Being Full

Live beyond the boxes by being full.

Emptiness seems to abound. It is no mistake that we are known as a ‘consumer society’ because it seems that as much as we consume, we still never seem to have enough. We earn, we spend, we shop, we eat, we drink, we party, we holiday, all in a futile attempt to try and fill up our empty feelings.

Jesus emphatically challenged us to live beyond societies boxes in this quest for fullness. That instead of turning to money, or food, or anything else on this earth, we should instead turn to God alone to fill us.

Jesus said that he was the Bread of Life, and that by trusting in Him we would experience not only eternal life, but also a life that was abundantly full.

We need to consider carefully what we trust in to give our life meaning. However, this is easier said than done because so many of the things we trust in to give us fulFILLment are very subtle and hard to recognise.

It is not always something as obvious as money, shopping or food. It could be anything from success to popularity to our looks. It is extremely important though that we work on recognising these futile attempts at fulfilment for what they really are. This is so we might begin to give them up to God and learn to trust in Him alone to give our lives meaning and purpose.

If you had to give thought to it … what would be the kind of things you may be trusting in to fill your life? Perhaps it is time that you began to challenge those issues within yourself and hand them over to God.

Hear the call of Jesus offering you fullness of life and put all of your trust in him.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord God, giver of life and all good things, we confess to you how often we search and scrabble for our life’s fulfilment in all the wrong places. We look for it in money, possessions, success, popularity, work, sex, family, food and drink. Help us to recognise that trusting in these things only leads to an increased emptiness. We ask that Jesus would instead become the centre and circumference of our lives and that he would be our food and drink. Help us to make our relationship with you our life’s highest and truest priority.
In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

FOCUS READING
John 10:7-18 (NIV)
Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Openness

Live beyond the boxes by being open.

Work and responsibilities are part and parcel of everyday life for many of us. However, sometimes because of our endless busyness and responsibilities we can forget what is truly important in life. For example, we can be so busy rushing about earning our daily bread that we forget God has also called us to share our daily bread with others.

Being open to giving generously to others is a call that includes but also surpasses the sharing of actual physical food. It means opening our lives to others through the giving of our time, energy, emotions and friendship.

One noticeable thing about Jesus is how much time he took out from the busyness of his life and ministry just to develop relationships with others. This is powerfully seen in the story of Mary and Martha (see today’s focus reading).

Martha reacts to Jesus’ visit very responsibly and sets about getting everything in order. She becomes annoyed with her sister Mary for sitting back and enjoying Jesus’ company rather than helping her out. So she asks Jesus to speak to Mary and send her to work.

Many of us who are responsible and hard working find ourselves naturally siding with Martha. However, in this case Jesus speaks out for Mary, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

As we head into another busy year, live beyond the boxes by slowing down and taking time out to spend working on relationships. Not only relationships with existing family and friends but also to be open to totally new connections.

After all the general busyness of life leads many to feeling very lonely and isolated, so perhaps the greatest gift you could give another is just to develop a friendship with them. Look out for those in around us who most often are left alone, like the elderly or poor.

Live beyond the boxes by not blindly following the rush of society and instead be open enough to slow down and reach out.

PRAY AS YOU GO
Lord, we confess that we often allow important relationships and other priorities to slip up in our rush to get everything done. Help us to be open to others always and everywhere. Help us to take the time out for family and loved ones. Help us to also take the time to connect with those we don’t normally even notice – strangers, the elderly, and the poor. In the name of Jesus who always made time even for the very least in his society. Amen.

FOCUS READING
Luke 10:38-42 (NIV)
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Being Accountable

Live beyond the boxes by being accountable.

Everyone needs help. No exceptions. While Christianity most certainly is a personal faith, it most definitely is not a private one. In fact one of the best parts about Christianity is that it brings us into a community, a family - the church.

One of society’s favourite boxes is that of individualism. We are encouraged to believe that ‘going it alone’ is somehow heroic and that to show need is nothing more than weakness.

In stark contrast to this the Bible teaches us that there is more to life than just us and that being part of a wide and diverse community called the church is extremely important. Living beyond boxes in this case is a call to turn away from selfishness and individualism, and to embrace being involved in community.

One of the many, many reasons God invented the church is because as I have already said – everyone needs help. We need each other. As the author of Ecclesiastes suggests we are stronger when we stand together. Furthermore, if we fall down we need the help of others to gently lift us up.

Our togetherness can also result in tremendous personal growth. Belonging to a community like the church that is made of many wonderfully diverse colours, cultures and languages will almost certainly challenge us to learn from others and to deal with our prejudices.

So for all these reasons and more besides it is very important that we belong to a church, and in this way make ourselves accountable to other Christians. Letting others know our strengths and weaknesses and humbly listening to encouragement or challenge will both enrich and grow us.

Being accountable to others is also a way of living beyond the boxes in our sometimes quite selfish and individualistic society.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord God we give thanks to you for our communities. We recognise that as much as we ourselves are not perfect, so no community or church can be either. Forgive us for the times we harshly judge others or belittle them for their weaknesses and mistakes. Help us to be humble and to become accountable to others in a way that will challenge and grow us. Help us to accept that we all need each other in this way. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

FOCUS READING
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NIV)
Two are better than one, 
       because they have a good return for their work:
 If one falls down, 
       their friend can help him up. 
       But pity the person who falls 
       and has no one to help them up!
 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. 
       But how can one keep warm alone?
 Though one may be overpowered, 
       two can defend themselves. 
       A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Being Real

Live beyond the boxes by being real.

One of the legendary Peanuts comic strips was set on the first day of a brand new school year. The students had been asked to write an essay about their feelings on returning to class. In her essay, Lucy wrote, “Vacations are nice, but it’s good to get back to school. There is nothing more satisfying or challenging than education, and I look forward to a year of expanding knowledge.”

The teacher was pleased with Lucy and publicly complimented her on a fine essay. In the final frame of the cartoon, Lucy leans over her desk and whispers to Charlie Brown, “After a while you learn what sells.”

In our society today there can be huge pressure to “learn what sells” and to adapt our lives accordingly. To say what others want us to say, to do what others want us to do - in other words to fit neatly into a box.

The major problem with this of course is that we become afraid to truly be ourselves in case that does not “sell”. We put up masks and pretend to be what we are not in an effort to fit in and please others. In the process we lose ourselves and also “sell” out on the integrity of our own souls.

