31 December

Today's the day when in 1879 inventor Thomas Edison first gave a public demonstration of his incandescent light bulb, by lighting up a whole street in Menlo Park, New Jersey. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company ran special trains to Menlo Park on the day of the demonstration in response to public enthusiasm over the event. Although the first incandescent lamp had been produced 40 years earlier, no inventor had been able to come up with a practical design until Edison embraced the challenge in the late 1870s. After countless tests, he developed a high-resistance carbon-thread filament that burned steadily for hours and an electric generator sophisticated enough to power a large lighting system. Of his many inventions, the electric light bulb remains the one he is best remembered for, and the one that has had the biggest impact on society.

God is the Creator of light itself, one of the most complicated and yet most basic components of the universe. But he is not content just to let us live in physical light. He also switches on the light of his truth in our hearts. When the Spirit of God leads us to understand who Jesus is and put our faith in him, a light really does come on inside. This is how the Bible explains it in 2 Corinthians 4:

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

So as we approach a New Year, let's make it our resolution to let God sweep out the darkness in our lives.

30 December

Today's the day when in 1986 coal mine canaries were finally made redundant. The miners' feathered-friends had served faithfully for generations as detectors of poisonous gases underground. It was announced that more than 200 canaries would be phased out of work in Britain's mines in favour of new electronic carbon monoxide detectors. Needless to say the miners' unions were disappointed at this latest round of redundancies in their industry, but overall it was agreed that the new technology would be cheaper and safer in the long run.

Miners have always needed to watch out for the dangers of harmful gases. And Christians always need to watch out for harmful attitudes. Several times Jesus tells us we should watch out for temptation. Some of the greatest spiritual harm can come to us when we fall in love with money and possessions and Jesus is very direct in his words about this. Listen to this from Luke 12:

Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a person's life does not consist in the abundance of their possessions.

As the New Year approaches, is it time to review your life and make sure there is notr a build up of harmful greed?

29 December

Today's the day when in 1170 Archbishop Thomas Beckett was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral. He was killed by four knights of King Henry II, apparently on the orders of the king himself who had fallen out with Beckett over the extent of the church's jurisdiction. The murder of such a high official was made all the more shocking by the fact that it took place on the sanctified ground of a cathedral. The Christian world was shocked by Becket's death, and in 1173 he was made a saint. In 1174, Henry was forced to do penance at his tomb, and his efforts to end the separation between church and state ceased.

If King Henry's penance was genuine then he must at some stage have felt the pain of deep regret. That's an experience most of us have known to a greater or lesser extent. It's that feeling that we really wish we had acted differently, because we were foolish or just downright wrong. The Bible promises us that God's mercy totally cleanses us of our past wrongs. Even when our inner heart tries to make us feel guilty, God says we are forgiven, because he is greater than that condemning inner voice. This is what John says in his first letter:

This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

28 December

Today's the day when in 1980 the green light was given for Breakfast TV in the UK. The Independent Broadcasting Authority announced that the contract for a breakfast-time show would go to TV-AM. It launched in 1983 but met with fierce competition from BBC's 'Breakfast Time' which received higher ratings. This led to a cull of employees at TV-AM including Anna Ford and Angela Rippon in favour of "people-next-door" Anne Diamond and Nick Owen. Even so, ratings continued to plummet until Greg Dyke's creation of furry puppet Roland Rat who proved popular with children and was widely acclaimed as the saviour of the show.

For millions of people breakfast time was never the same. For the first time, cornflakes were eaten in front of the TV. And New TVs were installed in kitchens across the land to ensure important stories were not missed by people waiting for the toast to pop up. Breakfast TV became the standard way many people started their day.

Mark's Gospel tells us how Jesus started his day – without any intervention from Roland Rat. Listen to this:

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 

What about you? Is there a regular slot in your day you devote to spending time with God? Maybe it's morning; maybe it's some other time. But Jesus thought it was pretty important to tune in to God each day.

