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24 December 2011

Looking forward...

If Christmas Eve is anything for you like it is me, it's the naffest day of the Christmas Holidays. The day is spent cleaning, washing, mopping, and being sent to the shops to buy last-minute items with the rest of the forgetfuls.


But this year something struck me. Something that's plainly obvious, but has helped me find Christmas Eve less of a chore.


The whole of Advent comes to an end tonight, the wait will be over - the planning, the buying, it all comes to and end because the event we've been waiting for is here. For Christians, the event is Jesus' birthday... He's finally here!


It was as I was realising that the mopping, shopping and cleaning were all things we do as a prelude to welcoming a guest that I was reminded of this, and it made the chores more bearable. I was working (in a sense) for Jesus. Not that tomorrow is really any more special than any other day, but because working to make our house tidier for the day helped me become more aware of God's future plans for me.


Advent is a twofold thing. We remember Jesus' first coming, and we're reminded of the first wait for Jesus through the story told in the Bible. We also have the privilege to look forward to Jesus' second coming, and so our preparations in looking forward to Christmas Day help show us that we're looking forward to "the Day", when Jesus will come back and collect his people "and we will be with Him forever." (1 Thessalonians 5:17)


It's easy to spend Christmas just celebrating Jesus' first coming - we're challenged to live looking forward to this sort of second Christmas. This makes our Christmas activities all the more exciting; we can look forward as well as looking back.


I'll end it there, because there's still plenty to do. Happy Christmas!

18 December 2011

Prayer and Praise

Sometimes it's the strangest verses which strike us - no more so than this verse which I was reminded of during last night's "Prayer and Praise" event (although perhaps "Pizza and Poker" might be a more accurate description).


Jesus is having a final meal with his friends. He knows he's about to die, but he takes time out to explain one or two more things to his disciples before he goes to the cross. They share the Passover together, and you can practically hear the sound of the twelve choking on their unleavened bread as Jesus says "one of you will betray me - one who is eating with me." He goes on to explain that the person who is to betray him would be better of having "not been born". Bit of a mood-killer, eh?


It's not these verses which have caught my eye though - it's at the end of Mark's description of the event, in chapter 14 and verse 26: "When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."


After such a serious conversation, and at such a key moment in his mission, Jesus still fits in some time for a bit of a sing-song. Despite approaching the very end of the work he came to do, he and his friends still have time to praise God through a hymn.


When we do our P&P evenings, it's great to see that even Jesus wasn't beyond giving praise to his Father, and worshipping him through the medium of song. Last night we prayed for a couple of our CU members who are heading home to Germany and Holland over Christmas, and us singing songs and praying together - whilst to people on the outside it may look odd - it's a fantastic way for us to remind each other about the real reason we were all in the same room. Nothing could have united the diverse bunch of people there other than Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.


We have a God who had individuals in mind when he went to the cross, and to share life with people who have accepted Jesus sacrifice for themselves is a privilege, and a constant reminder of a God who reconciles people to himself, and to each other.




For me personally, singing Christian songs at social events is still quite a new thing, and it's not everyone's cup of tea, which is fine. I guess what struck me about the above verse is how normal it was to be singing together, and encouraging one another with truth about God. Paul re-iterates: Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Why? Because it helps us keep going. I've been challenged by the fact that even Jesus wasn't above wanting that kind of motivation.