Strangely enough, Christ-followers can be the absolute worst at this failure in authenticity. We feel a tension between the way we should live to honour God and the way we actually do live. So we pretend to ourselves and others that we are something we are not. In the process we risk putting many people off Christianity as a result. I say “strangely enough” because Jesus so firmly challenged us towards authenticity in all things – to be real. To be honest and vulnerable about our weaknesses, fears and mistakes.

In today’s focus verse Jesus warns us against pretending to be what we are not in the strongest possible terms.

Don’t fear being real because although others may reject us for it, the Bible promises that God has love enough to accept us as we are and power enough to transform and heal us!

However, for this to happen we have to be real before God.

PRAY AS YOU GO
Thomas a Kempis said, “Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.”

O’ Lord we recognise that the process of personal change becomes so much clearer when we ask you to do it within us. Forgive us of the times we pretend to be what we are not. We ask that you would give us the courage to come before you and others simply as we are. Give us strength enough to be real about even our worst weaknesses and mistakes. Give us compassion enough to learn to accept and love others as they really are. For we know that it is in this way that your Spirit can heal and transform us all. Amen.

FOCUS VERSE
Matthew 7:15-23 (NIV)
Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn-bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Boxes

People like us to live in boxes.

No, of course I am not talking about cardboard boxes but rather socially constructed ones. Fitting people neatly into different types of boxes makes it easier to define them. Knowing exactly what kind of box you fit into makes others feel safer around you.

What we often forget is that Jesus refused to be fitted into any of the boxes of his day. Jesus actively challenged his societies many rules of what it meant to be a good and devoted God-follower. In fact Jesus loved to turn popular ideas of how society should be right upside down!

Just one such example is how Jesus challenged our notions of leadership when he said things like ‘if you want to be great you must be a servant’, or the ‘first shall be last, and the last first’ (see Mark 10.44 & 10.31). Jesus often proposed upside down ways of thinking like this.

Jesus challenged the hierarchies that every society seems to have where a small number of people live comfortably on top whilst many others are left to languish on the bottom. He spoke against religious tendencies to exclude certain people from our relationships because they don’t fit into our narrow definitions of acceptability.

In many ways boxes can limit and confine us. Jesus lived beyond the boxes of his day because he taught that God passionately loved all people, and not just those who place themselves at the top of hierarchies. Anyone who feels uncomfortable with their particular box, or who feels left out and on the outside of society should feel recognised and loved by Jesus.

In the same way we are called to live beyond boxes.

We are called to resist many of society’s rules and regulations of what it means to be ‘normal’ and ‘acceptable’. Some examples of how we might live out of boxes is by not living as if money is the be all and end all of life; or by embracing and not rejecting societal outcasts such as the poor; or by loving and lifting others up rather than pushing them down in the race to get ahead.

Over the next four days we will be looking more closely at four different ways that we can actively seek to live ‘beyond the boxes’ and follow Jesus in his way of radical life and love.

But to do that effectively we first need to be prepared to hear Jesus’ words of challenge and to move ourselves out into totally new ways of life and being.

Are you ready to follow Jesus into a life beyond boxes?

PRAY AS YOU GO

Almighty and Holy God, as we sit back and think about life today, we admit how many boxes do exist in our society. Boxes of what it means to be successful (wealthy), of what it means to be meaningful (popular), of what it means to be important (powerful). Forgive us for those times we allow others to squeeze us into neat little boxes and forgive us for when we reduce others in the same way. We ask O’ God that throughout this week, you would give us the strength to follow you in living life beyond the boxes. Amen.

FOCUS READING
Mark 10:42-45 (NIV)
Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

When is Christmas Finished?

The day after Christmas can be mildly depressing.

After the long build up to Christmas, and all the excitement beforehand, once all the presents are unwrapped, the family have gone home and the last of the Christmas meal is packed into Tupperware for leftovers; everything afterwards seems so blasé.

The day after Christmas, everything goes back to normal all too quickly.

But the promise of Christmas is NOT just for one day a year, or even the month preceding it. The promise of Christmas in NOT just for happy days filled with friends and presents, laughter and feasts.

No, the promise of Christmas is for everyday and that includes sad and difficult times.

Zephaniah’s prophesy encompasses this by promising that although troubles will come, they will not overwhelm us. Because of Christmas, Zephaniah is saying, everything that oppresses us will be dealt with, the lame will be rescued and the scattered will be gathered.

This is not to say that we won’t ever face troubles because no literature on earth is more realistic about the harsh facts of life than the Bible. Scripture never says life will be perfect, but does promise that God will make sense out of the imperfections.

The story is told of a church in the USA where for many years the children’s Christmas pageant had run like clockwork. The director was highly efficient, demanded perfection, and insisted that only the very best children got roles.

One year, a new minister at the church insisted that all children who wanted to be a part of the pageant could do so – parts would be found for them. The Director resigned in a huff. Now the pageant didn’t fall flat without her, but it certainly was different.

Firstly, there were far too many children cluttering the stage – about 20 angels, dozens of shepherds and even more sheep. About half-way through the play the sheep decided they would have a much better view from the seats, and so bleated their way down into some empty seats in the front. But the real climax of imprecision came when Mary and Joseph entered. The narrator was to read how Joseph was going to Bethlehem with Mary ‘his espoused wife, being great with child.’

One of the mothers had realised the children didn’t really understand the Elizabethan English of the King James Version and so changed it to the Good News Version at the last minute. So as Mary and Joseph entered, the narrator read: ‘Mary was promised in marriage to Joseph. She was pregnant’.

As the last word echoed through the P.A., little Joseph froze in his tracks. This was not how he had heard it at rehearsal! He gave Mary an incredulous look, then looked out at the congregation and said, ‘Pregnant? What do you mean pregnant?’

Needless to say, this brought this house down. The pastor’s wife, wiping the tears from her eyes, said: ‘You know, that may be exactly what Joseph actually said.” Afterwards, everyone agreed that the pageant was the best it had been in years. Not perfect of course, the way it had been previously. In fact, it was a mess, but a wonderful mess filled with laughter and joy.

You see, it was perfect in another sense. Perfect in the way God makes things perfect – for sometimes life gets messy and troublesome, mistakes get made, people get it wrong, and yet God can still bring sense to it all.