 

27 December

Today's the day when in 1977 Star Wars fever hit Britain. Seven months after it had been first screened  in America the long-awaited blockbuster was released in the UK. Thousands of people flocked to cinemas to watch Carrie Fischer, Alec Guinness and little-known Harrison Ford star in this fairytale set in space. Written and directed by George Lucas, this U-certificate sci-fi epic set in 'a galaxy far, far away' is a classic epic of good versus evil. 

Stories like that touch on something at the core of being human: the undeniable sense that good and evil are in opposition and that the bets outcome is when good triumphs. In the Bible John tells us in his first letter that Jesus came into this world to challenge and overcome the powers of evil. His birth is God's promise that the end of human history will be the defeat of wickedness and the triumph of God. This is what John says:

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.

It's amazing to think that what began in a manger in Bethlehem is God's plan for the victory of righteousness – and God' challenge to us to make sure we are on his side and not his enemy's.

 

26 December

Today's the day when in 2004 the dreadful Tsunami struck South East Asia. Massive sea surges triggered by an earthquake under the Indian Ocean created a wall of water which fanned out across the Indian Ocean at high speed and slammed into coastal areas with little or no warning. The tsunami killed more than 200,000 people in 13 countries. At least 128,000 people died in Indonesia alone and millions of people found their homes and livelihoods destroyed.

There's no easy answer to the question, Why do disasters like that happen? If there were, someone would have made a fortune from making sense out of such chaos. We know there is something about this damaged and fallen world that means that bad things happen to innocent people. For some people this is a reason not to believe in God, but for many more it is precisely the reason to hold on to the God we meet in Jesus Christ – who does not hide away from the suffering of this world but comes to share in it himself. Christmas is not just about the happy birth of a baby. It is about God immersing himself in the gritty and often painful reality of human life. As the Bible says in 2 Corinthians: 

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

25 December

Today's the day when around 1 AD Jesus Christ was born. Well no, we don't know exactly what day Jesus was born so today is the day Christians across the globe celebrate the fact that he was born: the Son of God came down to earth; God came to live among us. It's just too important, too world-shattering, too life-changing to let it pass us by. Since we don't know the exact date he was born, it was down to the church to choose one. And earlier generations came up with today's date.  It was probably an opportunity to replace a pagan festival called Saturnalia with a Christian celebration. And it worked! Worship of Saturn is long forgotten but millions of people worship Jesus Christ and trust their lives to him today. Listen to the simple truth of the events of the first Christmas as they are recorded in Luke's Gospel:

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

24 December

Today's the day when in 1818 the popular Christmas carol Silent Night was composed by Austrian headmaster Franz Gruber. The lyrics had been written by his friend, the priest Josef Mohr. On Christmas Eve he brought the words to Gruber and asked him to compose a melody for them with guitar accompaniment, which he could use during Midnight Mass. The request for a guitar accompaniment was unusual as guitars were normally associated with drinking songs. Tradition has it that the organ at his church was not working that night, which may explain this. (A more elaborate tradition says the organ failure was due to hungry mice eating the bellows; it's a pretty story but probably a seasonal embellishment of the original.)

Anyhow the carol quickly gained popularity in Austria and soon became well-loved in the English-speaking world too. During the First World War, the Christmas Truce between English and German troops in the trenches also began on Christmas Eve. Soldiers of both armies joined in singing Silent Night, because it was the only one that soldiers on both sides of the frontline knew in their own language.

As we think of the coming of Jesus this Christmas time, and perhaps enjoy singing or hearing Silent Night , let's be thankful that God himself did not keep silent but sent his Son to be his living word – the way he speaks his message of salvation and hope to all people. Back in the Old Testament God promised through Isaiah that he would not keep his saving plan quiet. This is what he said:

For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,

for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet,

till her righteousness shines out like the dawn,

her salvation like a blazing torch.

23 December

Today's the day when in 1992 the Queen's Speech was published by The Sun newspaper two days before its scheduled broadcast. This sparked a full investigation from the BBC into the unprecedented leak. The script was spread across the centre pages of the newspaper and was virtually word-for-word the text of the five-minute broadcast, recorded at Sandringham. Buckingham Palace denounced it as '"very regrettable" and signalled a clampdown on the future advance availability of the speech to the world's press. It also warned other media organisations against reporting information from the newspaper. 

