Stephen preached from Isaiah 55 yesterday morning, looking at the gift that keeps on goiving. At this time of year, there is much preparation for Christmas going on, but so often, this focuses on the practical – on buying presents, on what we will eat and drink and so on. The Christmas message actually describes the most wonderful gift imaginable, a perpetual, everlasting and renewing gift.

The gift God offers is without cost. The invitation is given to all, all who are thirsty. This gift satisfies long-term and we are urged to take part in what is available. We may have different needs, but God is able to satisfy all of them. Some of the sweets in Willy Wonka’s factory were not all they appeared to be – in The Inventing Room, Wonka’s new—and still insufficiently tested—candies were made, such as Everlasting Gobstoppers, Hair Toffee, and Wonka’s greatest idea so far, Three-Course Dinner Chewing Gum. This was a three course dinner all in itself, containing, “Tomato soup, roast beef and baked potato, and blueberry pie and ice cream”. However, once the chewer got to the dessert, the side effect was that they turned into a giant “blueberry.” This happened to Violet Beauregarde after she rashly grabbed and consumed the experimental gum. The story shows us that not everything which looks good actually satisfies.

God’s gifts are not like this, however. The only condition we have is that now is the time for us to receive the gift of His covenant and His presence. There will come a time when it’s too late. God wants us to draw near to Him now and receive from Him now. His gift won’t let us down.

The Bible study on Romans 12:14-21 looked at how our sacrificial living plays out in real life. These verses are not hard to understand, but effectively take a lifetime to put into practice. The sentiments expressed are so contrary to the world’s way of thinking and doing that we will only ever be able to do them if we have had our thinking transformed (Rom 12:1-2).

We are commanded to bless those who persecute us, to bless and not curse them. We are commanded not to repay anyone evil for evil and not to take revenge. We are commanded to do practical good to those who persecute us, giving them food and drink if necessary. There is no room for putting ourselves first or reacting as the world reacts, wanting to get even (see also Matt 5:41-44). The world’s modus operandi is ‘if you want to get ahead, get even… If you are wronged, hit back and even the account.’ God’s way is not like that. While we were still His enemies, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8) He does not ask us to do anything He has not done Himself; as always, He is the perfect role model for us.

By leaving room for God to work in situations and by reflecting His character (and thus demonstrating that we are indeed His children), we open up the doors for repentance. Others who were repentant in ancient times demonstrated this publicly, by tearing their clothes and putting ashes on their heads or by walking through towns with burning coals on their heads. Repentance is costly and visible; by our fruits shall we be known. We cannot guarantee our enemies will turn to God, but by living as God does, we give them the opportunity to see love in action.

Our job is to do what God has commanded. Feelings can’t be our fuel; obedience has to be the key. We have to ‘rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn’ – again, learning to put other people’s needs before our own. The Christian life is not lived in isolation, but in community. We are therefore called to ‘live in harmony’ – making a beautiful sound, not a discoardant one! We are not all the same, but there is a richness in diversity that is in harmony which is beautiful. There is no room for conceit or wrong thinking, just a constant giving over of ourselves to God and to each other.

Evil is not overcome by more evil. If we want to break the vicious circle of evil, we have to do good. We have to be totally transformed in our thinking so that we can reflect God’s character.

We are firmly in the season of Advent, preparing for Christmas, and as always I am meditating on what our Lord’s arrival meant. Today I have been thinking about the dirty stable, the messy birth, the complete lack of splendour in His arrival.

Aaron Shust captures this idea wonderfully in the song ‘Wondrous Love’, which starts:
“That You would leave Your throne
And make this world Your home,
Forsaking majesty,
Embracing mundane,
With all of its shame” (Aaron Shust, ‘Wondrous Love’)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXlqJqsAD7A

The linguist in me keeps lingering over the phrase ’embracing mundane’. Mundane has two meanings:
1. Lacking interest or excitement; dull.
2. Of this earthly world rather than a heavenly or spiritual one.