God takes meaningless, tough situations and somehow presses divine meaning into them.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord God, we commit into your hands every tough and difficult situation we may be facing. We trust that you would be able to press divine meaning even into our messy and disordered situations. Amen.

FOCUS VERSE
Zephaniah 3. 19-20 (NIV)

At that time I will deal 
       with all who oppressed you; 
       I will rescue the lame 
       and gather those who have been scattered. 
       I will give them praise and honour 
       in every land where they were put to shame.
 At that time I will gather you; 
       at that time I will bring you home.

The Christmas ‘Yes’!

When our elder daughter first started to speak, her very first word was ‘No.’ I’m not sure whether it had anything to do with the fact that I was sneaking a swig of her Liqui-Fruit straight out of the carton at the time. But whatever the reason, that was her first word. Which evidently is not that unusual. Linguistically, a ‘no’ is easier to pronounce than ‘yes’ and usually comes pretty early in a child’s vocabulary.

But I wonder if there’s more to that early ‘no’ than linguistics. I wonder if, at even an early age, there is something within us that leans toward saying, ‘No!’ Maybe it’s something we inherit, or perhaps it’s something we learn. But certainly, as we grow older and experience a little more of the world and its ways, so this word can easily become our first response to what life presents to us.

Jim Harnish writes, “Saying ‘no’ is a form of self-protection. It wards off the risk of commitment; it protects us from involvement; it shields us from intimate relationships. An unqualified ‘yes’ is a much harder sell. To say ‘yes’ is to make a leap of faith, to risk oneself in a new and often scary relationship.”

Saying no protects us from being taken for a ride. And it’s often appropriate in a world of scams and abuse. But when it’s our default response in life, we WILL end up missing out on much of the richness that life has to offer.

Which brings us to the whole point of today.

Christmas is God’s unqualified ‘Yes’ to the world. Christmas is God declaring that He will risk sharing life with us. That He is open to us. That He is passionately committed to being in relationship with us. Christmas is God taking the monumental risk of having His life bound up with ours.

Listen carefully to the vulnerable cry from the manger and you will know it’s true. Listen carefully to Joseph giving this child his name and you will hear an echo of God’s yes. YESu. ‘His name will be called YESu, for he will save his people from their sins.’

Today, may you hear God’s great ‘YES’ spoken over your life, and may you in turn say ‘Yes’ to God.

Happy Christmas!

Focus Scripture

Matthew 1. 20-21

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

Listening

So what makes these 3 ‘little ones’ stand so tall over human history that we still remember them today? For these 3 wise women have much to teach all who would follow after them in welcoming Jesus and New Life into this world.

Well, it certainly was not because of their intellect, social standing or power because remember, they were ‘little ones’.

It simply came out of their remarkable willingness to hear and obey God. They were totally and utterly receptive to God, and then obedient to what God wanted them to do.

It is through simple listening and courageous obedience that great things are done for God, NOT through intellect and power.

Faith is borne out of listening to God. New life comes out of hearing and obeying.

In George Bernard Shaw’s play, ‘Saint Joan,’ the central character, Joan of Arc, is always hearing voices from God, and the king is angered by this. He complains to her, ‘Oh, your voices! Your voices! Why don’t your voices come to me? I’m the king, not you.’

‘They do come,’ she replied, ‘but you do not hear them. You’ve not sat in the field in the evening listening for them. When the Angelus rings, you cross yourself and have done with it. But if you prayed from your heart and listened to the trilling of the bells in the air after they stopped ringing, you would hear the voices as well as I do.’

Nathaniel Hawthorne describes happiness as a butterfly, which if pursued, seems always just beyond your grasp, but if you sit down quietly, it may just choose to alight upon you.

It is like that with the Spirit of God.

God is not seized, God is received. Another way of describing this is to liken it to the waves on the sea. Surfers sitting out on their boards have to learn to wait. No one can create waves, only God can do that. Surfers have to learn to read which ones are the right waves for them to ride, and then shape their ride according to the wave.

We can’t just create something out of nothing. Only God does that. We have to learn to listen to what God is sending into our lives, and then learn to ride that.

Faith is obediently getting on board with what God is already doing! Mary, Elizabeth, and even Anna to an extent, had their lives turned upside-down by what God was doing. Mary, as well as anyone, knew that obedience to God in this could have got her stoned! And yet she swallowed hard, squared her shoulders and said: ‘I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.’

PRAY AS YOU GO
Try to spend at least 5 minutes just being quiet before God. Find a place that will allow for a creative silence and listen carefully.

FOCUS READING
Luke 1. 34-38
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon 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 barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God."
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

Unremarkable

Three wise women … Mary, Elizabeth and Anna. All three played a major role in their own way in the Christmas story and all 3 were faithful followers of God who lived out their faith in quite remarkable ways.

We often make the mistake of making spiritual superheroes out of people when they are mentioned positively in the Bible. While it is good to admire and learn from them, it can also prove to be unhelpful if we see them as above and beyond us - as living life and faith in a way we could certainly never attain to.

For God seems to delight in taking quite unremarkable people and using them in remarkable ways!

This is especially true in the case of our 3 wise women. What we should never forget is that all 3 of these women would have been considered to be ‘below average’ by the society of their day.

None of them would have been considered very highly – they were all ‘little’ people in a way. Firstly, because all women were treated like second class citizens with very few rights. They were thought of as being spiritually, emotionally and intellectually inferior to men (unfortunately this is a misguided bias that lives on in many sections of our global society).

Secondly, they were all women with issues. Mary was unmarried and pregnant, in fact under the customs and rules of the day she was fortunate not to have been stoned for this. Elizabeth was married, but had long been infertile (infertility was seen as a curse for sin and was ALWAYS considered to be the women’s fault). While, Anna was an elderly widow (any rights and privileges a woman had were centred upon her husband).

So by the standards of the day, all 3 of these women were considered less, not more, when it came to faith and spirituality.

Have you ever put yourself down by thinking that you were too ordinary, or not gifted enough, to be used by God?

Think again.

God seems to delight in taking quite unremarkable people and using them in remarkable ways!

What might this mean for you?

PRAY AS YOU GO
Almighty God, you who are the King of the Universe, chose to be born into the dust and dirt of a stable. Help us to remember that you have always chosen to use very ordinary people to bring glory to you. Bless us with the courageous imagination and faith we need to perceive how you might begin to use us. Amen.

