All Things Seen & Unseen

A dear friend sent this poem to us just recently for Christmas and after asking her permission to publish it I present it here in full. Jeanette’s Christmas Poem, 2011 In the back blocks of Heaven where the angels hang round , when not much is happening down here on the ground, there‘s a bit of commotion, a gasp and a sigh – a Wiki leaks coup from the Lord God on High. Chatter subsides, then comes a great hush, followed by moments of panic and rush - angels on telephones, email and Skype, journalist angels exploiting the hype. “Ground breaking headlines have just come to hand –   God is sending His Son to earth as a man. ” “To earth as a man? You mean live like a mortal? Just shows what that Wiki leaks mob will resort to.” “But it’s true mate, I tell you, I’ve seen preparations,   years of God’s dealings with people and nations . And now all is ready, He walks through earth’s door round about midnigh...

At the small meeting we attend in an Anglican Church on Wednesday mornings where we are the 'young folk' of an older group of 80 and 90 year olds, the senior pastor spoke on the connection among Oaks and Isaiah 61. In Isaiah 61 the Messiah (the Anointed One) says:   1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;   2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;   3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified (KJV).  The KJV speaks of 'trees of righteousness' which the...

Recently, I heard Jesus' birth recounted in Matthew ( 1:18-25 ) spoken about as if it were an object lesson on obedience. The speaker emphasised the fact that just as Joseph was obedient to the voice of an angel of the Lord in a dream so we also were to be obedient to the direction of the Lord. Viewing this passage I would have to say that I think it is not primarily about Joseph's obedience at all. It's more about the faithfulness of God in keeping covenant with his people by his sending of a new King, a deliverer who will save his people from their sins. For firstly consider that the passage is preceded by 17 verses of genealogy that we readers usually ignore to get to the birth story. In doing that we just show how Western we are because we have little knowledge of our ancestors in the way that Middle-Eastern peoples have. Jesus Christ has an impressive lineage that begins in Matthew's account with Abraham the patriarch but goes through David the King. Jesus...