The Christingle

Have you been to a Christingle service this year?

The Christingle service is a special service that some churches hold during advent. I’ve not been to one this year, but I used to enjoy looking forward to them as a child at primary school.

The tradition started in Germany in 1747 as a symbol of Jesus bringing light and love to the world. Over the years, the Christingle developed from a single candle with a red ribbon, to the orange we have today.

But what does the Christingle mean?

The Orange – The World

The orange represents the world. The world with all its good and bad bits. All people of the world. The world which Jesus came to save.

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

The Ribbon – Jesus’ blood

This is the reminder of the reason Jesus was born into the world: what his ultimate was. To come and die for our sins.

 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. Romans 5:6 – 9

The Candle – Jesus is the light of the world

This is part of the Christingle that has always existed. It reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world.

 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12

The Four Cocktail Sticks – The Four Corners of the World and the Four Seasons

The cocktail sticks remind us that God’s Salvation was for the whole world, and that we need to spread the message that far. The reminder of the seasons shows that God is with us through all the seasons of our lives.

For everything there is a season,
    a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
    A time to plant and a time to harvest.

 A time to kill and a time to heal.
    A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
    A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
    A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
    A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
    A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
    A time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 – 8

Dried Fruit or Sweets – God’s provision

Another reminder of how God provides for us. For all our needs, material and spiritual.

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’  These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:31 – 33

The Christingle is a good reminder of the fullness of the Christmas story. It’s not just about a little baby in a manger. There is so much more: Christmas is only part of the bigger story.

This Christmas, remember to focus on the bigger story.

And I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy Christmas and joyful New Year.

An Advent Challenge (Part 2)

As I mentioned in my previous post, this advent season I am using the Bible Society Advent Challenge to try and prepare myself for Christmas.

How is it going? Not great!

The first few challenges were fairly simple, and the fact you have a choice of three options meant that I could pick something I knew I could do.

But then I was busy over the weekend. I forgot to check the challenge for a few days, and so I felt I ought to try and complete my missed days all at once.

That didn't happen. For one thing, I forgot to make a list of what I had chosen to do, never mind finding an opportunity to complete it.

But what impact has the challenge made on my advent so far?

Well, many of the tasks have been something I would do naturally (e.g. only fill the kettle with the water you need, hold the door open for someone) but others require me to search for the opportunity to complete them or more planning to execute.

The challenge is making me think about what I’m doing on a daily basis.

But is it preparing me for Christmas? Is it making me more aware of the advent season?

No. Not by itself.

Anyone can sign up to this sort of challenge at any time of the year. The challenge in and of itself is not changing my view of advent.

What is working is that I am aware of the season and that it should mean something. By taking the challenge and wanting it to mean something, I am more aware in my daily life that advent isn't just about opening a calendar door and eating some chocolate. There is something coming; a special day when everything changed. A day when we remember God came down to make us right with him and show us how much he loved us.

While I may not be great at completing my daily advent challenge, my bigger advent challenge, to prepare for Christmas, is going much better. It may still be early days, but by seeking to make Advent mean something, I can prepare myself.

On Sunday in church, we read from Isaiah about the one come to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah.

Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,

“Clear the way through the wilderness

for the Lord!

Make a straight highway through the wasteland

for our God!

Fill in the valleys,

and level the mountains and hills.

Straighten the curves,

and smooth out the rough places.

Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

and all people will see it together.

The Lord has spoken!

(Isaiah 40:3-5, NLT)

Advent is the time to do this in our hearts; prepare ourselves for Him.

Did you sign up to any of the Advent challenges? How are you finding it? Do you feel you are preparing for the coming of Christ into our world?

An Advent Challenge

Christmas is on its way. Shops have had presents, cards, and wrapping paper in stock since late August (or so it seems), and I even saw one of my neighbours houses decorated in mid-November! But now, Advent is officially here. It’s time to get ready for Christmas.

There are many ways to celebrate advent. For many years, people have counted the days to Jesus’ birth using advent candles, advent wreaths, and (one of the most popular) advent calendars! But how about an advent challenge? Instead of opening a window and getting a chocolate, you get a challenge.

