I can't believe that it has come around to New Year's Eve again. It seems only yesterday that I was sitting around with friends, hearing Auld Lang Syne being played and watching the fireworks from Sydney Harbour rain down from the Bridge. It has been such a big year of growth for me.
Yesterday someone asked me if I had made any New Year's resolutions yet. Normally I think these are silly, that they are just things that people say but never carry through with. But it got me thinking... why do I need to resolve to do something like exercise more or eat better, something I am never going to do? What if I resolved to do something that actually meant something to me, like commit to pray regularly for my family?
I haven't decided what my actual resolutions will be yet - I have until midnight to work it out. But hopefully whatever it is, I will be able to keep them!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
The Christmas Sessions: Part 2
I was planning to post yesterday, continuing my series on Christmas carol thoughts, but I had a rather emotionally straining Christmas Day, and so I'm going to take this chance to reflect on that instead.
Yesterday was Christmas Day. It's usually considered one of the happiest days of the year, a time for family. Yesterday, I hurt someone I love deeply so much I made her cry, by my words and selfishness alone.
It seems hard to believe, but I think this has been one of the most special and meaningful Christmases of my life. Too often I forget how much it is I need that baby from Bethlehem, who would grow to be the Saviour. I tolerate a life of sin when I can't see it hurting anyone or hurting me. But when I manage to make someone as dear to me as my sister hurt so much in what should have been a joyful time, even I know there is something wrong. Because we can't do it alone. No matter how good we think we are, it is impossible to be sinless. I need Jesus and I saw and felt that more keenly today than I ever have before.
Yesterday was Christmas Day. It's usually considered one of the happiest days of the year, a time for family. Yesterday, I hurt someone I love deeply so much I made her cry, by my words and selfishness alone.
It seems hard to believe, but I think this has been one of the most special and meaningful Christmases of my life. Too often I forget how much it is I need that baby from Bethlehem, who would grow to be the Saviour. I tolerate a life of sin when I can't see it hurting anyone or hurting me. But when I manage to make someone as dear to me as my sister hurt so much in what should have been a joyful time, even I know there is something wrong. Because we can't do it alone. No matter how good we think we are, it is impossible to be sinless. I need Jesus and I saw and felt that more keenly today than I ever have before.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The Christmas Sessions: Part 1
Yes, the title is stolen from MercyMe's Christmas album. I chose it because I wanted to reflect a little on a couple of my favourite Christmas carols. Often, we hear carols so often they become background music to us. But they're so much more than that - they are beautiful hymns about one of the most spectacular events this world has ever seen, the night God himself came down to become human and to live amongst us.
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant... As Christians, because of our faith in the grace of God, we can be both joyful and triumphant. Joyful, because of all that Christ has done for us to bring us home. And triumphant, not because of anything we've done, but because of the victory won for us by Christ, defeating sin. Isn't it amazing that no matter what sins dog us, we can have confidence that God has already won the war for us, and sin is no longer in control of us?
O come, let us adore Him... I know this is something I never spend enough time doing. Just loving, worshipping and adoring Jesus for who He is and what He did. Pray, sing, write, create, whatever... just try and spend some time this Christmas appreciating the child whose birth we celebrate and the Saviour he would be.
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant... As Christians, because of our faith in the grace of God, we can be both joyful and triumphant. Joyful, because of all that Christ has done for us to bring us home. And triumphant, not because of anything we've done, but because of the victory won for us by Christ, defeating sin. Isn't it amazing that no matter what sins dog us, we can have confidence that God has already won the war for us, and sin is no longer in control of us?
O come, let us adore Him... I know this is something I never spend enough time doing. Just loving, worshipping and adoring Jesus for who He is and what He did. Pray, sing, write, create, whatever... just try and spend some time this Christmas appreciating the child whose birth we celebrate and the Saviour he would be.
O come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant.
O come ye, o come ye,
To Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels.
O come, let us adore Him.
O come, let us adore Him.
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
All Over Again
It's been three weeks now since my last post. It's amazing - for me time has just flown. Two weeks away on mission, then one week at home recovering from mission, and now here we are.
There are so many things I could like to share with you, that I learnt while I was away, but I'm going to save them for a while, to process them a bit better. One thing I will share is something that has come up since I have gotten back.
While I was in Lorne, I started reading through the book of Malachi. Chapter 1 focuses on the offering of sacrifices to God, and his anger at the Israelites for presenting him with imperfect sacrifices... and not just imperfect, but their off-casts - the animals they didn't want anymore!
In the same way, we need to ensure that we are offering God the best, not the leftovers. I know for me, this often means the sacrifice of my time. Time is very precious to me, as it is to many people in this world. If this doesn't make sense to you, come and try being a full-time student, having a part-time job, doing ministry on campus and being a daughter, sister and friend as well. And I know there are many out there who would say I have it easy! But what I am trying to say is that with all these things going on, I often leave God only the dregs of my time. Whatever is leftover at the end of the day, when I am too tired to study and too grumpy to socialise. Is that what I think God deserves? Me at my worst, when I'm half-asleep and irritable?! Surely I could offer him something better?
Strangely, this isn't the point of my post today.
This isn't the first time I've looked at Malachi 1 and written these things in my journal. I studied the same thing over a year ago and came to the same conclusions, which I read last night when I was flicking through last year's journal. There are going to be lessons that are going to come up again and again in your life, just as the way I use my time to honour God has come up again in mine. Maybe I'll take a bit more away from it this time, and it won't come up again for another few years. Or maybe I'll be looking at the same thing again in six months or a year. Some things are going to take a whole lifetime to conquer. But I'm okay with that, because I know Jesus will be walking with me every step of the way.
There are so many things I could like to share with you, that I learnt while I was away, but I'm going to save them for a while, to process them a bit better. One thing I will share is something that has come up since I have gotten back.
While I was in Lorne, I started reading through the book of Malachi. Chapter 1 focuses on the offering of sacrifices to God, and his anger at the Israelites for presenting him with imperfect sacrifices... and not just imperfect, but their off-casts - the animals they didn't want anymore!
In the same way, we need to ensure that we are offering God the best, not the leftovers. I know for me, this often means the sacrifice of my time. Time is very precious to me, as it is to many people in this world. If this doesn't make sense to you, come and try being a full-time student, having a part-time job, doing ministry on campus and being a daughter, sister and friend as well. And I know there are many out there who would say I have it easy! But what I am trying to say is that with all these things going on, I often leave God only the dregs of my time. Whatever is leftover at the end of the day, when I am too tired to study and too grumpy to socialise. Is that what I think God deserves? Me at my worst, when I'm half-asleep and irritable?! Surely I could offer him something better?
Strangely, this isn't the point of my post today.
This isn't the first time I've looked at Malachi 1 and written these things in my journal. I studied the same thing over a year ago and came to the same conclusions, which I read last night when I was flicking through last year's journal. There are going to be lessons that are going to come up again and again in your life, just as the way I use my time to honour God has come up again in mine. Maybe I'll take a bit more away from it this time, and it won't come up again for another few years. Or maybe I'll be looking at the same thing again in six months or a year. Some things are going to take a whole lifetime to conquer. But I'm okay with that, because I know Jesus will be walking with me every step of the way.
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