Ordinary yet Remarkable!

Yes, this sums up the God we know. 'One starry night, the unlikely backdrop, no glitter, no ornaments; a stable, a manger yet glory! That first Christmas night was very ordinary, yet so profound, just a stable, just a baby, just a manger; yet he was GOD, yet He created the world, yet he was the King of Kings, yet He loves us.

Words from John 1 Everything was created through him, nothing—not one thing, came into being without him.  What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by.  The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; But the darkness couldn’t put it out. The Life-Light was the real thing.  Every person entering Life, he brings into Light.  He was in the world, the world was there through him, and yet the world didn’t even notice. He came to his own people, but they didn’t want him.  But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said,  He made them to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves.  So the Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood.


Jesus came to serve, and not to be served. He came for ordinary people, to help and love them not to have position or power over them and prestige like any usual King. I always think when you look at Jesus' life, he was always there for ordinary people. He often associated with the sick, dying, hungry and weak - those the world rejected.

He was the humble King in every way, giving up His Godly position to help others. He didn't come to the world for position but the stable reminds us of the humility, grace and love God has for people. God couldn't be giving us a clearer picture than that of the Christmas story, to show us how much he loves and knows us. Jesus came to our ordinary world but yet through Him, His glory may shine on us and through us.

The stable also reminds us that what may appear very ordinary; even a little boring, that greatness can be found when God is near. What seems completely impossible, improbable and unlikely can actually happen if we are willing to give it a second look. Do you need to take a second look at the Christmas story this year? You may be amazed at what you find.......through the ordinary we can find something truly remarkable!

John 8 v 12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Happy Christmas. Lv Caroline x 

Our need for God - Romans 7

OUR NEED FOR GOD

We can make it on our own....is the mantra of the day.  What do you think, can we honestly make it on our own?  Love these paragraphs from the bible taken from Romans, reminding us that we are far from perfect and now and again need a little help along the way. 

We may manage intellectually, socially, or financially, but internally we can often struggle. We struggle with our thoughts and actions; we struggle with our worries and hardships.  We struggle with a void in life that cannot be filled, somehow no matter what we get in life, it's never enough.

Sometimes we need God to save us from ourselves, to pluck us out of our egos, to help us internally (our souls) and help us to turn from struggles and evil and towards goodness and hope.  May the longings of our souls be filled again.  We want to be a better person, but often we struggle to change our ways.  God knows and understands our struggles and weaknesses. In society and on social media, we are often told, not to focus on our weaknesses, not to focus on our shortcomings; but only in building and feeding our egos and successes. There is nothing wrong with building our success, but what about having success on the inside of us.  Does social media ever talk about that; our character, our values, and our willingness to change our ways for the better.  God will gently begin to work on us and change our hearts, as we become more like Him, he will give us insight into what we need to do to change.  It may be a little uncomfortable to face our fears and shortcomings but it’s all to receive a greater glory, a greater meaning and a greater way of living.  I will leave you with these amazing bible verses to study and ponder on.  The nature within us (sin) always wants to pull us back from our heavenly nature, only God can give us the strength to change and stay on course. Only God can make a way, where there is no way.

 Lv Caroline x

Romans 7:15-24The Message (MSG) - What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So, if I cannot be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary.  

But I need something more! For if I know the law but still cannot keep it, and if the power of the bad within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I do not have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I do not really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, do not result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it is pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?

Phil 4, 13  - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.