I’ve often struggled with advent and how it is meant to ‘prepare us’ for Christmas, especially with the disappearance of the word and focus solely on present, decorations and food. Most of my advents have been spent going carolling with The Salvation Army band, which is good, but could get repetitive and make the season a chore rather than a chance to reflect and prepare for Christmas in my own heart.

This year, I’ve signed up to the Bible Society’s Advent Challenge (you can sign up here). The challenges encourage you to spread generosity and do good deeds. As well as a daily challenge, there is a short thought and Bible passage to make you think about what you are doing. I’m looking forward to completing the daily challenge, and to see how taking the challenge, and reading the thought and scripture, will change my view of advent.

There are many advent challenges available to sign up to online. ALOVE UK are posting a daily advent thought on their website, and will be challenging individuals to take a picture to represent that day’s thought and share them online. Or how about an advent calendar of sound? (Found here)

However you choose to spend Advent this year, I challenge you to try something different. Sign up to a challenge and see how it impacts your advent. I’ll be sharing how my advent challenge impacts me here, so stay tuned!

Thanksgiving

On Sunday 16^th November, the Anglia Youth Chorus led the worship at Wisbech Corps. Below are the sermon notes I used.

In that day you will sing:

“I will praise you, O Lord!

You were angry with me, but not any more.

Now you comfort me.

See, God has come to save me.

I will trust in him and not be afraid.

The Lord God is my strength and my song;

he has given me victory.”

With joy you will drink deeply

from the fountain of salvation!

In that wonderful day you will sing:

“Thank the Lord! Praise his name!

Tell the nations what he has done.

Let them know how mighty he is!

Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things.

Make known his praise around the world.

Let all the people of Jerusalem[a] shout his praise with joy!

For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you.”

(Isaiah 12, NLT)

Every year in America, on the fourth Thursday in November, families and friends gather to celebrate thanksgiving with one another; a day to give thanks for all that has happened in the preceding year and the harvest that has been gathered in. It’s a time to share the joys and celebrate God’s goodness. People from all backgrounds and religions spend the day thinking about what they have to be thankful for, whether they are the wealthiest or the poorest, whether there is lots to be thankful for or little, whether they’re giving thanks for food, shelter, good things that have happened, or just the fact they’re still living.

While today we think of thanksgiving as a very American concept, throughout church history there have been ‘Days of Thanksgiving’ celebrated whenever there was a reason for national celebration. In fact, we’ve just recently celebrated one of them – Guy Fawkes Day began as a ‘Day of Thanksgiving’ for the failure of the Gunpowder Plot – giving thanks for the salvation of the King’s life and of parliament. And while we may not think of it as such, Remembrance Day is also a day of thanksgiving as well as remembrance; we’re giving thanks to those who gave their lives so we could be free.

Being thankful is still a major part of today’s culture. I’m sure we all know of the Roses advert, ‘Thank you very much for…’, and recently on social media there was a ‘thankfulness challenge’. People would have to share for five days 3 things they were grateful for on that day, and then challenge a number of friends to take part. While the movement began mainly amongst Christian people, it was not limited to them. Many people of other faiths and no faith also took part in the challenge. The challenge was supposed to reveal to people that there are many things to be thankful for; trying to create a thanksgiving mind set within themselves that would last beyond those five days.

Thanksgiving

But with everyone being thankful for things, who are we thanking? Being thankful suggests there is a person or reason giving us these things. If things come our way by chance, our thankfulness is hollow; it is more of an appreciation for what we have received than being thankful; we are happy to have it, but no one is receiving our thanks. When non-Christians are thankful for the things they experience in life, they are more focussed on the fact these things have been received by them and how good it makes them feel.

As Christians, our thankfulness is different, because we believe God has given us all these things. Our thanksgiving is part of our worship; he receives it as an act of worship from us. We should have a thanksgiving mind set towards him at all times, most importantly because there is one thing we have received from him that should cause us to be more thankful than anything else we receive.

What is it?

It’s forgiveness for our sins and salvation through his son, Jesus. By his death and resurrection, thereby paying the price for our sin, we are saved and can enter into a relationship with God.

From our reading, we can see that before we came to Jesus, God was angry, because of our sin.

