Are you a morning person, raring to go first thing? Or are you a night owl, energised as the rest of the world heads for bed? It’s always interesting to see people in the morning: some are bleary-eyed and grumpy, taking ages to come round; others are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as the saying goes.

In Lewis Carroll’s fantastical book ‘Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland’, Alice has a conversation with the Queen of Hearts about impossible things:

“Alice laughed: “There’s no use trying,” she said; “one can’t believe impossible things.”
“I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

I don’t really think it matters whether you’re a morning lark or a night owl. The life of faith is about believing impossible things at all times of day and night in so many ways. God is a God who makes the impossible possible: ‘You do impossible things’, as the song says (‘Impossible Things’, Chris Tomlin) I think the Queen is right in telling Alice that practice is important if you want to believe impossible things. It doesn’t come naturally; believing the impossible requires commitment and effort!

Following God requires impossible faith. It requires us to believe the ‘impossible promises‘ He makes: that a 100 year old man will have a son, that the walls of an impregnable city will fall as people march around, that a giant can be slayed by a young man with a sling and five stones. It requires us to believe that the sea can part in front of us and give us safe passage; it requires us to trust that God is greater than fiery furnaces and lions’ dens. It requires us to look death in the face and believe there is more than our eyes can see.

At this time of doom and gloom, when we are bombarded with negativity on a daily basis, we need eyes of faith and committed hearts if we are to be the people God wants us to be. He wants us to believe more than six impossible things before breakfast, because He is the God of the impossible. As we stand on the promises of God, we know that ‘no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.‘ (2 Cor 1:20)

Faith means speaking that ‘Amen’, agreeing with God that what He has said, He will do. As we do this, the impossible things become possible. We might not experience shrinking potions and talking cats as Alice did, but we will surely see the impossible happen as we align ourselves with the God for whom nothing is too difficult. (Jer 32:17)

Many of us feel that what God requires from us is impossible. To Abram, God’s requirement was to ‘walk before me faithfully and be blameless.’ (Gen 17:1) Micah summarised God’s requirements for all people: ‘to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’ (Micah 6:8) Jesus said, ‘Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.’ (Matt 5:20)

When we read such verses, it’s very easy for our hearts to fail, for us to give up. ‘What’s the use?’ we may say. ‘We can never please God enough; we can never live consistently enough to meet these requirements.’ We may well feel doomed to failure and may even resent God for setting the bar so high. How can we be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect? (Matt 5:48)

But before we sink into despair and allow ourselves to give up, we must see that God’s promises far exceed His requirements. To Abram, He promised the whole world would be blessed. (Gen 17:3-8) To the disciples, Jesus promised life in all its fulness and freedom from condemnation (see John 10, John 3). God’s promises involve the impossible: ‘Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?’ (Gen 17:17) Abram could not fully comprehend the scope of what God promised him and continued to seek ways to reduce those promises to his manageable, visible world (‘If only Ishmael might live under Your blessing!’ Gen 17:18) God wanted to do something far greater than bless the son conceived out of Abram’s micro-management (though in His mercy, He did not forget Ishmael!) God wanted to demonstrate to Abram that nothing was too hard for Him. (Gen 18:14)

Grunge Texture Background

We need not fear that God will ask anything of us which, by His grace, He will not supply the means to achieve. His side of the covenant is far greater than anything we are required to do. Our response, like Abram’s, should be to fall facedown in awe. (Gen 17:3, 17) When we see God for who He is, we are amazed at the vastness of His promises to us (see Ps 8). Who are we, that God should promise so much? May this be the year when we embrace God’s promises with faith and thus see the continuation of God’s covenant promises in our generation.

Today was our first ‘Churches Together’ prayer meeting of 2021 and we looked at Matthew 2:1-12 as we meditated on the visit of the Magi to Jesus and used these thoughts as the basis for our prayers.

The Magi were searching for something. Many today are searching for things – happiness, wealth, health, prosperity, good relationships. Many are also seeking truth, answers and even God. We prayed for all who seek to find (Matt 7:7-8)

The Magi travelled from the East to find Jesus. We prayed for all who have travelled, fleeing persecution and war, and for those who work to help refugees. We prayed also for the travel industry at this difficult time and for all who still have to travel for their work.

The Magi were wealthy and wise. They used their wealth to bring gifts to Jesus. We prayed for all with wealth and power to have spiritual wisdom and to use wealth wisely, for the benefit of others. We also prayed that we may be generous as they were, sharing with others in need. We prayed also for all in authority, especially our Government and local and church leaders at this time and for regeneration in our area: economic, physical and spiritual.

