Preparation and Distraction (Part 4 of 4: Follow your Star)

The star that led the wise men to the stable, leads us all to the cradle...and the Cross...


I took the picture above last year, it's of the Christmas decorations from my home town of Coventry. For those unfamiliar with Coventry's history you may not have heard the tale of Lady Godiva, who is immortalised in the statue you can see in the picture; very briefly the; legend states that back in the 11th century in order to publicly oppose harsh taxation of the poor by her husband Lord Leofric; Godiva gave up her dignity while also shaming Leofric by riding naked on a horse through the city, covered only by her long hair; out of respect the citizens looked away; except for one man who became known as peeping Tom (which is where we get the expression from).

So what is the point of that for us today on this, the last Sunday in Advent?
Well as the 3 wise men or kings or magi (however you wish to name them) followed a star to their destinies, so Godiva followed her heart to her destiny, and as we listen to God and follow His direction through our hearts and the scriptures we too will be led to our destinies and to the place where God wants to use us. (I know the story of the wise men is technically Epiphany, but as we associate it with Christmas I hope you'll indulge me).

That all sounds very nice, but it can actually be rather scary and difficult, although the task of the wise men to worship Christ was actually relatively easy it did require a long difficult journey which would've put them in danger and of course finding themselves in the clutches of the tyrannical king Herod. But it led to them taking the news of Christ back east with them and gave the holy family time to escape the slaughter of the children of Bethlehem by fleeing to Egypt.

God often calls us to difficult challenges and situations; this isn't anything new though, Christ made this clear during His earthly ministry:

'Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.' - Matthew 16:24

'If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.' - John 15:19

The same God that called the wise men to the cradle, called Christ to the Cross. Our first call is to that cradle; to worship and adore Christ above all; to submit to His will and purpose, after that He sends us where He wants not where we want, sometimes that is a call to suffer and sacrifice. We must be prepared to do whatever it is we are called to do. This may not be easy but 'where God guides, He provides'.

So...as Christmas draws near I urge you to 'go, follow that star' in your lives, everyday and Keep your ears and hearts open for God's call and be ready to make that journey, no matter how far...be prepared and don't get distracted on the journey; or as Bilbo Baggins put it:

'It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.'

Of course, sometimes we have to be open to God stepping in and sweeping us of our feet...


I would love to hear from you; with your thoughts, opinions and comments.
You can do this on here or through:
Twitter: @InspiredFaith88

Pinterest: @Freelygiven88

And the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Inspired-by-Faith-640803452678981/

Preparation and Distraction (Part 3 of 4 - 'A Journey into Danger' Matthew 2:13)

Just Like a KFC chicken; not every journey has a happy end...

This the third and penultimate post in this Advent series of 'Preparation and Distraction' we're nearly there; the gates of Bethlehem are coming into view...

If anyone here is a fan of great fantasy literature by authors like Raymond E Feist, Michael Moorcock and of course Tolkien or, for that matter TV shows like Star Trek you will understand how thrilling, a story of an epic journey can be. 'A Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step' or so the old saying goes. All these old stories have that in common...mostly ordinary men, women (and of course Hobbits) taking that first step of faith into adventure, danger and legend.

There was one such couple that I'm sure you've heard about, that went on a memorable journey, a long planned and prepared for journey, a journey that took place; oh, about 2000 years ago!

This ancient journey to Bethlehem is one that truly catches our imagination. as we prepare ourselves for the imminent arrival of Christmas, we remember this journey. It's almost strange that we don't hear more about the journey itself. Any avid readers would expect such an important journey to be filled with misadventure and action...but this comes later; a vengeful King Herod, the slaughter of innocents and ultimately an epic dash to freedom...the Holy, first family and their escape to Egypt.

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." - Matthew 2:13

So we have the makings of a great story; a journey, a villain, mortal danger. All we need is a mighty hero riding into battle to save the day...this hero does things differently; this hero will live His life in the shadow of service and sacrifice; His, is a journey to pain and suffering and to glory...This is Christmas, this isn't just some flowery story of shepherds and angelic choirs. This is a story of one greater than all of us, more wonderful, more worthy, better in every conceivable way; living to serve and to sacrifice for the least.

