The Advent Collective

The Advent Collective is a new daily reflection drawing from Bible passages that are commonly read in this season of Advent.  Our hope is that it will help us to grow as we live out our faith in the everyday moments of life.

Hello and welcome to the Advent Collective day 5. I’m Clarissa. I’m married to Tom and we have 3 children.

Todays passage is Isaiah 9:1-7.

Do you like the winter?  The long, dark cold days?  This year especially with all people have endured I think entering this season (as the afternoons and mornings get darker) may for some feel harder than normal. How are you doing with living in the present right now? Are you ‘grinning and bearing it’ and just looking forward to next summer when we have all had the vaccine, days are warmer and life can feel more normal and full of colour?

On a jog the other night it occurred to be afresh just how beautiful the Christmas lights are that people have began to put on trees and outside their houses. It may be hard to endure the cold and dark days of winter, but if it were summer all year round we wouldn’t get to appreciate those little lights that make the dark not so dark anymore.

Here in Isaiah prior to the passage for today we can read how the people were looking at the world for their fulfilment. Isaiah wrote that God warned them not to follow the ‘way of people’ (Isaiah 8: 11) and yet they feared what other people feared and they consulted mediums instead of God. Then we read they were ‘distressed and hungry…looking upward’ ( Is 8:21) they cursed God, and then they were‘thrust into utter darkness’ (Is 8:22). BUT God’s plan wasn’t to leave them there; No! Then we read our chapter for today. I’d really encourage you to read the whole thing but this is verse 6; ‘For us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’

I read in an article in the Times Newspaper recently that the secret to happiness as we live with the current Government restrictions is to celebrate and take pleasure in the small things; maybe a the cup of tea in the morning or laughing together. I love this and I do think we can all benefit from enjoying the small simple things in life and giving thanks for them can bring much joy. I for one love my cup of tea, my warm coat and boots and my electric blanket- these things definitely bring me pleasure and make life more comfortable, but I would be missing something if I thought that was what life was about. We can’t fix our own lives. My Dad (who wouldn’t mind me saying is not really one for a philosophical thought) once said when talking about his own situation “ comfort was never on the agenda “. It is true like in the passage in Isaiah that we cannot escape that we live in a broken world. This year I think the brokenness of our world has been even more evident. There has been so much pain, loneliness, loss, separation, isolation, grief and what has felt like an endless race to run, and yet we can have hope because God always had a plan. We read ‘Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress…the people walking in darkness have seen a great light’ (v1-2). He is the light! Jesus who we are waiting for comes and shatters the burdens, he fights for us and is so powerful the ‘government will be on his shoulders’. He comes as a baby, meaning he knows what is like to be human which means he can be called ‘ wonderful counsellor’ (v6) he journeys with you; ‘Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’  (v6) He has overwhelming power and of this power and peace ‘ there will be no end’ (v7). Do you want some of that? I know I do! Well guys if you believe in Jesus then he already lives in you though the HolySpirit.

God showed extraordinary generosity to us in Jesus. Today may be dark, cold and life not easy. But if you know Jesus then you are a person of the li...

The Advent Collective is a new daily reflection drawing from Bible passages that are commonly read in this season of Advent.  Our hope is that it will help us to grow as we live out our faith in the everyday moments of life.

Welcome to The Advent Collective day 4.

Years back I took a big trip to Ikea & took someone with me for the ride.

As we set off my co-pilot made it very clear he never used a sat nav on the grounds of principle.  I always use a sat nav.  It was an awkward moment because he made the strong argument that Sat Navs (in his view) ruined our map reading skills. Therefore we should keep these vital skills alive and take any opportunity to read a map.

I chose the path of least resistance and let him let him map read.

It didn’t make for a relaxing journey.

At key motorway junctions a silent tension descended as he poured over the map.  Flipping the pages back and forth muttering to himself.

All the time I was thinking:  use the sat nav mate.

I honestly don’t know what it achieved.  We couldn’t really talk much because he was concentrating so hard on map reading.

When I think of that story I do chuckle.  But then I do ask myself- how good am I at following advice?  If my life was a like van ride to IKEA would I insist on reading the map?  Who would I really trust?

Our reading today is Isaiah 7: 10-17 – in particular verse 14 which says this:

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

In chapter 5 we meet King Ahaz and he’s under pressure.  The surrounding countries & kingdoms which are bigger and more powerful than Judah looking ready to to attack. Previously with God’s help Judah had withstood an attack on Jerusalem.  This episode shook King Ahaz and his people – they were terrified and it left a deep scar.  Ahaz now looking at his own resources figured that they wouldn’t survive another sustained attack.

In verses 3-11 Isaiah appeals to Ahaz reminding him of God’s faithfulness.  He prophesies that the surrounding nations will come to nothing.  He implores Ahaz to trust God.  To ask God for a sign.  To put his faith in Him.

My natural posture when I’m under pressure,  when I’m overwhelmed and feel like I’m on the back foot is to try and sort stuff out myself.

Ahaz has a choice.  What does he do?  He compromises Judah and ignores Isaiah and signs political treaty with the surrounding nations.  He fixes it himself.

