Meditation

It was while my elder daughter was a student at the, then, Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, that I first came across the beautiful piece of music by the French composer Massenet, that is named "Meditation". Indeed, it caused a wee bit of friction between my daughter and me when she asked me to purchase a copy of the score while I was in Glasgow. She merely asked if I could obtain a copy of the "Massenet" (probably because the Meditation is his best-known piece). However, what my non-professional ear heard was a request for a copy of "the Mass in A"!!! "By whom?", I asked. "Massenet!", came the reply. "Yes, I heard that. But who is the composer?" "Dad, Massenet is the name of the composer!" The conversation was actually a little longer than that - but left one somewhat chastened father!!!

However, the meditation referred to at the top, is the mental exercise of giving deep and focused thought to something. Today is known, in the English-speaking world, as "Good Friday", and is the day on which disciples of Jesus especially recall His death on the cross at Calvary, just outside the old city of Jerusalem.

People often ask the understandable question: "Why did Jesus die?" The New Testament writers don't go into a lot of detail about the crucifixion,. They had no need to do so. It was an all-too-common occurrence in the Roman Empire! In his record of the event, Mark simply writes: "And they crucified Him ..." (15:24). But why was He crucified in the first place? This was One Who had never committed any crime; Who had gone about doing good; Who was loved by children (who seem to have an instinct about adults who may be trusted!). Why would He suffer and die in such an agonising fashion?

Jesus did not die as a frustrated "super-star, in spite of the name of a well-known musical from last century. He did not die as an exemplary hero for some cause. Indeed, the death of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ (Messiah) was not even, primarily, an act of love! His death was, primarily, a sacrifice for sin. There was love, deep love, in it. It was His love for you, and for me, that held Him to that cross. But, first and foremost, it was a sacrifice.

Jesus "...gave Himself for our sins ..." (Gal.1:4). He Who knew no sin, became sin for you, and for me. Paul writes to the Corinthian believers: "For our sake He [the Father] made Him [the Son] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in Him [the Son] we might become the righteousness of God." (II Cor 5:21). It is not too many years since I came across that verse and, in spite of having read it countless times before, something of the horror of it suddenly hit me. For a brief moment of human time, the spotless, sinless, Son; the Second Persona of the Trinity; Himself God; became sin! Sin - that upon which Almighty God cannot bear to look. Sin - the very opposite of the Holiness and perfection of the Father . Sin - that vile, filthy, rejection that spits in the face of the Father Who loves with an everlasting love (Is.54:8). Sin - in all of its blackness, its obnoxiousness, its evil, its nastiness, and any other similar description. He became sin - for us!

I realised, on the day when that verse first "hit" me - as it had never done before - that it was at that moment, in time, that Jesus experienced what He did not experience in all of eternity: the Father turning away from Him. That was when He uttered those words, known as "the cry of dereliction" - "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matt 27:46). It was, surely, at that moment that Jesus experienced separation from the Father. How that happened, in the unity of the Godhead, I do not know. But it would have been, for Him, much, much worse than all of the physical pain and agony that He had already endured. And it was for you, and for me.

On this "Good Friday", take time to think deeply on this truth. Take to heart those words uttered by John the Baptiser: "Behold, the Lamb of God , Who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29), and rejoice that He did it for you!

Love came down at Christmas.

Human beings have many different ways of indicating their love for one another and, every now and then, someone comes up with a really original idea. I recall reading, many years ago, a newspaper report that told of a young lady who, on her birthday anniversary, received the largest parcel she had ever seen. The delivery men carried it, very carefully, into the house and, with mounting excitement, she began to open it. To her utter amazement - and great delight - the parcel suddenly burst open, and out jumped her boyfriend! He had decided that the best possible gift he could give her, in order to express his love for her, was himself.