As we continue the relentless march towards Christmas, as our preparations and distractions reach fever pitch in this, the third week of Advent... Remember the journey that the Holy family took, a journey as we said, of service and sacrifice. I urge you to reflect on your own journeys and what God is asking of you and remember that God will be with you; or to put it another way:

'The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.' - Psalm 23:1-4


Follow on Twitter: @InspiredFaith88

And please check out the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Inspired-by-Faith-640803452678981/

'Preparation and Distraction' (Part 2 of 4 - 'hands up if you love bubble wrap' Exodus 32:1-4)

'When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don't know what has happened to him."
Aaron answered them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me."
So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron.
He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." ' - Exodus 32:1-4

'Hands up if you love bubble wrap!'

Like many people I have a borderline obsession with the amazing invention that is bubble wrap! Very little in life is as satisfying as popping the little bubbles and hearing that reassuring 'pop'. If someone brings me something wrapped in bubble wrap it will have to be something truly spectacular to take precedent over the popping of these bubbles.

Does anybody else get distracted by packaging at the expense of a gift? I think many of us can easily fall into this trap... I worry if sometimes the Church has fallen into this trap. We sometimes can be guilty of putting ceremony and traditions ahead of the Gospel and our soul saving mission. This can be even worse at Christmas with the carol concerts, rehearsals for various events etc not to mention the present wrapping, Christmas card writing and all our other personal preparations; we can be so focused on these trappings that we can lose sight of the greatest gift of all, as the Israelites did when they lost sight of the LORD and instead became distracted by the Golden calf made by Aaron.

No matter how shiny the packaging, the truth of Christ is that all of the extras in Christianity are unnecessary. All that matters is the Love and power of Christ and His care for us and His desire to welcome us into His kingdom. The extras can be great and beautiful and I'm not recommending a return to puritanism, but if these things: the concerts, the stained glass windows, coffee rotas and everything else we surround ourselves with, cause distraction and distance from God they must be removed...that aside though, enjoy them, let them add to our sense of wonder and togetherness...recognise their place but don't risk throwing out the bubble wrap with the bath water!



Look out for part 3 of 'Preparation and Distraction' next Sunday


Please check out the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Inspired-by-Faith-640803452678981/

Preparation and Distraction (Part 1 of 4): Preparing the Way

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' " Matthew 3:1-3

This is the first of a four part series focusing on the season of Advent as we prepare our hearts and homes to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus. This first week is about 'preparing the way' I'm intending to publish the other parts on the remaining 3 Sundays in Advent.

I must admit that I love Christmas, the lights, the movies and of course the food... I love the fact that Jesus' name is everywhere, talked about and sung about it's fantastic that often without even realising it people are glorifying Him.

Of course many who do not believe in Christ seek to remove Him from Christmas, to pervert a wonderful time of year...but what upsets me more is when we as Christians somehow through our own busyness and rush to prepare concerts and Christmas fetes etc manage to remove Christ and replace Him with all the trappings of the season. Sometimes our busyness and stress become the cornerstone of this time of year.

Advent is one of the busiest times of the year...there's presents to buy, decorations to put up food to cook, family to invite... The list is endless; some people start getting ready months in advance others like myself are a lot less organised and rush around at the last minute and usually forget most of what I need to do...what should be a time of celebration and togetherness can become a time of stress and arguments, additionally, for millions, Christmas comes and goes and leaves them no richer, no happier and still mired in sorrow, they see a world celebrating while they are left in the cold either literally through homelessness or figuratively through loneliness. I don't say that to make people feel guilty but to help us recognise that in the midst of our joy, there is still darkness and need in our world.

I love the picture above, and I would love to say that's how I prepare for Christmas...Through prayer and meditation; but often it can be an afterthought, but remember, the things that we do and how we do them can sow seeds in others...Will you sow seeds of joy and hope or will you be just another stressed out shopper on the high street fighting over the latest bargain or 'must have' item? Our mission is still to 'prepare the way for the Lord' we cannot save anyone...It is Christ who does that, but by our actions we can show people what it is like to be with Christ; we can plant the seed and give God room to grow and work in their lives.

So to finish, let me ask how will you prepare yourself and your home for Christ and for Christmas? Will you fight, argue and stress over decorations and food and all this inconsequential stuff? Or will you help 'prepare the way for the Lord' by praying for and ministering to those who need Christ even more at this time of year, will you be a stumbling block or a road sign? Finally remember that our hearts and souls are far more precious and important than our homes so however much time we spend decorating our homes, we should spend far more time preparing them.



Look out for part 2....of 'Preparation and Distraction' next Sunday