At Home with God

  Big events require big monuments (or mementos). When you spend lots of money to go on the holiday of a lifetime or see the concert you have longed to see without taking home a memento of that time.  Whether it is the photos that you have taken or heap tat from a gift shop a wise person will find a way to bottle some of the memories of the time. God specifically instructs the Israelites to keep a memento of key events in the Bible. For example, God told the Israelites to collect up stones when they passed through the river Jordan on their way to Jericho (Joshua 3). God himself placed a memorial in the form of a rainbow to promise that he would never flood the earth again. Of course mementos are not just there to remember the good times, they are also there to remember the harder times and serve as a warning and a way of counting blessings into the future. The simple act of wearing a poppy on remembrance Sunday to remember those who gave their lives to fight for our freedom he...

In the light of the recent coronavirus outbreak, many churches are changing the way they connect together. For many this means no meetings on a Sunday for a season and even no small group gatherings. What can you do to make the most of this time as a family and grow spiritually? Jesus often withdrew to a lonely place to pray and it seems that for many of us we are entering a season of withdrawing from others. Whilst others are fighting to keep this country going, let's make the most of this season to seek God's face, grow closer to Him and build His kingdom. Whilst there are many new stresses and routines have been broken , let's not forget that we serve a great God and now is the time for the church to rise up and shine for Jesus. Many families will be spending a lot more time together, whilst others will be working at full stretch to keep our country going. In times when a nation is in crisis, it is vitally important that we seek God. This is an opportunity for the...

Halloween conjures up all sorts of thoughts feelings and fears for people. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has sat at home, willing my doorbell not to ring on 31st October. Every year children of all age groups are dressed up in costumes which are scary even for adults, and then knock on the doors of total strangers and ask for sweets or a trick will be played on them. My concern as a mum was that my children would see these graphic masks and struggle to sleep with these images in their mind. I would usher my children away from the door and tell them not to look out of the window so they didn't see the costumes people were wearing. Then God stopped me in my tracks..... 'These people are coming to your door, wanting something from you, why don't you give them Me?' Of course, I realised, I was missing out on the best evangelism opportunity of the year. All these children and families who were innocently coming to my door not really understanding what they...

Christmas has been commercialized: decorations, lights and cards that have little to do with the real meaning of Christmas and can all serve as a distraction from Jesus. Deuteronomy 11:18-20 says that we are to constantly teach children and talk to them about Jesus throughout the whole year and it instructs us to write these things on door frames of your houses. Our homes should be the centre piece of faith development. Christmas time is a time when we should be more intentional so faith is not buried under the wrapping of Christmas. So here are seven thoughts, in no particular order, about how to do this.   1.  Be intentional about keeping Jesus centre. The main thing is to keep the main thing as the main thing. Build into your Christmas routine things that intentionally keep Jesus at the centre. Plan both in the time of advent and on Christmas day itself to keep definite signposts to Jesus. You would not have a birthday party where the celebrant is ignored by all, inst...

So Jesus was born in a stable because there was no room in the inn. The little town of Bethlehem could find nowhere for this young couple. This is the story our children will act out in nativity plays across our nation. The angry innkeeper with the synthetic beard shouting “Go away” as he slams the door in the face of the young couple. (Usually ‘Mary’ has a cushion shoved up her jumper for special effects). But it’s not what really happened. Earlier this year I had the privilege of going to Lebanon and meeting some of the most hospitable people on this planet. Middle Eastern culture would not reject a pregnant lady and expect her to stay on the streets to give birth. Not only that, but Joseph was also a descendant of David. He would have been in a celebrity in Bethlehem, David’s town, where some distant relatives would still have lived. When it says there was no room in the inn, the word for inn is  katalyma . This is the same word that was used for the place where Jesus...