Author: Alex

Christmas is over, and we are well into the new year. However, some churches recognise 6 January as what they call Epiphany, when they celebrate the arrival of the wise men at the home of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. In some cases, the wise men are withheld from the nativity scene until this date. Of course, we don’t know exactly on what day Jesus was born, let alone when the wise men came, but I thought it would be good to consider them, and why they came..
Continue reading “Learning From The Wise Men.”

I recently heard someone on our local radio talking about the days between Christmas and New year, and calling it Betwixtmas. At first, that made me smile, but the presenter went on to say that for many, it can be a flat time, with the excitement of Christmas past, and a new year beckoning. Some are travelling between one set of family members and another, trying to ensure they get round to visiting them all before going back to work.
Continue reading “Happy Betwixtmas!”

Christmas Eve is my favourite day of the year, so I wanted to share something special.
Continue reading “A Christmas Dream.”

A few years ago, I had the great joy and privilege of being asked to lead a Christmas Eve service. Yet, when the time came to begin planning, I didn’t know what I should talk about. I shared my dilemma with my mother, and her words to me were: ‘Well, Mary and Joseph did a lot of travelling on the day Jesus was born, didn’t they?’ And suddenly, the Holy Spirit seemed to turn a light on in my mind.
Continue reading “Christmas Journeys.”

Many thanks to Lou for this beautifully written Christmas devotional.

“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1: 26-38.)
Continue reading “What Will They Think”

Right at the beginning of 2019, I wrote about how the Lord had given me “Hope” as my word for the year. It’s amazing how often it has showed up in scriptures I’d never really given much thought to before, such as where Paul talks in Romans 4 about how “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of all nations.” (Romans 4: 18.) I also love Hebrews 6: 19, which says: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.” And of course, there is the end of 1Corrinthians 13, which reminds us of that beautiful trio of faith, hope and love. How often is the middle word overlooked as we focus more on the faith and the love?
Continue reading “Advent Hope.”

A few years ago, I read a devotional about the differing attitudes of children at Christmas time. The author had been watching video clips of youngsters opening their gifts on Christmas morning. 2 opposing examples stood out. In the first, a child went into a full-scale tantrum after receiving the wrong toy, but in the second, a little girl was bouncing up and down with glee, having put her hand into her stocking and extracted a nut.
Continue reading “An Attitude Of Gratitude.”

A few weeks ago, I felt the Lord laying upon my heart the word “Wait”, so I searched the Bible, to see how many times this one little word could be found, and was shocked at the number of references. Waiting is obviously something God wants us to learn a lot about. Yet, in our modern world, people in general seem to want everything yesterday, or now at the very least!
Continue reading “Hurry Up And Wait!”

This past Sunday, I joined the Remembrance Day parade that marches through our town, ending at the war memorial, where various local organisations present wreaths in honour of those who gave their lives for our country during times of conflict.
Continue reading “We Will Remember Him”

There are some books of the Bible with which we are often fairly familiar, especially if we have been reading the scriptures for many years. For example, we may have heard stories of Jesus’ earthly life from the gospels at an early age. Even those who have come to faith later in life may know about such things as the birth of Jesus, or how he died for us on the cross. However, there are certain little books tucked away in our Bibles that many of us have rarely, or perhaps never read.
Continue reading “The Pointing Finger.”