FOCUS VERSE
Luke 2. 36-40
There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

The Three Wise Women

Around Christmas time, a lot is normally said about the 3 wise men. We sing songs about them, tell stories about them and portray them in Nativity scenes and on Christmas cards. Tradition has even given them imaginary names – Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar.

Now, all of this attention is devoted to the 3 wise men, in spite of the fact the Bible says almost nothing about them. They are mentioned only briefly and then only by the author of Matthew’s Gospel. In reality, no names were given to them in Scripture, and frankly, we don’t even know for sure if there were 3 of them - we only guess that because there were 3 gifts.

So we may not know much about the 3 wise men, but we do know for a fact, that according to the Bible, there were 3 wise women!

3 wise women who played pivotal roles in the unfolding of the Christmas story. 3 wise women who have much to teach us because of the remarkable way they responded to the news of Jesus with inspiring faith and courage.

Yet, around Christmas time, they don’t get mentioned half as much as the men!

We shouldn’t be too surprised at this, because unfortunately women often get a short shrift in the church. This is really unfair for many reasons, but especially when you consider that women make up the majority of church membership throughout the world.

Women have sustained the life of the church for centuries upon centuries in quite wonderful ways without ever getting much credit for it. Indeed, as already mentioned, women were quite integral to the unfolding of the Christmas story. As one scholar has pointed out: ‘Women were the last at the cross, and the first at the tomb’.

I am reminded of that American story of a Fortune 500 CEO who pulled into a petrol station in his flashy Ferrari. After filling up, he went inside to pay. When he came out, he noticed his wife in deep conversation with the service station attendant. It turned out that she knew this man well enough to have dated him back in high school.

Well, the CEO got back into his car and drove away in silence. He was feeling pretty good about himself, and when he finally spoke he said: ‘Honey, I bet I know what you’re thinking. I’ll bet you’re thinking how glad you are that you married me, a Fortune 500 CEO, and not him – a petrol station attendant.’
To which she replied: ‘Nope. I was thinking that if I had married him, he’d be a Fortune 500 CEO and you’d be a petrol station attendant!’

The 3 wise women of Christmas are of course Mary, Elizabeth and Anna. We will be learning from their story over the rest of this week as a way of further preparing ourselves for the Christmas event.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Holy and Loving God, we do ask that you would begin to prepare our hearts for Christmas. Help us to turn our hearts away from busyness, stress and also the rampant consumerism so prevalent at this time of the year. May our hearts ‘leap’ within us as we celebrate the good news of Christ’s Incarnation. Amen.

FOCUS READING

Luke 1. 41-42

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!’

Renewing Your Christmas Spirit: Looking Up

Yesterday, I mentioned the rush that Christmas can be. It seems that we hustle to and fro with our heads down as we desperately try to complete shopping lists and other chores in time for the big day. We keep our heads down so much that we don’t stop to pay enough attention to what is really important at this time of the year.

For Christmas is a time that we should remember to look up.

To look up to the God who is in all life’s experiences because this profound truth is never made more clearly to us than at this time of the year.

For Christmas celebrates the wonder of God’s incarnation – that God became human and so has shared in our lives in awesome ways. God walked earth and knew hunger, thirst and suffering. He attended parties and feasts and so also ate tasty food and drank good wine. He experienced both tears and laughter.

The very presence of Jesus on earth teaches us that God shares all of our life’s experiences with us – God is not distant and aloof from us.

Many, many years before Jesus was born, the prophet Zephaniah looked up to God and prophesied the coming Jesus. He foresaw the Messiah’s coming and understood what that would mean for us. Twice within the space of two verses, Zephaniah proclaimed the great Christmas truth: ‘The Lord your God is WITH you’! (See focus verse).

This cry was later echoed by the author of Matthew’s Gospel who informs us: “All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, - which means ‘God with us.’” (See Matt 1. 22-23).

In Manila, tens of thousands of people make their homes on garbage dumps. People are born, live and die without ever leaving these dumps. They try desperately to eke out an existence from what they can scavenge.

Did you know that there are missionaries who also make their homes on these dumps?

They live there so they might tell the people about God’s love for them. It is very difficult to hear this message from someone who lives in an entirely different world from you, and so these missionaries leave their first world comforts in an effort to reach out to their brothers and sisters.

When I think about how selfish I can often be, I find what those missionaries do to be extremely humbling. But not as humbling as the thought of God stooping down into human flesh so that we might truly know that God IS WITH US.

God With Us means that God has held nothing back from us, not all the treasures of heaven, and not even his own life.

Because Christmas is a time we should remember to look up to the God who is an all of life’s experiences.

God IS with you. Don’t ever forget that.

FOCUS READING
Zephaniah 3. 15b-17 (NIV)
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; 
never again will you fear any harm.
On that day they will say to Jerusalem, 
"Do not fear, O Zion; 
do not let your hands hang limp.
 The LORD your God is with you, 
he is mighty to save.

Renewing Your Christmas Spirit: Fatigue

I don’t know about you but I find December to be an exhausting time. December arrives at a time of the year when we are already feeling tired and drained. We then find ourselves pushed onto a treadmill of Christmas parties, shopping trips, and seemingly never-ending lists of things that have to get done.

Fatigue poses great dangers to our spirituality.

This is because fatigue affects our perspectives and ability to think straight on issues. Fatigue drains us emotionally and spiritually as well as physically. Instead of being a time of rest and renewal, the Christmas rush can lead to even further exhaustion, leaving us depressed and down.

It is very important that we learn how to deal with our fatigue if we want to renew our Christmas spirits. In the next few weeks try out the following two suggestions:

Take regular time out to rest. This seems so obvious but the fact remains we just do not do this enough. Did you know that in his 3 year ministry, Jesus is recorded as having a holiday or retreat 14 times. 14 retreats in 3 years! What is more, in the story of Creation, we are taught that God worked only 6 days before resting on the 7th. Rest is a gift given to us by God and modelled to us by Jesus. We may say to ourselves that we cannot afford the time to rest but the truth of the matter is that we just cannot afford the time NOT to.

The second suggestion follows on from the first. Henri Nouwen once said that, “Without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life.” Again I would remind you of how often Jesus took time out to spend in solitude and silence. Jesus knew that times of solitude and silence provide fuel for the soul and therefore are vital to countering the effects of fatigue.

