Observing Advent – Part 3

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Photo Credit: Unity Church Albany, New York

As I’ve continued to read, pray and meditate on Advent this past week, I’ve been struck by the sheer humbleness of Jesus’ entry into the world.

“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7 NKJV)

Jesus, the Bible tells us, was born in a manger.

What’s a manger?

I’ve grown up with the classic Sunday school nativity scene picture of the cute wooden cot-like construction filled with hay or whatever making it appear pretty standard for babies born in those times.

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Let’s #LIVEWONDERSTRUCK this Christmas

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Photo Credit: Worthy Publishing

In my last post on Advent I mentioned how on the night Jesus was born a group of shepherds tending their flocks, in the still of the night, received a visitor.

No ordinary visitor, but “the angel of the Lord.”

An angel has never visited me but I expect it would be mind-boggling and indeed frightening. This is confirmed in the first 2 chapters of Luke where Zechariah, then Mary, then Joseph (this is actually in Matthew 1) and finally, the shepherds, all received such a visitation. In each situation, the angel’s first few words included: “Do not be afraid.” So obviously each individual needed some reassurance.

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Observing Advent – Part 2

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Photo Credit: Wikipedia

I continue to reflect upon the “coming” of Jesus as the days draw closer to the celebration of His birth. If you missed my first post on advent, you can find it here.

As I meditate on a number of different perspectives and on Scripture, I was particularly struck this week by how God chose some pretty anonymous people to play significant roles in the birth of Jesus.

There’s Mary, who was a young teenager, when Gabriel visited to tell her she would be birthing the greatest human to have ever lived. God, in fact.

The shepherds were tending their sheep on the night Jesus was born. I understand the occupation of shepherd was considered a quite lowly one in Jewish society at that time. But it was they, who received the visit from an angel of the Lord, and “the glory of the Lord shone around them.” (Luke 2:9) No wonder Scripture describes them as being “greatly afraid.”

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5 Favourite Secular Thriller Writers

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This is the third post in this series on some of my favourite books. You can find the first 2 posts on these links: Favourite Classics and Favourite Christian novels.

“Secular” reflects the market these novelists address and in no way is meant to be any assessment of their spiritual leaning.

At a young age I read a lot of Agatha Christie WhoDunnits plus a bunch of action adventure books, which likely fuelled a passion for thrillers.

Thrillers are my preferred genre to read. I use the term “Thrillers” fairly loosely as in my mind it can relate to suspense, action adventure, mystery, speculative and even fantasy.

It was much harder for me to decide on actual novels due to the large volumes produced by some of my favourite thriller authors. So I’m actually going to focus on the author.

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Daily Habits

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Photo Credit: http://www.daff.qld.gov.au

I heard a great analogy the other day for why we need to draw close to the Lord every day.

Weeds.

Weeds grow, not through anything we actively do, but through us leaving our garden unattended. They simply sprout and before too long, if untreated, can consume a garden, making it both visually unattractive, but also can kill off the good plants, lawn and flowers, we may have painstakingly planted.

What’s also interesting about weeds is they can develop some very strong root-systems if allowed to grow freely for too long which can be very hard to dislodge.

The effect of not drawing close to Jesus on a daily basis can be similarly destructive to our hearts.

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Observing Advent

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Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Advent means “coming”. It is a season many Christians practice for the four weeks prior to Christmas. According to Wikipedia it is “a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. The season offers the opportunity to share in the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah, and to be alert for His Second Coming.”

I’ve never thought much about Advent. I’m not sure why. But this year I decided I would. Any practice that helps me reflect more on Jesus is a good one.

I’m using three devotionals during my quiet times, all of which bring a slightly different perspective and use different Bible verses to reflect on Jesus.

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5 Favourite Christian Novels

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Continuing the series on my favourite books, I thought I’d share my favourite Christian novels. It’s possible the authors may not like me categorising their novels in such a way. However, I’d suggest the majority of the readers of these novels are Christians and hence, I am using the “market” as the method of categorisation.

As an aside it’s an interesting question. Am I a Christian author or an author who writes with a Christian viewpoint? I really don’t mind how I am classified. First and foremost, I consider myself a Christian who is an author. Could I write a novel without a strong Christian viewpoint? I’m not sure and at this time I don’t have any plans to write anything that doesn’t have such a message.

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An Apparent Contradiction?

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Photo Credit:Bible-daily.org

One aspect of the Christian faith that I’ve always found challenging is that we are made with a yearning to know our Creator. However, at the same time, Paul tells us that in our fallen state we cannot accept the ways of God.

The other day I read a great simple statement:

Most people believe in God but don’t believe God.

As I meditated on that statement, I soon realised this was the answer to my quandary.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecc 3;11 NIV)

One interpretation I take from Solomon’s statement above is that idea of God placing a yearning for Him within our hearts. Perhaps that’s why we so many of us in the western developed world “believe in God”.

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“A Man after God’s Own Heart”, RT Kendall

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Photo Credit: RT Kendall Ministries

A fabulous biography of King David.

This is a book of sermons. RT Kendall delivered these sermons to his congregation over an 18 month period in the late 1980s.

Don’t be thinking they are stuffy or dull. Far from it. Kendall delves deeply into the heart and character of the key people in the 2 books, but particularly David. His style is always engaging using easy to understand language and plenty of examples from his own life.

Each of the 64 chapters is relatively short, focusing usually on one particular aspect of the story. It is in no way a verse-by-verse commentary. It reads like a biography.

What we see in David is a man, very human, regularly making mistakes by choosing his own way rather than seeking the Lord’s counsel. But there was this humility and adoration for the Lord that is hard to ignore. His faith is a great model for us.
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“The Prayer of the Lord”, RC Sproul

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Photo Credit: Ligonier Ministries

A small book packed full of punch.

Jesus gave us the example for prayer by way of the Lord’s Prayer in Luke and Matthew. RC Sproul provides a powerful insight into each of the verses of this very short prayer. This insight has helped refine my prayer life.

Too often our prayer life can become very self-focused, however, Jesus demonstrates that it should be centred on the glory of God. Praise and adoration can sometimes be difficult. But I find when I start thanking and praising God my heart softens as I turn my attention to Him and off myself.

Then true relationship can commence.

Each verse has its own short chapter that is easy to read.

This is beautifully written and I’ll be encouraging friends to read it.

I rated it 5/5.