As we anticipate this year's Queen's Speech, the Palace will be hoping that her words will be heard by the public at just the right time – Christmas Day – and that no premature leaks will spoil this. Way back at the first Christmas the Son of God was born at just the right time – the time God chose to humble himself and enter this world in the humility of a baby and offer a way for all people to come to know him. This is what the Bible says in Galatians 4:

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father."7So you are no longer a slave, but God's children; and since you are his children, he has made you also his heirs.

22 December

Today's the day when in 1972 the Chilean Air Force found 14 survivors from a plane which had crashed in the Andes Mountains 10 weeks previously. The aircraft, which was carrying amongst others the Christian Brothers, a catholic Uruguayan rugby team, had vanished on a flight from Montevideo to Santiago. The first news that anyone had survived came when two of the passengers reached civilization after a ten day trek in Arctic conditions. One of those men, Roberto Canessa, later made an unsuccessful bid for the Uruguayan presidency in 1994. The story of the ordeal was published in a book called "Alive!" and was (inevitably?) made into a film.

The thought of being lost in the hills was in the mind of the writer of Psalm 121. He could see the dangerous hills he had to travel through on his way to Jerusalem and he was afraid of what dangers lay ahead. Then he remembered that God was with him. As you listen to his words, think of any fears you have of what lies ahead.

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—

where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—

he who watches over you will not slumber;

4 indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—

the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

6 the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—

he will watch over your life;

8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going

both now and for evermore.

21 December

Today's the day when in 1937 the Walt Disney film Snow White and The Seven Dwarves had its cinema premier. Although it was not the first full-length animated film to be made (an Argentinian film called El Apostol has this honour) Snow White was certainly the first animated film to become widely successful in the English-speaking world. In fact, it remains the tenth highest grossing film in history if you make adjustments for inflation over the years. Disney had many critics during the production of the film who did not believe that a full-length animation would sell. The project became known as 'Disney's Folly' until the film proved tremendously popular at the box-office. Such was its appeal that cinema owners began to demand, 'We want more dwarves.' And so great has been its impact that even today just about everyone knows its classic songs: 'Whistle While You Work' and 'Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, It's Off To Work We Go'.

I guess Disney could easily have given up on this project when everyone else was saying it was a foolish idea. But he had a deeper conviction that it was worth investing in. In fact when no one else would finance it he mortgaged his own house to raise the funds he needed. If you follow Jesus you are bound to meet some people who say that you are foolish. But if a deeper conviction burns in your heart that Jesus lived and died for you, then you'll risk everything to follow him. This is what Paul had on his mind when he wrote this in 1 Corinthians:

Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

20 December

Today's the day when in 1979 the Government announced that more than 5 million council tenants would be given the right to buy their home. This policy has proved extremely popular and since then over 1½ million council properties have been bought. The downside of the scheme is that it has contributed to a reduction in the number of available council homes so there is now a shortage of social housing across the UK. 

As Christmas approaches we think about the plight of Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem, with no suitable accommodation available to them. And we are right to think of people who are homeless and inadequately housed today. That's something that has always been on God's heart. This is what he said through the prophet Isaiah:

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice

and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry

and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—

when you see the naked, to clothe him,

and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

19 December

Today's the day when in 1924 the last Rolls Royce Silver Ghost was completed and sold in London. The Silver Ghost had been introduced in 1906 as a custom touring car that promised luxury and reliable performance. It quickly gained a reputation as the "Best Car in the World." But the manufacturers knew that it wouldn't remain the best car for ever and that new models were needed. These came in due course in the form of the Rolls Royce Twenty, the Phantom, the Silver Cloud, the Silver Shadow, and the Silver Wraith. The company managed the transition to more modern designs whilst protecting its reputation for opulence and comfort.

It was also on this day in 1994 that Rolls Royce announced that in future its cars would be powered by 12 cylinder BMW engines rather than the classic British engines for which it had been known and loved. Many people bemoaned this but the company maintained that it had to move with the times.

