Happy Christmas!

Here I am, in between the early evening Christmas Eve worship service in Wishaw Baptist Church, and the Watchnight Service in Motherwell's Dalziel St Andrew's Church. It was good to see some local visitors at WBC - and even one young girl from Perth (that's the one in western Australia!).  One can't travel much further than that for a Christmas Eve Service!

So what is Christmas all about?  It's a question that has been asked, and answered many times - and that's just by me! For so many, Christmas means little, if anything, other than holidays; fun and festivities; an excuse – as if one were actually needed – for a good booze-up.  For others, it’s a time for the children, for the family, for “..peace on earth, goodwill towards men..” – at least for a couple of days! A poem, written by an old friend of mine, caused me to ask the question – “What does Christmas mean to the Christ, Himself?  What does Jesus think of this season, when we celebrate His birth into the world as a human child?  In other words, “What’s it really all about?”

Perhaps we need to see the whole story!  It starts with the crib in which the Babe was laid. This, of course, is the easy part of the story.  It’s the sweet, sentimental part that surely all, except the Dickensian Scrooges, love. 

Almost everyone has a soft spot for a baby.  And if that baby is born, in seemingly romantic surroundings; heralded by supernatural events; surrounded by gentle animals, by lowly shepherds, by noble kings; with the snow lying softly all around – well, even without Santa Claus and his flying reindeer, who could resist an ‘Oooh!’, or an ‘Aaah!’?

But is that really what it was like in that stable in Bethlehem, some 2,000 years ago?  The answer, of course, is 'No!'  It was not the clean, bright, airy, freshly-strawed, building depicted in so many Nativity scenes, and Christmas cards.  Rather, it would have been a dirty, dark, damp, smelly area, probably underneath the inn itself and, doubtless, in need of a good clean-out.  Not as attractive a picture as the one the sales people like to portray!  More like the pictures we see on our television screens, of refugees, and other types of victim: some of them barely clinging to life: in U.N. tents, or maybe just a ramshackle structure of corrugated iron and cardboard: rain, and mud, and snow, and ice: a lack of fresh, clean water; of nourishing food; of even the most basic sanitary arrangements. No!, not a pretty picture.  But is it not much more symbolic of our sin-ridden world; our sin-stained selves?  And doesn’t the recorded fact that “..there was no room in the inn.” symbolise humanity’s rejection of the very Incarnation of Almighty God?  Now there’s a Christmas thought!

But every good story has a middle as well as a beginning.  And the middle of this story concerns the cross to which the Saviour was nailed.  The Babe in His crib grew, as children do and, in time, He became an itinerant Preacher, preaching a message of repentance for, He said, “The Kingdom of God is among you.”  He preached God’s Word, without fear of man and, as had always happened before – and has always happened since – He became very unpopular with those in authority, the religious leaders of the time.  And so “... they watched Him, and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might take hold of what He said, so as to deliver Him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.”  And later, we read that “…the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put Him to death.”  And, in that way that authority has, they achieved their goal.  After a mockery of a trial; a total travesty of normal justice; we read that Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, “…delivered (Jesus) up to their will.”  “And when they came to the place which is called ‘The Skull’, there they crucified Him.”

However, the Cross of Calvary was no cheap Cross.  God, the Son, gave up His throne in glory to come and live in this world of sin, and to give His life “a ransom for many”.  There was nothing cheap about what He did for you, and for me.  And when He calls us to take up our cross and follow Him,it is not to an easy way – but to one that is filled with the light of His Presence, and with opportunities to serve Him.

Yes, the Babe of Bethlehem became the Christ of Calvary.  And if we come only to Bethlehem; if we stop at the manger; we see only the beginning of the story.  Oh, I know that many find it uncomfortable to lift their eyes from the crib, to the Cross.  But we must do so, if we’re going to even begin to see the whole story.  At Bethlehem, we see Love’s Gift; at Calvary, we see Love’s Sacrifice.
However, after the beginning, and the middle, a story has an ending.  And this, the greatest story ever told, is no exception.  So, we discover that there's a crown with which the King will come. 