Experiencing God’s Anger

Our passage from Isaiah 12 is a song of thanksgiving for salvation. At the time of writing, the people of Israel were experiencing trouble for their sins. They had not turned from their wicked ways, and so could not experience salvation. Just two chapters earlier, in Isaiah 10, the Lord is expressing his anger at the way the Israelites have behaved, but this is not the only time God gets angry with the sinful. He has always been angry with those who do not follow his laws as Paul writes in Romans 1:18 – 21:

“God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks.” (NLT)

And Paul warns that we too experience God’s anger in Romans 2:3:

“Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things?” (NLT)

When we sin, we experience God’s anger. His anger brings death, and is painful to experience. In Isaiah, God was going to send the Assyrians to punish them for their wicked ways. But for us, we experience God’s anger as a broken relationship. We can never truly have a relationship with God while his anger burns against us. 

But Isaiah 12 is not focussed on God’s anger. By the end of verse 1, God has come to bring comfort. But what has changed? What changes this anger into comfort? And how?

Experiencing God’s Power & Comfort

Verse 2 says ‘God has come to save me’. It’s Jesus. While God is angry about our sin, he loves us enough to get involved in the mess of our lives to come and rescue us himself through the death of his son Jesus.

In Isaiah 40:9-11, we read that God is coming in power to rule with a powerful arm, but he will feed his flock and hold them close. Isaiah was prophesying the coming of Jesus. When Jesus came, he came with the power to forgive sins so that we could be comforted. Our comfort cannot come before the punishment, but Jesus took that for us on the cross so that he could then be the one to offer us comfort, knowing he was the one who saves us.

Experiencing Joy

We are dependent on this grace; this gift of salvation we haven’t earned. This salvation and forgiveness are just some of the gifts we have undeservedly received from God. And in return for these things, we should live in recognition that they belong to God. When we do, we experience joy – because we know we owe God EVERYTHING.

 

When we experience the joy of salvation, we want to thank the Lord because we know we don’t deserve the rescue, but we also want to tell of his great name to those who haven’t experienced God’s salvation, and tell them what he has done. When someone becomes a Christian for the first time, they’re so joyful and thankful; they can’t help but spread the news, which is what we see described in Isaiah 12:4-6.  

Testimony of God’s presence

Isaiah knew what it was to receive forgiveness and salvation from God. He had known the salvation in his life in chapter 6; God made him clean to be his messenger. And since then, he shared God’s message with the nation. He wanted them to turn from their sin so they too could experience the joy he had found.

Those who regularly spend time with God and receive his forgiveness know what they have been saved from, the mess they make of their live; the cost of their forgiveness, the death of Jesus; and that the news must be shared with others, because it is just too good to keep to themselves. They are joyful, because they are rooted in the relationship with God that is the result of salvation.

But we can too easily loose this sense of joy and thanksgiving. When we’ve been saved a while, we can forget what it was like to be in the mess. We can forget what we have been saved from. And without recalling that experience, we forget the joy it brought into our hearts. If we don’t experience the salvation in our lives, how can we tell of it to others?

When did you last experience the power of salvation in your life? When did you last drink from the fountain of salvation? Have you ever even tasted the waters?

We need to keep coming back to the fountain. A fountain at the time Isaiah wrote would not be a fountain as we picture one, but what we may call a spring – the source of a river. A spring appears to come from nowhere, but keeps flowing. That is what salvation is like. It appears from nowhere but keeps coming. There will always be enough if you are truly sorry for your sin and want to be saved.

Jesus died so we could be saved. It is his death we should give thanks for.

God's love

For the past week, my devotional reading has been focussing on God’s passionate love for us.

Not only that, but in my small group and other church activities, the love of God has been a focus

I’ve found this frustrating.

While God is love, and he loves us, I sometimes find that we focus far too much on this (see my recent post on worship)

I think God is trying to redeem this aspect of himself in my mind.

I’ve been so concerned about what idea of ‘God loves’ creates in others’ minds, I’ve forgotten what it means to experience God’s love in my own life, and while it is an aspect of God we can get wrong sometimes, it’s something I’ve been missing out on because I’ve been so focussed on how other people see this aspect of him.

One of the passages we explored in small group was Hosea 2:14 – 20

“But then I will win her back once again.