For so many, the Christmas season has been wrapped up with ever-increasing commercialisation; with food, and fun, and festivities. However, if we remove the wrapping, we discover that is is, basically, Almighty God - the Creator and Sustainer of all that is - giving Himself in order to show His love for mankind. The angel's message to Joseph was that the Child to Whom Mary would give birth, would be called "Immanuel" - "God with us" (Mt.1:23); while my personal favourite "Christmas text" is found, not in the familiar birth narratives, but in that best-known of New Covenant verses, Jn.3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."  And that "eternal life, by the way, is not some "pie in the sky when you die", but something you receive here and now!

"God is Love", John assures us in one of his letters (I Jn.4:16) and, in the Incarnation, He expressed Himself in Jesus, "His indescribable Gift" (II Cor.9:15). Christmas is the beginning of a love story that goes on to Resurrection Day, when the Babe in the manger becomes the Christ on the Cross, suffering and dying for our salvation - and rising from the dead, victorious over death, and hell, and the grave!

Most of those who read this blog will receive a number of gifts tomorrow, each of them an indication of the love of the giver. Be sure that, if you have never received it before, you accept the greatest Gift of all - Jesus, and the salvation He offers.

... and a Christmas thought: Wise men sought Jesus; they still do!

The unpopular necessity.

Today, of course, is the Feast Day of St Andrew - the patron saint of Scotland.  My thought, earlier today, was to publish a post about him.  However, as I thought about what I might say, I remembered that Andrew is portrayed, in the Gospel records, as one who brought people to Jesus.  John tells us that Andrew was, originally, a disciple of John the Baptiser who, having spent a day with Jesus, "... found his brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ).  He brought him to Jesus." (John 1:41-42).  It is John who also tells us that Andrew was the disciple who found the young boy with five rolls of bread and a couple of small fish, and brought him to Jesus - Who then miraculously fed more than 5,000 men (plus women and children!), with twelve basketsful of crumbs gathered up afterwards! (see Jn.6:8 ff.).  On yet another occasion, some Greeks asked Philip if they could see Jesus.  What did Philip do?  He went straight to Andrew, who went with him (and, one must presume, the Greek seekers) to Jesus. (see Jn.12:20ff.)

So, I thought to myself, thought I: "If I could speak with Andrew, and ask him what he wanted me to publish on this "his" day, I suspect that he would simply say, 'Brian - point them to Jesus!'"

The anonymous writer of the Letter to Hebrew disciples of Jesus wrote: "... without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." (Heb 9:22).  As we begin to prepare for the Christmas season, with its focus (for some of us!) on the wonder of the incarnation - "Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see" - we do well to remember that it is only a part of the greatest story ever told!   If the birth of the Lord Jesus was the beginning, middle, and end, then it wouldn't be much more than a children's Nativity Play.  But, of course, it led to the greatest teaching that has ever been given on the face of this planet; and then to His passion and crucifixion; and on to His glorious resurrection, and His ascension to the right hand of the Father "from whence", as the Apostles' Creed affirms, "He shall come to judge the living and the dead"!  (see my second book, Foundations of the Faith, for much more on the Creed!).

Yes, the Babe in the manger became the Christ of the cross  And it had to be so.  Only His perfect, sinless, sacrifice could pay the debt that we owe, and bring us into a living, personal, fellowship with Father God.  How we need to emphasise, and appreciate more, that infinite Gift of grace that has delivered those who have put their trust wholly, and solely, in Him, from condemnation!  "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Rom 8:1; and I would encourage you to read the whole of that chapter!).  Regrettably, we live in an age when 'sin' is no longer recognised as such by the majority.  Because of that, there are too many who fail to understand their own need of redemption.

Without the all-sufficient sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, salvation is impossible.  That is a doctrine that does not find many friends today.  However, that does not make it any less true.  Think on these words of the old hymn:

"Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in Hid grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?"

