Glory to God in the highest

I have frequently written about how Mary might have felt when Jesus was born in a stable and her precious baby was placed in the only cradle available, a manger, a feeding trough for the animals. However this unusual circumstance became a sign for the first group of visitors.  

You might imagine that the religious leaders or the synagogue rulers of Bethlehem would be first to visit the baby Messiah but no. God chose shepherds as the first visitors; uneducated, straight from the fields, probably dirty and smelly working men. But God loves shepherds – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David and now his Son who would become the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5: 4). Jesus spoke of himself:

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10: 1

I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10: 14 – 15 

So it is not surprising that the shepherds were the first to hear the news and what a way they heard the announcement. This is surely one of the great events of history. Here we have shepherds possibly looking after the temple sheep (more symbolism) and suddenly into the darkness an angel appears with the words, ‘Fear not.’ The Bible is full of angels telling people to ‘Fear not.’ Obviously a glorified angel is a terrifying sight. These men would have been used to fighting off wild animals, rescuing silly sheep from their own predicaments, even dealing with sheep rustlers but an angel appearing – and they are terrified.

The angel then made the royal proclamation. Today, a baby has been born, a Saviour, the Messiah. The shepherds were given the sign. This baby would be found wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. However there was more.

A royal birth requires the royal choir of heaven to rejoice over the Son of God entering the world of men. Suddenly – I love God’s suddenlys. Suddenly heaven was torn open and the heavenly choir stepped forth. What a sight that must have been! A choir of angels singing glory to God. How amazing! You can imagine the shepherds either lying terrified face down on the earth or standing with their mouths hanging open.

When the angels had gone back into heaven, the shepherds decided to investigate.  You can hardly imagine them settling down round the fire again. They ‘hurried off’ and found everything as it has been described to them. What Mary and Joseph thought of this group of uneducated, uncouth men turning up to coo over the baby we do not know but whilst the shepherds went out and evangelised the whole area with the good news of the birth of the Messiah, Mary treasured up these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2: 19). She didn’t need to tell the world that her baby was the Messiah, the shepherds did that. 

Jesus wasn’t born in a palace in splendour to come and spread beneficence to his lowly subjects. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us (John 1: 14). Literally it means the Word tabernacled amongst us – just as God had done with the Israelites in the desert ‘dwelling’ in the midst of the encampment. 

Jesus didn’t come to hob nob with the rich, the famous, the religious. He came and dwelt with ordinary people – shepherds and fishermen, tax collectors and sinners. And he will come and dwell with each one of us – if we will only ask him. Then we will be those ‘on whom his favour rests’ and we will know his peace – ‘the peace that passes all understanding’.

Come and see what God has done

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

As we re-acquaint ourselves with the Christmas story through carol services, singing those beautiful songs and reading the Scriptures, we can become almost a little blasé at the familiarity of the story.  We have lived with this story and the Scriptures every year of our lives. We can feel we have understood the significance of the prophecies and the events of the Christmas season but it is good to pull back and wonder afresh at how it all felt for those at the heart of the story.

We are told that Mary ‘treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart’Luke 2: 19.  I bet she did. So much had happened to her. She had gone from insignificant young lady about to be married to Joseph the carpenter to mother of the Son of God. She had been through labour and delivery in a stable not a palace or even a clean room. The first visitors were shepherds, the lowest of the low with tales of angels singing ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests Luke 2: 14.

Joseph too must have wondered what had happened to him; the disappointment of Mary’s pregnancy followed by an angel visitation and at the end he had been charged with protecting and raising the Son of God.  I am sure there were times when both he and Mary felt hopelessly inadequate for the task.

As Mary looked at her baby and gazed into the face of God I am pretty certain she wasn’t remembering ‘For to us a child is born. To us a Son is given.’ But maybe she was.  Maybe as the years went by and they raised their extraordinary son Joseph was impacted by the Messianic prophecies as he worshipped in the synagogue.