Most of us know all too well about the first meaning of mundane. Our lives can often seem to lack interest or excitement; the daily routine is often, in our opinions, dull. ‘Same old, same old’ is how we feel. It’s hard to feel spiritual when you’re faced with a pile of ironing or books to mark, when you’re dealing with the nitty-gritty of life. Standing in a crowded supermarket queue, fighting your way through the throngs of Christmas shoppers in town, dealing with blocked drains or broken heating… none of these things seem particularly exciting. We often feel we’d be much better Christians if real life just didn’t keep getting in the way! We feel we’re tied down to this earthly world rather than being citizens of a heavenly one, as Paul tells us. We read the Bible and so often it seems to talk about lofty principles that bear no resemblance to our daily lives.

But our beliefs ultimately do shape our actions and the lofty truths are actually more real than the tangible, physical world all around us. And when we feel that the mundane is overpowering us, Jesus surprises us, for He actually left His heavenly home to dwell among us, to share in the daily grind, to ’embrace mundane.’ He did that because of His love for us.

Not for Jesus the splendour of a dynamic appearance from heaven. Instead, He was born in a dirty stable, among the smelly animals. There was no room for Him at the inn. He chose to enter the world as we all do, through the pain of labour and the sheer hard work of childbirth. The angels may have appeared to shepherds and wise men, but in many ways, the Christmas story is all about mundane. It’s appropriate that it should be so, for this is the story of God entering our physical world, with all of its limitations and sorrows, in order to save us. We are not Gnostics, shunning the physical world for a spiritual reality that is divorced from the everyday. Jesus shows us how to combine the two worlds. “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Cor 4:8)

If Jesus, who knew such glory and splendour, could embrace mundane because of His wondrous love for us, may we too be able to embrace mundane, valuing the ordinary and treasuring the everyday, because we have eyes to see beyond the now.

Martin Luther apparently struggled with the book of James, considering it an ‘epistle of straw’ because it talked about faith and works, rather than just faith. I think there is no essential disagreement between James’s words on how faith and works go together and Paul’s teaching on justification by faith. Faith is absolutely crucial and is a gift of God, but it is made visible through the things we do.

The Message version of James 2 brings out what James is saying very clearly. “God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense”, we read in verse 17. “Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove,” verse 18 tells us. “Faith and works are yoked partners… faith expresses itself in works” (James 2:21) When talking about Abraham’s faith being demonstrated in his willingness to sacrifice Isaac, James says “It’s that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named “God’s friend.” Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?” (James 2:24) God is looking for a “seamless unity of believing and doing.” (James 2:25)

So the challenge for us is to have faith – seeing things with God’s eyes, understanding life from His perspective, accepting that we live in an upside-down kingdom, as Mark preached on Sunday – and to see that faith outworked in actions. What we believe MUST shape how we live if it’s to have any effect in this world. Actions speak louder than words, the proverb goes, and our faith is effectively seen by those who don’t believe by what we do. Faith is the motivator, but it motivates to action.

Rich Mullins said that faith without works is as useless as a screen door on a submarine. Let’s have that ‘seamless unity of believing and doing’ in our lives.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ajdsm9YmhU

Visiting speaker Yan Handley spoke about winning the battle against worry last night, encouraging us to believe that we don’t just cope with this, but can be conquerors in Christ.

Matthew 6:25-34 sees Jesus addressing the question of worrying, telling us not to worry or be anxious. The truth will set us free (John 8:32), so it’s important to fill our minds with the truth of God’s word. Jesus gives us the ability NOT to be afraid (John 14:1) and submitting to His rule enables us to overcome worry.