I trust that you are able to answer those questions in the affirmative!  If you aren't, but you would like to know more, then either scroll down to the links on the right-hand-side of the blog; contact me at author@minister.com; or even treat yourself to either/both of my books (details at the top).  Alternatively, find a Bible-believing, Gospel-preaching, Christ-centred, fellowship of God's people, and make enquiry there.  Whatever you do - do something.  Your eternal destiny depends on it!

Faithful in little things!

Jeremiah is the prophet of the Old Testament who seems to get the worst 'press'!  It is true that his prophetic utterances do contain a fair bit of 'doom and gloom' - he lived for some forty years just before the people of Judah (the southern kingdom) were exiled to Babylon, and his message was, basically, "It's too late to avoid God's discipline, so accept it, and repent"!  Needless to say, such a message didn't find favour, and the prophet even ended up in prison!  However, there are also words of hope in the message and, in the Lamentation (a funeral dirge) of Jeremiah, are found some of the most wonderful words in the Old Testament: "The faithful love of YHWH never ends; His mercies never cease.  Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning." (Lam.3:22-23).

Jeremiah also had messages from the Lord for individuals.  One of those was his own 'secretary', a man named Baruch.  It was the pastor and author, F.B.Meyer, who said: "Don't waste your time waiting and longing for large opportunities that may never come; but faithfully handle the little things that are always claiming your attention."  That, by the way, is advice that I certainly need to keep in front of me and that, I suspect, need to be heeded by many - especially disciples of Jesus!  We must learn to be content to work, diligently, where Father God has placed us, remembering that He is more concerned with our faithfulness (read Matt.25:14ff) than with what we might consider to be 'success'!

God's message to Baruch, through Jeremiah, received such a message.  He was a man of noble birth who had been kept busy transcribing that message of doom about Jerusalem.  But he was disappointed because his own dreams and aspirations were being thwarted.   Others were being promoted to more important posts in the royal court, while he was engaged in routine duties!  Perhaps he had expected that he would have been offered some noble position as a reward for his faithful service.  Instead, he was rebuked for not being satisfied with the task that YHWH had entrusted to him.  Through the prophet, YHWH spoke: "Are you seeking great things for yourself?  Don't do it!  I will bring great disaster upon this people, but I will give you your life, wherever you go." (Jer.45:5).

Perhaps that's a message for many of us. Perhaps we need to put down selfish ambition that the Christ may be exalted.  Perhaps we need to take the attitude of one of Jeremiah's prophetic successors, John the Baptiser, who said of the Lord Jesus: "He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less!" (Jn.3:30).

Always remember, that it is better to be faithful than to be famous!

Coincidence?!

There may well be those who will say, or think, "What a coincidence"!  Personally, I don't believe in coincidence. The fact that, just after I had published the post below, I opened an e-mail to find this video-clip, is much more than 'coincidence'.   It does show that one doesn't have to be an atheist to be a scientist; that one doesn't have to be a scientist to be an atheist; and that an atheist can come to faith in the risen Lord Jesus Christ.  That latter fact is the most wonderful of the three - and it apples to anyone who will look, honestly, at the Gospel record.

As my former minister, mentor, and personal friend, the late Rev. George B Duncan, would often say: Don't look at the church - it's full of faults; don't look at the congregations - they are made up of sinners; don't look at the clergy - they're no different from the rest; look at the Christ - the only Person in the history of mankind Who could ask even His enemies, "Which of you convicts Me of sin?", and receive no answer!  (For the record, the typo is not mine!!).

It's a matter of pre-eminence!

A.N.Onymous may well be one of the most prolific writers of all time.  The name (in its more familiar form of, simply, "Anonymous"!) crops up all over the place.

I recently came across this poem, penned by the aforementioned author:

Not merely in the words you say;
not only in the deeds confessed;
but in the most unconscious way
is Christ expressed.

Is it, perhaps, that saintly smile?
Maybe the light upon your brow?
Oh no!  I felt His presence when
you laughed, just now.

For me, it's not the truth you teach - 
to you, so clear; to me, so dim -
but, when you're near, you always bring
a sense of Him.

