(Notes for the St. Martins Community Church Collingwood service 13 January 2013. Handout is at the bottom of this page).    

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The basic message of the Hebrew-Christian faith is that we don ¢â‚¬â„¢t have to stay the way we were. If anyone is in Christ they ¢â‚¬â„¢re a new creation…  

What ¢â‚¬â„¢s in this New Year for you?   One thing we can be sure of: what we think determines who we are; and what we think mostly comes from the words others have spoken to us or we have read somewhere.

Here are God ¢â‚¬â„¢s words to us, via Isaiah chapter 43…

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[My pastor-wife,  Rev. Jan Croucher, read this to a dying man, Frank Fricke. ‘Dear Frank…’ Frank: ‘Really? Can I have a look at that?’ His video at the Thanksgiving Service finished with him blowing a kiss to everyone!]

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The background is the Babylonian exile ¢â‚¬ ¦ when God ¢â‚¬â„¢s people were carried away from their homeland, and their Temple was destroyed, and they languished for more than a full generation as strangers in a strange land.

A second prophet named Isaiah found his calling in assuring the Hebrew exiles that they would return to the land they once had called their own.

Christians have applied these sentiments to themselves too: our Lord, Jesus, promised his scared and confused followers that nothing could separate them from His love.  And he promises to be with us, to the end of the world, to the end of time.

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Let ¢â‚¬â„¢s hear these words of comfort as we journey into a new year…  

A   Love-letter   from   God

January 13, 2113

Dear   ……………………………………………. (your name),

I created you

You  ¢â‚¬“ yes you  ¢â‚¬“ are an unrepeatable miracle of God ¢â‚¬â„¢s creation. God did not make a mistake when you were created. You were in God ¢â‚¬â„¢s mind and heart before anything else was created. And God loves all of God ¢â‚¬â„¢s creation… And he knows you intimately  ¢â‚¬“ even the hairs on your head are numbered. Infinite worth:  ¢â‚¬Å“I’m a completely worthless woman and no man should risk his life for me. ¢â‚¬    ¢â‚¬â€¢  Greta Garbo. Desmond Tutu:  ¢â‚¬ËœYour ordinary acts of love and hope point to the extraordinary promise that every human life is of inestimable value. ¢â‚¬â„¢

and formed you,

God loves you as you are but loves you too much to leave you as you are…

But God ¢â‚¬â„¢s love is not dependent on your changing: you can ¢â‚¬â„¢t earn God ¢â‚¬â„¢s love. God loves you before you change, as you change, after you change, and whether you change or not.

Being  ¢â‚¬Ëœformed ¢â‚¬â„¢ means becoming the person you were meant to be. You ¢â‚¬â„¢re here for a purpose. And this includes loving others:  ¢â‚¬Å“To love another person is to see the face of God. ¢â‚¬  ~Victor Hugo (Les Miserables)

Do not fear, I have redeemed you,

We ¢â‚¬â„¢ve all messed up. Here’s the paradox. We can fully embrace God’s love only when we recognize how completely unworthy of it we are. Repentance is remedial work to mend our minds and hearts, which get bent by sin and evil and selfishness…  

And remember: don’t let that which describes you define you (think about that!).   

I know your name:

Your name isn ¢â‚¬â„¢t just something which makes it easier for the postie delivering mail.

If we really understood the divinity-in-our-humanity we would be tempted to fall down and worship one another (Thomas Merton, C S Lewis, et al.)

you are mine.

When you ¢â‚¬â„¢re in over your head, I am with you

When it ¢â‚¬â„¢s really tough-going I ¢â‚¬â„¢ll provide a way through…

People who commit suicide mostly don ¢â‚¬â„¢t want to die: they don ¢â‚¬â„¢t know how to keep on living

If you ¢â‚¬â„¢re between a rock and a hard place, you ¢â‚¬â„¢ll be OK.

