I am........the reason for the season!

As we approach Christmas it is good to put aside the food, gifts and family time to focus on the "reason for the season" the Lord Jesus Christ. To not focus first and foremost on Christ takes the Christ out of Christmas and you end up with a ..............mas. A time without meaning beyond the temporal.

Todays writer Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) writes a style of metaphor common to the Middle Ages and foreign to post reformation Christians about the "The Bridge". While difficult understand to it creates a word picture of Jesus being a bridge through the cross to "the Father". Which for us is good to focus on in this Christmas season. You may say but that is an Easter theme and to a certain extent is true. But for me if  we don't acknowledge the work of the cross then the significance of Christmas does not make complete sense. The Father sent has Son so that we might be reunited with him. This begins with one the most significant events in human history........... the birth of the Christ Child, Immanuel "Christ with us"

Jesus said of himself That I AM the way the truth and the life. We could do to focus on that this season . He is the only way to the Father, He is the truth that will show you the way and lastly he is the life that you will gain on the way as you on Christlikeness. In an age were Hope is in short supply for many this is a story of hope and redemption that we cannot afford to put off to the side.

As Richard Foster commented Catherine's work has echoes in the 20th Century in the Simon and Garfunkel song Bridge over troubled if we use that as an analogy it may become clearer. Jesus indeed is our bridge in the troubled world we live in.

May you have blessed time with you those you love this Christmas but...................acknowledge your "first love" then all will be well whatever happens!

I love that bottom  statement about what you are hear!. What you listening for this Christmas?

Hidden and not so hidden dangers

Our Christianity today can be put into very positive terms a lot of the time, but are their hidden dangers. This weeks author  who wrote Christian Perfection thinks so. John Wesley is the well known as a founding father of modern Methodism. His work is practical advice for those seeking perfection. This however did not mean to Wesley that we had become sinless but had desire to be fully in love God with one's whole heart, soul,mind and strength.

The first of his dangers is Pride:
He states that the advice he would give to those who are saved by grace was watch and pray continually against pride. For it is pride not only to ascribe what we have to ourselves, but also think we have what we do not. I find this last part of the statement really interesting that we think we have what we do not. I think this is a very real potential for the modern church. We think we are in a better place than we possibly are. Certainly food for thought there.

The second of his dangers is enthusiasm:
I must admit I was a little perplexed when I first read the title of enthusiasm. However reading on made more sense.

He entitled enthusiasm the daughter of pride is enthusiasm where ascribe everything to God , supposing visions dreams and voices to special revelations that God has given you. While they may be from God they may also be from the Devil. He stressed the need to test every spirit. I can attest to this one I once bought a car because of a dream and it ended up costing us a fortune in the long run. possibly not from God. Because I usually didn't have dreams I could remember I assume it it was from God..................maybe not, may be just a little over enthusiastic.

I have only chosen a couple more as being relevant to todays church.

Next we have the dangers of Sins of Omission:
This is avoiding doing good when we have the opportunity......................according to Wesley we need to zealous for good works Give no place to laziness. Are we lazy in the outworking of our faith? A Sound and important question................. Faith without works is dead - James

The last danger for today is desiring to do anything but God.
Jesus said "If your eye remains single your whole body will be full of light"

Do not allow the desire for tasteful food or other pleasures of the senses to rule you, the desire of pleasing of the eye or imagination, the desire for money praise or power to rule you. While you have the ability to feel these desires, you are not compelled to feel them Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made you free. In an age where distractions abound it is good advice to put Christ in the centre of our lives. It kind of goes with Paul's statement all things are permissible, but not all are useful. The key statement for me in Wesley's thoughts are the three words to rule over you. With Jesus Christ at the Centre that can not happen, however with ourselves at the centre distractions can easily reign over us.

These may seem old fashioned thoughts but are indeed wisdom that the modern church would benefit from. May be we should be looking for perfection in Wesley's terms.

God’s Economy?

In establishing the Church of the Saviour, Elizabeth O’Conner explained they needed to establish how future church members would handle money. Would they tithe, would they tithe and add some? Would it be up to the individual?

They decided to ask Reinhold Niebuhr an eminent theologian his opinion of their thoughts. He came with the concept of proportionate giving: “We covenant with Christ and one another to give proportionately beginning with a tithe of our incomes.”

I am just going to use Elizabeth’s words here because I can do no better:

“None of us has to be an accountant to know what 10% of our gross income is, but each of has to be on our knees before God if we are to understand our commitment to proportionate giving.

Proportionate to what? Proportionate to the accumulated wealth of one’s family? Proportionate to one’s income and the demands upon it, which vary from family to family? Proportionate to one’s sense of security and the degree of anxiety with which one lives? Proportionate to the keenness of our awareness of those who suffer? Proportionate to our sense of justice and God’s ownership of all wealth? Proportionate to our sense of stewardship for those who follow after us? And so on and so forth. The answer of course is in proportion to all of these things.” – Elizabeth O’Connor

These thoughts are challenging given the modern Christian environment we move in. I do know of churches that would subscribe to this style of economic thinking……………what about you?