Reaping consequences

Christmas is just about my favourite time of the year. It's a very busy time for me, with lots of special Christmas services and events, but it's a time I love. This is not least because of happy childhood memories of Christmases past. I love the Christmas lights on dark nights, the carols and special events, the Christmas meals, the time to spend with friends and family, and, of course, the amazing story which lies at the heart of Christmas: God stepping into our world through his Son, Jesus.

For many years we have welcomed Sue's mum to stay with us for a few days over Christmas. She generally stays 3 or 4 days, but then likes to get back home to her cat! This year, Sue was due to pick her up a couple of days before Christmas day. The weather had been very cold and icy, and Sue's mum, no longer a spring chicken, was warned not to venture out on the snow in case she had an accident. Of course there are some folk who think they know better! She did go out, slipped on the ice, and quite badly hurt her right arm.

By the time she arrived at our house the arm was quite bruised. Our future son-in-law Matt, a doctor, advised that we take mum to A&E for an x-ray. The x-ray indicated a broken humerus (not funny!) Her arm was given a temporary pot, and a further appointment was made for the following day. On the following day the hospital decided that mum required a pin inserting in her arm to aid the healing process. The latest news from the hospital is that the operation may be on Tuesday (two days' time). Mum was originally due to return home today, so she is somewhat concerned. Happily she has a good neighbour who is taking care of the cat.

Fortunately my mother-in-law doesn't have a computer or internet access (like my own mum, she probably doesn't have very much idea of what the internet is). She won't, therefore, mind me using her as an example of someone reaping the consequences of her actions. Although she had been advised not to venture out in the snow, she ignored the advice, and now she is reaping the consequences.

The Bible often talks about human responsibility for the consequences of our own actions. It also tells us that when we don't live in the way God has shown us, there will be consequences. The truth is that the vast majority of problems and suffering in our world today are caused by disobedience to God's will. Just think, for example, of the transformation which would take place in our society and world today if people lived by the ten commandments! The Bible calls disobedience to God's will sin. Sin has consequences - separation from God, our relationship with him is broken. The good news of Christmas is that through faith in Jesus, that broken relationship can be restored, and we can receive forgiveness. As the apostle John puts it, "This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him." Thank God for Jesus! And as the angels said to the shepherds, it's good news for ALL people!

Christmas cards and the personal touch

How many Christmas cards have you sent this year? Another question: do you know the year in which the first Christmas card was sent, and who sent it? Find the answer here. Each year, many millions of Christmas cards are sent and received in the UK. In recent years some people have decided that, rather than send Christmas cards to their friends at church, they would send a general greeting though the church magazine, and then make a donation to charity corresponding to the amount of money they have saved on Christmas cards. I can see the logic, and no doubt the charities concerned are very grateful.

There is, however, another side to this issue. I was talking recently to a lady who told me that she intended to continue sending Christmas cards. The reason was that she really appreciated receiving Christmas cards herself; she therefore wanted to bless others in the way that she herself was blessed.

I find that receiving Christmas cards, especially when they come from people who I have not seen for some time, often brings back memories, and certainly gives a prompt to pray for God's blessing on the people concerned.

Last year a friend of mine, who is also a Methodist Minister, decided to personally deliver Christmas cards to all his church members. In a mad moment, I decided that this year I would try to do the same: quite a tall order when I am Minister of two churches with a combined membership of approaching 200 people! I wrote and addressed the cards, and started delivering them on 1 December, wondering how it would go.

Having now reached 19 December, I still have quite a few cards left to deliver, but I am just about on target to get them all delivered by Christmas Eve. It has been quite a task, and I have had to use my days off to get on with the deliveries, but it has certainly been worthwhile. Even though I have not been able to stay long in each home, the mere fact that I have taken the time to call with the card has been very much appreciated. The personal touch means a lot. (Thankfully, some people have been out when I have called, otherwise I would never have got all the cards delivered!)

So I think it's good to send cards. It's also a great thing to receive them. I thank God for all those who have taken time to write and address cards to me and Sue, and I thank God for the inspiration and opportunity to deliver lots of Christmas cards this year. Most of all I thank God for Jesus - the heart of Christmas, "the reason for the season."

Out with the old and in with the new

For quite some time it has been apparent that we need a new kitchen. The current one was installed about 30 years ago, and it has certainly seen much better days. Some of the drawer ends had fallen off, and a few cupboard doors were hanging on only loosely! After much thinking, discussion and planning, the work on installing a new one finally began last Monday. The men came in and started to remove all the existing units, as well as all the kitchen equipment. Actually, the work had started a few days earlier, because the contents of all the kitchen cupboards had to be removed: our dining room is now fairly full of kitchen cupboard contents!