(1) Renew our thinking
God has promised perfect peace to those whose minds are fixed on Him (Is 26:3). He has assured us that we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength (Phil 4:13). Romans 8:6 tells us that the mind set on the Spirit brings life and peace to us and we are urged to take captive every thought to Christ (2 Cor 10:5) so that we can be transformed in our thinking (Rom 12:2). Phil 4:6-7 gives us the answer to how our thinking can be renewed: “Don’t be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
(2) Re-evaluate our priorities
We have to ‘follow the Maker’s instructions’ to get the best results from life! Jesus tells us to seek first the kingdom of God, rather than having our minds fixed on earthly things (such as food, drink and what we will wear.) We need to be still before God (Ps 46:10) and seek His priorities for our lives.
(3) Recognise our worth to God.
We are of immense value and worth to God. Low self-esteem can stop us believing that God loves us, but His perfect love can drive out fear (1 John 4:18). Jesus teaches His disciples about the Father-child relationship we all have, where we can be secure in the revelation of the relationship we have. Jesus reminded His disciples of how much more valuable they were to God than the sparrows and the lilies of the fields.
(4) Realise that worry changes nothing
Matt 6:27 reminds us that all the worrying in the world actually doesn’t change any situation or make it any better. We have to cast our burdens on the Lord, for He will sustain us and will not let the righteous fall (Ps 55:22). We can be like Mount Zion – immovable! (Ps 125:1) Worry involves a lot of hypothetical fretting about tomorrow, but Jesus urges us to let each day unfold in God as it happens, rather than worrying about tomorrow.
(5) Repent of our negative attitudes
Repentance gets to the heart of the issue, for we damage ourselves and others when we worry. We also displease God, for it’s like a vote of no-confidence in God, doubting His loving care and ability to work all things together for good. Worry is ‘unholy meditation’. Doubt and unbelief open the door to worry and we have to repent of the wrong thoughts and recommit ourselves to living as God wants if we are to know victory over worry.

Mark spoke this morning on the ‘bible rules of relationships’ strategies’, talking about how to get on with people, how to resolve problems in relationships and how we should interact with people. Relationships require work and effort, but with the help of various Scriptures, we were reminded of strategies for making relationships more successful, be it with family members, friends, colleagues or neighbours.

Ephesians 4:1-3 reminds us to be humble, gentle and patient, bearing with each other in love. We are to ‘make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace’.

Romans 12:3-5 reminds us of the diversity of the body of Christ. We are all different members, but we all belong to one body. No one is better than anyone else; we are all needed and loved by God. We are not, however, all the same. Understanding our role and giftings is important; valuing other people, however different they may be to us, equally important.

Gal 6:2 reminds us to carry each other’s burdens, thereby fulfilling the law of Christ. We need to look around and see who needs help and be willing to offer that help; it’s like a circular flow diagram, for as we help somebody, that releases them from a burden and enables them to move on to help someone else and so the circle continues.

James 3:18 tells us that ‘peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.’ How you treat other people is how they will largely treat you; the ‘Golden Rule’ often applies to relationships. If we consistently work for peace in relationships, we will reap good things.

Matt 20:26-28 reminds us that we live in an ‘upside down’ kingdom where the first shall be last and the greatest among us is the one who has learned to serve. Jesus is our great example in this, for the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.

1 Pet 1:22 tells us simply to ‘love one another deeply from the heart’. 1 Corinthians 13 gives us the true definition of what love is. Love needs to be the hallmark of every Christian relationship.

Luke 6:41-42 talks about the speck of dust in our brother’s eye and the plank in our own… vivid imagery which reminds us we can either be fault-finders or fault-forgivers. Can we look past the planks in our own eyes and past the specks in our brothers’ eyes and actually see God at work in human lives? Can we accept each other as ‘works in progress’? Only God can ultimately change the human heart, so we have to learn to forgive and to accept if we are to thrive in good relationships.

Col 3:15-17 tells us to let the peace of God rule in our hearts. We are to be thankful people and to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly as we seek to encourage each other in spiritual things. Whatever we do – and that word encompasses everything! – we are to do it in the name of the Lord, giving thanks to Him.