The first week of Advent is traditionally about hope. Talking about hope, right now, feels like a bit of a challenge.

The cost of living crisis is biting. Russia continues its war in Ukraine. Violence against Israel in October was outrageous. The ongoing retribution visited on the people of Gaza is obscene. The COP 28 climate conference is taking place in the United Arab Emirates, a key supplier of  fossil fuel. Political relationships are increasingly toxic. Refugees are crossing continents. People around us, and across the world, are discouraged. Hope, if it can be found at all, is in short supply right now.

Advent is about looking forward. It is about living in anticipation of the arrival of something. If we feel that we’re short of hope we need to lift our sights and remind ourselves what it is that we are supposed to be looking forward to. It’s not about looking forward to Christmas food or drink. It’s not about the parties, the presents, the bright lights – these might make us feel a bit better for a day, but they have little to do with the true meaning of Christmas. As Christians we are looking forward to a gift which is infinitely more important than any of that. We are celebrating the fulfilment of prophecy in the birth of the Christ child, the Messiah. And we are looking forward to the fulfilment of prophecy in the return of the Messiah and the restoration of the Kingdom of God. It’s about encouragement. It’s about hope.

Take Jesus out of the picture and it’s not surprising everyone feels discouraged. Put Jesus in the picture and there’s one major difference. Hope.

Of course we’re praying for peace across the world and for the restoration of hope in our communities. But the true hope for us all in this first week of Advent is Jesus.

Romans 15: ¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In a few weeks time, I will be stepping down from my role as the Coordinator for Horsham Churches Together. I’ve done this job for just a couple of years. There have been challenges, but I’ve met and worked with some wonderful people and it’s been an incredible privilege to serve local Churches and Christian leaders in this way.

Moving on undoubtedly brings me closer to retirement. That feels like a big thing for me. I don’t feel ready to retire, and I have very mixed feelings about stepping down, but in my heart, I know it is the right thing for me to do.

Last night, I went to a worship and prayer service which brings together people from many of the 31 Horsham congregations.

As I walked to the meeting I was reflecting on my role with and my small contribution to the life of Horsham Churches Together over the last couple of years. Those mixed feelings rose again in my mind. Who is going to take over? What will it look like without me? How’s it going to work?

Then, as I walked up North Street, past the Old Council Offices, God spoke. ‘This story,’ He said, ‘is about me, not about you.’ There was a gentleness to these words, yet a profound directness. Stop worrying about the next stage of the story for HCT. It seemed to say, the future of HCT is part of God’s story. Not mine.

Later, at the service, I found myself praying on my own to one side of the auditorium. I was prayerfully reflecting on my own career – my own story. I have done many jobs – paid and voluntary. If a book were written about my life, I thought, each of them would be a chapter in my story. I have so often been deeply conscious of His presence at so many important points in my life. The start, and the closure, of each chapter has invariably involved a sense of His direction and leading. So, I found myself prayerfully asking God what was next for me. In an instant, in my mind, was the phrase ‘How much better will it be if you let me write the next chapter.’

^“6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” Philippians 4:6-7 (NRSV)

^“6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” Philippians 4:6-7 (NRSV)

Dr Mike Frost is the founding Director of the Tinsley Institute, a mission study centre located at Morling College in Sydney, Australia.

This is quoted from: www.nomadpodcast.co.uk/michael-frost-deconstructing-the-christian-narrative-of-power-n302/

‘I don’t read these as conditions – if you do these things you will be blessed, but as proclamations of the upside down kingdom

• God is for those who are down and out, for the freaks, the weirdos, the awkward, the suffering, the irreligious and the profane;
• God is for those who are deep in grief, whose pain makes them unable to participate fully in the strategies of a successful modern life;
• God is for those who do not use power and strength over others in order to make their way in the world;
• God is for those who long for things to be put right and for the unjust systems of the world to be torn down
• God is for those who show mercy and forgiveness to one another, rather than seeking revenge for the ways in which they have been wronged
• God is for those who can see that the external markers of religiously approved behaviour don’t mean much after all;
• God is for those who resist  ways of violence and oppression in the world, and instead seek to become agents of peace and reconciliation between those who do not yet understand or love one another
• And God is for those who, because they seek to live in this kind of reality, encounter the impression, exclusion and disdain of those with power, wealth and status.’

