Hope has a name...

When we see what happened to Zechariah, to Mary, to the Shepherds even to the Magi we see God unexpectedly intervening in people's lives to fulfill his promises. For some God did it in answer to their prayers, although Zechariah's response to the angel suggests he had stopped praying those prayers years ago. For others, like the Shepherds, it just seemed to be a sovereign act of God's grace. 

To recognise this is important. We are unlikely to miss the visitation of an angelic host, but we could miss the million other ways God might be offering his grace to us this Christmas. We pray you can find the mental space to seek him and spot him as he intervenes in your life with tender mercy.

And, of course, the real joy and peace of Christmas comes not just because God intervenes, but in the way he intervenes. God doesn't show himself to us demanding greater strength, greater ability or for us to do more with less. Instead he intervenes to ask us to let him save us, to ask us to entrust our present and our futures to him. Christmas is when we remember how God asks simply for weakness; for us to confess that we are not able. 

To recognise this is so important. In this "always on" world where so much is demanded of us, one of the hardest things for us to accept is that God simply wants our surrender. It is in repentance and rest that our salvation is found (Is 30:15). We pray that this Christmas you will surrender yourself entirely to this man who was born in swaddling clothes but is now robed as the King of all the Ages.

We'd love you to join us on Christmas Eve and on New Year's Eve. Both will be fantastic fun family celebrations where guests will be hugely welcome.

Much affection

Tom and Lesley

excerpted from our Digest email that you can read in full here - https://us14.campaign-archive.com/?u=dbe6d8cbe24616d7aac6c794a&id=fd23823638