Change is here to stay. And change is getting faster. Some people say that in today's world change is the only certainty. But it isn't. Because God's dependable presence with us through whatever comes and goes in life is an even greater certainty. Listen to these words from  Hebrews:

God has said,

"Never will I leave you;

never will I forsake you." 

So we say with confidence,

"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.

What can human beings do to me?" 

18 December

Today's the day when in 1644 violin-maker Antonio Stradivari was born in Italy. He is probably the greatest craftsman in his field and he gave his life to the task of producing magnificent violins, cellos and guitars at his workshop in Cremona. During his lifetime he made over 1,000 instruments, of which about 650 survive today. Such is the reputation of his craftsmanship that his violins and cellos are still highly prized by professional performers and a 'Strad' can now sell at auction for over £2 million. 

Not many of us give our lives to such a specialised task, nor do we achieve such brilliance in what we do. But God has called us all to use the abilities he has given us, in our workplaces, in our communities and in our homes. And here's some guidance from the Bible on how God wants us to go about our work; this is from Colossians:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 

17 December

Today's the day when in 1903 the first aeroplane flight was made. Orville Wright piloted the inaugural flight of the self-propelled, heavier-than-air aircraft which he and his brother Wilbur had built near Kitty Hawk in North carolina. The plane stayed aloft for 12 seconds and covered a distance of 120 feet. (To those of us who have no taste for airline food and long-haul boredom, that sounds like an ideal length for a flight!)

For many years people had dreamed of powered flight but it had always seemed an impossible dream. The Wright brothers showed that it was possible, that people really could fly.

Sometimes it's not an aeroplane flight we need to lift us up. We need someone to lift our soul. Tiredness, weakness, sorrow and regret can make us feel spiritually grounded. But through Isaiah God gives this great promise to everyone who wants to soar with him:

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no-one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

16 December

Today's the day when in 1773 The Boston Tea Party took place. In case you don't remember, it was actually no tea party at all. What happened was this: a group of colonists from Massachusetts disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded three British tea ships in Boston Harbour and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbour. This was not pure vandalism. It was a protest against the British Government's 'Tea Act', which gave unfair privileges to the British East India Company in America. 

The value of the tea they threw overboard was about £12,000. And that was a lot of money then. But once it was in the water there was no recovering it. It had gone for good.

The Bible uses this picture of throwing things to the bottom of the sea when it explains how God treats our wrongs and failures. This is what the prophet Micah says:

Who is a God like you,

who pardons sin and forgives the transgression

of the remnant of his inheritance?

You do not stay angry for ever

but delight to show mercy.

You will again have compassion on us;

you will tread our sins underfoot

and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

15 December

Today's the day when in 2001 the leaning Tower of Pisa reopened, after a team of experts had spent 11 years strengthening the tower without eliminating its famous lean. During its original construction in the 12th century its foundation began to sink into the soft, marshy ground causing it to lean to one side. The quick-thinking builders tried to compensate for the lean by making the top stories slightly taller on one side. However, the weight of the extra stonework they needed to do this only made the tower sink further. (Just think what a great episode of Rogue Traders that would have made!) 

Anyway, by the twentieth century the tower, 190 feet tall, leaned a dramatic15 feet off the perpendicular. Incredibly, in the year before it closed for repairs over a million visitors climbed the 293 weathered steps to the top.

The Tower of Pisa is a rare example of a building being famous for its poor foundations. You can be sure that almost every other building standing on dodgy foundations has not lasted long. The first rule of building is that you need something solid to build on. When it comes to building our lives, Jesus tells us there is nothing more solid than his words. This is what he says in Matthew 7:

Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

14 December

Today's the day when in 1972 Apollo 17, the last manned space mission to the moon, began its journey back to earth. Astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt completed their third lunar walk after a short ceremony in which they bade farewell to the moon and unveiled a small commemorative plaque. On it was written, "Here man completed his first explorations of the Moon, December 1972." Altogether 12 people have walked on the moon since Neil Armstrong stepped out of Apollo 11 in 1969.