This is your challenge today. Book yourself time out to rest, not to do shopping or other chores but just to rest. Ensure that at least part of this time is spent in solitude and silence – just you and God.


Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Renewing Your Christmas Spirit: Pessimism

Christmas is just around the corner! For many of us Christmas is a time of great excitement as we think happy thoughts of food, family and presents. However, for others Christmas is something to dread rather than look forward to. Reports tell us that depression and suicide rates actually increase at this time of year.

With this in mind, we will be spending the next few days looking at some of the common issues which can turn Christmas into a real downer for some. Issues that can potentially kill off our Christmas spirit. We will be looking at how during a stressed holiday season, we can open our hearts to God renewing our Christmas spirits.

The first issue we will be looking at is pessimism. Pessimism can be defined as a general belief that things around us in the world are bad, and are tending to become worse.

There is a great deal of pessimism today that grips and even paralyses people. Some of the challenging issues we South Africans face can lead to pessimism if we are not careful. We read stories of horrible crimes, we drive past hungry street children, we hear tales of corruption and power abuse and we begin to lose hope as a result.

It is important though to remember that to lose hope is to lose life.

The movie, “Children of Men,” although graphically violent, is a stark portrayal of what happens to people when hope is lost. In the movie the human race loses its ability to reproduce and so begins to go into a downward spiral of deep depression. Pessimism becomes the norm because no one can see any hope for life beyond themselves. The lesson of the movie is that our outer worlds will surely collapse around us if we do not hold onto hope within.

The opposite to pessimism is not blind, idealistic optimism. Instead it is faith.

Faith is being sure of what we do not see (Heb 11.1); and so faith counters pessimism because it holds onto hope despite even the worst circumstances.

While pessimism can kill the Christmas spirit, faith is that quality which lightens our hearts and minds with the good news of Christ’s love and presence. Let us never forget that Christmas is a powerful reminder that God is with us always and everywhere. As today’s focus reading reminds us, even if we face great opposition (such as crime, poverty and disease), we need never lose hope if we can keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus.

Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV):

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful people, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The Advent Conspiracy

The concept behind the Advent Conspiracy is simple and can be summarised in the following way:
Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, Love All.

1. Worship Fully:

It starts with Jesus. It ends with Jesus. This is the holistic approach God had in mind for Christmas. It’s a season where we are called to put down our burdens and lift a song up to our God. It’s a season where love wins, peace reigns, and a king is celebrated with each breath. It’s the party of the year. Entering the story of advent means entering this season with an overwhelming passion to worship Jesus to the fullest.

2. Spend Less:

Before you think we’re getting all Scrooge on you, let us explain what we mean. We like gifts. Our kids really like gifts. But consider this: America spends an average of $450 billion a year every Christmas. How often have you spent money on Christmas presents for no other reason than obligation? How many times have you received a gift out of that same obligation? Thanks, but no thanks, right? We’re asking people to consider buying ONE LESS GIFT this Christmas. Just one.  Sounds insignificant, yet many who have taken this small sacrifice have experienced something nothing less than a miracle: They have been more available to celebrate Christ during the advent season.

Looking for ways to give gifts that don't cost a lot of money? Have a few ideas you'd like to share? Head to rethinkingchristmas.com today.

3. Give More:

God’s gift to us was a relationship built on love. So it’s no wonder why we’re drawn to the idea that Christmas should be a time to love our friends and family in the most memorable ways possible. Time is the real gift Christmas offers us, and no matter how hard we look, it can’t be found at the mall. Time to make a gift that turns into the next family heirloom. Time to write mom a letter. Time to take the kids sledding. Time to bake really good cookies and sing really bad Christmas carols. Time to make love visible through relational giving. Sounds a lot better than getting a sweater two sizes too big, right?

4. Love All:

When Jesus loved, He loved in ways never imagined. Though rich, he became poor to love the poor, the forgotten, the overlooked and the sick. He played to the margins. By spending less at Christmas we have the opportunity to join Him in giving resources to those who need help the most. When Advent Conspiracy first began four churches challenged this simple concept to its congregations. The result raised more than a half million dollars to aid those in need. One less gift. One unbelievable present in the name of Christ.

[This article sums up the message of The Advent Conspiracy. You can find out more on www.adventconspiracy.org].

Atheists Wanting Equal Rights at Christmas

Atheists groups in the United States have made a concerted effort the challenge to rights for traditional Nativity scenes to be displayed in public squares and have sought to replace them with their own displays.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, which is co-led by an evangelist-turned-atheist, has protested against the Nativity scene in front of the city hall in Ellwood City, and demanded that instead the city put up a banner reading, “At this season of the Winter Solstice, LET REASON PREVAIL,” alongside the Nativity.

The FFRF also demanded that a town in east Texas remove their Nativity scene displayed at the Henderson County Courthouse. The group wrote a letter to the Henderson County Commissioners, stating, “We request that … you take immediate action to ensure that no religious displays are on city or county property. Please inform us in writing of the steps you are taking to remedy this First Amendment violation."

FFRF added that when the county displays a manger scene, it puts the “imprimatur of the county government behind the Christian religious doctrine.”

In Santa Monica, California, 14 life-sized nativity figures that have stood alongside Ocean Avenue for the past 57 years have been reduced to three, after an atheist group applied for the previously uncontested spaces to display anti-religious messages ranging from “Happy Solstice” to “Religions are all alike, founded on fables and mythologies.”

Respectful Dialogue Vital in Middle East

In a speech to the House of Lords, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said that Christians in the Middle East are still anxious about their future, a full year after the Arab Spring revolutions began breaking out.

Dr Rowan Williams added that while Christians were not looking for special status, they must have a “guaranteed place” in their historic homelands, including in political discourse, civic equality and rule of law.

“It is possible to argue, on the basis of Christian and Islamic thought alike, in favour of transparent government and a proper notion of civic equality.

“That is the sort of argument about good governance as such that needs to be pursued if Christian communities are going to be secure in the future.

“Not any sort of case for special treatment but a strong argument for justice, honesty and respectful diversity in the societies of the region.

“It is certainly not the case that we can assume that ‘extremists’ are poised to take over the region tomorrow, but we still need to take with utmost seriousness the anxieties that are felt by communities already feeling exposed and uncertain,” the leader of the world’s Anglicans said.

