Remember at Christmas

Christmas is almost here! There's an air of excitement, Christmas carols, events, parties, concerts, worship services, and preparations. However, this time of the year can also be quite lonely and even stressful for many.

Let us remember that our Lord Jesus Christ was not born in a fancy mansion or a private hospital. He wasn't gifted hundreds of clothes and toys. The Innkeeper didn't even have a spare room for Mary to rest in.  She ended up in an animal shelter and laid her newborn son in a manger (animal feeding trough).

Yet, the angels appeared to shepherds praising God and the shepherds went and saw the newborn Son of God. They spread the word about this baby and praised God for all the things they had heard and seen.

So Christmas is not about how many gifts are under the tree.  It is not about how much food the table can hold. It's not about how much money you spend.  

Christmas is about being thankful.  

Thankful firstly to God, who loved us so much, that He sent His Son to be our savior. 

Thankful that Mary was obedient to the angel's message from God.  

Thankful that the Bible is full of promises to us. 

Be thankful that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, chose to obey God and give his life for us. 

Thankful that we can celebrate with our families (however they may be made up). 

Let us be thankful that we have a future with God if we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.

Perhaps you can be 'someone' who can share what you have with those who may not have much to celebrate or someone who is lonely, or doesn't have family around them?

Titus 3:4-5 tells us, "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit".  

We are not saved by what we do - we cannot save ourselves by doing good things, good works, and being good people.  We are saved simply by accepting the amazing gift that is offered to us by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

Over this Christmas period, why don't you check for yourself what the Bible says?

• Acts 4:12
• John 3;16-18
• John 14:6
• Matthew 7:21
• Matthew 19:25-26
• Ephesians 2:8-9
• Romans 3:23
• Acts 16:30-33

The Value of Praying Together

This is a 'what do you value' question.  Do you value opportunities to pray with fellow Christians?

We talk about prayer, and we say how important prayer is, or should be, in our lives.  But, and yes there is a BUT, how often do we engage in prayer with others? 

Chatting with a friend a couple of weeks ago, a comment was said, 'We should pray'.  How I valued my friend's wise discernment that, yes, after our wonderful time catching up, we were able to pray together as fellow Christians.

Prayer is not easy for many people. Most of us keep prayer as requests to the Lord, superficial, and often we have a list of petitions.  But real, honest prayer means being honest, vulnerable, and genuine. 

The value of praying together (some Scripture.  I encourage you to search for more scripture passages):

• Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11
• How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! Psalm 133:1
•  They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Acts 1:14
• They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42
• So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Acts 12:5 (read whole passage)
• I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Romans 15:30.

The value of praying together brings us closer to one another, we can encourage when life is good and when life crashes over us, like storm waves.  We can fellowship together.

“Fellowship is a relationship of inner unity among believers that expresses itself in outer co-participation with Christ and one another in accomplishing God’s will on earth.” Read more about The importance of Fellowship here.

We can study God's word together, and bring before the Lord, those who are undergoing difficult circumstances because of their faith or have health or other issues. We can intercede for our community and the society in which we live.

But most importantly, we can pray together to acknowledge and praise the Lord for his never-ending kindness and love towards us.  We can bring him honor, we can confess those areas in our lives which we struggle with, confess our sins, and seek forgiveness from God.

We build up each other (it's called edification) and strengthen our connection together as a family in the Lord.

Yes, we may be feeling vulnerable, but we can also learn from one another and lean on each other.

The value of prayer should never be underestimated.  The love that our Saviour, Jesus Christ, has for us, should never be diminished.  We need to value one another and value the privilege of the opportunity to pray together.

Some Things Have To Change

 Life happens...change is inevitable. Change comes, whether we are ready or not. Sometimes it's in our control, usually, we have little or no say in change.

How do we cope? Do we accept change or reject it? What is the impact on our lives, our careers, and our beliefs?

There are a few points that we do know:

1. Change will come whether or not we accept it or reject it.

2. Change may impact our lives, but we can learn to be adaptable.

3.  Change may be difficult at the moment, but the doors open to new possibilities, and new career choices.

4. Change is not something anyone wants to go through; our faith and beliefs are strengthened when we draw near to the Lord instead of pulling away.

Some verses to help:

• Psalm 51:10
• Philippians 4:13
• Proverbs 18:10
• Psalm 91:2 

Change brings about growth - in our character, in ourselves, in our faith and beliefs. We may not have much say, but how we respond will show either a positive or negative stance as to who we are. 

Whilst change will occur, there are some things that we can hold onto that are not changing:

 - God never changes;

- God's Word never changes, we grow and change as we read and apply the Words of the Bible to our lives;

- We are constantly changing; even if we think we are not;

-  Like the annual cycles of the seasons, life is a constant change.  How we embrace change will either help us flourish or flounder.

What will you choose?

Planning and Preparation

 When you have a busy period, what's your "Go to"?  

For some of us it's a list (or several), scheduling tasks, a diary (paper or digital), maybe sticky notes.

I am a list person.  I make lists for all sorts of jobs.  It may be planning an event (or even a BBQ), meeting deadlines for acquittal purposes, ensuring that people are contacted for meetings, making sure that travel itineraries are submitted on time.

Whatever your reason, having some form of reminder is helpful, especially in today's fast-paced; information overload world.

Learning how to use technology to assist you and make life easier is a must.  Scheduling emails, texts and reminders can mean that your time is better utilised so that deadlines can be met, reports or documents reach the recipients on time.

You may find that a simple list, or scheduling reminders can help free up your valuable time.

A monthly planner, a few highlighters and a decent pen, plus a few minutes each week can make the difference between fluster and focus.

Have Your To Do List ready!

Life is Like Cake!

 Recently I posted  on Instagram that Life is like cake.

Life can be like cake.

It's all good when it tastes nice.

But when you forget the sugar or key ingredient, it can taste horrible.

We all have good and bad days.  If you follow a recipe, then usually the end result is something you can eat - like cake.  But, if we don't follow the recipe then unexpected results can happen.  If you forget the sweetner or add too much, your cake may be inedible.

Life is like that. When life is "sweet" we're happy, maybe even considering ourselves content.

However, when life if not sweet - when the trials, difficulties and stress occur then the 'recipe' hasn't worked and the 'cake' deflates, burns, or doesn't taste good.

That's when we need to re-adjust our recipe!

Eat cake, good cake!