Renew The Mind; Transform Your Life

The 12th Day of Christmas On the 12th Day of Christmas, we celebrate the Eve of Epiphany.  This means we are on the cusp of change.  We end the 12 Days of Christmas and move into Epiphany.  I rather like the decision of the Council of Tours in 567 (what a great date!) that there should be celebrations from Christmas Day through to Epiphany Eve – which gave birth to the 12 Days of Christmas – or what we Brits call Christmastide.  This is a splendid idea since most folks don’t really come back to work until about 10th January!  Holding to this tradition and adapting it to the modern work pattern, we’d have 12 Days of feasting and 4 days to detox! In fact, the ancient pattern wasn’t that far away from that - because there is a tradition of fasting during Advent to get ready for the feasting. Fasting, feasting, detox! From tomorrow, Epiphanytide will run until Candlemas.  What is Epiphany?  This is traditionally when the Three Kings came to adore the baby.  Thus, the Irish tradition of adding the figures of the Three Kings to the Nativity scene on Twelfth Night ready for Epiphany. But that’s tomorrow… let’s talk about partying! The famous Carol, “Here we come a wassailing,” refers to this evening where the poor would often go door-to-door singing songs of good cheer and blessing each household in return for a drink from the wassail bowl – filled with hot ale, apples, spices, and mead!  The noun, “wassail,” refers to the drink.Where the wassail is more cider than ale, it can be connected to a more rural request for a good cider apple crop in the year to come.  To wassail, as a verb, means to party on in the lively way associated with twelfth night, and also to go from house-to-house singing carols.  It should, therefore, be a jolly good evening! Another tradition you may enjoy bringing back is the King Cake – baked with a bean and a pea.  I’m guessing there was a separate cake for the boys and the girls as whoever gets the piece with the pea in gets to be Queen for the night, and whoever gets the bean gets to be King… for one night.  We can be heroes just for one day.  Servants would become masters.  This could become a fun family tradition for you and yours - if only for one night! Do we need any deep spiritual message for today and tonight?  I don’t think so. Epiphany, tomorrow, is deeply significant, but for tonight let’s enter into the spirit of celebration, blessing, thanksgiving, and generosity… and if you don’t have the energy for that, you could always watch Shakespeare’s comedy, “Twelfth Night.”  (But that’s another story.)

Imagine being asked to leave a monastery for being too extreme. This was part of the journey taken by Simeon Stylites - a famous "Pillar Saint".Focus gets results.

Jesus was presented at the Temple, as was the Jewish tradition. This involved circumcision as the child's name was presented to God.We'd talk about a Christening nowadays, and a lot less blood and pain!In the classic movie, "Dances With Wolves," we learn of the Native American tradition of naming someone according to their most visible or memorable characteristic or characteristic behaviour. Kevin Costner's character was seen dancing with wolves, hence the name. What would your Native American Name be from your current lifestyle? What would you prefer it to be if that's not a happy answer?

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄THE 9TH DAY OF CHRISTMASSaint Basil on Social Justice (and more!)The 16th Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations is, "Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions." Goal 10 of the 17 is, "Reduced Inequalities." Goal 1 is, "No Poverty." Goal 2 is, "Zero Hunger," and Goal 5 is, "Gender Equality." Saint Basil would approve.Quote 1When someone steals another's clothes, we call them a thief. Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not? The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes; the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor.Quote 2A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.Quote 3While we try to amass wealth, make piles of money, get hold of the land as our real property, overtop one another in riches, we have palpably cast off justice, and lost the common good. I should like to know how any man can be just, who is deliberately aiming to get out of someone else what he wants for himself.Enjoy more of Basil's wisdom here:lnkd.in/gUxyujtxandlnkd.in/gKQ8GmmZ

In the Western Church, we celebrate Saint Sylvester the First - a Pope who was the Bishop of Rome for over 20 years.  He was a great 'tribal' leader, holding the church strong against heresy and division.My message for the coming year is to "Choose Your Tribe" - by which I mean find a tribe that misses you when you're not there.  You need a tribe that values you even when you cannot contribute.Any tribes you currently belong to who make no indication that you matter to them when you're not there are not worth belonging to.Let this year, then, be the year where you are defined by the tribes you leave, the tribes you join, and the tribes you lead.