His fear is too great and his self reliance too tempting.

If verse 14 reveals anything it’s the reminder that God does not give up on us.  Where Ahaz’ plan to rescue himself comes to nothing.  Isaiah speaks of a time coming when God in his grace will come to us in flesh and blood:  Immanuel – God with us.

Who or what we listen to can – like my sat nav phobic friend reveal our levels of self reliance.  From the silly things like refusing to follow a Sat Nav to more serious things like am I listening to the very words of God?

Why not look back over the past few weeks and ask yourself this question – when did I last ask someone for advice?  Where have I made myself vulnerable – released a bit of control and have an unguarded conversation – and say ‘hey, I’m not sure what to do here but….’   Where have I allowed someone to speak wisdom – even prophetically into my heart?

Like Ahaz from time to time we’re all faced with giants – seemingly huge challenges.  But it’s important that in those moments we surrender self reliance & listen to the words of God about who he is and where he’s directing us.

The Advent Collective is a new daily reflection drawing from Bible passages that are commonly read in this season of Advent.  Our hope is that it will help us to grow as we live out our faith in the everyday moments of life.

It’s Day 3 of the Advent Collective, and today our Bible reading is Genesis Chapter 11.

I’m sure many of you love a good David Attenborough nature documentary.  It’s hard to choose a favourite from the many series that he has done……however, I always like the episodes that tell of the amazing journeys and migrations that some animals make, all in an attempt to return home.

Like female green turtles who travel 1000 miles from the coast of Brazil just to lay their eggs on exactly the same beach of Ascension Island where they themselves hatched out.  Or Atlantic salmon, who swim hundreds of miles upstream, against strong currents, to spawn and ultimately die, in the same river that they were born in.

The call of home is such a powerful force of nature, that animals will go to extraordinary lengths, using all their strength and skill, to make this homecoming journey.

As humans, we are no different.

It’s why the Christmas classic, ‘I’ll be Home for Christmas” remains so popular.  It’s not just festive sentimentality; it resonates with a deep spiritual desire within us.

We just want to get back home.

Ever since Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden, there has been a longing in the heart and soul of all mankind to return home.  To return to that place where everything is very good, and we can live with God.

On the surface, this is what we see happening in Genesis Chapter 11.

The people say, “Come, let us build a tower that reaches to the heavens.”

The desire of the people of Babel to return home to God was not inherently bad, but no matter how many bricks they made, no matter how many floors and staircases the tower had; people could never complete the journey to Heaven by themselves; their hard work, ingenuity, and skill would never be enough.

The sin that had entered the world in Eden meant that Heaven and Earth were now separated – a tower could not bridge the gap, and trying to fulfil this yearning for home in their own strength, would only lead to disillusionment and disappointment amongst God’s people.

And so, God came down from Heaven to intervene, and he scattered them.

Now, unless you are an architect, or have a child who plays with Duplo; you may not actually be building a tower right now.  You might well be thinking, “What on earth has this got to do with me?”

Well, I think there is one very simple, yet very powerful, question that all of us need to ask ourselves after reading this passage……’What is my Babel?’

That deep longing to be at home with God again is part of what it means to be human.  But what happens is that we try and fill the gap in our soul with the wrong things, or we attempt to complete the journey in our own strength.

Maybe it’s securing a promotion, buying a house with a bigger garden, chasing relationships and sexual intimacy, using drink or drugs to feel better, travelling the world and living for the next holiday, or just always aiming to achieve those dreams that you write in your bullet journal?

What are the things that we look for to give us happiness, satisfaction or fulfilment?

What’s our Babel?

Whatever it is, the message of Genesis 11 is that none of these things are the perfect solution we are looking for, they will all leave us feeling empty and let down.  None of them will lead us home.

This could be a somewhat depressing place to end this reflection.

However, Advent is a season of hope and a season of promise.

Thousands of years after Babel, God looked at the people of the earth, and He saw that they were still struggling and battling to find a way home.  People were seeking to fulfil the longings and yearnings of...

The Advent Collective is a new daily reflection drawing from Bible passages that are commonly read in this season of Advent.  Our hope is that it will help us to grow as we live out our faith in the everyday moments of life.

It’s lovely to have you join us for the Advent Collective Day 2.  Our Bible reading today is the whole of Genesis Chapter 3.

I wonder when you normally start planning for Christmas?

Have you already secured the prized Tesco delivery slot?

Is your Christmas cake made and maturing?

Do you have the tree up and the house decorated?

Are you writing Christmas cards ready to post?

I have done none of these things, but with 3 children, 13 (soon to be 14) nieces and nephews, and 9 godchildren, I can tell you unashamedly that my planning of Christmas presents begins in the January sales!

But, whether you are a great forward planner, or whether your Christmas is more of a last minute rush, in today’s passage we see that God’s plan for Christmas began right at the very beginning of the Bible, in Genesis Chapter 3.

The story of God starts in a garden – an amazing, beautiful, luscious garden – and everything about it was good.  In fact, it was very good.