So, from your life, He beckons me;
and, from your heart, His love is shed.
'Til I lose sight of you, and see
the Christ instead.

For those of us who claim to be disciples of Jesus, those are challenging words - well, certainly to this particular disciple!  How often do others, who do not claim to have a personal relationship with Him, sense His presence when I am around?  Or is it the case that they see no more of Him in me than they do in anyone else?

John the Baptiser expressed what should be the desire of every believer, when he said, concerning the Saviour: "He must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30).  The old preachers would often say -that there are three 'classes' of Christian: third-class, in whom Christ is present; second-class, in whom Christ is prominent; and first-class, in whom Christ is pre-eminent!

May all of us who own His name seek to be 'first-class' disciples - not that we might be more highly thought of, but that all of the glory might go to Him.

Dealing with disappointment

Last week, I again had the privilege of bringing a devotional word to the meeting of the CPA (Christian Police Association) at the Force Training and Recruitment Centre, Jackton, East Kilbride.   As the national news over recent weeks seems to have been dealing with one disappointment after another - in the worlds of sport, entertainment, and politics; as decisions had recently been made that disappointed many (if not all) within the CPA; as I had experienced my own disappointments; and as all of us experience disappointment from time to time; I sensed that it would be useful to consider how the disciple of Jesus deals with disappointment.

We read the familiar story of Cleopas, and his un-named companion (possibly his wife), making their way from Jerusalem to their home in Emmaus on the evening of the first Sabbath after the crucifixion of Jesus (Lk.24:13ff).  They were disappointed!  They had believed that Jesus of Nazareth was the long-awaited Messiah - but He had been crucified by the Roman authorities, at the instigation of the Jewish leadership.
Then, Jesus appeared, and walked beside them.  It was near dusk.  They didn't realise Who He was.  He asked about the cause of their dejection - and they told Him!

What did He do?  He went straight to the written Word of God and, beginning with the Torah, and the books of the prophets, He explained the references to Himself.  What a Bible Study - given by the Author!  When we are disappointed, it helps to go back to the Word - and we have the writings of the New Covenant that wasn't available to them.

They arrived at their home and, with typical Eastern hospitality, they invited this Stranger to lodge with them for the night.  He accepted their invitation and, again as would have been customary, was invited to say the prayer of blessing over the food as they sat down to supper.  It was at this point that they recognised Him - and then He vanished!  They reflected on their experience: "Didn't our hearts burn within us as we walked with Him on the road?"  Wasn't it wonderful?  Didn't we have a great experience with Him?

Immediately, they put their outdoor clothing on again, and headed back to Jerusalem to share their news with their brothers and sisters in Christ.  Fellowship - with the Lord, and with one another.  That's the second thing I would suggest, as we seek to deal with our disappointments.

The third suggestion is to look forward to the resurrection.  These two disciples were now convinced that Jesus had risen from the dead.  This realisation put everything that they had experienced into a new perspective!  If Jesus was alive, then the future was assured.  Their lives weren't over - they were just beginning!  The Christian Faith wasn't defeated - it had just experienced the greatest victory!  Today really is the first day of the rest of your life.

So, whatever happens to you; whatever disappointments may come your way:
look back to the Word;
look around to the fellowship;
look ahead to the resurrection.

Nothing will hurt very long when you are able to do all of that!

The Church - or the Christ?

A few days ago, I received an unexpected e-mail from the son of a couple with whom my wife and I had been very friendly, but with whom we had lost contact.  He was making some specific enquiries, but he also informed me that he had gone through a divorce, and "ended up back at church!".  Now, to be fair, he went on to state that he has "radically recommitted my life to Christ", but his initial comment reminded me of my days as a parish minister, and my attendance at meetings of the Synod.  For those without a Presbyterian background, the Synod (now defunct!) was the ecclesiastical court between the Presbytery and the General Assembly.

