Fabula Est Vestri
Fabula Est Vestri - The Story is Yours.
We all have a story, every single one of us has a story to tell. The thing is that sometimes we get more concerned with knowing what our neighbours stories and sometimes we don't really care as long as we are ok. At times we get so wrapped up in our own stories that we think no one cares or wants to help us. That we are incapable of help and that no one would really care but how we are feeling. But that's not true.
For the past few weeks i've been preparing for the Christmas Season at church. Always a very busy time for anyone that works in a church with Nativity Plays, endless parties to "show up at", plus the added pressure of trying to keep the focus off the man in the big red suit and keeping it on the baby in the manger.
It was when I was preparing for one of these services that God clearly spoke this message to me. It was all very strange how it happened, I recently found an old worship DVD I hadn't watched for a while and for a few days God had really been putting it on my heart to watch it. So I finally gave it and put it on.
For all of us Christmas brings with it a great sense of excitement, presents, lights, pantomime, the return of loved ones. Taking all of that into consideration imagine how the people of the world felt all those years ago, that sense of excitement and expectation they would have faced. The Bible talks about the coming of Jesus in Isaiah 7:14 & Micah 5. Both of these books prophesy clearly about the coming Saviour of the World.
God gave his son as the first Christmas gift all those years ago. He sent us Jesus with no conditions or hidden clauses just the simple choice yes or no. Today we have taken that whole idea of gift giving and attached conditions and consequences to it.We live in a world that adds conditions to everything. I've just finished my first Nativity Play with the Sunday school in my new job. During this the whole idea of adding conditions to things came ever more clear to me. One of the children bribed me with conditions and things I had to do for him to help me out and play a part in the Nativity. Something that I fell for, but something that helped me to realise just how freely Jesus was given to us. Jesus Christ was given freely for all. God gave us the Gift of Hope.
We are living in a world that needs to be shown hope and that has been evident especially in the news over the past few weeks. Here in Belfast we have seen the pictures and the news coverage of the riots over the removal of the Union Flag from City hall. Over the past few days we have been inundated with images from America where a man walked into a primary school and shot a number of young children. If that is not a world that needs Hope and needs to be shown there is Hope, I don't know what is.
It's time now for us as the children of God to take a stand. To stand up for Hope and to show the world what Jesus stands for. Yesterday and today we have seen aspects of that from the people of Belfast. Yesterday thousands gathered at City Hall to pray for peace in our City, producing great images of Hope. As people from all religious backgrounds gathered to pray for those in our city. Today we saw more images of people standing to show there is hope for our city in a peace rally. A simple 2 minute non silence were people stood up and were counted for Hope and Peace in our time.
Our World really needs to hear a story of hope and God began the story on that first Christmas Day. However many people think that he ended when Jesus said those words from John 19:30.
"So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit."
But that was not the end, that was merely the end of a chapter. We all know how the story continues, on Easter Sunday when Jesus beats death and rises to new life. Again the continuation of a fantastic story that continues chapter after chapter until Jesus goes back to be with God in heaven.Again though so many people think that’s it. But its not. Jesus left us this instruction Mark 16:15-16:
"And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."
He even left us help to do it Acts1:8:
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me[a] in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Jesus told us to continue the story for him. What a perfect time to do it with the background of Christmas. We have a society that is crying out for Hope, For Love, For Forgiveness, For Understanding. We have so many people in our society who are outcasts, struggling emotionally, financially, physically. People who just need a helping hand. Maybe it's time we go out and be the hands and feet of Jesus and do what he called us to do.
Shine Heavens Light into people's dark situations. Jesus came to be the Light to the World. Heavens Light can shine into these events that are going on around the world and it can definitely shine into those problems and struggles your friends and family are having. But will you take the light to them?
Fabula Est Vestri – The Story is yours
I know this this isn’t just a story, this is reality. Jesus is as alive today as he was all those years ago. Today in 2012 there IS still Power in the name of Jesus, but are you willing to stand with that power and carrying it out into the world?
But if Fabula Est Vestri means The Story is yours, and we are saying this story is 100% true then that means the reality is yours as well.
It’s up to you what to do with it.
That was when I heard it: Fabula Est Vestri.
I pray that you have a fantastic Christ filled Christmas and I look forward to hearing what your chapter of this wonderful story will say.
We all have a story, every single one of us has a story to tell. The thing is that sometimes we get more concerned with knowing what our neighbours stories and sometimes we don't really care as long as we are ok. At times we get so wrapped up in our own stories that we think no one cares or wants to help us. That we are incapable of help and that no one would really care but how we are feeling. But that's not true.
