death of JP

A lovely Godly lady went to be with the lord at 12.30pm yesterday.  As they say in the salvation army, "Promoted to Glory"

She was home, she saw her new born grand daughter and the family are together.  Grieving is a family affair. I went through it with the deaths of my parents, so I can understand something of what they are going through

My second (different) christmas address

Leviticus 12

Luke 2. 21-40

The jewish Law required that a boy be circumcised on the eighth day thus entering into a covenant relationship.  This was the old covenant.  We therefore see in Jesus the old covenant ending and the new beginning with his death and resurrection.

Luke was a gentile and in his gospel he explains to the reader that  that a pair of doves or pigeons was required.  ( Jews would not need to be told this)

When we look at the old testament we find that these were to be presented if that was all the couple could afford and in the case of Joseph and Mary, not being wealthy, then this was a pleasing offering to the lord, but they were really offering Jesus.

Mary and joseph were obeying the law as written in Leviticus 12.( read this)

Leviticus 12 specifies what a woman is to do after she gives birth to a son:

• She is religiously unclean or impure for seven days after childbirth.

• On the eighth day, the boy is to be circumcised.

• The woman must wait thirty three days to be purified from her bleeding.

• After this purification period, she is to bring a lamb to the priest to sacrifice, and a young pigeon or dove for a sin offering.

Every aspect of life, had to be holy.

In order to be acceptable to God, all these things in Leviticus 12 had to be done

We are told very little about Simeon, except that he was a Godly man, and the holy spirit had come upon him and shown him that he would not die until he had seen christ.

On the day that Jesus was to be circumcised, it was the holy spirit who prompted him that this child was the Christ, and his words have been recorded and Joseph and Marys reaction is recorded.

Although they were aware of who Jesus was, even they marvelled at what Simeon had to say.  It was also a warning of the grief that Mary in particular would suffer when he was crucified.

We do not know how God revealed to Simeon that he would have a role in this drama before he

died. We don’t know how many long years he might have waited in faith and expectation. We

don’t know if he wavered in doubt or if he persevered with unwavering faith. What really

matters is that when the critical time came to trust and obey God he did.

Note also that Simeon revealed that he would be a light for revelation to the Gentiles.  This would have been difficult for the Jews to comprehend. Is it any wonder that Mary and Joseph marvelled?  He would also be for the glory of Israel. This he revealed to all, however he also had a word that was only for Mary.

“This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Isreal, and to be a sign that will be spoken against so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed and a sword will pierce your owns soul to”.

We see in these words a warning.  Jesus would cause MANY to FALL.  At this time when people are thinking of “Gentle Jesus Meek and Mild”, let us not lose sight of the fact that Jesus is the Son the second person of the trinity and that one day he will Judge the earth and those who have rejected him will fall.  They will suffer his wrath.

Indeed jesus does know the true thoughts of our hearts and reveals them, but there was a to be a very personal heartache that would belong only to Mary.  I wonder if she fully comprehended it at the time.  Somehow I doubt that, but when he was crucified, perhaps she remembered what Simeon told her that day.

Anna was an old woman, the daughter of  Phanuel. (His name meant, THE FACE OF GOD)

We are not told what Anna had to say, but I presume that it built upon what Simeon had said. She spoke to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Israel.  Whatever she had to say would have been of great benefit to their understanding.

Can you imagine what that was like?  Here was an old woman who worshipped the lord, and she was telling them that the very thing they were praying for and looking forward to was happening before their very eyes that day.

In a day when people had largely turned their backs upon God, God carried out his promise of sending the messiah and Simeon and Anna had remained faithful.

In our own day, when we see all the things around us that are going on that we know are not pleasing to God, we need to be faithful as Simeon and Anna were.

What I have been expecting

yesterday, I saw an email, sent out by C concerning his terminally ill wife.  This is the first time all the team have been told that she is terminal.  This morning K told all of us and at lunchtime, I saw the Macmillan nurses.

They had a dream of living on a barge and eventually sailing to France. Indeed there was an article about it in the local news paper.

Things are going to be very very different.

Was it Gods providence

I wonder if it was in Gods providence that as Business manager for the theatre production I found enough stewards for the Auditorium, so could not put myself in there as steward and consequently went to the dress rehearsal to see it which I had never done before, and spotted that one character had a red bible, something that did not exist in the reign of Charles the second, and in a pub the woman playing the part told me she had planned to ask her cousin who has old books if she could borrow from her a black bible, but she forgot to ask, hence she used a copy of Gullivers Travels, I spotted the mistake and supplied a black bible which then introduced me to the new face, and in the pub and in the resturant I sat beside the new face, all of which was not planned by me.  Was it planned by God?  Will it bear fruit?  I await to see.

Oswestry live

Oswestry live took place last night.  For the first time I thought it failed.  the Crowd were not there for the bands, and for at least one band they were inviting people to another venue they were playing at and there were few people there to invite.

The publicity said that it went on until 10pm, but some of the fairground attractions started packing up at 9.30.

That said, a meal with the theatre at the Simla was just lovely