[Friday's Devotional] - And God himself will be WITH them

5    And God himself will be WITH them Through this week we have been reflecting on just a few notions based on the declaration at the birth of Jesus that 'God is with us'. It might be nearing the end of January and Christmas is long gone but there is a blast of encouragement and joy that shouldn't be missed. John, in outlining his 'revelation from Jesus Christ' has some important things to say about God being with us. His theme draws on an understanding of the writings of the poet Isaiah and his context is a church under extreme persecution from the power of Rome. This is what he declares: "Then I saw 'a new heaven and new earth', for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell WITH them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.'" Revelation 21.1-3 [NIV]     It seems that God's purpose in creation is to be WITH it; Father, Son and Spirit in relationship together and with US. How incredible is that! 'Lord God, we praise and thank you that you have revealed yourself and your purposes to such as us. Forgive us for our lack of understanding and devotion ….and encourage us, please, to walk faithfully with you. Amen.'   Richard Farnell    Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Thursday's Devotional] - God with us – in JESUS?

4  God with us – in JESUS? I'm back to thinking about Christmas. Can you cope with that?   The incarnation of God is a mystery. How can the vulnerable baby be king, God and fully human? Remember what happened in those first few months of Jesus' life as a baby. Before being born there was the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, ordered by the occupying power. The place of birth lacked privacy, so it seems, and the lowest of the low [shepherds] were the first to burst into the 'post-natal' ward. And then…..   "An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream [again!]. 'Get up,' he said, 'take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.'"   Matthew 2.13 [NIV]   They fled into the night to escape, south to an unknown country, many miles away. We are told that the monster, Herod the Great, in his fear and his obsession with maintaining power and privilege, ordered that all the boys in Bethlehem, under two years old, be killed.  The whole story is as far from tinsel and soft lights as you could get. It's a story of vulnerability, asylum seeking and refugee status. It's a story with so many modern parallels, whether in Syria, Sudan or Yemen.   It is legitimate to ask, 'where is the God of love in such situations?' The answer might be difficult to express but the starting point is surely an understanding of the risks, the dangers and the devastation that God incarnate experienced in his first few months of human life. Not to mention the degradation and humiliation of the cross. Is there a challenge here to our causal understanding of the very nature of God? And what it means for us to be 'made in his image'?   Richard Farnell      Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Wednesday's Devotional] - God is with US

3  God is with US We were thinking yesterday that there is a personal dimension to the major Biblical idea that 'God is with us'. Mary was assured of this, personally, before she faced the task of being the mother of Jesus.  We can take as given that this is also true for each of us, no matter the circumstances we face and the trials we experience. But, we need to acknowledge that in the Bible the constant references to 'you' are almost always in the plural. It is the group, the tribe, the community or the society that is being referred to. So, God's relationship with his people, the Jews, is with THEM, as a people. The promises to Abram, Moses and David, for example, are made to them and through them to the nation. The promises and encouragements to the early church from Peter and Paul are to the group, that new humanity, the church. God is with US! For each one of us reading this Daily Devotional there will be situations where to know that 'God is with us' provides an important sense of perspective and encouragement. In the life of our particular church, m2o, we have experienced tensions and conflicts that we would not have chosen and the implications are still being worked through. But remember our theme: God is with us. Jesus is the centre of this and so is the Holy Spirit. Jesus made a promise to his disciples immediately before his execution: "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and BE WITH YOU for ever – the Spirit of Truth." John 14.16 [NIV]   Pray for those you know who need to be assured that God is with them and, especially, for m2o that through the vacancy we might have renewed hope and confidence because God is with US!   Richard Farnell Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Tuesday's Devotional] - The Lord is with YOU

2  The Lord is with YOU I wonder what your response would be if you were engaged in a conversation about the most significant issue that humankind has to face. I suppose before long someone would say that it is the certainty of death – there is no escape! Sam Wells, vicar of St Martins-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, London, suggests that it is not death but 'isolation' that is our biggest issue. This is isolation from God but also from one another and from our environment, natural and man-made. Before Christmas there was considerable media coverage about the phenomenon of loneliness in UK society. Many older people experience this especially when mobility is challenged, but anyone of any age can feel it. Surveys conducted by Age UK and various disability charities suggest that this has multiple impacts on health, activity and well-being. At the most basic level, knowing that God is with YOU is so important to all of us. This is personal , if you are willing to be open to God. Mary, the young teenager, 2000 years ago was told by the angel Gabriel that she was highly favoured: "The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you are highly favoured! THE LORD IS WITH YOU.'" Luke 1.28 [NIV]   This was a statement directed at this one person, Mary, and her reaction was to panic. Who wouldn't! There was a particular part for her to play, and it was very special. It's not taking it too far to suggest that we, in our own small way, also have particular parts to play in our God given life. Let it sink in that 'God is with you!'     'Thank you, Lord God, for your presence with me….today….and tomorrow' Richard Farnell  Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!

[Monday's Devotional] - God is With Us

1  God is With Us We may be well into the New Year but the themes of Christmas are still buzzing in my head. Maybe it's because I've had to speak at Overslade twice, just before Christmas and at Epiphany. These four words, God is with us, have caught me more this year than others I can remember. You know the starting point!  We hear again the voice of the angel of the Lord that Joseph encountered in his dream: "All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' [which means God with us]." Matthew 1.22,23 [NIV] The quote is from the poet Isaiah [7:14] who says that this is a 'sign' to the House of David for those who not only try the patience of human beings, but of God also! In the end the people of Judah went into exile at the hand of the Assyrians. Their idolatrous behaviour, ignoring their covenant with God, was the cause. Incredibly, this was God's way, eventually, of convincing them that He was 'with them'. Throughout the story of Israel in the Old Testament we can see that this theme was central to the way God saw his creation. The creation stories in Genesis make the same point. God's purpose and intention in creation is to provide a 'place' of relationship where his longing to be with his creatures can be fulfilled.   This longing finds its centre in the birth of Jesus, the man who is God and King. The gifts delivered by the magi pinpoint this understanding of Jesus: gold to honour a king, incense to worship God and myrrh for human burial. Our thoughts this week will revolve around 'God is with us', so join me in this prayer, if you wish. 'Lord God, help me reflect on the significance of your being 'with us', personally, as church and as families, communities and societies. Amen.' Richard Farnell    Twitter Website Copyright © 2018 St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email as a subscriber to the Daily Devotionals Our mailing address is: St. Matthew & St. Oswald's Church 1a New Street Rugby, Warwickshire CV22 7BE United Kingdom Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list Want to be added to our mailing list? - sign up here!