Anyway, I quickly noticed that, when a minster who had just retired into the Synod area was being welcomed, or when intimation of the death of a Synod member was given, the person in question was always described as "a faithful servant of the church"!  This always bothered me!  Of course, I knew that I was in ministry in order to serve my own congregation.  Indeed, I knew that "to minister" means "to serve".  However, I also knew that my prime service is to the Lord.

That was certainly how the early believers saw it.  Listen to Paul: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle," (Rom 1:1; my emphasis).  He writes of others in the same way: "... Ep'aphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf  and has made known to us your love in the Spirit." (Col 1:7-8; my emphases).   Later in that same letter he writes that "Tych'icus will tell you all about my affairs; he is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord." (Col 4:7; my emphasis).  He advised Timothy that "... the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to every one," (II Tim 2:24; my emphasis)

And it wasn't just Paul!  "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ," (James 1:1; my emphasis).  "Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ," (II Peter 1:1; my emphasis).  "Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ," (Jude 1: my emphasis).  Even when reference is made to the service of the church, it is in words like these: "... what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake." (II Cor 4:5-6; my emphasis).

It is good to serve God's people in whatever capacity we are able to serve.  But it is important to remember Whose we are, and Whom we really serve; remembering that we serve, "Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:" (Eph 6:6-7; my emphasis).

Why was Jesus crucified?

Sometimes, my mind wanders all over the place!  Sometimes, it even arrives at a worthy destination!  This afternoon, while working-out on the cross-trainer (was there some sort of psychological word-association?!), I found myself thinking of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, on the cross at Calvary.  The question that arose in my mind was simple: Why did He have to die such a horrible, bloody, death?  Why was He not knocked unconscious, and then suffocated?  Why did He not drown?  Why was He not starved to death?  Why did He not just die in His sleep?  Why did he have to shed blood?

The answer, I knew, is found in the Letter to Hebrew disciples of Jesus: "... under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." (Heb 9:22; RSV).

It was so from the very beginning.  When our first human parents sinned, they tried to cover their sin by their own efforts.  "... they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons." (Gen 3:7; RSV).  This wouldn't do.  So, we read, a little later on in the narrative that "... YHWH Elohim made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them." (Gen 3:21; RSV).  Father God made a covering of skin - and that required, not only the death of an animal, but a bloody death - as anyone who has skinned an animal will know.  "... without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins."

For years; for decades; for centuries; for millennia; this was the pattern.  In the Tabernacle and, later, the Temple, the Jewish priests would offer blood-sacrifices for the sins of the people.  Once each year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest went into the innermost sanctuary - the Holy of Holies - taking blood from the sacrifice and sprinkling it on the Mercy Seat that formed the lid for the Ark of the Covenant, "... for himself and for the errors of the people." (Heb 9:7; RSV).  "... without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins."

"But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) He entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption." (Heb 9:11-12; RSV).

The hymnwriter put it like this: "Not all the blood of beasts on Jewish altars slain, could give the guilty conscience paece, or wash away the stain.  But Christ, the heavenly Lamb, takes all our sins away; a sacrifice of nobler Name, and richer blood than they." (Isaac Watts).

He shed His blood, that I (and you!) might be saved; that there might be no further need for animal sacrifice.  As He hung on the cross, and just before He died, He uttered one word: "Tetelesthai" ("Finished"; John 19:30).  But this wasn't the weak whimper of someone who has realised that he has been vanquished; that all of his struggling has been of no avail.  This was the mighty, triumphant, shout of One Who knew that He had completed the work for which He had taken on human flesh.

Mrs Alexander got it right in another of the old (and, often, more theologically accurate!) songs: "He died that we might be forgiven; He died to make us good.  That we might go, at last to heaven, saved by His precious blood."

Paul wrote: "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished upon us." (Eph 1:7-8; RSV); while Peter reminds us: "... you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." (I Peter 1:18-20; RSV); and John assures us that "... the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." (I John 1:7; RSV).

"Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow!  No other fount I know - nothing but the blood of Jesus." (R.Lowry).

At my first (physical) birth, when I was delivered from my mother's womb, I was covered with blood that would have been, almost immediately, washed off.   When I was born again, it was the blood - the shed blood of Jesus - that cleansed me, and made me whole!

Hallelujah!  What a Saviour!  Have you been washed in the blood?  Have you?!

The Plight of Women

She was an intelligent 14-year-old Asian girl with a very bright future.

But Sena, like many women in Asia, was merely considered a toy for men to use. She faced harassment, was stalked and subjected to lewd comments and indecent exposure. Finally she was thrown to the ground and sexually assaulted by a group of men. Neighbours saw it happen—and did nothing.
Tormented, and unable to bear the humiliation, Sena turned to the only escape she knew— Suicide.

Jalem was headed toward the same fate…
Her family considered her a curse. As a child, Jalem was forced to perform manual labour. She was beaten, deprived of food and, at times, chained in her room. Why? She was a girl. Jalem also considered suicide as an escape.

But she met a Gospel for Asia supported missionary

She learned of the hope and dignity she could find in Jesus, and she would never be the same. Suddenly she discovered value that only comes from knowing Christ.
Jalem found a family in a loving church. They cared for her and helped her to build a new life. Today she shares how God miraculously changed her life with other hopeless women. She serves as a missionary, dedicated to reaching other Asian women as desperate as she once was.

Why is there such widespread desperation among Asian women?

Asian women face unimaginable challenges & degradation.
Young girls throughout Asia are abducted and forced into a life of prostitution, with every agonizing day one step closer to an early death from AIDS.
Widows in India bear the blame for their husband’s death. They’re shunned by their communities, rejected by their families and forced into an inhumane lifestyle. Tens of thousands take their own life just to end the pain.
Every year in India more than 7,000 women are doused with kerosene and burned to death—by their husbands. The wife’s crime: an insufficient dowry.

It is no surprise that the suicide rate among young women in India is ten times higher than the world’s average.

These are but a few of the tragic conditions faced by millions of Asian women. They are trapped in a never-ending cycle of misery. Utterly without hope.

Yet today, in the midst of a hopeless situation, there is glorious hope.

Through the heroic efforts of 2000 women missionaries like Jalem who have dedicated their lives to bringing God’s love to the women of Asia, we can reach them. In many Asian cultures, genders rarely mix, so traditional male missionaries are severely limited in ministering to women. However, it is possible to send trained, dedicated women missionaries to reach the millions who still wait to hear that they are precious to Jesus.
After three years of intense training, GFA-supported missionaries like Jalem are driven by a passion: to relieve the pain and suffering of women of Asia by introducing them to the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. They heroically face persecution, beatings and imprisonment to tell hurting women like Sena about a Saviour who offers hope for eternity, and strength for today.
Hundreds of thousands of Asian women’s lives are being transformed by GFA’s dedicated women missionaries, but millions more still wait.
Every day in South Asia, nearly 80,000 precious souls perish without knowing Christ’s love. We must send more missionaries.

Would you consider sending one of these dedicated Women Missionaries today?  You can enable her reach other Asian women with the love of Christ. For just £20 a month you can sponsor a missionary today.  Please go to (copy and paste):

http://www.gfauk.org/sponsor/SearchResults?bt=Missionary&gender=F.

Priorities??

I'm gutted; devastated; despairing; and despondent.  I don't know how I am going to survive the next seven-and-a-half years (or even, of course, if I will!!).  Yes, you've probably all heard the news - England will not be hosting the 2018 World Cup (soccer!).