However for us familiarity can dull the edge of the wonder of Christmas. That God became man and dwelt with us. Emmanuel. God with us.  I love some of the more recent Christmas songs. One of my favourite is Noel by Chris Tomlin.  It has the line ‘Noel. Noel. Come and see what God has done.’It gives me the shivers.  God has done the miraculous. He has become a man to dwell with us, his sinful creation so in need of a Saviour.

Matt Redman has written in his song ‘ Joy to the world. Joy to the world. The Lord has come, The Lord has come to us.’ It’s a miracle. 

With hindsight, we do get the significance of the events of Christmas.  The prophecies, the virgin birth in Bethlehem in poverty, the arrival of the shepherds and the visit of the Magi. My prayer is that this Christmas we will get fresh revelation of just what an incredible things God has done in bringing Emmanuel – God with us.  

The cost of Christmas

The birth of Jesus was a shocking event.  

Mary, a beautiful virgin betrothed to Joseph, was found to be pregnant before they married. This would have been a major scandal in small town Nazareth.  It is hard to realise today just how shameful and disgraceful it was in that culture to be an unmarried mother.  

However the criticism would not just have been reserved for Mary but also for her parents. People would have thought her parents had not brought her up correctly nor had they watched over her.  I expect Mum and Dad were hugely disappointed in their daughter.  They would have hoped she knew better.  Her parents would have greeted with great suspicion the story that she was still a virgin and that this baby was conceived by the Holy Ghost. It was certainly not something to share with the neighbours. That would have added ridicule to condemnation. 

Joseph was also no doubt sceptical about tales of an immaculate conception. In fact he was mindful to divorce Mary quietly to avoid further public humiliation for her until the intervention of the angel.  Having confirmed that this baby was indeed conceived by God, Joseph being righteous, married her.  This would not have stopped the wagging tongues though. It would just have pulled Joseph into the public disgrace as everyone would have assumed the baby was his.

Four people would now have been criticised and suffered public humiliation even though no one had done anything wrong. In fact they had been selected for the highest honour of all - being parents and grandparents to the Son of God.  Who would believe that?

I wonder if as Mary and Joseph discussed the upcoming birth they deliberated if they would have to go to Bethlehem. After all that is where the Scriptures said the Messiah would be born. It doesn’t appear so because it took the intervention of an ungodly Roman Emperor to get them to the right place at the right time. They left for the weeklong journey to Bethlehem when Mary was almost full term, not recommended in any culture let alone one with modest health care facilities.

I am sure Mary and Joseph were optimistic that God would provide somewhere suitable for the baby to be born.  If nothing else, they must have both had extended family in Bethlehem.  Perhaps there was no room anywhere because news of the pregnancy outside marriage had gone before them?  We can only imagine the disappointment turning to despair when all they were offered was a stable. 

So Mary gave birth to her precious first born, the Son of God, in a stable with the animals.  Under any circumstances that is shocking.  

I think it is all too easy to romanticise and sanitise the Christmas story as we lustily sing our favourite Christmas carols.  However it is good to remember how much it cost the key players to fulfil their destiny so that God could become Man and live amongst us.

Today there are many, many Christians suffering for their faith all over the world. For many becoming a Christian can mean being ostracised by their family or even society, losing jobs or access to good education.  Just like Mary all those years ago, too many Christians today are treated shockingly. Let’s remember and pray for them as we celebrate again the wonderful Christmas story.

Prayers that change nations

As Winston Churchill famously said during the Second World War ‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.’ 

I believe that when the books of heaven are opened at the end of time when Jesus returns, these words will be aptly applied to praying Christians. These are vital days in our nations and the people need our prayers. Our friends and relatives need to be saved. People need to be healed, lifted out of debt, marriages restored, families become places of love and nurture. 

But over all these we need to raise our eyes to the bigger picture. Our nations need God. In these uncertain times we must lift our eyes from our personal preference to what does God desire for our nation. And what God desires is that his Kingdom come and his will be done because he has great plans for them.That is what our nations need. The Kingdom of God and it is the prayers of faith filled Christians that will accomplish this.