I will lead her into the desert

and speak tenderly to her there.

I will return her vineyards to her

and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope.

She will give herself to me there,

as she did long ago when she was young,

when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt.

When that day comes,” says the Lord,

“you will call me ‘my husband’

instead of ‘my master.’

O Israel, I will wipe the many names of Baal from your lips,

and you will never mention them again.

On that day I will make a covenant

with all the wild animals and the birds of the sky

and the animals that scurry along the ground

so they will not harm you.

I will remove all weapons of war from the land,

all swords and bows,

so you can live unafraid

in peace and safety.

I will make you my wife forever,

showing you righteousness and justice,

unfailing love and compassion.

I will be faithful to you and make you mine,

and you will finally know me as the Lord.

We were asked three questions about the passage. What does this show us about God’s love? What does that mean for how we experience God’s love in our lives? And, how should we love others because of this?

The book of Hosea is a really interesting book and I really recommend you read it if you haven’t done already.

Hosea was a prophet of Israel, and God told him to marry a prostitute. God used this as an illustration for Hosea’s prophesy’s; it showed how Israel had behaved towards God and how he would rescue and redeem them, no matter how much they strayed.

These verses speak about how God still loves them and wants to bring them back into a relationship with him.

Israel had really messed up. But God still loved them.

We mess up a lot, but God still loves us and wants to restore us. We have to work hard at the relationship once we’re restored, but he still loves.

God loves by removing danger from our lives. He turns our place of trouble into a place of hope.

And we must share this love with others. By either sharing the message, or following God’s example.

As we read and discussed the passage, I became aware of situations where I had felt betrayed and let down, as Israel betrayed and let God down, but I had not forgiven. If God can forgive our betrayals, surely we can forgive others. It was hard to let go of the hurt, but it’s something I’m working on.

Is there someone you’re not forgiving and loving as God loves you?

What are you going to do about it?

Oceans

I feel led to make this post. It is a lot more personal than anything I’ve posted before, but it feels right to be posting this now.

For the past year or so, I have been struggling to hear God

I’ve not done anything differently, or done anything ‘wrong’

Nothing terribly sad or bad has happened to me or anyone I love

I’ve continued spiritual practices of reading the Bible and praying as much as I did before

But I can’t hear God

What’s even stranger, is I can hear him if he is saying something about others or for the direction my work should take.

But when it comes to hearing him personally, there is just silence.

Through this silence, the Bible passage my mind keeps being drawn to is Jesus and Peter walking on water.

My mind first began contemplating this story is a worship song by Hillsong called ‘Oceans (Where feet may fail)’. I came across it in May for the first time, and it just encapsulated what I had been experiencing in those past few months (video of music and lyrics at the end of the blog).

There are three lines from the song that resonated with me the most:

‘I will call upon your name and keep my eyes above the waves’,

‘Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders’, and

‘My faith will be made stronger in the presence of my saviour’.

Why did these resonate so much with me? What were they saying?

‘I will call upon your name and keep my eyes above the waves’

Through all this time of ‘spiritual dryness’ (not hearing from or feeling the presence of God near), I have continued to call to the Lord in prayer, but I’ve maybe not been so great at keeping my eyes above the waves.

Sometimes the waves have drawn my attention instead of God.

These words reminded me that its important to keep looking above the troubles as well as calling God’s name. How else will we know where his hand is when he comes to our help? The other advantage of keeping our eyes fixed away from the troubles is we can focus on the bigger picture, or on what God has done for us in the past. Reminding ourselves of what God has done in the past can give us new strength to keep pressing on seeking him in whatever is going on.

‘Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders’

Trust. It’s a complex thing.

How much do we trust God?

It’s easy to trust him in the good times, but is your trust without borders?

Being human, we like our borders. Borders make us feel safe.

I feel that the past few months I’ve been taken beyond my borders. Trusting God has gotten hard, particularly as he doesn’t seem to be speaking to me, except to speak to others.

The point of trust is it’s a continuous exercise. Trust is a decision that needs to be made daily, or even hourly, every moment! Deciding to trust God can be tough, but I think we can sometimes want or make the process to be more complex than it is.

All it takes is a short prayer, but prayed with conviction.