Each day, look for something beautiful. Take time to notice. Take time to breathe.

‘We do not want merely to see beauty… we want something else which can hardly be put into words- to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.’

CS Lewis, ‘The Weight of Glory’, p.42, Harper Collins

About 20 years ago on Remembrance Day I was speaking at a small Baptist Church in south Essex. As part of the prayers of intercession, we reflected on the many wars and humanitarian crises which were happening around the world.  At the end of each section of the prayers I used this phrase.

‘If ever the world needed Jesus, it needs Him now.’

As I write, a week has passed since a brutal Hamas attack which originated from northern Gaza, resulted in thousands of Israeli dead. Women. Children. Entire families. Killed in their own homes. This attack was a massacre. This attack was brutal and inexcusable. The attack grows from a shameful history of deprivation and suppression of the Palestinian people.

Tonight, 2 million Palestinian people are living under siege.  They are being denied access to the basic needs of food, water and medicine.  Israel is bombing residential areas of Gaza, including places where displaced refugees are seeking refuge.  They are being shelled and killed in their own homes by armaments fired by the Israeli Defence Force. Civilians are being maimed and killed in their thousands. They are victims of a massacre. Women. Children. Entire families. There is no safe place in Gaza. The people of Gaza have nowhere to hide. They have nowhere to go.

As I write, the world is holding its breath in horror.

As I write, the world is watching.

‘If ever the world needed the love, the healing, the peace and the grace of Jesus Christ, it needs it now.’

Today, more than ever, keep praying.

‘I am the Lord your God.’

We read these words a number of times in Scripture. I wonder whether you have ever really stopped to think about what that short sentence actually means. It’s so easy to overlook the extraordinary power and majesty which they describe.

I have been leading worship for years. A lot of years. I have something of an itinerant ministry, which means that when I turn up at a Church to preach, I will also have the guitar ready to lead at least part of the service with music.

So a couple of nights ago, I turned up at a meeting, it was quite normal for me to be asked to start with a song and a prayer. It wasn’t a huge meeting, but it was a public meeting. No problem.

So there we were, gathered together, ready to start.

We started with a prayer. I brought a verse of Scripture. Exodus 20:1-2. The verse contains the words, ‘I am the LORD your God.’ I spoke a few words. Then, we were silent before the Lord.

Then, I started singing. The people joined me, praising God, singing a familiar song.

I noticed two things. First, I had started us off in the wrong key. It wasn’t wildly out. It was ok for most of the ladies, but a struggle for the men. As the worship leader I had accidentally set myself a huge challenge. The second thing I realised was that in the heat of a summers evening, my guitar had become horribly out of tune.

We kept going. I used the guitar as little as possible, and did my best. But there’s no question. I hadn’t prepared properly. I hadn’t checked the guitar properly. I should have done better. Much better.

Later, I reflected on what had happened. It was as if God was saying to me, ‘Don’t be over confident – don’t forget that this is not about you. It’s about me.’

It’s only now, a few days on, that I have been reminded of those six words.

‘I am the LORD your God.’

I praise you for who you are. You are the LORD my God.
Lord, forgive me for the times when I do things in my own strength.
The times when I forget to rely on you.
Forgive me for the moments when I don’t use the gifts which you have given me as well as I should. Forgive me when I forget who you are.
Forgive me for the moments when I act as if it’s all about me.
Thank you for the guiding touch of your Holy Spirit. Thank you for allowing me to draw close to you.
More than a friend. More than a brother.
You are the LORD my God.

In Episode 163 of The Goon Show, the highly esteemed BBC radio comedy from the 1950s, Neddy Seagoon happens across the childlike Eccles in a dark, damp, coal cellar. “What are you doing here?”, asks Seagoon. Eccles replies: “Everybody’s gotta be somewhere.”[i]

Eccles, it seems to me, had a point. It is a simple matter of the laws of physics and of common sense that all of us, at any point in our lives, have to be somewhere. The fact that we are somewhere, means we cannot simultaneously be anywhere else. I am sitting in the shade in my daughter’s back garden in Bristol. I cannot simultaneously be sitting on the terrace of my apartment in Horsham.

Eccles was right. “Everybody’s gotta be somewhere.”

The same is not true of God.