Your immediate response may be that this is too big, too hard but if we as a faith filled church and praying Christians don’t do this, what is the alternative? One that is too awful to contemplate. 

The prophet Isaiah said, ‘Here am I Lord, Send me.’ It starts with a willing heart and time carved out of our busy schedules. It begins with a life of devotion to our amazing, loving God, worshipping, reading the Word and praying. 

If 120 praying Christians on the Day of Pentecost could shake a city and 3000 were saved, think what a praying church could do. 

Simple, earnest faith filled prayers will change a nation. 

Don't look back

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3: 13 – 14 

There can be a tendency when things are not going well to look back with wistful longing to the past, to happier times whether real or perceived and then try and re-live them to find happiness in our time of trouble.

There is of course a place to rejoice over happy memories or be inspired by things God has said or done in the past. I love to go back over my journal to encourage myself with things God has said, especially if I’m finding life tough. I also have a love affair with photos whether digital or hard copies. I can re-live with great pleasure past times and holidays.

The difficulty arises when that rejoicing and celebrating turns into something far less helpful – a strong desire to return to those days. Times past can always look a lot rosier than they actually were especially if you are struggling today.

The Israelites had that difficulty in the desert. Things were not going well and for the umpteenth time they complained to Moses, egged on by the ‘rabble’  …the Israelites started wailing and said, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost – also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.  But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!’ Numbers 11: 4 – 6.  How quickly the Israelites forgot their slavery and the misery it brought.

Happy memories need to be just that – memories not a lifestyle. They also need to be realistic, unlike the Israelites faulty recollections.

About 20 years ago our church ran an annual conference when well-known Christian speakers came and ministered. The whole church was involved in the arrangements. It was such fun, so refreshing and inspirational and when church can be a bit of a struggle, the temptation to desire to return to those days is great. But that was then and this is now. We are no longer the people we were and we can never re-create those days. We can appreciate them but we must move on.

Moving on is also something that churches can find hard. When things are going swimmingly it is great temptation to not just linger but put down roots. 

Peter and John had that trouble at the Transfiguration. It was so fantastic, so incredibly amazing that Peter wanted to build huts for them all to live in. But the purpose of the Transfiguration was not to create a monument and a place to stay but to encourage Jesus for the tough road ahead. Peter and John were so privileged to get a front row seat. However Jesus knew there was still a valley full of needy people below that he needed to return to before facing the gruelling reality of the cross.

Churches fossilise if they stay put in what they prefer instead of pushing into the new and unfortunately there are many denominations and churches that bear testimony to this. God’s ‘mercies are new every morning’ and he encourages is to pray ‘Give us this day our daily bread’.  His mercies and daily bread are always fresh and usually different from yesterday’s. 

Whilst God is unchanging, we are not meant to be either as individuals or as churches. God is calling us into a lifestyle of transformation into the image of Jesus and as a body of transforming people, our churches will also inevitably transform. 

It can be hard to let go of a seemingly happy past to walk into the uncertainty of the future. But as Christians we have one great advantage. We don’t go alone. Jesus is firmly holding our hand and is walking with us every step of the way. We need never fear the future if we trust God with the path ahead. 

From slave ship to the palace

But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.  You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. Romans 8: 16 – 17

A few years ago God gave me a picture of a wooden slave ship – the sort where the slaves were chained in the bowels of the ship rowing. There they sat in row upon row, unable to go anywhere and unable to do anything except row the huge oars. Indeed they had no say in where they were rowing, where they were going or why. All they could do is sit there and row and if they stopped they would be beaten.

This is an awful picture of sin. We are chained to it, unable to free ourselves from its bonds. As Paul says:  For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. Romans 7: 18 – 20

Sin is a cruel slave master, chaining us into a life that we do not want.