“I choose to place my trust in you God”

There. Simple.

Now, mean it.

I’m trying to pray this prayer whenever I feel my trust wavering. It’s not always easy, but it is helping.

‘My faith will be made stronger in the presence of my saviour’

How is our faith made stronger?

By spending time with the object of our faith – God.

It’s difficult to keep going with a daily prayer and Bible reading time when it feels like God isn’t there. But by pushing on with the practice and seeking God, our faith will be made stronger.

The past year or so has been difficult

But through continuing to trust and spend time with God, I know he’s still there.

I think he’s just speaking to me differently than he has before.

And I just need to learn to listen to him in a new way.

I’m not there yet, but I need to keep my eyes fixed on him, keep walking on the water, and keep my eyes above the waves.

Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves. At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water. They were scared out of their wits. “A ghost!” they said, crying out in terror.

But Jesus was quick to comfort them. “Courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.”

Peter, suddenly bold, said, “Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.”

He said, “Come ahead.”

Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!”

Jesus didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, “Faint-heart, what got into you?”

(Matthew 14:24-31, MSG)

Worship

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about worship.

(In this post, I will mainly be talking about sung worship, but the thoughts about attitude and approach to worship can cross into other forms of worship, and they are just as valid as sung worship. I’m just speaking from my own experience and personal worship style.)

At a recent Christian event I attended, the times of sung worship left me feeling frustrated after a few days.

Why?

Because we had only sung songs about what God had done for us and how he leads us out of dark times, heals us, does stuff for us.

There was nothing about how great God is, just because that’s who he is. There was nothing about how we should praise God just to praise him, because it’s demanded of us.

Don’t misunderstand me, there is nothing inherently wrong with singing songs about how God helps us in difficult times, but if that’s the only reason we’re worshipping God, then something’s gone wrong,

Singing too much about how God helped ‘me’, how ‘I’ am loved by God, etc. can affect our perception of God, and lead to us subconsciously thinking we deserve this love and assistance, either because we’re so great or that’s what God should do for those he loves.

One way to see if this falseness has entered your heart is, when things go wrong, do you get mad at God when he doesn’t instantly take everything bad away?

There was a song we used to sing when I was in Sunday School called ‘Have we made our God too small?’

God is deserving of praise and worship; not because of anything he’s done, but because he’s GOD. When we fail to worship him for who he is, we risk making him our personal genie or wishing well, and only thank him when he does something for us. We can forget he is the great I AM. The ‘I AM’ that created the universe. The ‘I AM’ that angels sing Holy, Holy, Holy before day and night. The ‘I AM’ that will one day recreate the heavens and the earth, and could easily blot us out of existence because there is no way we can be as holy as him.

We make him too small.

We still need the songs that remind us of what God has done for us, otherwise we are in danger of never coming to God because we fear he won’t care or intervene, but they need to be balanced.

Not all of us have a lot of say about the songs we sing in church on Sundays, but for those who do put the worship together, take some time to consider what message the songs you use put across to your congregation. You have a responsibility to your congregation; to ensure they are receiving good theology in every aspect of the service, not just from your sermon. Not everyone will listen to what you say, but they receive through the songs and other worship opportunities you provide. Make sure you’re clear in everything you lead.

And for those of us who don’t have a lot of say in the worship at our churches, you are responsible for how you worship during the week (yes, it’s more than a Sunday thing!). What worship songs do you listen to during the week? What Bible passages do you read? How do you worship? Take some time to consider where your heart is in worship, and whether you need to change anything.

It's time to rest. Pick up your phone

On Saturday, I attended the Youthwork Summit in Manchester. The Youthwork Summit is a one day event that features many great youth workers and Christians speaking for just 10-15 minutes on a topic (very similar to the TED conferences in USA).

For me, the most inspiring and though provoking topic was on helping young people find rest in a hyper connected culture from Sarah Percival.

With all the new ways of internet usage, how do we encourage people to find the rest God gave us in the Bible (Shabbat)?

Should we put our phones down, turn our computers off, and hide from the internet?

No.

During her talk, Sarah challenged us that instead of telling our young people to put their phones away and switch them off, to ask them how we can use them as part of our rest.