Since then space exploration has continued in many other ways. The mysteries of the solar system continue to provoke our curiosity and wonder. Have you ever asked yourself, how can the God who created the vastness of space care about me? If so, you're in good company. The writer of psalm 8 had the same question in his mind. This is what he wrote:

     When I consider your heavens,

    the work of your fingers,

    the moon and the stars,

    which you have set in place,

    what is man that you are mindful of him,

    the son of man that you care for him?

    You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

    and crowned him with glory and honour.

     You made him ruler over the works of your hands;

    you put everything under his feet:

     all flocks and herds,

    and the beasts of the field,

     the birds of the air,

    and the fish of the sea,

    all that swim the paths of the seas.

     O LORD, our Lord,

    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

13 December

Today's the day when in 1577 Francis Drake set out on the journey that was to make him the first explorer to sail all the way round the world. His ship The Golden Hind was accompanied by 4 other vessels but in devastating storms they were lost to the expedition. Drake crossed the Atlantic and sailed up the west coast of America. Unable to find a 'north east passage' back to the Atlantic he set out across the Pacific Ocean, sailed round the southern tip of Africa and returned to Plymouth in 1580, bearing treasure, spice and new information about the world's oceans. 

The Bible shows us that in one way or another trusting God is always a journey of adventure. Take Abraham, for example, living a comfortable and settled life in Haran until God called him to set off for the land he would show him. These words from Genesis 12 tell us how the adventure began:

So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

So, what kind of adventure are you on with God?

12 December

Today's the day when in 2003 Keiko died. You are probably thinking, who on earth is Keiko? Well Keiko is the orca, or killer whale, who starred in the film Free Willy. In case your memory of the movie has got a bit hazy, let me remind you of the bare bones: whale gets separated from parents and ends up in captivity; delinquent kid teaches whale tricks; whale won't perform in front of audience so owner plans to kill whale for insurance money; kid must free whale before he cops it. I won't spoil the end of the story…but you can probably make it up yourself from there! 

In real life Keiko had been captured off the coast of Iceland in 1979. He had been taught some tricks and passed between different amusement parks. Following the film there was a campaign to return him to the wild and eventually he was released in the sea off Iceland and ended his days in the freedom of the ocean once again. 

There's a longing in the human heart for freedom too. To be free to become the people we were made to be. To be free from the false limitations other people put on us. To be free from the power of the past to control who we are. In John's gospel Jesus promises us that true freedom in life comes from him; this is what he says:

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it for ever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 

11 December

Today's the day when in 1936 King Edward VIII abdicated from the throne. After ruling for less than one year he became the first British monarch to voluntarily give up the throne. He chose to do this after his decision to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson was widely condemned by the public and the Government. On the evening of December 11th he gave a radio address in which he explained, 'I have found it impossible to carry on the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge the duties of king, as I would wish to do, without the help and support of the woman I love.' The following day his younger brother, the Duke of York, was proclaimed King George VI.

But abdicating the throne isn't just for Edward VIII. Think about this: Jesus teaches that the kingdom of God is near and that we can come under his rule or kingship in our lives. This is what it says in Mark's gospel:

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" 

If God is going to rule in our lives then we have to repent; that means abdicating from the throne in our lives and surrendering to Jesus as Lord and King. As long as we want to stay on the throne and do things our way there's no room for Jesus to be King. Yet he rules our lives so much better than we do – if we only give him chance.

10 December

Today's the day when in 1901 the first Nobel Prizes were awarded. At a ceremony in Stockholm prizes were given in the fields of physics, chemistry, literature and peace. This all took place on the fifth anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite. In his will Nobel directed that the bulk of his vast fortune was to be placed in a fund whose interest would be 'annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, in the preceding year, had conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.' 

Nobel did not explain publicly why he created the prizes but it is widely believed that he did so out of moral regret over the increasingly lethal use of his inventions in war.

Moral regret is something we all understand. Who hasn't done something wrong and later wished they could turn back the clocks and do things differently. Sometimes we can make some kind of reparation for what has gone wrong, as Alfred Nobel was trying to do. But in our heart of hearts we know that before God we can never make up for the wrongs we have done. 