The Second Coming of the Christ still doesn’t receive a fraction of the attention which is given to the celebrations of His first coming.  And this is understandable.   For the Scriptures make clear that, while at His first coming, Jesus appeared as a helpless Babe, in a fodder-trough, in a byre; at His Second Coming, He will appear in all of His glory, and majesty, accompanied by a mighty shout, the sound of a trumpet, a host of angels.

Two thousand years ago, He came to save; next time, He will come to judge.  And so, people tend to push this aspect of the story to the side.  A little Baby they feel they can handle; but the crowned King of Glory?! – well, now, that’s a different matter altogether!  And man’s ostrich-like syndrome is displayed, as he hides from the fact, in the vain hope that it will go away!

We do ourselves, let alone Jesus, no service at all if we fail to look beyond the coming, to the coming again, and remember that He will return, even as has been promised, to judge, and to rule.  

This is a longer-than-usual post, but I must add the poem that sparked the thoughts that I have shared:

"I see, again, the cradle, Lord, in a far-off stable bare;

I hear, once more, the cattle low as they gather round You there.

They could not have known the noble birth they witnessed in that stall;

How your short life upon this earth was forfeit for us all.

The shepherds came; the wise men, too, in answer to a star.

They saw the King of kings asleep, and spread the news afar.

But now, the Cross looms dark and tall o’er all we do and say,

For Your cruel death, nailed to that wood, grips all the world today.

Its weight, its pain, and all its power – You took upon Your Name; 

The blood that flowed, so long ago, has paid the price of shame.

Your Cross is empty now, I know, for You rose up from the tomb;

A Comforter You promised us, until again You come.

Your love – ’twas shown at Christmas-time, so many years ago,

When You came to earth, a little Child, to set each heart aglow.

It shines in every corner like the star in Bethlehem’s day,

To bring Hope and Faith, and true concern by all, for all, for aye.

The agony of the cross remains – but still its victories stay;

And, because of these, we daily strive to follow in Your way.

Revive in us, today, O Lord, the wonders of Your birth;

Let Your light shine in all, throughout the joyful, happy, mirth.

Help us to bear our cross with strength, assisting where we can

To ease the load, along the road, for all our fellowman.

Be with us now, in that same love so long ago come down.

Teach us to know the wonders of Your Crib, Your Cross, Your Crown."                                             (Alex Thomson, Retired Police Insp.)

May each person who reads this post have a wonderful Christmas, centred on the Christ Who is the reason for the season, and a new year filled with His presence in your life.

Iraq + 10

It was, as this evening's news programme reminded me, ten years ago that coalition forces invaded the sovereign country of Iraq - ostensibly to oust the dictator, Saddam Hussein; more likely, to gain control of the substantial oil reserves that lie beneath that country!

However, the news programme showed some of the aftermath of the invasion (it was never really a 'war', as no such declaration was made by either side).  We watched a soldier who, even now, flinches at the sound of a loud bang - and who has lost wife, home, family, and work, as a result of his post-traumatic stress that included seeing two of his fellow-soldiers die beside him.  Another, who was paralysed from the waist down when he was shot in the back, is now able to walk - but with pain - and is happily married.  Reasonably normal, one might think - except that he confided that, every time he sees his own reflection, he is reminded of the two comrades who died  saving his life!

As I watched, and sympathised (I am not in a position, thankfully, to fully empathise!) I couldn't help thinking that this was all the result of former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, with his dossier on Weapons of Mass Destruction, and his ten (or was it fifteen?) minute warning.  Of course, to this day, I am unaware of any weapons of mass destruction ever having been uncovered, and the ten/fifteen minute warning was as much a figment of the imagination as the WsMD.  The dossier was, later, shown to have been based on knowingly faulty intelligence - but it suited Mr Bliar (not a typo!) to accept it.

And what of the aforementioned former politician?  Oh well, far from suffering from any stress or injury, he swans around, a multi-millionaire, still being féted by others of his own ilk.  It's an unfair world - but I am happy that, one day (and it may be very soon) there will be a truly new world order when Jesus the Christ takes His own to meet with Him "in the air" (I Thess.4:17) and, seven years later, return as Judge (Jude 15). 

As the song-writer put it: "What a day, glorious day, that will be"!

It is well with my soul!

In common, I suspect, with many disciples of Jesus, I have a lot of songs - both from many years ago, and from more recent times - that I really love, and that speak very powerfully to me.  However, if I was obliged to choose just one as my very most favourite ever, it would be the one written in the 19th century by Horatio G Spafford - "When peace, like a river". 

