How many of us feel we cannot approach God because we have ‘nothing to offer’, that because he is God we should be better, we should be able to bring gifts, offerings, something that is of sufficient quality to present before him. How many of us feel we ought to have something we can offer to God, and how many of us look at what we have or what we can do and think – that’s nowhere near good enough, how could God ever accept me, how could anything I can do be enough, be perfect enough to give to God? The L’Oreal advert might tell us ‘because you’re worth it’ but we don’t really believe that. We get bogged down with the idea that we are not worth ‘it’ – that we don’t deserve – whatever ‘it’ is, to be happy, have a nice home, be healed, be rescued, have stuff.
But the truth is that Jesus died, on a Roman cross (a particularly nasty way of killing people), because he sees me – and you, each one of us – as ‘worth it’. That cross – horrific, brutal, cruel – placed in me my worth, it tells me that Jesus thinks I am worth dying for, that my life is worth him sacrificing his. Reality check – yes, that really, really does mean you. When you feel small, or insignificant, or overlooked or undeserving, change your focus. Look to Jesus, who values you above his own life. Jesus gave up his place in heaven, right by the side of God, with all that is wonderful and amazing and perfect, for you – he genuinely puts that much value on you (and me). You want to know what you are worth – see yourself as Jesus sees you.
This was inspired by a particular favourite song of mine.  Written by a group called Starfield, the title is ’Unashamed’, and I have permission from Jon Neufeld to post the lyrics here for you to read for yourself:  

“Unashamed”

I have not much
To offer You
Not near what You deserve
But still I come
Because Your cross
Has placed in me my worth

Oh, Christ my King
Of sympathy
Whose wounds secure my peace
Your grace extends
To call me friend
Your mercy sets me free

And I know I’m weak
I know I’m unworthy
To call upon Your name
But because of grace
Because of Your mercy
I stand here unashamed

I can’t explain
This kind of love
I’m humbled and amazed
That You’d come down
From heavens heights
And greet me face to face

Here I am at Your feet
In my brokeness complete

How do you see yourself? Do you have a reasonably healthy opinion of what kind of person you are? Or do you see yourself in the light of all the mistakes and bad choices you’ve made? Do you realise that God is a God of new beginnings? He is called Father, Jesus refers to him as ‘abba’ which translates as ‘dad’ – because that’s how Jesus wants us to see God, as our Dad, and that is part of the reason Jesus turned his back on the glories of heaven and chose to take on the weakness and frailty of being human – and not simply a man, but he started his time on earth as a baby, weak, helpless and totally reliant on his mum to feed him, clean him and care for him. Quite a thought, isn’t it, that Jesus – through whom all things were created – became one of the most helpless creatures on earth, a human baby.
So why else did he come? Because he wants us to know that he thinks we’re worth it. Every single one of us.  He came to say that it doesn’t matter what we’ve done, the mistakes we’ve made, the wrong paths we’ve persistently taken throughout life. Jesus says that when we turn to God we get a brand new start – all the old stuff is washed away. That is a wonderful gift – but it’s no gift at all unless we believe it, believe that we matter that much to God, believe that he is the ultimate Dad and we are accepted by him as his kids.
In the Old Testament book of Isaiah (chapter 43 v 4) God says ‘you are precious to me, because I give you honour and love you’.
Take advantage of the new start offered because of the decision Jesus made to come to earth and become human. Believe what God says about you, believe that you are precious and honoured. Believe that God loves you – just exactly as you are. Then look forward to a new year and new start with the God of new beginnings, knowing that he loves you, that he will never leave you, never abandon you. Choose the right path this time, choose to walk with God.

I have read somewhere that the word ‘Christian’ makes a great noun but a lousy adjective – and I have to agree!  As a student of English this comment really appealed, more so because of the connotations associated with this kind of description.  When we think of a ‘Christian book’ or a ‘Christian coffee shop’ the instant image is -well -wussy, to say the least.  A ‘Christian mother’ gives the impression of someone who is nauseatingly saintly, never gets irritated, would never let alcohol pass her lips – you know the picture, the halo shines brightly over it!  Reality check, being a Christian is, to say the least, an interesting experience.  Becoming a Christian does not mean instant saintliness, it doesn’t mean that you instantly drop all your ‘bad’ habits, never get angry and always speak kindly and gently to everyone.  To be honest, a person like that is more likely to put you off the idea of God eternally – a bit like the notion of a heaven where all you do, all day, every day, is sit on a cloud, wearing a nightie and singing!!  This concept of the wimpy, nice Christian is the world’s way of looking at it, and so often we get bound up with this expectation of us.  Life with God is so much more than being ‘nice’ – in fact, being nice is not part of it.  God calls us  be all sorts of things – strong in faith, kind, surrendered to him, willing, trusting, determined, hospitable, obedient, generous – but ‘nice’ is never mentioned.  Life with God is an adventure, it is difficult, it can be uncomfortable, it can even be quite scary sometimes – but it is not nice and it is never boring.  Be a Christian, walk with God, be prepared for exciting days but don’t fall into the world’s ideas of what a Christian should be.  If you want to know what it’s like, go back to your bible, read the adventures of Jesus and his followers in the New Testament and look at them with fresh eyes.  Nice?  Boring??  I don’t think so.

