MIRACLE IN THE MANGER… MIRACLE IN THE SINK

(December 12, 2021) Maureen McQuillan reflects…

Trust you’re looking forward to Christmas Day as much as we are. Once again our family will be with us, especially our great-granddaughter Avaleigh Grace for her first Christmas.

And, of course, our precious daughter, Wendy, who was born on Christmas Day… Wendy who when younger always reminded me, ‘Two pressies, Mummy; Christmas and my birthday. Not together, Mummy, but given separately.’

The real Christmas present
This is the one discovered in the Bethlehem manger by those shepherds who’d been so scared by the angelic visitation…

‘An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests”’ (Luke 2:9-14).

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WAIT, WHAT DID YOU MEAN BY THAT?

(December 6, 2021) Mama Lava gets one thinking…

‘Just to clarify…’

If I had a dollar for every email I sent with those words, I don’t think I’d have to send them anymore. I’d invest those dollars and retire. I am frequently second guessing my understanding of things. Can you relate?

Second guessing
I have noticed that people seem more distracted and less prepared lately, me included. Those qualities do not make for clearer communication. I frequently want to interject ‘Wait, what did you mean by that?’

And sometimes, even with our best efforts and preparation, our words land with meanings which are different than we intended. It can be a good thing when someone second guesses their first inclination about what we meant. Written words are especially prone to misinterpretation.

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PRACTISING HOPE LEADS TO BOLD FAITH

(December 5, 2021) Carol Round reminds us to activate our faith…

‘Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful’ encourages Hebrews 10:23.

As the first candle of Advent was lit this past Sunday at our church, it set the tone for this season – a season of hope. For those unfamiliar with the Christian liturgical year, Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, and ends on Christmas Eve.

For Christians, Advent is a time to reflect. It’s a time of anticipation, a time of waiting. During this busy season, we seek the quiet reflected in the starry night, thanking God for what he has done in our lives, wondering what God is doing, and… for what he will do next.

While Advent celebrates Christ’s birth – his first coming, it’s also a time of excitement and preparation as Christians anticipate his second coming, his return as Christ the King. It’s a time for imperfect people – all of us – to look forward to something greater to come, something greater than ourselves. The hope of better things to come.

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MY ‘RESOLVE’ FOR 2022

(December 4, 2021) Brian Bell seriously considers some 2022 resolves…

As we enter the month of December 2021 with its Christmastime highlights, I find it exceedingly difficult notto think beyond Christmas to the New Year. One reason for that is because January 1 is my birthday – perhaps someone else reading these words shares this birth date.

Another reason is those traditional New Year ‘resolves.’ Despite the title of this meditation, it has never been my practice – as some like to do – to make ‘New Year resolutions.’ But that does not mean I am without resolve.

Let me begin with these thoughts…

As we approach 2022, maybe you look back on a difficult life experience in 2021. Amid the uncertainties of life perhaps a situation injured you, people may have hurt and or disappointed you. Do you feel you have failed the Lord in some way or that you made a poor decision and think he won’t forgive you?

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RELYING ON GOD’S GRACE

(December 4, 2021) Norman and Margaret Moss share a meditation…

Some months back we were rejoicing in the birth of our 17th great grandchild, and all was well with us!

Shortly afterwards we had fresh reason to rejoice about God’s grace! Our daughter Verity was diagnosed with cancer, yet she has had total peace throughout this time. So many of our friends were praying for her, and we thank you all for your prayers. On September 30 she had robotic surgery and made a brilliant recovery. Such is the grace of God.

Many reasons to rejoice for God’s grace
So much can happen in a few brief weeks… but we live in daily dependence on the grace and love of our Father in heaven.

Meditating on 2 Timothy 2:1, ‘Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus,’ we felt the Lord was saying the following:

  • Live in my grace. It is full and overflowing with love.
  • Explore my grace. It is unending. Love every part of it.
  • Be full of my grace in all forgiveness and love.
  • Be abounding in my grace. There is no weakness in it, no thinning of it in any part.
  • Be covered by my grace. It covers in every way, giving comfort where there is any pain.
  • Be strong in my grace. It eases and cleanses and renews in every part.
  • Enjoy my grace. It is nothing if it is not generous. I pour it out lavishly on all my people.
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THE MAJOR OFFENCE OF MOVING GOD’S BOUNDARIES

(November 30, 2021) Dr Jim McClure, noted theologian, shares a warning …

Can you imagine what your attitude would be if you went on a short holiday and returned to find that your next-door neighbour had expanded his block of land by moving the fence separating his property from yours?

You would not be at all pleased! Your relationship with your neighbour would become hostile and significant personal and legal argument would begin!

Fences are ‘landmarks’ that determine limitations and if they are ignored the consequences can be quite severe at many levels.

When the Israelites entered the Promised Land following their wandering in the wilderness, God assigned particular areas to each tribe and an allocation of land was made to each family. The boundaries of the land were marked by stones that were required to be recognised and respected. To move or remove those stones was a major offence.

In the Old Testament we are told that such boundaries established by God were definitely not to be violated. This was such a serious injunction and it is mentioned in a number of passages in the Old Testament (for example, Deuteronomy 19:14, Deuteronomy 27:17, Proverbs 23:10, Hosea 5:10).

