Musings

For many of us, the Christmas story reads like a myth. That is why increasing numbers omit the ‘Christ’ component of Christmas and will celebrate X, Y and Zmas as they see fit. C.S. Lewis concluded: * "Now the story of Christ is simply a true myth: a myth working on us in the same way as the others, but with this tremendous difference that it really happened : and one must be content to accept it in the same way, remembering that it is God’s myth where others are men’s myths…" Men’s myths usually have no real geographical location, whereas God’s 'myth' does. Just in passing, increasing archaeological discoveries in Jerusalem continue to prove the historicity of the Bible. As I stood in the Shepherds’ Field outside of Bethlehem back in September of this year, it was deeply moving to relive in my mind the events of Luke 2: 8-20. What a privilege to stand in the actual place where the ‘glory of the Lord’ shone around the shepherds as they received the he...

Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. Luke 1:38 Mary did not hesitate to accept the * rhema word of the Lord when the angel Gabriel appeared to her. The news of the miracle which would take place in her womb was undoubtedly strange to her ears: And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name  Jesus . He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.   Luke 1:31-32   She could have doubted that it would come to pass as the angel said or she could have presented the case from her point of view: I'm not married! What will Joseph think? It's going to be a scandal! I could be stoned to death! Instead, Mary received the rhema word by faith and humility. Gabriel tells her she is 'highly favoured' and when we consider how mortals can please God, we find the answer in Hebrews 11:6:  But withou...

FOR YOU from Matti Haapoja on Vimeo . When is the last time you allowed yourself to sit in silence and think? When did you last block out the sound of traffic, phone calls, TV, music, other voices...?  I try to do this at least once a month in Ohrid, my favourite place in Macedonia. It is amazing to sit in the peace and tranquility of Caneo with a spectacular view of the lake on all sides.  Church of St John, Caneo, Ohrid Recently, I sat there for a long time looking across to the Albanian mountains, contemplating, reflecting and communing with my Creator. God's voice is louder in the silence, His presence tangible. Here I come face to face with eternity. The noise and bustle of life will cease one day and we will stand before the Prince of Peace. He offers us eternal peace through the gift of Salvation which Jesus paid with His blood. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and we can only come to the Father through Him. I am so grateful that He lives in my he...

We often underestimate the power of our words. Proverbs 18:21 states that death and life are in the power of the tongue. Our words can destroy or build! My reading this morning included the following verse: Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. Ephesians 4:29 Wow - do my words 'impart grace to the hearers'? Challenged this morning! Let us build one another up with our words rather than tear one another into shreds. I am reminded of Psalm 45:2 'Grace is poured upon Your lips' regarding the Messiah and how the Gospels record that the people were 'amazed at the gracious words that came from His lips.' The Psalmist prayed: Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. Psalm 141:3. May it be so today!  Blessings. 

Библијата е од Бога вдахновена и затоа има тежина поголема од секоја друга книга на земјата. Она што е напишано во неа е вистината. Таа вистина нема да се промени ниту да стане невалидна. Кога оваа земја нема да постои повеќе, Библијата и понатаму ќе постои (Исаија 40:8). Кога нашиот Создател нѐ направи, сакаше да знаеме како да имаме вечно заедништво со Него. Библијата е еден вид на упатство со инструкции за нашиот духовен, морален и практичен живот. Библијата ни објаснува како да добиеме вечен живот иако ни е кажано од многу теолози дека тоа не се знае дури сме живи. Мојата Библија ми кажува друго! Не можам да потенцирам доволно колку е важно да го читаме ова љубовно Писмо од нашиот небесен Татко за да го разбереме она што Бог ни кажува. Како да добијам вечен живот според Исус ? Исус спомнува вечен живот често пати во четирите Евангелија, посебно во Евангелието според Јован:   Зашто Бог толку го  возљуби светот, што Го даде Својот Единороден Син, та секој, кој веру...

How painful to watch the escalating tension currently in Israel which has led to numerous stabbings and attacks. I have just returned from Jerusalem where some friends and I witnessed a confrontation between Palestinian women and the police at Lion's Gate. We quickly sized up the situation and made a hasty retreat but were somewhat shaken by the intensity of the affray. It was only a few days later when a Palestinian stabbed two Israelis and started shooting wildly into the crowd at this very spot. The stabbings have continued daily throughout the city since this incident.   I appeal to my Christian friends to continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May the anger be restrained! We know terrorism changes nothing, but only deepens the wounds which already exist.  I grew up in N.Ireland during the Troubles and can testify that three decades of terrorism changed nothing politically! Hurt was added to hurt, families were broken, fear increased and daily life was frequentl...