She explained how she had done this with her youth group. They opened the Bible to see what it said about rest at Exodus 20:8-11

 “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.” 

(NLT)

This passage demands 3 things from the Sabbath:

1.       Stop work

2.       Do it together

3.       Honour God.

There is no reason we can not do these 3 things on our phones.

Its about how we use them.

We need to get creative.

Sarah challenged us to take up our phones and explore Shabbat with our young people in this way. What new and exciting things may we discover about ourselves and God as we do?

There will still be moments when it is useful to switch our phones off, but have we missed something by ignoring the possibilities they present?

Share your ideas and take up the challenge of rest with your phone through the comments or the ALOVE Anglia facebook and twitter accounts.

My week #belowtheline

Last week, I completed the Live Below the Line challenge.

Over 1.2 billion people in our world live on less than £1 per day, and the live below the line challenge is about raising awareness and funds for various charities that work with these people to end the poverty.

Let me give you a summary of my week.

For the challenge, I went to Aldi and spent £4.82 on my food. This bought me:

•             1 kg porridge

•             2 tins of rice pudding

•             Jelly crystals

•             500g penne pasta

•             1kg frozen mixed veg 

•             1 loaf of white bread

•             1 pack of chocolate cookies

•             1 tin of tomato soup

•             2 jars of tomato and herb pasta sauce

•             500g of spaghetti

Then, starting Tuesday 6th May, I began my challenge.

Day 1 was not too difficult. I started with a bowl of porridge made from water (disgusting) and this kept me going fairly well. I did get peckish about 11.30 for a biscuit, but I think that was habit rather than real hunger. My lunch was half the soup, two slices

of dry toast, and two of the cookies. This was actually rather nice and I enjoyed it, although I didn’t really feel satisfied. Dinner was a big bowl of pasta with veg and the sauce followed by rice pudding. I also had 2 cookies a while after as I was feeling hungry again.

Day 2 I was at home all day, and I had very little appetite, making the challenge slightly easier. I had my porridge again, and for lunch I had four slices of dry toast. Dinner was the same, and I had 2 cookies during the day. I made up the jelly ready for tomorrow.

Day 3 was tough. I had my porridge with a side bowl of jelly (for that sweet kick), and then went to Starbucks in Peterborough for a meeting about Summer School. Being in there wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. I didn’t feel tempted by the coffee and didn’t look at the food so I couldn’t feel hungry. The problem came when the staff came round with samples of new sandwiches they have. Even though this wouldn’t ‘cost’ me anything, you cannot accept free food when living below the line. The smell was delicious and it took great effort to say ‘no thanks’. Those I was meeting with weren’t very supportive, and helped themselves! But I couldn’t really blame them. 

It was interesting to be in the city, passing café’s and shops, seeing the cost of things, and thinking how a sandwich would cost me a day or more’s worth of food. It was quite an eye-opener!

I kept focussing on eating my bread on the way home, and this got me through the meeting. When I got in, I hurriedly made my spaghetti, veg and sauce, and enjoyed this. I waited a while before having my rice pudding, but I still had a severe case of the munchies! I ended up devouring 8 (!) cookies before the end of the evening.

Day 4 began again with porridge and jelly. Lunch was the rest of the soup, two slices of toast, and two cookies, and dinner was spaghetti, veg and pasta again followed by the last of the rice pudding. A further 3 cookies were eaten.

Day 5 – I was so happy to have reached the last day! I couldn’t bear another bowl of watery, tasteless, gloop (porridge), so I started with a couple of cookies. I then had a further two cookies before lunch, which was pasta and veg, with no sauce as I was saving that for my dinner. Dinner was again pasta, veg, and sauce, followed by two cookies. I was craving fast food or a takeaway A LOT. But I had reached the end. And I was over the moon.

When Sunday dawned, I happily got up and made my first cup of tea for days and made my usual wheetabix with hot milk (MILK!).  It was bliss.

I am so grateful to have enough money to live and enjoy life, and Live Below the Line affected my thinking greatly over the 5 days.

My prayer now is that I remember the struggle, and that my thought process will remain the same when it comes to buying food.

I want to challenge you again to take the challenge for yourself. And if not, please sponsor me here.