The 6th Day of Christmas Saint Egwin (don’t think "St Eggwhisk").  Absolutely committed to supporting widows and orphans.  He was very strict – promoting faithful Christian marriage, and clerical celibacy – which made him less than popular with many!  He was dispatched to Rome to seek vindication from the Pope.  Miracles happened en route that led to his later recognition as a saint.  The miracles are mentioned in the recording so I won’t expand here. My point – a man of principle whose actions matched his beliefs.  He committed to caring for those that God places as a priority too.  A man who left a powerful legacy since he went on to found the Abbey at Evesham.I learned a new word too: “Obloquy,” which means, “strong public condemnation.” The United Nations have identified 17 Sustainable Development Goals.  To take practical action on this, I have been a member for several years of, “Buy One; Give One.”  The idea is simple, and the execution is exquisite.  Every time I sell a product or service, I pay it forward via a project that reflects one of the goals of the 17 SDGs of the UN.  As you ‘buy one’ from me, I ‘give one’ – acknowledging gratefully that you have enabled this gift. I am very concerned about the loss of direct educational experience that has hit our Nations for over two years now.  Whilst I most certainly mean school students, I include anyone of any age who has a love of learning.  In response, I am seeking to resurrect the programmes that were at the heart of my happiest times with Buzan Centres.  Buzan Centres were the brainchild of the late Tony Buzan (Creator of Mind Mapping) and the birthchild of the very present Vanda North, who set up Buzan Centres Internationally. We used to run family study weekends together where students of all ages could come and experience the joy of seeing their speed-reading skills increase, their memory boosted, and their ability to organise their thoughts revolutionised. This recording was captured last Christmas, and in it I made a promise that I haven’t yet kept – to begin those programmes again.  Now you can hold me to that promise. And for every course place that I sell, or gracious gift to support our work that we receive (so we can provide free training too), we will honour Saint Egwin’s spirit by paying a portion forward towards fulfilling the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, via the wonderful B1G1.com Come, let us learn together, and make a difference together, forever. If you fancy supporting my work (and great intentions) you can give here: https://bit.ly/InvestStudySkillsIf you invest, don’t be a stranger – there are a 1000 ways I can say, “Thank You!” and add value to your life.  Join the tribes I belong to and feel amazing about the contribution you make.

A troubling event remembered today - the slaughter, massacre by Herod, of the Holy Innocents in his attempt to kill Him, "who is born, King of the Jews."

The Feast of St John is the Third Festival of Christmas.  John tells us everything starts with Words.  Do you speak words of life and love?The power of words has been experienced by all of us.  When someone genuinely says, "Thank you!" there's a feeling attached to those words.  When someone says, "I believe in you," there is empowering energy attached to their faith.  And when someone says, "I love you," your life can be transformed.The Apostle of Love, Saint John, is our Festival Saint for 27th December.  In this very short message, we honour the spirit of every beginning: "In the beginning was the Word..."

The Second Day of Christmas is The Feast of Stephen - famously mentioned in the popular carol, Good King Wenceslas.  Are YOU a heretic? Calling all the heroic heretics on this, the Feast of Stephen.Drawing more on Seth Godin than on Acts 6 and 7 (which you can read), we explore how our time needs people who can no longer tolerate the status quo.  People who will stand up and be counted.  People who will lead their tribe.https://youtu.be/NgO2mih5eDY will take you to the same message with a display of the hundreds of candles Swanage United Reformed Church light each year.  It is spectacularly peaceful!