The story behind the writing of the song is very poignant.  Mr Spafford, a lawyer by profession, lived in Chicago with his wife and four daughters.  One day, in 1873, he stood on the quayside and bade farewell to his family as they set sail for Europe in order to visit relatives.  Some days later, as their ship was bound for the French port of Le Havre, it collided with another steamship in mid-Atlantic, and sank almost immediately.  Before it did so, however, Mrs Spafford was able to pray with her children and commit them to the Lord whom they all loved, and sought to serve.  The mother was eventually rescued - but the four children perished.  When she reached the U.K., she sent a telegram to her husband with just two words - "Saved alone".

It was three years later that Horatio Spafford wrote that great hymn.  The initial reference  to "sorrows like sea billows" takes on a whole new meaning when we are aware of the story behind them; but the basic message is that in whatever circumstances we may find ourselves, the same God who sustained Horatio Spafford and his wife is ready, willing, and able to sustain us as well.

However, it's the third and last verses that touch my heart most.  v.3 reads: "My sin - Oh the bliss of this glorious thought!  My sin, not in part, but the whole is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more.  Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul"  Jesus didn't just take my worst sins; or the sins that I was unaware I'd committed; or a certain percentage of my sins.  He took them all - even those that, in this time-space dimension in which I am living out my mortal life, I have yet to commit!  Because of Him, I am free!

The last verse reads: "But Lord, it's for You - for Your coming we wait.  The sky, not the grave, is our goal.  O trump of the angel, O voice of the Lord!  Blessed hope; blessed rest of my soul."  That's why the true disciple of Jesus does not fear death.  We know that we will immediately pass through the fine barrier that separates time from eternity - and that we will be "forever with the Lord" (I Thess.4:17).

I trust that each and all who read this post have that same assurance, and can sing "It is well, it is well with my soul."

He's Coming!

It is neither my desire, nor my intention, to advertise on behalf of a well-known 'fast-food' chain! However, an advert in today's online Metro caught my eye. It is for Burger King, and the main headline reads: "HE'S COMING. 04.09.10" in very large print. At this stage, I could find no indication as to the identity of the 'HE'!

In Matthew 24, the Gospel-writer records a long discourse by the Lord Jesus, in which He speaks in private to the inner band of His disciples about His return. It's a subject for a book, not a blog-post, but just a few thoughts immediately spring to mind.

1. He's coming! The final promise in the New Testament refers to that momentous event in human history - and there are many other references throughout the foregoing pages, including Matt.24:30.

2. Burger King may be able to accurately predict when the 'He' in their advert is coming, but no-one knows when the Lord Jesus will return. "However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven, or the Son Himself. Only the Father knows." (Matt 24:36)

3. It will be sudden! "... as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes." (Luke 17:24; see also Matt.24:50). I have seen many lightning storms in my lifetime - many of them quite spectacular! I've watched, in awe, as a flash streaks across the night sky, suddenly bringing light.

4. Everyone alive on the earth at that moment, will see His return. Luke records the strange saying of Jesus that "... two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left." (Luke 17:34-36). In other words, at a time when most people believed that the world was flat, and the sun and moon travelled around it, Jesus was indicating that, at His return, some will be asleep in their beds, while others (in a different time-zone) will be at their daily work.

5. There will be signs that the time is 'close' (I put that word in single quotation marks because God's 'close' and our 'close' are not necessarily the same! See II Peter 3:8). Matt.24:6ff indicates what some of the signs will be.

6. We must be prepared before the event - it will be too late afterwards! Jesus used the illustration of the universal flood in the days of Noah. "When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah's day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn't realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes." (Matt 24:37-39). He went on to say: "So you, too, must keep watch! For you don't know what day your Lord is coming." (v. 41).

I was never a member of the Scout movement (although I have held almost every available rank in the Boys' Brigade!), but I have always liked their motto: "Be prepared". It applies to each one of us with regard to the return of Jesus - not as a helpless babe, but as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Burger King is not, I would suggest, the place in which to learn about theology, or predictive prophecy! But their current advertisement is a useful reminder: He is coming - and it may be sooner than we think!