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SHARING AN INNER WORD FROM GOD
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(November 27, 2021) Maureen McQuillan encourages an anxious ‘Sarah’…

Pastor Maureen… you’re great at answering questions in a very clear way, and easy to understand. Please help me with this query I have… How do I know that I’m really hearing from God? Sarah (Not real name).

Well, ‘Sarah’, to put it briefly… You’ll know that ‘you know that you know that you know!’  Here’s the key: As we grow in the ways of the Lord, we learn to become so sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, to his gentle voice. And we’re aware that it’s he who is guiding us and that we’ve nothing to be afraid of.

Let me share something that I felt in my inner being to say to… oh, let’s call her ‘Jean.’ This lady, a Christian too, had determined to move on in life, leave her suburb and start afresh as it were. But as she was telling me that she didn’t think she would get much for her old home as it needed work done to it, I immediately felt to say, ‘No, I believe you’re going to get an amazing price for it, Jean. You believe it too.’

A simple word of encouragement but I felt was from the Lord and didn’t hesitate to speak it… in faith, Well, she couldn’t quite take it on board at first as it seemed impossible… but guess what happened? Yes, her home sold quickly and for many, many thousands of dollars more than she had perceived! Jean is now a changed lady, with great hope in her heart for a much better lifestyle.

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τέταρτος μάγος – THE FOURTH MAGI

(November 26, 2021) Robert and Maureen McQuillan, as with other contributors this month, again encourage blessing others…

As many know, we relax watching good movies, particularly film noir, and wholesome TV shows. Recently, although it’s only November, we kept finding great Christmas-centred YouTube ones highlighting the Christmastime season as one of generosity and giving.

Next month, of course, brings around that time of year when we celebrate the coming to earth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, born of the young virgin Mary, fulfilling Isaiah 9:6.

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Celebrating Christ’s incarnation
Sadly, to many it’ll just be a holiday season but to those who know the gift of our gracious, loving God, we’ll celebrate it remembering we owe him so much for the miraculous incarnation of his Son who would willingly sacrifice himself on Calvary’s cross to pay the penalty of our sins (John 3:16).

And, of course, we owe much to the Holy Spirit who, as Romans 8:11 declares, ensured that Jesus rose from the grave (‘With healing in his wings’ to quote from that Wesley/Whitefield hymn that became the carol Hark the Angels Sing), as well as birthing the church (Acts 2).

Looking ahead, most Christians will be making Christmastime special, getting together with family, enjoying fellowship and good food, gift-giving, relaxing and happiness-finding and making. But… unfortunately some will miss out next month because they’ve heard myths generated around what we call the Christmas story and been disillusioned!

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A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

(November 23, 2021) Maureen McQuillan has a different slant to reaching out…

Not the A Night to Remember movie about the Titanic tragedy, rather an unusual summer evening when Robert had been invited to minister at a European church outside of Melbourne. Maybe I should call this article A Night of Surprises, or… Suffering.

We have great articles this month reminding us to reach out to people, even strangers, and bless them whether they know Jesus or not. And taking opportunities to witness him, the only light in this dark world.

Such reaching out to bless someone closeby – that ‘love thy neighbour’ matter Jesus highlighted (Matthew 22:39) – reminds me of how our Christian neighbours bless us meaningfully. They kindly bring our bins up, even taking them down if see Robert struggling with them.

And I’d like to remind us that reaching out isn’t always about ‘spiritual matters’… it includes being practical and doing so even if it’s inconvenient, embarrassing. So let me share about such an opportunity to bless a stranger… from a different point of view.

Sinister
That particular Sunday evening was many years ago and coming out our frontdoor, my first surprise was seeing Robert looking down at the patio at a strange, cultic-like object, made of Wicca-type sticks! Who had left them? Robert picked them up carefully and suggested we pray again before setting off.

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CHRISTMASTIME MYTHS

(November 16, 2021) Dr Robert McQuillan responds to this query about Christmas

Dear Dr Robert
It’s me, Mitch… again. As mentioned before, I appreciate the help you’ve given me. Here’s something else – A couple of people have been pointing out things to me about Christmastime next month… that it’s unbiblical to celebrate as no one knows the date of Jesus’ birth… that Christians believe more in Santa Claus than they do about Jesus. What can I say to them? Mitch.

Dear Mitch

Yes it’s true that no one really knows the exact date of Christ’s birth, when Mary gave birth to the babe who would grow up able to understand all our feelings, problems, temptation and such… and become our Saviour. And, yes, the Bible encourages us to celebrate Easter, our salvation through Jesus and communion rather that Christmas.

So let’s cut to the chase here… we who know Jesus as Saviour should be grateful, but how can we really celebrate his incarnation, like the shepherd and magi did? Well, a very long time ago it was decided by ‘church powers’ to name December 25 as Christ’s ‘birthday’ and the day to be universally celebrated. The reality is that the date doesn’t really matter… Jesus willingly came for our benefit, to become our Saviour and we should rejoice over this (and not merely celebrating ‘Santa Claus fun time’ with our children)!

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