“The Arab spring has meant dramatically different things in different countries and, as these last remarks underline, there are a number of different political possibilities for governance grounded in Islamic principles,” Williams added.

“But against such a background we may get a clearer sense of how and why the Christian presence matters, and why its future is surrounded by so many anxieties.

“No one is seeking a privileged position for Christians in the Middle East, nor should they be. But what we can say is that the continued presence of Christians in the region is essential to the political and social health of the countries of the Middle East.”

Climate Change: Too little, too late

The interests of profit-hungry and polluting corporations won out at the recent UN climate talks, lamented Christian Aid on Sunday.

Christian Aid spokesperson Mohamed Adow said the delays written into the agreement would mean that help comes too late for the poor.

"Action against climate change in 2020 will come a decade too late for poor people on the frontline - they urgently need it now.

"Their lives are already ravaged by floods, droughts, failed rains, deadly storms, hunger and disease and we know that these disasters will get worse and more frequent as climate change bites.

Adow complained that the outcome in Durban was a compromise that would ultimately prove ineffective.

"It is a disastrous, profoundly distressing outcome - the worst I have ever seen from such a process."

Adow added that said the Kyoto protocol now exists "in name only" and that the only "notable achievement" of the Durban talks was the agreement reached that the Green Climate Fund would soon have staff and an office.

"But the Fund remains empty and so countries must keep working to identify new sources of the $100bn a year which they have already agreed must be available to poor countries by 2020, to help them cope with climate change and pursue sustainable development."

The next Conference of Parties (COP 18) would be chaired and hosted by Qatar between November 26 and December 8 next year.

The Day after Christmas

The day after Christmas can be mildly depressing.

After the long build up to Christmas, and all the excitement beforehand, once all the presents are unwrapped, the family have gone home and the last of the Christmas meal is packed into Tupperware for leftovers; everything afterwards seems so blasé.

The day after Christmas, everything goes back to normal all too quickly.

But the promise of Christmas is NOT just for one day a year, or even the month preceding it. The promise of Christmas in NOT just for happy days filled with friends and presents, laughter and feasts.

No, the promise of Christmas is for everyday and that includes sad and difficult times.

Zephaniah’s prophesy encompasses this by promising that although troubles will come, they will not overwhelm us. Because of Christmas, Zephaniah is saying, everything that oppresses us will be dealt with, the lame will be rescued and the scattered will be gathered.

This is not to say that we won’t ever face troubles because no literature on earth is more realistic about the harsh facts of life than the Bible. Scripture never says life will be perfect, but does promise that God will make sense out of the imperfections.

The story is told of a church in the USA where for many years the children’s Christmas pageant had run like clockwork. The director was highly efficient, demanded perfection, and insisted that only the very best children got roles.

One year, a new minister at the church insisted that all children who wanted to be a part of the pageant could do so – parts would be found for them. The Director resigned in a huff. Now the pageant didn’t fall flat without her, but it certainly was different.

Firstly, there were far too many children cluttering the stage – about 20 angels, dozens of shepherds and even more sheep. About half-way through the play the sheep decided they would have a much better view from the seats, and so bleated their way down into some empty seats in the front. But the real climax of imprecision came when Mary and Joseph entered. The narrator was to read how Joseph was going to Bethlehem with Mary ‘his espoused wife, being great with child.’

One of the mothers had realised the children didn’t really understand the Elizabethan English of the King James Version and so changed it to the Good News Version at the last minute. So as Mary and Joseph entered, the narrator read: ‘Mary was promised in marriage to Joseph. She was pregnant’.

As the last word echoed through the P.A., little Joseph froze in his tracks. This was not how he had heard it at rehearsal! He gave Mary an incredulous look, then looked out at the congregation and said, ‘Pregnant? What do you mean pregnant?’

Needless to say, this brought this house down. The pastor’s wife, wiping the tears from her eyes, said: ‘You know, that may be exactly what Joseph actually said.” Afterwards, everyone agreed that the pageant was the best it had been in years. Not perfect of course, the way it had been previously. In fact, it was a mess, but a wonderful mess filled with laughter and joy.

You see, it was perfect in another sense. Perfect in the way God makes things perfect – for sometimes life gets messy and troublesome, mistakes get made, people get it wrong, and yet God can still bring sense to it all.

God takes meaningless, tough situations and somehow presses divine meaning into them.

PRAY AS YOU GO

Lord God, we commit into your hands every tough and difficult situation we may be facing. We trust that you would be able to press divine meaning even into our messy and disordered situations. Amen.

FOCUS VERSE
Zephaniah 3. 19-20 (NIV)

At that time I will deal 
       with all who oppressed you; 
       I will rescue the lame 
       and gather those who have been scattered. 
       I will give them praise and honour 
       in every land where they were put to shame.
 At that time I will gather you; 
       at that time I will bring you home.

Human rights groups urge EU to promote minority rights in South Asia

A coalition of human rights groups have presented a manifesto to the European Union requesting action to prevent human rights abuses against minorities in South Asia.

The document asserts that religious, ethnic and sexual minorities are extremely vulnerable groups in the region citing the threat of discriminatory laws, land grabs, assault, forced conversions, attacks on places of worship and murder.

In response, MEP Cecilia Wikstroem vowed to table a priority question to EU chief Baroness Ashton asking for the creation of a new unit to support grassroots human rights campaigners in engaging with the EU in the area.

Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, a representative group among the coalition, was happy with the result of the meeting.

“We are pleased that MEP Wikstroem responded positively and has expressed her support for the submitted manifest and its goals,” he said.

Atheists want to make their voice heard at Christmas

Atheists groups in the United States have made a concerted effort the challenge to rights for traditional Nativity scenes to be displayed in public squares and have sought to replace them with their own displays.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, which is co-led by an evangelist-turned-atheist, has protested against the Nativity scene in front of the city hall in Ellwood City, and demanded that instead the city put up a banner reading, “At this season of the Winter Solstice, LET REASON PREVAIL,” alongside the Nativity.

The FFRF also demanded that a town in east Texas remove their Nativity scene displayed at the Henderson County Courthouse. The group wrote a letter to the Henderson County Commissioners, stating, “We request that … you take immediate action to ensure that no religious displays are on city or county property. Please inform us in writing of the steps you are taking to remedy this First Amendment violation."