The first people in this glorious creation lived as God intended and designed them to – they reflected the image and likeness of their Heavenly Father, and they worked to bring fruitfulness and blessing to the garden, and the world around it.  In this place everything flourished and teemed with life.

We call it Eden.  Adam and Eve called it home.

And God was right there with them.

In verse 8 we read, “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day.”

The Creator of the universe, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, lived and walked and talked right alongside Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

God was not remote or removed, in some faraway heavenly realm.  God lived in the garden; it was his dwelling place……..it was his home too.

And so, in Eden, Adam and Eve had no reason to be discontented.  They had all that they needed – food, plants, abundance, and blessing.  And they had the type of close, intimate, relationship with God that came from living with Him and being at home with one another.

But despite all of this, discontentment crept, or indeed slithered, into this perfect world.

When the serpent said that there was an opportunity to gain greater wisdom and to be like God, Adam and Eve took it.

All at once their relationship and connection to God was destroyed.  In shame and fear they hid from him, and in verse 9 God called out to these people that he loved so much, “Where are you?”

We hear God’s pain and anguish at this separation.

And as he learns that Adam and Eve have listened to the serpent, that they have allowed discontentment and disobedience to enter their hearts and minds, we then hear his sadness as in verse 13 God says, “What have you done?”

Because God knew that nothing bad or rotten or evil could be in the Garden of Eden.  It was not a place for shame and fear, pain or suffering; because it was a place where God dwelt, where he was at home, and everything was very good.

This meant that Adam and Eve could not stay.  In verse 23 we read, “So God expelled them from the Garden of Eden and sent them to work the ground, the same dirt out of which they’d been made.”

With angels and flaming swords guarding the tree of life, it seemed like there was no way back; that Adam and Eve and all their descendants would never be able to live with God again, would never be able to return home.

But God’s plan for Christmas was already in place.

He promised a serpent crusher.

A baby would be born, offspring of the woman, who would one day crush the head of the serpent.  Striking at his heel, the snake would try to kill him – but the s...

The Advent Collective is a new daily reflection drawing from Bible passages that are commonly read in this season of Advent.  Our hope is that it will help us to grow as we live out our faith in the everyday moments of life.

Welcome to the Advent Collective Day 1

Our Bible passage today is Genesis Chapter 1 vs26-31 and Chapter 2 verse 15.

We’re currently watching Season 4 of ‘The Crown’ on Netflix.  We only have a month long subscription, so are binge watching 10 episodes in 4 weeks……this is therefore a spoiler alert!

In episode 7, Princess Margaret is struggling with her mental health and feels rejected and unwanted.  Princess Diana – who is younger, prettier and more popular – is now on the scene and getting all the attention.  And then, as Prince Edward turns 21, Margaret is demoted from her position as Counsellor of State and is no longer entitled to deputise for the monarch.

She pleads with the Queen: “Don’t take that away from me – it’s all I’ve got.  I asked you for just one thing – to give me work, a purpose, dignity!”

A friend encourages Margaret to explore Christianity, in order to find the happiness she longs for.  In a fairly angry response, the princess shouts, “The title, my seniority, the proximity to the crown, is my happiness, it’s who I am……I am the Queen’s sister, daughter to a King Emperor, and I will always be in the centre!”

It is clear that everything about Margaret’s identity and purpose is being shaken to the core.

But it’s not just princesses who struggle with the big questions of life – ‘Who am I?’ and ‘What am I meant to be doing?’

And so, at the start of Advent, we are going to go right back to the start of the story; and remind ourselves of what God says about our identity and purpose.

In Genesis Chapter 1 we read these words:

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness……So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them…..And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.”

Right at the beginning of the story, in the first chapters, on the first pages, we find out who we really are, our true identity is revealed.

We are God’s very good creation, we are made in his own image, and we bear the likeness of our Heavenly Father.

This is an absolutely amazing identity to have – to be created in the image of the King of Heaven!

However, do we believe that this is actually true?  Is this the identity that we live in?

I am in no way suggesting that we develop the same arrogance that Princess Margaret displayed, but her words made me question the attitudes and beliefs of my own heart and mind.

Do I declare with such certainty and conviction that my identity is as a daughter of the King?  Or do I listen to other voices that would seek to tell me I am less than that?

Is my self-worth anchored in the fact that I am made in the image of God, that I am his very good creation?  Or does my heart think that if I was younger, prettier, slimmer, or more popular, then things would all just be a bit better?

Does my proximity and closeness to my Heavenly Father bring me the happiness we all long for, or do I look for this somewhere else?

And then we come to the second question: ‘What am I meant to be doing?’

Whether it is through furlough, redundancy, working from home, new workplace procedures, or being forced to close in lockdown – so many of us have found that our work has altered radically in 2020.  We knew what we were meant to be doing, and how to do it well, but all that has gone.

And yet throughout this uncertainty, God’s purpose for our lives has remained unchanged.

In today’s passage, God says to Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it,” and then God takes them and places them in the Garden of Eden “to work it and keep it.”

The Advent Collective is a daily reflection from the Bible using passages traditionally read at this time of year.  We are different people from all walks of life but with one thing in common: a commitment to follow Jesus in the everyday moments of life.