However in my picture, I saw Jesus come in a shining light into the bowels of this hell-hole of a ship, walk up to one of the slaves and hold out his hand. As the slave took Jesus hand, the chains fell off and startled beyond imagination he walked out with Jesus from his prison. What a wonderful picture of salvation. … through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8: 2.

However as I looked I saw Jesus take the slave, blinking out into the sun and onto a busy London pavement outside Buckingham Palace. He took his old filthy rags and gave him new ‘robes of righteousness’. With a word he was cleansed so his body was clean and groomed. The slave was transformed - clean in every way – inside and out.

Then something wonderful happened. Jesus led the ‘new creation’ across the road to Buckingham Palace and took him inside. The ex-slave was almost struck speechless. The palace was beautiful beyond anything he had ever seen or could imagine. It was amazing in every way – beautiful rooms, furnishings, grounds and wonderful staff to meet his every need.  This however was not a life of privilege to indulge himself but a life of privilege from which a new life of service and devotion to the King would flow.

The great thing about being British is that we understand royalty. We grow up with it and have it modelled to us all our lives. Our Royal family is indeed privileged. There is little they cannot have in terms of material items or being served but they model to our nation and the world that this life of privilege is also one of duty and service. They work extraordinarily hard to serve and bless others through patronage of military organisations, professional bodies and a multitude of charities. Having a member of the Royal Family as a patron or president to your organisation or charity adds publicity, visibility and credibility to the work and is greatly sought after.

As Christians we are members of THE Royal Family. We have not only been released from the slavery to sin, cleansed and clothed in robes of righteousness but we have been taken into the palace to serve the King and the Kingdom.  We have every resource available to do this and many have faithfully used their lives and talents to bless the world. 

The Church does an enormous amount of good work, not just through charities like Tearfund, Hope for Justice, Christians against Poverty but by assisting local communities through toddler and parent groups, holiday clubs, food banks, old peoples’ clubs and other services let alone ministering to the wider world through missions work.  And that’s how it should be.

We have not been saved to indulge ourselves in the blessings and privileges of life in the Kingdom but to reach out to the needy world so that people know when the Church gets involved they are going to get the best and it will come with grace, love and kindness.

Overcoming disappointment

Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed. Isaiah 49: 23

It was a hot, sunny, summer Sunday and an ice cream was just what was needed and not just any ice cream but a proper delicious ice cream cone. So after a quick Google search we found what appeared to be just the thing – Dawlishious ice cream – straight from a farm of Jersey dairy cows. It even had the little knife and fork symbol on the map to denote it was an eatery. Perfect.

The last time we ate ice cream straight from the farm was in America at Richardson’s Farm and Ice Cream Emporium – a massive establishment that served cones and sundaes in 30+ flavours from a multitude of serving hatches.

Now I didn’t expect something quite like that but I did have in mind a small shop serving ice cream cones with maybe a few tables under umbrellas to sit and enjoy our treat. Mrs Google guided us to our destination but when we arrived there was nothing but the farm – no ice cream place. We turned around and made a second pass and found in the farmyard a garden shed from which one could purchase tubs of ice cream in a variety of flavours. No cones, no tables or umbrellas, no one serving just a shed with a freezer and a phone number for service.

The cup of disappointment was deep – my expectations had far exceeded the reality.

Unfortunately that can be the case with life. Too often our expectations, based on previous experiences, far outweigh the reality and set us up for the fall of disappointment. Of course life’s disappointments come in far larger measure than my ‘no show’ ice cream parlour. In fact just recently I have been amazed at how often I expect things to turn out a certain way either because that is ‘always’ how it happens or because that is what happened last time and then find that something completely different occurs.

So how do we cope with life’s disappointments especially the hard ones, the big ones, the life changing ones? How do we deal when a spouse walks out of a marriage that we had such high hopes for or a child who made a commitment to the Lord when younger has now turned their back on God and is not just into a secular life but one dominated by alcohol or drugs? Or in my case when Church and Church leaders have behaved or done things that are not what would expect from Christians?