Here is the 1st prayer used today, from George Herbert - practically a neighbour from historic Salisbury and Wilton."The shepherds sing; and shall I silent be?My God, no hymn for Thee?My soul's a shepherd too; a flock it feedsOf thoughts and words and deeds:The pasture is Thy Word; the streams Thy Grace,Enriching all the place.Shepherd and flock shall sing, and all my powersOut-sing the daylight hours."Psalm 23 in The Good News TranslationThe Lord is my shepherd;    I have everything I need.He lets me rest in fields of green grass    and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water.He gives me new strength.He guides me in the right paths,    as he has promised.Even if I go through the deepest darkness,    I will not be afraid, Lord,    for you are with me.Your shepherd's rod and staff protect me.You prepare a banquet for me,    where all my enemies can see me;you welcome me as an honored guest    and fill my cup to the brim.I know that your goodness and love will be with me all my life;    and your house will be my home as long as I live.George Herbert's second prayer for Christmas"Oh Thou, whose glorious yet contracted light,Wrapt in Night's mantle, stole into a manger,Since my dark soul and brutish, is Thy right,To man, of all beasts, be not Thou a stranger:Furnish and deck my soul, that Thou mayest haveA better lodging than a rack or grave."AndRobert Louis Stevenson"O God, our loving Father, help us rightly to remember the birth of Jesus,  that we may share in the songs of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the wise men.  May the Christmas morning make us happy to be your children, and the Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake.  Amen."

As we come to the conclusion of the book of James, the rich once more are the target of his focus.James tells us to be humble and don't grumble!Persevere, become resilient, and, echoing chapter 1, move towards perfection through patience, and elsewhere in James through controlling what we say.Our "Yes!" needs to mean what it says.  Integrity is an essential part of the Christian character... the Character of Christ.We also have a 100% expectation of healing when the elders of the Church pray over any sick Christian.  Now there's a can of worms!  Let's not shrink back from what the Bible explicitly declares: "The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective."

Are you ready to wage war against double-mindedness?All double-standards begin with double-mindedness.The Christian Way is to be single-minded, devoted to God and thus to our 'neighbour'.In fact, James is expanding upon the power of the twin-commands:Love God with everything you've got: mind, body, soul, spirit, strength, thoughtsLove Your Neighbour As Yourself....except James does not spare the rod and thus 'spoil the child' (the emerging mature Christian in us.  Consider his words that blister the conscience."To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn’t do it, to him it is sin."Also, for those of you who like to spot the links to other wisdom literature, we have references to Proverbs 3:34 here and a link to Ecclesiastes: "For you are a vapour that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away."Deo volente - God willingFEEDBACKFriends, I'm publishing almost in the dark here.  I can see when there is interest in the podcasts.  We went from almost nothing to over a 1000 downloads in a matter of days.  I can guess at the reasons for this but I don't know for certain.The last two chapters of James are recorded with less reverb.  I don't know whether you prefer the Church-like reverb of chapters 1-3, or the style of most of the podcasts here.If you'd be kind enough to let me know, I'd be grateful.My email is lex_mckee@me.comThank youNeil 'Lex' McKee

For me, James, as in Proverbs and the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7) are full of 'stuff you can do'.In chapter three, we hear again the importance of character... and character expressed through what we allow out of our mouths.Jesus, of course, has much to say on the topic of what we say.  If our Heavenly Father can create the universe by the Word that proceeds from His mouth, and if He watches over His Word to perform it, and if the angels harken unto the voice of His Word... clearly words matter.Are you creating fresh water blessings in your life?  Or are you experiencing the bitter water through what you allow to come out of your mouth?  One of the first Godly ambitions I recommend to any Christian are to:Store up the Word in your heart - get that treasure in thereSpeak out the Word from your heart - get that seed out there!Watch over your words so that you don't dig up your seed!Remember John the Baptist's earthly dad - who was struck dumb after the revelation of John's birth.  He was unable to dig up his crop by words of unbelief.  Without faith it is impossible to please God, and if you are struggling to believe at the moment, take a proverbial vow of silence and stock up on the Word instead of confessing your circumstances.

To understand James, you need to immerse yourself in The Book of Proverbs, andThe Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7For that reason, these resources are also available here on this Podcast.In another powerful and punchy episode, James makes it clear we are not to show favouritism to those who may do us 'good' - i.e. the rich.  In fact, James says the equivalent of, "Wake up!  Look at your experience!  Isn't it the rich who oppress you?"We also have the most significant reason why so many Christians live a life without spiritual success: faith without corresponding action is... dead.  It's the same as the body apart from the spirit.  Take MASSIVE action on your faith and you will experience MASSIVE results.

The wonderful book of James is rooted deeply in Matthew chapters 5-7 - the Sermon on the Mount - and in the book of Proverbs.  This is why you can find these resources as downloads here too.