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!

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)

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.

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. 

Live Below The Line Challenge – Join In!

First off – sorry for the absence! I was having technical difficulties with the blog editor but now, I’m back!  Expect posts to be appearing at their normal rate now!

It’s been a crazy few months, but I want to start my posting again with a personal challenge I have signed up to, and would encourage you to sign up to as well.

Live Below the Line.

Have you heard of it?

The challenge is to live for 5 days on £1 a day. £5, 5 days. For all food and water. Sounds impossible. But every year, thousands of people sign up and complete the challenge, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for their chosen charities.

Charities that aim to eradicate extreme poverty from our world – to help the 1.2 BILLION people that have to live daily on less than £1 a day.

The LBTL challenge is one I have seen other people do since it started in 2010, and I have always admired the people who complete it, and sponsor them as they work at it. But to me, it has always seemed impossible.

Great idea, but not for me.

I’ll wave the flag for you, give you money, pray for your efforts, but don’t expect ME to do it.

Then, the Divisional Youth Officer’s were challenged at FORGE (ALOVE’s Youth Worker Gathering) to set up divisional teams and ‘compete’ to raise the most money.

I could not leave my division in the lurch.

It was time to take the plunge.

I am going to live below the line.

And I am asking YOU to join me and the Anglia Division team to raise money to end extreme poverty.

For me, this is not about competing with the other Divisions. This is about finally stepping up to the plate (literally) and doing something to raise awareness other than giving money to other people and posting links to information.

We are so good at ‘supporting’ causes through social media and giving a ‘one-off’ donation. But surely we can afford to give more of ourselves, really commit to a cause and go further than we would normally go.

If you are sitting there now and thinking as I used to ‘Great, but not for me’, I want to personally challenge you now.

Why do you say that?

Is it because it will disrupt your comfort?

Is it because you don’t want the hassle?

Or is it for some other reason?

Ask God to reveal your heart and really consider taking the challenge. Push yourself.

And if you decide to take the challenge, join our team. You can sign up here: https://www.livebelowtheline.com/team/anglia-division

Please donate and share the pages of our team so we can raise money and awareness of extreme poverty if you are unable to undertake the challenge for any reason.

Please encourage others you know to join in too.

When I start the challenge, I will try and post daily updates of how its going, what I’ve eaten, what it cost me, and how I’m feeling.

Please support in any way you can.