Those who know me will realise that the two opening sentences were typed with my tongue very firmly in my cheek!  I can't stand that particular form of football.  I'd much rather watch a man's game - rugby football - than a bunch of over-paid prima donnas prancing around a field and displaying their 'manly' chests if they happen to kick the ball into the net - well, as long as it's their opponents' net!  Actually, for those who might be interested, England are already confirmed as the hosts of the 2015 Rugby World Cup in Sept/Oct of that year - and without a fraction of the over-priced hype that has gone into the defeated bid for the soccer equivalent.

Yes - £15 million worth of hype, at a time when the country is only beginning to drag itself out of recession.  I'm no economist, so am unable to provide accurate figures, but I wonder how many nurses, police officers, teachers, etc could have been retained in post with that amount of money!

And, it would appear, there is no gracious acceptance of the decision.  Oh no!  It must have been a stitch-up; the Russian mafia must have been involved; it's the fault of the BBC for airing a controversial edition of Panorama.  One gentleman, on this evening's Six o'clock News on the BBC even made a comment to the effect that England shouldn't apply again, until they could be certain that they would win!!

Of course, if we make idols of people or events, we are guaranteed to be let down.  There is only One Who can be depended upon; Who will never let us down; Who is faithful to the end.  That One is Jesus. The life that He gives is already paid for, by Him, on the cross at Calvary.  He demands your life, and mine, in return - but that's a trade well worth making.  As we approach the time when we celebrate His Incarnation, may we remember that a Christmas without Christ really is meaningless!  Give Him the priority on your life - you'll never regret it!

STOP PRESS! - Scotland win World Cup!!!!!!!

Well, who would believe it? But it's true. Of course, it isn't that World Cup (even I know that Scotland didn't even qualify!). However, it was an item on this evening's Reporting Scotland - and would anyone dare to doubt the word of Jackie Bird?!!

The World Cup that was won was, I am sorry to have to say, only the "Impersonating Elvis" one - won by a gentleman from Clackmannanshire. We didn't see his full act but, for my own money, the one who appears in the Friends series - before/after the advertising break - is actually much better!

But it did make me think. A prize for impersonating Elvis - the 'king' of pop(ular music of the time!). Paul, that prominent missionary/evangelist in the early Christian Church, mentions the idea of imitating on a number of occasions and, while the two words aren't fully synonymous, there is sufficient similarity to make a valid point.

Writing to the Corinthian believers, Paul says, "I urge you, then, be imitators of me." (I Cor.4:16). I could go for that! Being responsible for the planting of so many fellowships of believers; writing such letters as become books of the Bible - the very Word of the Living God, breathed through me; working miracles; testifying before kings and governors! Imitate Paul - that's something worth doing!

However, a little later in the same letter, he modifies this charge, and does so quite significantly! "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.(11:1). So the challenge, now, is not merely to imitate Paul who, as a mere man was, like me, still a sinner - albeit 'saved by grace'. Now the challenge is to imitate him, only insofar as he is imitating the Lord Jesus! "Who", we may well ask - as he does himself in his other preserved letter to the young Corinthian church - "is sufficient for these things?" (2:16)! To live a sinless life; to always be in the centre of the Father's will; to control the very elements; to give my life, as a willing sacrifice, for others.

Then, writing to the Ephesian church, he urges, "... be imitators of God, as beloved children." (5:1). Have you ever watched a child grow up? Adults have to be careful what they say, and do, in front of them - they are such imitators! We're seeing this, on a regular basis, with our grandson - and it's all part of the learning process! But to imitate Father God in this way! To imitate all of His perfection; to have the very mind of Jesus; to love with an everlasting love!

Paul makes other, equally challenging, references, to imitating - but that will do for now. It should be the goal of everyone who has entered into a living, and loving, and saving, relationship with God, through the Lord Jesus, to be imitators of the saving God. We may not win a 'World Cup'. But, as Paul reminded the Philippian disciples of Jesus, there is a prize! It's "... the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil.3:14). It's the prize for imitating the King of kings! And that's a prize that lasts - not just for time, but for eternity. Let's go for it!