FFRF added that when the county displays a manger scene, it puts the “imprimatur of the county government behind the Christian religious doctrine.”

In Santa Monica, California, 14 life-sized nativity figures that have stood alongside Ocean Avenue for the past 57 years have been reduced to three, after an atheist group applied for the previously uncontested spaces to display anti-religious messages ranging from “Happy Solstice” to “Religions are all alike, founded on fables and mythologies.”

‘Respectful diversity’ important in the Middle East

In a speech to the House of Lords, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said that Christians in the Middle East are still anxious about their future, a full year after the Arab Spring revolutions began breaking out.

Dr Rowan Williams added that while Christians were not looking for special status, they must have a “guaranteed place” in their historic homelands, including in political discourse, civic equality and rule of law.

“It is possible to argue, on the basis of Christian and Islamic thought alike, in favour of transparent government and a proper notion of civic equality.

“That is the sort of argument about good governance as such that needs to be pursued if Christian communities are going to be secure in the future.

“Not any sort of case for special treatment but a strong argument for justice, honesty and respectful diversity in the societies of the region.

“It is certainly not the case that we can assume that ‘extremists’ are poised to take over the region tomorrow, but we still need to take with utmost seriousness the anxieties that are felt by communities already feeling exposed and uncertain,” the leader of the world’s Anglicans said.

“The Arab spring has meant dramatically different things in different countries and, as these last remarks underline, there are a number of different political possibilities for governance grounded in Islamic principles,” Williams added.

“But against such a background we may get a clearer sense of how and why the Christian presence matters, and why its future is surrounded by so many anxieties.

“No one is seeking a privileged position for Christians in the Middle East, nor should they be. But what we can say is that the continued presence of Christians in the region is essential to the political and social health of the countries of the Middle East.”

Climate Change: Too little, too late

The interests of profit-hungry and polluting corporations won out at the recent UN climate talks, lamented Christian Aid on Sunday.

Christian Aid spokesperson Mohamed Adow said the delays written into the agreement would mean that help comes too late for the poor.

"Action against climate change in 2020 will come a decade too late for poor people on the frontline - they urgently need it now.

"Their lives are already ravaged by floods, droughts, failed rains, deadly storms, hunger and disease and we know that these disasters will get worse and more frequent as climate change bites.

Adow complained that the outcome in Durban was a compromise that would ultimately prove ineffective.

"It is a disastrous, profoundly distressing outcome - the worst I have ever seen from such a process."

Adow added that said the Kyoto protocol now exists "in name only" and that the only "notable achievement" of the Durban talks was the agreement reached that the Green Climate Fund would soon have staff and an office.

"But the Fund remains empty and so countries must keep working to identify new sources of the $100bn a year which they have already agreed must be available to poor countries by 2020, to help them cope with climate change and pursue sustainable development."

The next Conference of Parties (COP 18) would be chaired and hosted by Qatar between November 26 and December 8 next year.

Nobody wants a Christmas worth forgetting

The concept behind the Advent Conspiracy is simple and can be summarised in the following way:
Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, Love All.

1. Worship Fully:

It starts with Jesus. It ends with Jesus. This is the holistic approach God had in mind for Christmas. It’s a season where we are called to put down our burdens and lift a song up to our God. It’s a season where love wins, peace reigns, and a king is celebrated with each breath. It’s the party of the year. Entering the story of advent means entering this season with an overwhelming passion to worship Jesus to the fullest.

2. Spend Less:

Before you think we’re getting all Scrooge on you, let us explain what we mean. We like gifts. Our kids really like gifts. But consider this: America spends an average of $450 billion a year every Christmas. How often have you spent money on Christmas presents for no other reason than obligation? How many times have you received a gift out of that same obligation? Thanks, but no thanks, right? We’re asking people to consider buying ONE LESS GIFT this Christmas. Just one.  Sounds insignificant, yet many who have taken this small sacrifice have experienced something nothing less than a miracle: They have been more available to celebrate Christ during the advent season.

Looking for ways to give gifts that don't cost a lot of money? Have a few ideas you'd like to share? Head to rethinkingchristmas.com today.

3. Give More:

God’s gift to us was a relationship built on love. So it’s no wonder why we’re drawn to the idea that Christmas should be a time to love our friends and family in the most memorable ways possible. Time is the real gift Christmas offers us, and no matter how hard we look, it can’t be found at the mall. Time to make a gift that turns into the next family heirloom. Time to write mom a letter. Time to take the kids sledding. Time to bake really good cookies and sing really bad Christmas carols. Time to make love visible through relational giving. Sounds a lot better than getting a sweater two sizes too big, right?

4. Love All:

When Jesus loved, He loved in ways never imagined. Though rich, he became poor to love the poor, the forgotten, the overlooked and the sick. He played to the margins. By spending less at Christmas we have the opportunity to join Him in giving resources to those who need help the most. When Advent Conspiracy first began four churches challenged this simple concept to its congregations. The result raised more than a half million dollars to aid those in need. One less gift. One unbelievable present in the name of Christ.

[This article sums up the message of The Advent Conspiracy. You can find out more on www.adventconspiracy.org].

Further evidence of water discovered on Mars

NASA scientist's have discovered further evidence that water once flowed on Mars. The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has uncovered veins of a mineral, apparently gypsum, deposited by water.

The team of scientists behind the discovery believe that analysis of the vein will improve understanding of the history of wet environments on Mars.

"This tells a slam-dunk story that water flowed through underground fractures in the rock," insisted Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for Opportunity.

"This stuff is a fairly pure chemical deposit that formed in place right where we see it. That can't be said for other gypsum seen on Mars or for other water-related minerals Opportunity has found. It's not uncommon on Earth, but on Mars, it's the kind of thing that makes geologists jump out of their chairs."

"It is a mystery where the gypsum sand on northern Mars comes from," added another Opportunity science-team member, Benton Clark of the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

"At Homestake, we see the mineral right where it formed. It will be important to see if there are deposits like this in other areas of Mars."

The Opportunity team’s latest findings were presented this week at the American Geophysical Union's conference in San Francisco.

Williams: Jesus would side with Occupy Movement

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams has made clear his conviction that Jesus would have sided with protesters from the anti-corporate Occupy Movement, who have been camping out and protesting at various economic centres around the world.