The Bible has much to say about peace. The focus of my reading this morning was Isaiah 26:3 - You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You - in both inclination and character], because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation] . Amplified Bible What is rendered 'perfect and constant peace' in the AMP is actually 'shalom shalom' in Hebrew. The following comment from Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible sums it up succinctly: The word "perfect" is not in the Hebrew text, it is there "peace, peace"; which is doubled to denote the certainty of it, the enjoyment of it, and the constancy and continuance of it; and as expressive of all sorts of peace, which God grants unto his people, and keeps for them, and them in; as peace with God and peace with men, peace outward and peace inward, peace here and peace hereafter; and particularly it denotes t...

During the few decades of my Christian life, I have come to understand that God takes great note of how we treat others. When we read and study the Bible, God's heart is revealed in over 2000 verses concerning the poor and needy of this world. In the Old Testament, one of God's laws was for landowners to leave part of the harvest at the edge of the fields for the poor to gather (Leviticus 23:22). The little book of Ruth contains a well-known portrayal of this principal.                                                             The Gleaners, Millet. The opening verses of Psalm 41 promise a blessing to those who consider the weak/poor: Blessed is he who has regard for the weak ('dal'  meaning dangling, lean, thin, poor, needy); the LORD delivers him in times of trouble. The LORD will protect him and preserve his life; he will...

When life looks like this: Кога животот изгледа така: GOD IS THERE! БОГ Е ПРИСУТЕН! And on the mountain-top experiences: И во врвните доживувања:  GOD IS THERE! БОГ Е ПРИСУТЕН! When you just want to chill: Кога сакаш да се отпуштиш: GOD IS THERE! БОГ Е ПРИСУТЕН! When you feel the whole world is against you: Кога мислиш дека целиот свет е против тебе: GOD IS THERE! БОГ Е ПРИСУТЕН! When others laugh at your ideas and dreams: Кога другите се потсмеваат на твоите идеи и соништа: GOD IS THERE! БОГ Е ПРИСУТЕН! You see, he has promised that He'll never leave you nor forsake you! Take heart and believe Him for everything. HE IS ALWAYS THERE! Знаеш, тој вети дека нема да те остави, нема да те напушти! Охрабри се и верувај Му за сѐ. ТОЈ Е СЕКОГАШ ПРИСУТЕН!

Дали сме свесни дека Творецот на целиот универзум ни испрати љубовно писмо на земјата? Библијата која била напишана во текот на 1500 години од најмалку 40 различни писатели, е најважната и најскапоцената книга што можеме да држиме во нашите раце. Самата Библија ни вели: Целото Писмо е од Бога вдахновено и е полезно за поука, за изобличување, за поправање и за воспитување во правдата ... 2 Тимотеј 3:16 Апостолот Петар објаснува: ...никогаш пророштвото не дошло од човечка волја туку светите Божји луѓе зборувале носени од Светиот Дух . 2 Петрово 1:21 На тој начин Светото Писмо било напишано кога Светиот Дух им зборувал на писателите и тие го напишале она што им било речено. Живиот Бог сакаше да ни пренесе една многу важна порака и начинот беше преку една книга. Кога читаме за историјата на Библијата, гледаме дека имало многу обиди да се уништи секој нејзин примерок но Бог ја чувал на чудесен начин преку Евреите, апостолите, раните христијани и црквата. Колку луѓе се умрени во ...

The works of His hands are faithful and just; all His precepts are trustworthy. Psalm 111:7 I read the Psalms every day because of their poetic beauty and depth. Mostly, they are an outpouring of praise from profound, personal experience. Praise which comes from the inner recesses of the heart is a true exaltation of God. The desperate cry of the overwhelmed heart is also manifest within the Psalms, which again is an honest expression of the human experience. Just in passing, the Bible as a whole makes no attempt to appear as a religious book. It is an accurate unfolding of the story of humanity with all its depravity and human weakness recorded. As I read Psalm 111 recently, verse 7 caught my attention: the work of His hands are faithful and just. The very first time I ever felt conscious of God was at the age of eight while looking at the night sky. I would call this moment 'surprised by beauty'. I could literally feel the presence of God while marvelling at ...