When the men began to remove the kitchen units, lots of the plaster fell off the walls, and it became clear that all the remaining loose plaster would have to be removed. By the time they had finished, quite a bit of the wall area was back to bare brick. It really was a case of "back to basics". Since then, the walls and ceiling have been re-plastered, and we now have two dehumidifiers working hard to remove all the moisture, so that the walls can be painted and the new kitchen units installed. It's been quite interesting having to manage without a cooker this week! The house really is rather upside down, but I am sure that by the time the work is finished, all the mess and inconvenience will have been worth it. Whether the kitchen will be finished in time for Christmas is another matter!

On Wednesday of this week we attended a carol service at Doncaster Minster. It was a great occasion, with over 1000 people in attendance. The service was designed to be something to invite family, friends, colleagues etc. to, and the guest speaker was J John. Towards the end of the service, J John invited people to respond to the message, and a number of people gave their lives to Jesus. I am reminded of some words of Paul writing to the church in Corinth, 'Anyone who believes in Christ is a new creation. The old is gone! The new has come!'

When we become a follower of Jesus, we are changed. The old way of living, where we live to please ourselves, is gone. Instead, we live to please God. Just as with our kitchen, the old is taken away, and is replaced by the new. So God wants to do a work in our lives, to make us new, so that our lives will reflect the light of his love. Of course it doesn't all happen overnight; in fact, it is a lifetime's process. As someone once said, "Be patient with me, God hasn't finished with me yet!" The important thing is that all those who are followers of Jesus are open to his ongoing work of transformation in their lives.

Dealing with disappointment

"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry" wrote Robert Burns (or at least that's the Anglicised version of his actual words!) And he was absolutely right! A while ago I had planned something for today, and had been really looking forward to it. Then, almost at the last minute, something happened which meant that my plans had to completely change; what I had so looked forward to never actually happened! It can be hard when cherished plans do not come to fruition, but it's part of how life sometimes is. It has got me to thinking about how to best deal with disappointment, and those situations when things don't work out as we might have hoped.

As I began to consider the question, another well known quote came to mind: "It's no use crying over spilt milk". One website I came cross gave the following note: "This idiom means that getting upset after something has gone wrong is pointless; it can't be changed so it should be accepted." Maybe not always that easy to put into practice, but it is nonetheless true! To sulk, moan, or complain may be a natural reaction, but we all know that it doesn't do much (if anything) to help, and may indeed hinder our path to recovery from the disappointment.

When I write a blog entry I always look for an image to go with it. Sometimes it's obvious, at other times I have to search. The image I've used to go with this blog entry was found through using the Google image search facility. I found the image fascinating: not so much the image itself (a person staring into an empty box), but the words which accompany the image: DISAPPOINTMENT The greatest Gift of All. Wow! What an interesting discussion starter!

I guess that the point being made is that if we react to disappointment in a more positive way, it can become something which spurs us on to greater things! Think of Peter, the disciple of Jesus. The lowest point in his life came when he failed Jesus in a big way by denying that he knew him. The gospels tell us that he "wept bitterly" at his own failure - what a disappointment Peter was to himself. Yet out of that failure and disappointment Peter learned the way of humility. In due course he was forgiven and restored by Jesus and became a great leader in the early church. The Bible tells us that God can work every situation for good!

So, as I look back on the day, I still feel an element of disappointment, but I do thank God that I was able to get things done today which I would otherwise not have been done. And perhaps it's made me a little better equipped to deal with disappointment in the future!

With Jesus at the dentist's

My last blog centred on the fact that a visit to the dentist was my "Room 101" experience. This morning I returned for the 3 fillings and other minor work. It was an truly amazing experience! During my time in the dentist's chair I had such a tremendous sense of the presence of Jesus with me that the procedure itself caused me hardly any discomfort. I believe that there were two main reasons for such a sense of the nearness of Jesus.

The first was the knowledge that lots of people were praying for me at the time. Quite a few people, both family and church friends, knew the time of my appointment and had promised to pray for me. Their prayers were certainly answered.

The second reason for my sense of Jesus' presence will take a little longer to explain. Last week I was talking with a fellow church leader who is a former dentist. I was sharing with him my nervousness about visits to the dentist. He told me about a meditation technique which he said might help me. It has to do with recalling a Bible story, and then imagining yourself as one of the characters in the story (I guess that this will work especially well with a story from the gospels, which will almost inevitably include the person of Jesus).

The story I chose was that of the anointing of Jesus by the sinful woman (Luke 7.36-56) I tried to imagine myself in the role of the woman, and I saw that she was probably at least as nervous about entering the house and approaching Jesus and the others as I was entering the dentist's surgery! Everyone present at the meal would have known about this woman's "sinful life"; no doubt many eyes were on her as she entered the room. Most of those in the room would have looked at her in judgement, perhaps wondering how she had the gall to show her face amongst them. But for the woman, the only person whose response she cared about was Jesus. How would he react to her presence?