The more we depend on God the more dependable we find God is.  – Cliff Richard

Live one day at a time. Today is the most important day in your life. John Dryden,  the poet:  ¢â‚¬Å“Tomorrow do thy worst, I have lived today. ¢â‚¬ 

Sometimes we live without answers:  ¢â‚¬Å“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song. ¢â‚¬  (Maya Angelou).

I am God, your personal , holy God and your Savior .

I paid a huge price for you

For Christians we remember the cross  ¢â‚¬“ the price paid for our redemption; and which we celebrate on the communion.

That ¢â‚¬â„¢s how much you mean to me!

 ¢â‚¬Å“We’re all human, aren’t we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving. ¢â‚¬    ¢â‚¬â€¢  J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

That ¢â‚¬â„¢s how much I love you!

I ¢â‚¬â„¢d sell off the whole world to get you back

Trade the creation just for you .

You are precious to me:

And that has nothing to do with your talents, your choice of parents (!), any accolades/awards you’ve received, your appearance, your cleverness, whatever…  

Yesterday morning’s devotion :  ¢â‚¬ËœTax Collectors and prostitutes are going into the kingdom ahead of you Pharisees (Bible people) ¢â‚¬â„¢ Matthew 21:31. (Why don’t evangelical preachers get excited about this teaching from our Lord?).    

I love you!

God loves you just as much as God loves anyone

And sometime  ¢â‚¬“ maybe soon  ¢â‚¬“ we ¢â‚¬â„¢ll experience the splendour of God ¢â‚¬â„¢s love in all its magnificent reality.  ¢â‚¬Å“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into anyone ¢â‚¬â„¢s heart the things which God has prepared for those who are lovers-of-God ¢â‚¬  ~1 Cor. 2:9

Such perfect love casts out our fear: When we see the storms clouds coming or feel the heat of the fire, we do not have to fear. God is there with us. When we feel broken and broken hearted, we do not have to fear. God is there to love us. When we feel wounded and confused, we do not have to fear. God is there to redeem us. When we wonder and we doubt, we do not have to fear. God is there to reclaim us.  

(Italicized lines excerpted from   Isaiah   43: 1-7   based on The Message Translation)     

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Finally: Some quotes which have changed my life:

If you have God and everything else, you have no more than having God only;  And if you have everything else and not God you have nothing…

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  If God is like Jesus, nothing is too good to be true.

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I wouldn ¢â‚¬â„¢t give a cent for simplicity this side of complexity; but I ¢â‚¬â„¢d give  my whole life for simplicity the other side of complexity…

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With Pharisees repentance precedes acceptance; with Jesus it was the other way around.

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Benediction: “May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love really is” (Ephesians 3:17, 18).  

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Version used as a handout:

A   Love-letter   from   God   

January 13, 2113

Dear   ………………………………   (your name),

I created you and formed you,

Do not fear, I have redeemed you,

I know your name: you are mine.

When you ¢â‚¬â„¢re in over your head, I am with you

When it ¢â‚¬â„¢s really tough-going I ¢â‚¬â„¢ll provide a way through…

If you ¢â‚¬â„¢re between a rock and a hard place, you ¢â‚¬â„¢ll be OK

I am God, your personal   holy God and your Savior .  

I paid a huge price for you

That ¢â‚¬â„¢s how much you mean to me!

That ¢â‚¬â„¢s how much I love you!  

I ¢â‚¬â„¢d sell off the whole world to get you back

Trade the creation just for you .  

You are precious to me:

I love you!

(Excerpts Isaiah   43: 1-7   based on The Message Translation)                                      

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Best wisdom for this year:

If you have God and everything else, you have no more than having God only;

And if you have everything else and not God you have nothing…                                      

If God is like Jesus, nothing is too good to be true.                                        

I wouldn ¢â‚¬â„¢t give a cent for simplicity this side of complexity; but I ¢â‚¬â„¢d give everything  for simplicity the other side of complexity…

Rowland Croucher