John 4:24 summarises a truth which permeates Scripture. ‘God is Spirit.’ From the first verses of Genesis at the beginning of the Bible through to the closing verses of Revelation Scripture makes clear that God is not constrained by the laws of science. He is not limited by geographical or political boundaries. He is global. He is universal. Our God is the creator of all things and is present by His Spirit throughout His creation (Isaiah 40:28). 

Unlike us, God can, by His Spirit, be everywhere at the same time.

We have a tendency to ‘compartmentalise’ our lives. We can easily start to see our work life as distinctly separate from our home life. Our behaviour during time spent with our friends can be very different from time spent with our family. Our expectations of our own behviour Saturday evening can be wildly different from our expectations of our behaviour on Sunday morning. Our attitude when driving our car can be completely different from our behaviour when visiting our Grandparents or our Grandchildren.

And yet another truth which permeates Scripture is the closeness of God. Wherever we go, regardless of our circumstances, God is always there.

²³ Am I a God near by, says the Lord, and not a God far off? ²⁴ Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:23-24 (NRSVUE))

Where, asks the Psalmist, can I go to get away from your Spirit?

Where can I go from your spirit?  Or where can I flee from your presence? (Psalm 139:7)                

The answer, ultimately, is ‘nowhere’. A God who is fills his creation with the Presence of His Spirit is everywhere. His presence extends to us as individuals.

Always ‘remember’, says Jesus to His followers, ‘I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ (Matthew 28: 20).

A God who is Spirit, who fills His creation, and is always present. When we’re facing an exam, or a hospital appointment, or a relationship breakdown, that can be a real comfort. When we’re dealing with bereavement, or anxiety about the future, or deep seated depression, that can be a lifeline.

God, we know, ‘is near to the broken hearted,  and saves the crushed in spirit.’ (Psalm 34:18)

But of course a God who is Spirit, who fills His creation, and is always present, creates a huge responsibility for all of us. A God who watches over us and never sleeps sees everything we do (Psalm 121, 3-4), and knows every word we say, even before we say it (Psalm 139:4). Nothing, but nothing is hidden from Him. We can compartmentalise our lives as much as we like. We can make excuses for our less than appropriate behaviour in dark corners of our life, but we can never hide our activities, even our thoughts, from Him.

A God who is Spirit, who fills His creation, who is always present, who is all knowing. This can feel burdensome, even overpowering. It can feel as if we are constantly on show. As if every error we make is being seen and noted. Yet this is balanced by the sense of His loving presence supporting, encouraging and blessing us at every point as we walk through life with Christ alongside us.

As followers of Jesus, we need to remind ourselves that the sense of burden which comes with our recognition of that ‘responsibility’, only kicks in if we are doing things which we know we should probably not be doing. The burden becomes heavier still, if we try to compartmentalise our lives in such a way that there are areas of our life which we would prefer that God did not see. Dark recesses where we hope that the light of His presence will not shine. Yet we have just reminded ourselves that such a ‘hidden’ place cannot – does not – exist. Scripture says that however hard we try to do that, we simply can’t hide ourselves from Him.

My point is that it starts to look a bit like this. If we’re doing the right thing, His presence is a comfort, an inspiration and a joy. If we’re not doing the right thing, His presence is a burden

If I’m observing my responsibilities –if I’m doing the right thing – the Presence of God is an awesome thing. If I’m disregarding my responsibilities – going my own way – doing the wrong thing – His presence is something to be hidden from. Doing the right thing means that I can enjoy life to the full in His Presence. Deliberately doing the wrong thing creates a sense of anxiety and the desire to keep things hidden from God.

Adam and Eve tried to hide in the Garden of Eden. Jonah tried running away to escape from God. They all discovered that you simply can’t hide from God.

So, here’s the thing. Eccles was right. Everybody really has gotta be somewhere.

If you’re following Jesus, the teaching of Scripture is clear. Wherever that ‘somewhere’ may be, God will be there. You can try to hide. Or you can celebrate His presence. The choice is yours. If you are a follower of Jesus – you decide.

I was reminded this week that we sometimes need to look back to recognise how far we have come. Yet there are times when progress is slow. There are occasions when you look back and realise that you have not come as far as you hoped. You worked hard. You were focused. You have given your all. You are exhausted. Yet relatively little has been achieved.

Don’t despair. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you have been doing it wrong. It sometimes means that you have done it right.

‘Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin….’

Zechariah 4:10