Aptiva

The Bible records three gifts being brought to Jesus around the time of his birth/early years. The dating isn't specific beyond that Jesus was less than two years old. These gifts, brought by the Magi, leaders and wise men from lands east of Judea, were their way of showing honour and respect. We don't know how many Magi came, it's not mentioned. Nor are their names. From our perspective, we can see that people of high standing, recognised portents and signs and acted upon them. They undertook a long, dangerous and arduous journey, in order to seek a child they believed was so important that his birth ushered in a new era of hope. We all need to make the same journey. That of faith, and in that faith to take all reasonable, and sometimes, completely unreasonable steps to find the truth of Jesus. To make the move from the comfort of our own preconceived belief and to seek with open hearts wisdom of who Jesus is. May you make the journey this year.

Dear Reader, I need to be bigger than myself. As a follower of the Carpenter, I must look beyond what is perceived as best for me, and choose what is best for Jesus. Sometimes these choices will look the same, others, my actions will be radically against my perceived self-interest. Astute readers will note my phrasing. For ultimately, as a follower of Christ, his best choice IS my best choice, I just may need to surrender to that. In a world which tells us, have it your way. Do your own thing. Play as you want. A message which sets itself in opposition to that rhetoric can be challenging to emulate. Yet try we must. Seeing every choice we make in light of the Kingdom of God. Time, finances, relationships, resources both physical and mental. These and many other parts of our life need to be considered in light of the wider context of a Christian walk. Simply put, if we are children in the kingdom, we need to think, and therefore act, bigger!

It never ceases to amaze me how much a positive word can help. Not all or even many have to be directed of course towards me. Just a statement of general thankfulness, an openness of sharing about struggles, a positive outcome to a tricky situation. All these can be seen, when viewed properly as encouraging. It's a common issue to feel isolated, and that you are facing unique, unsurmountable problems, encouragement reminds you that you're not the only one. King David's psalm are this, his ups and downs with God, his struggles and his triumphs Today, Dear Reader, be like David and be honest about your life, you never know when you may encourage another in their walk.

Psalms 62:1-2 (NLT) "I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken." As I read this, the word Fortress speak to me. Historically a Fortress protected not just a town but an area, it gave the owner the ability to offer protection far beyond the direct walls of the structure itself. The very existence of the Fortress allowed for those within its influence to express their lives in freedom. They knew a place of safety existed if things got rough, and so they could live more freely. This produced a virtuous circle. We can experience the same freedom in Jesus because he has made a place of safety, we can operate more easily in freedom and without fear.

Dear Traveller, the book about the carpenter includes accounts of Jesus interaction with many people. Not least of these were the apostles, chosen specifically to usher in the Kingdom of God. Symbolically representing the twelve tribes, and resetting in people's minds what were the requirements for spiritual leadership. If we follow the accounts we find the ups and downs of these men, at times their behaviour is exceptional and their faith astounding, at others we find them terrified, boastful and small minded. They do however move from the latter behaviour to the former with increasing confidence, and once Jesus resurrection is at hand, they, empowered through Holy Spirit, move to announce the good news of the kingdom of God. Except for Judas. A man chosen to spend time with the living God betrays Jesus and fails to repent of his actions. Opportunity to move forward in the Kingdom of God is available to all, but a maxim of truth does occur, "Every person is exactly

Luke 5:4-11 (NLT) When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” 5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” 6 And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. 8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” 9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus. When the apostle Peter has this moment of revelati

A recent spiritual task was to write a letter beginning with Dear God, the life I most want for myself is,... I choose to answer as a Haiku Truth is pervading I Fearlessly Surrendered Knowing the Spirit

The ABC’s new comedy “The Good place”, sets its characters in the afterlife. The stars of the show have died and found themselves in “The Good place”, according to the first episode, they have achieved this position by “having a positive balance of points for actions done while alive”, only the best get to come to “The Good place”, the rest go to “the bad place”, but the host of the show tells the new residents in a cheerful voice “don’t think about that”. As believers in Jesus, we realise that nothing we do is ever good enough to warrant getting into heaven. Perfection demands exactly that, being Perfect. The bible tells us that all but Jesus have fallen short. Romans 3:10-11 (NIV) There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God….. Romans 3:20 (NIV) Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. Only Jesus is wit