The good news is that someone else can. Jesus died for our sins and his righteousness makes up for our unrighteousness. This is how John, in his first letter, teaches us that because of Jesus we are not trapped in guilt before God:

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

9 December

Today's the day when in 1960 Britain's longest running soap opera, Coronation Street,  was first broadcast. Created by Tony Warren, the working title of the show was 'Florizel Street,' but it was changed after a tea lady named Agnes remarked that 'Florizel' sounded too much like a disinfectant. 'Corrie' is set in the fictional northern town of Weatherfield, and though the famous terraced houses in the title sequence have changed over the years the iconic theme tune by Eric Spear has hardly been modified since the first episode.

Coronation Street is about community and it tells stories of people whose lives are interconnected, for better or for worse. There is something attractive about this because we sense that we are made to belong with other people; we are not content in lonely isolation. The Bible explains that the church is meant to be a new kind of community, centred on Jesus and characterised by love, acceptance and mercy. According to the Book of Acts this is what the first church community was like:

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

It's hardly the script for a soap opera – but it's the script for being church then… and now.

8 December

Today's the day when in 1980 John Lennon was murdered outside his apartment in New York. As he returned home from a recording studio Mark Chapman shot him four times in the back. Chapman later said he had heard voices in his head telling him to kill Lennon. The death of the former Beatle at the age of 40 caused a wave of sorrow across the world. Even on the twentieth anniversary of his death in 2000, millions of people still turned out to pay tribute to him in his home town of Liverpool and in New York.

We all hope for long life, security and good health, but none of us knows what the future holds. Every day God gives us opportunities to show his love and reflect his glory. So let's not waste a single day, because we don't know how many more we might have. This is how the Bible puts it in Ephesians 5:

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 

7 December

Today's the day when in 1941 Japanese planes launched a surprise attach on the US Navy at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii. Six battleships and 112 other vessels were sunk, and 2,400 lives were lost. This, of course, was the event that drew America into the Second Wolrd War. If you don't know the story from history lessons in school then you maybe learned it from the film with Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale. There were six wartime investigations into how America was taken so totally by surprise. They revealed a lack of co-ordination and communication between Washington and the fleet in Hawaii, and between the different armed forces.

The danger of unexpected attack is part of the experience of being a Christian. The Bible teaches us to be prepared for the attempts of the devil to undo the good work God is doing in our lives. This warning comes from Peter's second letter:

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

With God's power in us we can resist the attacks of the evil one. Let's just make sure we see them coming.

6 December

Today's the day when in 1994 The Queen gave her approval for oil drilling to take place in the grounds of Windsor Castle. The move came after studies showed there could be oil worth up to £1 billion lying beneath the castle. Canadian company Canuk Explorations announced plans to begin drilling in Home Park, about 500 metres from the castle walls. There was plenty of opposition from local politicians and from environmental groups to what the media dubbed ‘Dallas-On-Thames', but the county council nevertheless gave permission for the project to go ahead.

Strangely, nothing came of it. The first exploration well was due to be sunk in the summer of 1996. But when the six-year licence held by Canuk Explorations neared expiry that year, the Department of Trade and Industry did not renew it. So the prospect of ‘Royal Oil' evaporated.

Most of us have probably made plans for things that have not come to fruition. Sometimes it is our own mistakes that ruin our plans, but other times God simply says, ‘That might be a good idea, but it's not my plan for you.' We are wise when we recognise that some things we hope for are just not part of God's plan and we just accept that they will not happen. In the Old Testament King David desperately wanted to build a temple, but God said ‘no' to that. In 1 Chronicles 28 we read how David had come to accept that:

David summoned all the officials of Israel to assemble at Jerusalem: the officers over the tribes, the commanders of the divisions in the service of the king, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the mighty men and all the brave warriors.

King David rose to his feet and said: "Listen to me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to build it. 3But God said to me, ‘You are not to build a house for my Name, because you are a warrior and have shed blood.'

Maybe you need to receive God's peace today by recognising there is something you have longed for that is just not part of his plan for you.