Extravagant waste

I went to fill my car with petrol yesterday at the local Sainsburys petrol station. As normal, I presented my Nectar card to get my Nectar points.

I don’t know how much you know about ‘Nectar’ and Sainsburys, but when you swipe your Nectar card, you sometimes receive a voucher to use next time you visit the store which gives you extra points, or money off, etc.

Yesterday’s voucher promised me 200 bonus Nectar points if I spend more than £50 in Sainsburys by 7^th May.

Here are some facts for you:

·         I live alone
·         My average weekly shop costs less than £20
·         I’m away on The Big Adventure (Children’s Adventure camp ) this weekend
·         I start Live Below the Line on Tuesday (6^th May)

And yet, when I got the voucher, I immediately began thinking if I could possibly spend £50 before it ran out! It’s crazy! Never mind the fact I’m only meant to live off 10% of that next week for Live Below the Line.

And when I thought of that challenge, I was shocked at this behaviour.

How many people must spend more than they need to get extra ‘points’ or similar because they were given a voucher? 

How much additional ‘stuff’ do they buy that would otherwise not have been purchased? 

And how much of it ends up in the bin?

Although I have yet to start the Live Below the Line challenge, even signing up has made me reconsider my spending habits and realise how fortunate we are.

I do not need to spend £50 on a weekly shop, but I could manage it if I wanted to. I could spend it on clothes and games and chocolate and lots of other stuff I don’t need, and I could afford to do it too.

But there are 1.2 billion people who live on less than 10% of that.

God cares about each and every one of them.

And we can make a difference.

Once again, I ask you to join me for any 5 consecutive days before 30^th June and live below the line. You can sign up here and then search for ‘Anglia Division’ to join our team.

If you are unable to participate in the challenge, please donate here. Any donation, big or small, will make a difference.

Let's Dance

On Palm Sunday (13th April), the Anglia Youth Band led the meetings at Stowmarket Corps. This post contains the message I gave at the evening service.

The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted,

“Praise God!

Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hail to the King of Israel!”

Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said:

“Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem.

Look, your King is coming,

    riding on a donkey’s colt.”

His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfillment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him.

Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign.

John 12:12-18 (NLT)

Imagine Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday. You’re heading to the city for the Passover. As you approach, you hear people shouting and singing, you see a crowd gathering along the road, waving palm leaves. You go over to investigate, and ask ‘What’s going on?’

“It’s Jesus!” someone replies. “Have you not heard of him? Have you not heard of all he’s done?! Only a few days ago he raised Lazarus from the dead – that guy over there! He’d been dead for FOUR DAYS! And this guy raised him! He must be the Messiah!”

How excited would that make you? You have been waiting centuries for the promised Messiah! Would you not also go and get Palm leaves and join with the crowd?

According to this passage in John, this is what happened at that first Palm Sunday. In verse 12, we read that ‘the news Jesus was on the way… swept through the city’, and verse 18 says ‘many went out to meet him because they had heard about this miraculous sign’ – which is referring to the resurrection of Lazarus. It is the good news of all Jesus has done that drew the crowds that day.

Most of the people in the crowd are unlikely to have had a personal experience of Jesus’ miracles, and yet they are there, cheering his arrival. Over the past 3 years, they must have heard so many stories, maybe even known someone who was at the feeding of the 5000, or one of his other miracles. They praised because someone had shared their good news.

How often is this still true today? Many people begin their journey towards God by hearing of what he has done for others, by hearing their personal experiences. They may never have experienced God in their own life yet, but they can get excited and be just as joyful as we are when they hear of the good things God is doing in our life.

By sharing our experiences of God, we are saying ‘Let’s dance’ to those around us. We’re inviting them to join in the experience themselves, and through rejoicing in our experience, they can come to experience God for themselves. When we talk of a dance, we don't just talk of physical dance and praise, but a dance is a relationship. As well as praising God, we are inviting those who do not know him into a relationship with him. 

And this isn’t just for those who don’t know God. Sharing our experiences and inviting each other to dance is just as important. It can encourage those of us who are downcast and remind us of how faithful God is.

When we dance in praise before God, he draws near to us, and he then begins to teach us how to dance his way, keeping in step with him.