Dec 30
2008

As with the last post, this originally appeared in the Jan ‘09 Magazine…

As I get older Christmas doesn’t seem to mean as much to me as it once did. Perhaps that sounds a little sad to you, or perhaps you’re beginning to feel that yourself? Perhaps it’s because, as a man, it’s hard to look forward to the gifts I receive of socks and mugs, these are somehow a letdown compared to the items received when I was a child. Not that I was particularly spoiled, but there’s something about tearing giftwrap from a toy, any toy, that unwrapping socks just can’t equal!
Of course I know that Christmas isn’t really about the presents, in fact Christmas is about the presence of God dwelling with humanity in a corporeal sense, and the value of the human beings that I am fighting with in the post Christmas sales. It’s not about me, I was never brought up to believe that it was…and yet I don’t get excited by the season of “peace on earth and goodwill towards men” that ends with barging people out of the way on Boxing Day to get the best stuff in the NEXT sale.
For one day we set aside everything to remember the magnificence of God coming to earth and we spend it moaning that the TV programmes aren’t as good as last years and the new socks are a bit itchy!

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Dec 30
2008

The January ‘09 magazine is available now both online and offline. For once I thought I would post the Holy Pasty entries on the blog.

So Christmas has come and gone, and by the time you receive this magazine your mind may have already wandered away from the festive season. It may seem strange to put out a Christmas issue after Christmas, but I think it makes perfect sense!

After the fripperies and cheap tat have been put away we can spend some time truly remembering what God has done. For us it’s a build up and one day and it’s all over. What God actually did in the life of Jesus took 33 years of growth, life, happiness, pain, tears, joy, teaching, listening and ultimately agony, so that all of history may be redeemed.

Now may be the perfect time to concentrate on what God wants to do in your life. Perhaps you know God personally already through Jesus, does He want to take you deeper this year? Of course He does, but are you willing to follow where He is guiding you, no matter the cost? That’s a toughie, and I have to answer that question too as I write this!

Maybe you’ve heard a lot about this Jesus Christ and you want to find out what it’s all about, or you are searching for something missing in your life? Now is the accepted time, today is the day of salvation. Today you can come to have a relationship with God, and His Spirit can come and live within you. It may all sound a bit odd, you may not understand how it works (if you do understand then tell me) but God asks us simply to believe in Jesus Christ. Not just as the little baby, or even as the man on the cross, or who conquered death, but as the only One who is offering to take away the barrier between you and God and allow you to have a full relationship with Him!

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