There is no record of Jesus speaking to her on this occasion - we just don't know whether he did or not. But I am sure that he looked at her. As the woman slowly lifted her head and her eyes met the eyes of Jesus, she was absolotely broken by the pure love and grace which she saw. She began to weep. How can Jesus love me? Doesn't he know about my sinful past? She was overwhelmed by the love of Jesus, the acceptance, the sense that she was precious and valued. She responded in the only way she could, and poured out the sweet smelling perfume on his feet; an act of great devotion from a woman who was broken and yet restored.

As I sat in the dentist's chair, and began to feel something of that same loving presence of Jesus, my heart responded in praise and worship. If my mouth hadn't been full of dental equipment I might even have burst into song! Thank you, Lord, that you met me in the dentist's chair; thank you that in your presence all fear disappears.

Now I'm almost looking forward to my next check-up in 6 months' time!!

Overcoming the fear of Room 101

One of George Orwell's most famous novels was Nineteen Eighty-Four. Written in 1949, the novel describes a totalitarian regime run by The Party. Every citizen is under the watchful eye of Big Brother, and anyone who steps out of line in any way faces the dreaded prospect of Room 101. In Room 101, a person is forced to face his or her biggest nightmare, fear or phobia. In other words, a person must face up to what, in normal circumstances, they would do their level best to avoid. What would be in my Room 101? Almost certainly a dentist's chair!

I suppose that my rather irrational desire to avoid visiting the dentist must relate back to some unpleasant childhood experiences. Whatever the cause, and however much I try to tell myself to stop being so stupid, I have often found that the mere sight of a dentist approaching has turned me into a jellied wreck!

I have managed to avoid the experience for around 8 years. Until, that is, this week. A few days ago, part of a tooth disappeared, and I realised that I could put off the dreaded event no longer. I managed to find a local N.H.S. dentist (rather rare, these days), and went meekly along yesterday. As I was waiting for my appointment, I noticed on the wall in the reception 3 framed certificates. It certainly didn't help my nerves to discover that they were certificates awarded from a course in cardiac recovery (or something similar). I had visions of my heart giving up altogether!

As it happened, I coped rather well with the appointment, and I was very pleased with myself. I was probably in the chair for only about 1 minute. That's the good news. The bad news is that I have to return next week for 3 fillings! Just now the prospect doesn't seem to bad, but I am sure that it will loom larger as the time approaches.

Fear is a natural reaction to danger; it helps us to protect ourselves. The person without any fear would be in very great danger. However, when we allow fear to rule our lives it becomes debilitating and ruins our quality of life. I have heard it said (though haven't checked it out) that the phrase "do not be afraid" appears 366 times in the Bible. That's once for each day of the year, including leap year. God says to us, 'I will never leave you or forsake you.' When we truly trust in him, then even the dentist's chair will lose it's threat. I'll try it next week!

Reflections on Remembrance Sunday

Early this morning I watched part of a Remembrance Sunday service taking place at Camp Bastion, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It was a moving occasion, as the men and women currently serving in the armed forces there remembered friends and colleagues who had either died or been injured in conflict.

I have been thinking back to my own childhood memories of Remembrance Sunday. I lived in the village of Keyingham, which lies on the A1033 main road from Hull to Withernsea. My family and I attended the local Methodist Chapel, but on Remembrance Sunday we joined with the Anglicans in standing around the cenotaph for the two minutes' silence. I remember that the crowd of us spilled out onto the main road, but any cars drivers who happened to come along were very respectful, and more than happy to wait until the ceremony was completed.

Over the ensuing years, I had the feeling that Remembrance Day was not taken quite as seriously, as the generation who actually fought in, or remembered, the world wars were gradually dying off. Then, of course, came conflicts in the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan. Sadly, we are now very used to regularly hearing of further casualties of war.

It is hard to imagine how the families and friends of those who have died or been seriously injured must be feeling at this time. Most members of the public hear the names of people who have died, and may be sad for their loved ones, but then they move on with our lives. For the bereaved, the pain never fully goes away. Their loss cannot be forgotten.

To give one's life for others is the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus himself said, 'greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.' In the midst of this time of great sadness we can remember that Jesus willingly gave his life for us, and for all mankind. Not only did he die for us, but he rose again, to show that death has been overcome. Through faith in him we can have the assurance of eternal life! Yes, when we lose a loved one it is a time of deep sadness. But for those whose faith is in Jesus, death is not the end, but a doorway to a new life in the very presence of God.