Wednesday 2nd December

Yesterday I challenged us to look for the gift God has for us each day behind our imaginary advent calander doors :)   So I thought Id better keep an eye open for what my gift was.    Two things struck me.  Firstly I turned on the car radio  ( radio 4 permanent setting ) and heard the glorious strains of Ladysmith Black Mambazo .  The programme was about The South African national anthem.  But hearing Ladysmith reminded me of the album of theirs that I had on cassette tape  ( Ha!)  back in the day when Heinz made them famous for using one of their songs on a tv advert.

Heres the song.  With a translation of the words into English.    This was played on UK televisions for months and moths hundreds of times a night .  Presumably not because some advertising executive had bothered to translate the words. But probably just because they liked the tune and the ' vibe' .  God truly does use ALL manner of means to communicate his message.  Even adverts for beans  :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hVHNPjXkQ0

The other thing which happened today was on the same car journey.   I was travelling down the dual carriageway in a stream of traffic when I became aware of something in the road in front of me.  For a split second I thought it was a bit of rubbish but the two cars in front of me swerved slightly to avoid it and as I was nearly on it I realised it was a rabbit.  A big rabbit.  Sitting hunched up and completely motionless, frozen on the white line in the middle of the road.   It was half eleven in the morning.  What was a rabbit doing out on the road at that time of day?   Weird.   I tracked it in the rear view mirror and saw the lorry behind me managed to miss it.   But Im guessing its chances of survival were not great.  Very busy road.
I suppose we all know about the ' rabbit caught in the headlights' saying.  It is used to describe people who are paralysed by fear - because the poor animal just freezes in a situation of danger - trying to fool a bird of prey or some other predator into thinking that its just a rock or some inanimate object.   Its a tactic which might work in a meadow but is not very helpful on a dual carriageway!!

Ive been thinking about fear quite a lot lately.   I think it is one of the main weapons in the arsenal of the enemy and one which he is using increasingly in these days.  More and more people are suffering from anxiety related disorders and illnesses.  There are daily news stories about terrifying things happening in the world.  We are subtly being told all the time that nothing is safe.  Our food isnt safe, our children aren't safe, nobody can be trusted, our money isnt safe, our world is melting, everything is scary.   In the face of so much scaremongering I think we, as individuals and as church, can sometimes end up like that rabbit.  Sitting in the middle of the road, frozen to the spot, trying to keep still so we dont get flattened.

The Bible says DO NOT FEAR 365 times.   One for every day of
the year.  But more than that - its not a suggestion. Or a nice little homily to put on your fridge door.  Its a command.  Do not fear.  Just dont.    Don't worry, don't fret.  Don't sit and wonder how or why.  Don't rehearse in your head all the things which could possibly go wrong.  DON'T!!

Jesus came to break the bonds of fear which chain us up and render us incapable of action.   He came so that He could impart to us His Holy Spirit who is not a spirit of fear but a spirit of power and love and of a sound mind.  ( 2 Tim 1 :7)   The world desperately needs to hear the good news that there is an antidote to the fear which has it in an icy grip.  People are in prisons of fear.   Christmas is as good a time as any to tell those we love that age old message    “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Saviour has just been born in David’s town, a Saviour who is Messiah and Master.  ( Luke 2 :11)