There has been a lot of fuss in New Zealand lately about a stupid billboard put up by a liberal church designed to get people to think about the virgin birth.  The problem wasn’t that it was challenging but that it was offensive, and unnecessarily so.  The church involved would do well to consider just what message they are trying to get across.

At the same time, those who call themselves Christians but saw fit to break the law and deface the billboard needed to rethink their actions as well.

Maybe they, and we, could look to Mary for guidance on how to respond to both unlikely situations and circumstances that are bound to bring conflict and derision.

In Luke 1 and angel visits Mary and lets her know that she’s going to have a child.  The child is going to be conceived before she is married.  The father isn’t going to be her betrothed and her child is going to be the son of God!  The angel then finishes are by telling her that nothing is impossible for God.

For nothing is impossible with God.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

There is an interesting concept in the printing of books called “white space”.  When we type of computer we put two new lines in to represent a new paragraph.  But when it is typeset, the printer uses “white space” instead.

Sometimes in the Bible the most interesting things are found in the “white space”.  This is one of those times.

In the white space between the angel speaking and Mary saying, “I’ll do it” there is a time of thought, faith and courage that we could all use as we head into 2010.

Photo credit: alexeggert

Yesterday I spent some time with a guy who had gone through the experience of being abducted at gunpoint, and, although afraid for his life, remained calm and was able to praise God during a 17 day ordeal.

In this day and age many of us have concerns that terrorism in one of its many guises may have a part to play in our lives and part of what scares us most about that is that we don’t know how we will react and whether we’ll be able to handle the impact.

In his new book Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear Max Lucado addresses this and many other fears that we all have. Some people will not pick this book up because it is a Christian based book on fear. This is unfortunate because although it is laden with examples and quotes from the Bible it is very relevant to those who profess to have no faith.

Lucado’s amazing ability to be real about his own fears but to give advice without appearing “holier than thou” or even “better than you” makes this a book that should not only be read by all, but that you should keep close at hand to re-read as a reminder as and when you need to.

Still on the aspect of being afraid of death I was especially interested to see him pick up on Jesus’ concept that a coming death should be anticipated more like a wedding than a funeral. But I suppose that only those with a true faith in the afterlife could understand this concept.

This is definitely a five star book and one I will recommend to friends and family.

Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear is published by Thomas Nelson. I am a member of the Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers club.