I recently started re-reading Isaiah 54 – a chapter that is pretty familiar to some, so I’m feeling as though I need to read this very carefully, with lots of pauses for thought and reflection as it is so easy to gloss over familiar words without really reading the important bits. I have covered the first two verses, and it’s taken me six days so far – there is so much in there! It’s the opening words of any piece of writing that can have the greatest impact, and Isaiah is gifted at this – so much so that the first word of this chapter is one which immediately grabs our attention. It tells us to ‘Sing’.

Singing is something we tend to do when we are happy. When our hearts are full our bodies tend to reflect this – often in an exuberant way. Sometimes we cry, sometimes we laugh – often we do both at the same time. We might dance. Often, we will sing – even if it’s a quiet hum as we go about our daily lives. Yet God is not suggesting here that there is something particular to sing about. In fact, the verse continues ‘You are like a woman who never gave birth to children. Start singing and shout for joy’. Back in the day when the inability to produce children was seen as a curse, the idea of singing in spite of barrenness seems so wrong. Yet God is telling us to sing, to actually shout for joy even though there is nothing to be joyful about. Why??

I believe God wants us to find joy in our hearts. We are his children, we belong to him, he calls us by name and that in itself is something that should give us joy. And God wants us to express that joy in a way that the world can recognise. He wants others – those who do not know him yet – to see that God’s people are joyful people. Can a person who is unfruitful, unproductive sing and shout for joy? Yes, because our priority should be higher than simply being fruitful, our joy should be based on something other than what we do, it should be based on who we are – children of the living God.

Put God first, delight in him, make him your top priority and know his joy – and let the world see it.  Joyful people are attractive.  We all like to be with people who are positive and upbeat, who wear a smile more than a frown. Yes, we all get knocked, life sometimes deals us a real body blow, but what are we like most of the time? Do we reflect ‘the joy of the Lord’? Do we show others that being one of God’s kids is really great, or is our attitude more likely to put them off wanting to be part of God’s family?

How we present ourselves can have a great influence on others, especially when they know our beliefs. The thing is – it must be real, genuine. The idea of wandering through life grinning like an idiot all of the time is not what it’s about. Just as Jesus showed us peace that is beyond understanding, he can also open our hearts to a joy that has no bearing on what is going on around us but is rooted in him. If we can’t stretch this far, we need to go to him for help. ‘Draw near to me and I will draw near to you’ God tells us, and the nearer we get to God the more we reflect him, his qualities, his love, his peace, his joy – which is always a good thing. Take a moment to think about it – are we reflecting who God is? And if not, are we prepared to stretch out to him and ask for his help in making our lives brighter? He is always ready to help – we simply need to ask.

I surrendered to God’s call on my life – much against my will incidentally – one autumn evening at a youth rally which my brother had taken me to. The idea of handing over control of my life absolutely freaked me out, but the consequences of doing so (however reluctantly) were beyond my imagining and life with my God is certainly a roller coaster – exhilarating, exciting and quite terrifying sometimes! When I look back to those early days as one of God’s kids, I vividly remember the approach to Christmas -my first Christmas as a real Christian. I had spent the previous five years as one of ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’ and thus not really acknowledged Christmas at all. This time was different, this time the greatest impact of the festive season was not the excitement, the shopping, presents or decorations. Not even the food! The thing that struck me most was the message the angel brought to the shepherds ‘I bring you glad tidings of great joy’. Suddenly it was as though I had seen this message for the first time in my life – this is what I had been given, glad tidings of great joy. This message was real for me, and it continues to be real for everyone who will accept that God’s gift of his son is for each human being ever born, it is given with love, it is given freely and it is given so that we might experience not simply happiness, which can be a ‘surface’ emotion, fleeting and ephemeral, but joy which is almost tangible, transcends so many other emotions and when it is from God has the power to transform our lives. Glad tidings indeed – and I am still glad that I was there to hear them.

Psalm 119:148 reads ‘I stay awake all night so I can think about your promises’. Hmmm, don’t know about you, but the idea of staying awake all night is about the last thing I might think of doing. I do, however, think about God’s promises which is why they are written in the bible in the first place. Some of them are amazing, but among my favourites has to be Jeremiah 29:11 ‘”I know what I am planning for you” says the Lord. “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future”‘ This is a promise that I love to think about and hold on to, particularly when the world looks bleak. It is comforting to know that our Father understands us so well, and his love for us is what prompted him to have his word written, so we have his promises to hold on to when times are difficult. Take a look through his word, and find some of them for yourself. Even if you can only remember one, it is something good to hold on to when the night seems everlasting.

City Life Church is on the move! In the new year we are going to “The Bank” which is owned by the Methodist Central Hall. This will give us a base for our Sunday service with the option of mid week meetings. It is an ideal city centre site, a stone throw from Starbucks and McDonalds and gives us our own entrance. Look forward to seeing you there in 2011.

Welcome to the new City Life website and blog.