Unfortunately, over many years, I have been part of churches where leaders and other Christians have behaved in such ungodly ways. I have seen weak leaders overcome by sin and selfish ambition struggling with addictions and the devil’s favourite traps of fame, fortune and females. How do we deal with these situations?

Personally I was so disappointed, hope had disappeared and I was overwhelmed by the great British disease of cynicism. I wasn’t looking for perfection but I did expect leaders of integrity who would honestly seek God and try to the best of their ability to lead their churches into God’s plans and purposes. Churches filled with the power of the Spirit, walking in the fruit and gifts of the Spirit – not churches full of lies, self-ambition and naked sin.

I was sitting in a huge pit of disappointment struggling with hopelessness and a strong desire to give up. I expect we can all identify with this in our own disappointments. BUT God – he didn’t want me to give up, he still had plans and purposes for my life so as I prayed and wept over the frustration and disillusionment I found he is indeed the God of all hope and to him I turned.

Gradually he guided me to people of wise counsel, some encouraging podcasts and messages on the internet till I was ready to make the decision to not dwell in my pit but choose to trust God and let him lift me up on wings like eagles. I turned a corner and where I had found situations almost impossible to engage with I now found things shifting. The situation hadn’t changed – I had.

Life is full of disappointments – big and very small.  We can blame these circumstances for our cynicism and hopelessness or we can turn to our God of all hope to heal our wounded hearts and show us the way out – upwards and onwards. 

I truly pray you will find God in the midst of your disappointments to be the God of hope whose love and encouragement will spur you on to not give up, not give in:

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12: 1 – 3

Beautiful in God's eyes

We are masterpieces made in the image of God.

According to Psalm 139

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well. Psalm 139: 13 – 14

Yet distressingly an alarmingly high number of people believe or have believed they are ugly. They actually use those words. This may have been spoken over them or they have believed the lie of the enemy. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yet while we believe these lies our focus rests on our shape and size, our facial features and not on who we are in God’s eyes – his child, fearfully and wonderfully made.

In our image conscious Western world the ideal is to be thin, willowy with long gorgeous hair if you are female and tall, dark and handsome if you are man. I exaggerate the stereotypes but you get the picture. One leading UK store even uses size 4 mannequins to display its products.

We all struggle with self-image wishing we were taller, shorter, thinner, fatter, had bigger this or smaller that but God made us – unique and self-acceptance is a battle well worth winning.

Now that does not mean that God does not want us to look our best. In the past Christians were known for being dowdy and old-fashioned. They made a virtue of letting their clothes last a life time! But in our pursuit of looking good we must never forget what Peter said:

³ Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewellery or fine clothes. ⁴ Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 1 Peter 3: 3 -4.

Beauty comes from the inside out not the other way around. God built character displaying his love and the fruit of the Spirit is a wonderful goal. Look at Nick Vujicic the man with no arms or legs, nothing to admire in a physical way yet what God has done in His life with his character, attitude and motivational speaking is truly amazing.

All my life I have struggled with my weight – part of this is genetic – I come from families who were never tall and willowy but basically short and fat and part poor lifestyle choices in the area of eating. I’ve always wanted to be thinner and though I rarely followed a diet, I always wanted to lose weight.

I was bemoaning my inability in this area and the fact I felt fat and overweight when God told me quite clearly that my size and shape were not the issue – what was important was that I was healthy. The reason for this was not just because that is a good goal but He wanted me to be available for the long haul. He had much for me to accomplish. Self-induced poor health so often hampers what we can do for God. He told me to cut back sugar, eat as healthily as I could, exercise and focus on him not my size. I immediately asked God for a verse to encourage me. Straight back came this verse:

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Proverbs 31: 30.

That settled it. Whenever I feel discouraged or start obsessing about food or weight, I quote that verse aloud to myself.

Finally I want to nail once and for all the lie that anyone is ugly. How can anything made by God be ugly? Despite wrinkles and flab and anything else we may deem undesirable, God loves us as we are. We are beautiful and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.