The Magi came to worship a King who was a baby. We prayed for families in our churches and local areas, for parents who may well be struggling at this time of lockdown to juggle work and homeschooling, for teachers and children and young people at nurseries, schools and universities. We long for our playgroups and children’s ministries to be able to re-open safely and prayed for the work of local churches in reaching out to families and children and young people.

The Magi were led by a star, a divine sign. We prayed that we will all know the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit, individually and as churches, throughout 2021.

To conclude, we added our fingerprints to a star as our ‘Amen’ to these prayers.

On Sunday evening, our friend Mickey came to teach the children about change, using his drawings and the story of Zaccheaeus to help us understand that God can change us.

We also learned about the Magi and how they can help us to pray and used our fingerprints to make a creative prayer star:

This coming Sunday (10th January) is ‘Plough Sunday’, when we will be thinking specifically about and praying for people’s work. Work is a time-consuming and often rewarding and sometimes draining, part of our lives and it is good to bring this important aspect of our lives to God and ask for His blessing and help.

In times past, people would bring a plough into the church building as a visual symbol of work, asking for God’s help with farming, the main source of work. Nowadays, there are many other areas of work and so we hope people will bring us symbols of their work (rather like a ‘show and tell’ session at school!) so that we can pray specifically for members of our congregation. We are very happy to pray for specifics, so please let us know what you would like prayer for. Maybe you hate your job and want a new job? Maybe you are looking for a move or promotion? Maybe you are involved in new training and want God’s help in that area? Maybe you need a job and want God’s guidance and help in finding the right one? Maybe your relationship with your boss or colleagues is not good and you want God to help you in those areas. At this present time, with so many people working from home and so much uncertainty about work, you might need prayer for God’s peace and provision. Please let us know how you would like us to pray and we will gladly do so on Sunday.

Work is not all about paid employment. Volunteering, working in the home and serving God in the local church are all aspects of work. (As some have said, there is no such thing as retirement in God’s kingdom!) So even if you don’t have a paid job, you can still share with us about what you do and how you find purpose and fulfilment in life.

Work is our ‘frontline’, the place where we spend a lot of time and where we are called to be witnesses to God. LICC give us some ideas about how to do this through their ‘6Ms’:

May all of us find meaning and fulfilment in our work and be effective witnesses in the workplace, modelling godly character, making good work, ministering grace and love, moulding culture, being a mouthpiece of truth and justice and being messengers of the gospel. Let’s not divide work into ‘sacred’ and ‘secular’, but understand that everything we do can be an offering to God: ‘And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.‘ (Col 3:17)

At this time of national lockdown, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and even despairing, especially when faced with a barrage of constant bad news. God spoke very clearly to me at the start of the year from Psalm 112, and I am holding on to these verses:

‘Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
    they will be remembered forever.
⁷ They will have no fear of bad news;
    their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.’ (Ps 112:6-7)

One major difference to previous lockdowns is that churches can remain open for services, and we praise God for this answer to prayer. Corporate worship is so important to people of faith; as we draw together (even when socially distanced!), we align ourselves with God and are uplifted and upheld by His word and His presence. In addition to our in-person services on Sundays and Thursdays, we will continue to livestream Sunday services and will also be holding various Bible studies online, so please do keep checking the website and GPCC Facebook page for further details. Zoom details will be on the GPCC Facebook Group (a private group) and on the church WhatsApp chat. Our next meeting in the building is the ‘Churches Together’ prayer meeting tomorrow (Wednesday 6th January) at 10.30 a.m.

We are very aware that everyone’s situations are different: some are isolated and vulnerable; some will be working from home, while others will still have to go out to work. Some will be juggling work and homeschooling; others will be on furlough and perhaps feeling adrift without the routines and purpose of work. As we consider work especially this Sunday (‘Plough Sunday’), it’s worth reminding us all that volunteering can also continue during the lockdown and that care of the vulnerable and needy can continue. This may be a time to explore new ‘acts of service’, and certainly we can all encourage each other through our personal contact (writing cards, texting, phoning, video calling and so on can be great ways of keeping in touch with each other and encouraging each other.)

For those who are able to exercise outdoors, walking locally is still allowed, and one person can still meet up with someone else from another household, so if anyone wants to meet up with Julie to walk, talk and pray, please let her know.

Above all, let’s use this time to seek God’s face, to read His word and to build ourselves up in the most holy faith, for God has not changed and will not change. His love, faithfulness and goodness are still the foundations on which we can build our lives and He encourages us not to be afraid but to trust in Him each day.