my behalf. When I don't have anything to give, to pray or say, it is Jesus who speaks on my behalf.

Hebrews 9:15 - "For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant."

1 Timothy 2:15 - For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus

Living in Grace

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Replacing the battery

I have a clock in my office that has been stuck at 12pm for the last year. It has been entirely my fault though, because I simply decided that I didn't actually need the clock to tell the time - I have my own watch and my phone also tells the correct time, so I thought it was unnecessary. However, today I decided it was TIME to put a new battery into the old clock and I admit that it is nice to hear the tick, tick, tick when all else is quiet around me. So this got me thinking:

Do we sometimes feel we are stuck in one place?

When last did we recharge our batteries?

What will it take for us to fulfil our God-given potential? (If a clock is made to tell the time and it is not fulfilling that function, then surely it must feel frustrated - assuming clocks have feelings :)

What parts of our spiritual lives need a little jump-start?

Exodus 9:16 - "But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."

Living in grace

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Send me something

 
 

If you could ask God to send you any 2 things, what would those two things be? In Psalm 41 the Psalmist asks God to send him two incredible gifts - these things are indispensable in our following the ways of God.
 


"Send me your light and your faithful care,    let them lead me..." - Psalm 43:3

What could you do with LIGHT and CARE? Wouldn't they help you?

What is stopping you from asking God for these 2 gifts today?

Prayer: Thank you Lord for your promise of care and light. 

Living in Grace
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The 4th Gift of the Magi

"On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures (Treasure Chests) and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh." - Matthew 2:11

Ask anyone what 3 gifts the Magi brought to Jesus and most of us would be able to tell you - Gold, Incense and Myrrh. However, if you had to ask the question: "What did they do before they gave Jesus the gifts?" - then we would take a little longer to reply. 

This is why I feel that somehow we have got stuck on the 3 gifts that the Magi presented to Jesus and have subtly missed the FOURTH gift.  In fact, the 4th Gift is the very first action of the Wise-men. They bowed down in front of Jesus and acknowledged him as a ruler and King. Their gift of worship inspired their generous gifts of gold, incense and myrrh. 

As we still come to terms with a new year, let us offer Jesus our gift of WORSHIP as a starting point. From then on, we can open our Treasure Chests and bring everything else to him.

Living in Grace
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Treasured Possession

Gifts, presents, treasurers - these are all synonymous with Christmas. Even though some people choose not to remember Jesus during this season, it is undeniable that the giving of gifts originates from the 'gift of the Christ child.'  God gave of his very best and so, in turn, we also give to others. 

In this lovely verse from Malachi 3:17, we see how God speaks about as being his Treasured Possession. We are loved so much by God, that he sees us as TREASURE! What a delightful thing to reflect on this Advent season.

“On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. ¹⁸ And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.^"
 
There are a few other passages in the Bible that convey the same message. Here is one of those:
^"For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession." - Deuteronomy 7:6 

Have a blessed day,
Living in Grace
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You don't have to be a Pastor!

You don't have to be a Pastor to serve Christ! There are many people who feel that the way to respond to God's calling on your life is to become a Pastor - and this couldn't be further from the truth. God has need of his disciples in every avenue and community in the world. God needs people to serve him in schools, hospitals, police stations, commercial enterprises, prisons, old age homes, grocery stores, banks, taxi ranks, shopping malls, gyms, and so on.

Of course, there are some people who are called to serve Christ in the church, to equip the saints for service and to encourage the body of Christ - but this is not everyones calling. Perhaps we should stop worrying about what other people are called to do and ask God to reveal what he NEEDS us to do for him.

Ephesians 4:16 - "He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love."

·         “Each of us can reach out with Jesus in our own ways, through our vocations.” – Scot McKnight 

Living in Grace

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Willing to receive

At this time of the year millions of people are willing to give and receive gifts from loved ones and friends. In a sense it comes with the season of Advent and the celebration of Christmas. I would love for more people to actually respond to the grace of God and to receive Jesus, instead of just receiving gifts. After all, Jesus is the ultimate gift - we will never receive a gift that comes close to his life and sacrifice.

John 1:11 – “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”

I am not against the giving and receiving of gifts - my family know that I love being spoilt :) However, at Christmas time we need to be reminded that there is only One Gift that will last for eternity. His name is Jesus.

"God never gives someone a gift they are not capable of receiving. If he gives us the gift of Christmas, it is because we all have the ability to understand and receive it." - Pope Francis

Living in Grace

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