In an article in the Christmas edition of the Radio Times magazine, the leader of the world’s 78 million Anglicans argued that Jesus would be "there, sharing the risks, not just taking sides."

The Occupy Movement are protesting what they argue is the unfairness and illegalities of the global financial community.

Williams believes that Jesus would always be "steadily changing the entire atmosphere by the questions that he asked of everybody involved -- rich and poor, capitalist and protester and cleric."

The archbishop added that Jesus’ famous statement "give Caesar what belongs to Caesar, "was him actually questioning "what's the exact point at which involvement in the empire of capitalist economy involves you fatally."

The magazine article supports Williams' earlier comments about the Occupy Movement that it actually represents "a widespread and deep exasperation with the financial establishment."

New ‘Earth’ discovered by NASA

Nasa have announced the discovery of Kepler-22b, a planet 600 light-years away from Earth which is in a habitable zone, an area that is within the 'sweet spot' in terms of distance from a star allowing for the existence of water in its liquid form.

The planet is the first that the Kepler spacecraft has discovered within this habitable zone.

"This is a major milestone on the road to finding Earth's twin," Douglas Hudgins, a Kepler program scientist stated.

"Kepler's results continue to demonstrate the importance of NASA's science missions, which aim to answer some of the biggest questions about our place in the universe."

Kepler-22b has a radius 2.4 times that of Earth's and orbits it sun-like star every 290 days, while enjoying a very accommodating temperature of approximately 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

Nasa is still not sure if Kepler-22b is composed or rock, gas or liquid.

A scientist at the NASA Ames Research Center who's on the Kepler team, Steve Howell, informed The Huffington Post that the most exciting discoveries are still to come.

"It's tremendously exciting," said Howell. "We're moving out to orbital periods that are nearly and equal to the Earth, and that means very soon we're going to be finding [planets] very near the earth, what we'd call true earth analogs. We'll be there. We'll be there probably within a year, very easily."

Faith leaders warn of ‘suffering on a terrifying scale’

With representatives from governments across the world continuing to meet in Durban this week for climate change discussions, faith leaders have urged them to act decisively before it is too late.

The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) is negotiating a follow-up agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, which contains the current binding targets for carbon emission cuts. However, experts are concerned with a lack of progress since the talks began a week ago, specifically in regard to binding carbon emission cuts and a financial package to help impoverished countries adapt to the impact of climate change.

A group of faith leaders that includes Ela Ghandi, the granddaughter of Mahatma Ghandi, and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Durban, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier have released a strong interfaith statement urging governments to act before "irreparable" damage is done to the Earth.

“We call upon our leaders, those of our faiths, and all people of Earth to accept the reality of the common danger we face, the imperative and responsibility for immediate and decisive action, and the opportunity to change,” reads the statement.

Cardinal Napier is especially concerned that government representatives will fail to reach any meaningful agreement.

“We express our displeasure with local and international political leadership which has failed to take decisive steps to make the changes required for the survival of humanity and life on earth,” he said.

“We as the religious community demand that our political leaders honour previous commitments and move towards ethically responsible positions and policies.

“There is strong evidence that such steps will not be made at COP 17.”

This faith declaration has been backed up Christian Aid, with the agency's climate expert, Mohamed Adow, warning that people around the world could expect suffering on a “huge” scale if nothing is done to address the problems now.

“We want to leave Durban with a deal which is a strong response to the climate chaos which is hurtling towards us – and which is already having devastating effects on poor people,” he said.

“Governments need to agree how to respond to the latest climate science, which shows that without deep emissions cuts now, dangerous global warming will occur.

“It will cause human suffering on a terrifying scale.”

Archbishop speaks out against sexual violence on World AIDS Day

After a recent article in the American Journal of Public Health reported that more than 400,000 women aged 15 to 49 were raped in a 12 month period, the Archbishop of Canterbury used his World Aids Day message to emphasise the role of sexual violence in the spread of HIV.

In a video message recorded during his visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dr Rowan Williams described sexual violence as "one of the most shameful facts of our day".

While in the DRC, the Archbishop met victims of sexual violence and saw the work that churches are doing to help victims recover physically and spiritually.

Williams described the conflict-ridden DRC as the "epicentre of a great deal of appalling violence in recent years" and voiced his concern at how sexual violence was being used as a weapon of war to "humiliate and subdue others."

"The women in Congo, especially in this part of Congo, have suffered dreadfully because of this. And the connection between sexual violence of this kind and the spread of HIV/AIDS is one of the most shameful facts of our day," he said.

“Trauma is something which cannot be overcome overnight but when people feel they’ve been abandoned by families, by communities, because of the shame and stigma of HIV/AIDS, the church in this part of Congo has been there for them.

"For these people, who have been abused systematically, been raped, violated, abducted often at the youngest of ages – for these people, the church has been the family that mattered.”

Churches in the DRC have been supporting survivors of sexual abuse by providing them with medical care and trauma counselling, as well as advocating against stigma. Williams urged the international community to lend their weight to this work.

“As we seek to confront the terrible scandal of sexual violence as one of the causes of HIV and AIDS, let’s hope and pray that communities like the churches here will continue to fight as hard as they can against the stigmatising and marginalising that so reduce human dignity.”

HIV deepens family poverty, says UN

A UN report released on World Aids Day asserts that HIV-affected households often face "irreversible poverty" due to the exorbitant costs of living with such a disease.

Women and children are often those worst affected by this, adds the report.

High health care costs and the loss of employment opportunities due to discrimination are just some of the factors that contribute to a "rapid socio-economic decline" amongst HIV-positive households.

"Without intervention, many (HIV-affected families) will slip into irreversible poverty," said the UN Development Programme's deputy regional director Nicolas Rosellini.

The extra expenses of HIV-affected households also results in higher school dropout rates since parents struggle to pay fees.

The UN estimates that around 34 million people worldwide lived with HIV in 2010, according to News24.com. The good news is that the number of Aids-linked deaths has steadily dropped from a peak of 2.2 million in 2005 to 1.8 million last year.



"Yet the challenge is far from over," insisted Samlee Plianbangchang, regional director of the World Health Organisation in an article for the Bangkok Post.



"The impact on women and children is devastating. An estimated 1.3 million women aged 15 and above currently live with HIV" in Asia, he wrote, adding that the number of children living with HIV had risen 46% from 2001 to 2009.