For the past few weeks i've been preparing for the Christmas Season at church. Always a very busy time for anyone that works in a church with Nativity Plays, endless parties to "show up at", plus the added pressure of trying to keep the focus off the man in the big red suit and keeping it on the baby in the manger.
It was when I was preparing for one of these services that God clearly spoke this message to me. It was all very strange how it happened, I recently found an old worship DVD I hadn't watched for a while and for a few days God had really been putting it on my heart to watch it. So I finally gave it and put it on.
That was when I heard it: Fabula Est Vestri.
Straight away God spoke and said thats it, talk about that.
The English translation from the Latin Fabula Est Vestri is simply this "The Story is Yours"
You see over 2000 years ago a very well known author starting writing a story, this story was one of Hope, of Joy, of Acceptance, of Forgiveness. Most importantly this was a story of Love. A story that counteracts all of those negative feelings we face and which has the answer to those issues we feel are unsolvable
The story of the birth of Jesus is very widely known, it’s one of the most famous stories of all time, yet at this time of year it becomes just that. The birth of Jesus gets lost in the tinsel, lost in all the presents and busyness of Christmas. The story of the child sent to earth and born in a manger becomes just another story we tell. But we need to get back to the real meaning behind that first Christmas.
For all of us Christmas brings with it a great sense of excitement, presents, lights, pantomime, the return of loved ones. Taking all of that into consideration imagine how the people of the world felt all those years ago, that sense of excitement and expectation they would have faced. The Bible talks about the coming of Jesus in Isaiah 7:14 & Micah 5. Both of these books prophesy clearly about the coming Saviour of the World.
God gave his son as the first Christmas gift all those years ago. He sent us Jesus with no conditions or hidden clauses just the simple choice yes or no. Today we have taken that whole idea of gift giving and attached conditions and consequences to it.We live in a world that adds conditions to everything. I've just finished my first Nativity Play with the Sunday school in my new job. During this the whole idea of adding conditions to things came ever more clear to me. One of the children bribed me with conditions and things I had to do for him to help me out and play a part in the Nativity. Something that I fell for, but something that helped me to realise just how freely Jesus was given to us. Jesus Christ was given freely for all. God gave us the Gift of Hope.
We are living in a world that needs to be shown hope and that has been evident especially in the news over the past few weeks. Here in Belfast we have seen the pictures and the news coverage of the riots over the removal of the Union Flag from City hall. Over the past few days we have been inundated with images from America where a man walked into a primary school and shot a number of young children. If that is not a world that needs Hope and needs to be shown there is Hope, I don't know what is.
It's time now for us as the children of God to take a stand. To stand up for Hope and to show the world what Jesus stands for. Yesterday and today we have seen aspects of that from the people of Belfast. Yesterday thousands gathered at City Hall to pray for peace in our City, producing great images of Hope. As people from all religious backgrounds gathered to pray for those in our city. Today we saw more images of people standing to show there is hope for our city in a peace rally. A simple 2 minute non silence were people stood up and were counted for Hope and Peace in our time.
Our World really needs to hear a story of hope and God began the story on that first Christmas Day. However many people think that he ended when Jesus said those words from John 19:30.
"So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit."
But that was not the end, that was merely the end of a chapter. We all know how the story continues, on Easter Sunday when Jesus beats death and rises to new life. Again the continuation of a fantastic story that continues chapter after chapter until Jesus goes back to be with God in heaven.Again though so many people think that’s it. But its not. Jesus left us this instruction Mark 16:15-16:
"And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."
He even left us help to do it Acts1:8:
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me[a] in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Jesus told us to continue the story for him. What a perfect time to do it with the background of Christmas. We have a society that is crying out for Hope, For Love, For Forgiveness, For Understanding. We have so many people in our society who are outcasts, struggling emotionally, financially, physically. People who just need a helping hand. Maybe it's time we go out and be the hands and feet of Jesus and do what he called us to do.
Shine Heavens Light into people's dark situations. Jesus came to be the Light to the World. Heavens Light can shine into these events that are going on around the world and it can definitely shine into those problems and struggles your friends and family are having. But will you take the light to them?
Fabula Est Vestri – The Story is yours
I know this this isn’t just a story, this is reality. Jesus is as alive today as he was all those years ago. Today in 2012 there IS still Power in the name of Jesus, but are you willing to stand with that power and carrying it out into the world?
But if Fabula Est Vestri means The Story is yours, and we are saying this story is 100% true then that means the reality is yours as well.
It’s up to you what to do with it.
That was when I heard it: Fabula Est Vestri.
I pray that you have a fantastic Christ filled Christmas and I look forward to hearing what your chapter of this wonderful story will say.
Comments
Post a Comment