5 December

Today's the day when in 1952 The Great Smog fell upon London. This thick smoke-laden fog shrouded the city for 5 days. An estimated 4,000 people died because of it, and cattle at Smithfield, were, the press reported, asphyxiated. Road, rail and air transport were almost brought to a standstill and a performance at the Sadler's Wells Theatre had to be suspended when fog in the auditorium made conditions intolerable for the audience and performers.

The Bible tells us that many people are caught in a kind of spiritual smog. They can't see the truth about God because they are wrapped up in the short-term priorities of this age. This is what it says in 2 Corinthians 4:

Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God... For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Thank God that he has power to take away the smog that blinds you to his love.

4 December

Today's the day when in 1917 the famous psychiatrist W H Rivers presented a groundbreaking report on ‘Shell Shock'. Addressing the Royal School of Medicine, Rivers described his work at Craiglockhart Hospital, near Edinburgh, where he had studied the psychological traumas of soldiers injured on the battlefields of the First World War. He showed that troops on the front lines who had been exposed to heavy bombardment suffered long-term symptoms of shell shock, such as debilitating anxiety, persistent nightmares and physical symptoms ranging from sickness to loss of sight.

By the end of World War 1 the army had had to deal with 80,000 cases of shell shock. Increasingly they found the same symptoms occurring in soldiers who had not been under direct bombardment but had simply been traumatised by the experience of combat. This discovery formed the background to the more recent recognition that people can suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

We are all products of our own past experience and many of us carry hurts and pains from the things we have endured and the battles we have fought. We might not be shell-shocked but we are sometimes grief-shocked or divorce-shocked or life-shocked for some other reason. The Bible gives real encouragement to broken people like us. Listen to this from Psalm 147:

Praise the Lord.
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the broken-hearted
and binds up their wounds.

3 December

Today's the day when in 1988 Edwina Currie provoked outrage by saying that most of Britain's egg production was infected with salmonella. Farmers and politicians were outraged by her remarks, especially as she was Health Minister at the time. In a television interview she declared, "Most of the egg production in this country, sadly, is now affected with salmonella." Two weeks later she was forced to resign as egg sales plummeted and the government was forced to offer a compensation package of millions of pounds to cover the cost of purchasing surplus eggs and for the slaughter of unwanted hens.

It's amazing what a huge impact few carelessly chosen words can have. There are many places where the Bible warns us to be careful how we speak. The letter of James is probably where we find the strongest warning to engage brain before opening lips. This is what it says:

When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.

2 December

Today's the day when in 1995 futures trader Nick Leeson was jailed for six-and-a-half years for his part in the collapse of Britain's oldest merchant bank. The 28-year-old admitted to a judge in Singapore two charges of fraud connected with the ruin of the 233 year-old Barings Bank's. Judge Richard Magnus said Leeson had "spun a web of deceit" and created "a superficial reality designed to beguile" both Barings and the Singapore futures exchange. If you didn't hear the story at the time you maybe saw it in the film Rogue Trader, with Ewan MacGregor playing the part of Nick Leeson.

Deceit is always a dangerous game with disaster never far away. Through Isaiah God gives us this warning:

This is what the Holy One of Israel says:

"Because you have rejected this message,
relied on oppression
and depended on deceit,
this sin will become for you
like a high wall, cracked and bulging,
that collapses suddenly, in an instant.
It will break in pieces like pottery,
shattered so mercilessly
that among its pieces not a fragment will be found..."

If there's anything you are doing that is built on deceit, today's the day to stop building before it collapses on top of you.

1 December

Today's the day when in 1955 Rosa Parks was arrested by police in Montgomery, Alabama, after refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white person. Five days later, thousands of black citizens boycotted the buses in Alabama - to mark the day she was due in court. She was fined $10 plus $4 costs. Later that same evening, the young preacher Martin Luther King addressed a crowd of several thousand at Holt Street Baptist Church and called for the boycott to continue. Nearly all Montgomery's 40,000 black citizens took part in the bus boycott, which lasted for 381 days. On December 20th the Supreme Court upheld the decision of a lower court to end segregation on Alabama's buses.

Rosa Parkes had the cry for justice in her heart. And that comes straight from God, who says through the prophet Amos:

Let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!