It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him… When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

 For me, one of the keys to understanding this passage is the last verse, “…do as I have done for you.”  He did not say do “what I have done” but “as I have done.”  I think this is an important distinction.  Jesus was not telling us to duplicate His actions but to embrace His attitude.  What is so remarkable is the context in which John places Jesus’ action.  At this point, Jesus knew He was about to die a horrible death.  He knew He was about to be betrayed by a man who spent 3 years with Him.  He knew that He was about to experience again all the glory He had known with the Father.  And He knew that everything in the universe was under His authority.  In light of all these disparate and seemingly conflicting experiences there was one thought foremost in Christ’s mind – to show His disciples, His friends, the full extent of His love.  The foot washing wasn’t only about humility. It wasn’t about establishing a new Christian liturgy. It was about showing what love looks like.  Being fully secure in His own mission, calling, position and relationship with the Father enabled Him to take on the posture of a servant.

 Unfortunately, we have turned this most powerful demonstration of love in action into a show.  It seems to me that too often it has become a spectacle designed to demonstrate our “humility,”  to show our equivalence to Christ by going through the same motions, but without the power and without the love.  If we are truly secure in our relationship with the Father, if we understand the fullness of what it means to be “in Christ,” then we don’t need to resort to the occasional ceremony to demonstrate servanthood.

 Let me suggest some more meaningful and, I think, more appropriate applications of Jesus’ example.  How about you husbands doing the dishes for your wives after supper.  Is that not more loving and serving?  How about watching the kids of a single mom in order to give her a night out or babysitting for a young couple who can’t afford to go out but need a date night?  How about mowing the lawn for a neighbor, cooking a meal for a friend, fixing a car, helping paint a church member’s new home?  How about doing some home repair for an elderly couple or driving them to the grocery store?  I hope you get the point.  Washing each other’s feet is an act of love based on the fullness of our life in God.   It is not a demonstration of our humility, nor do we aim to get credit for a good deed.  Having been the recipients of the “full extent of His love,” is it not appropriate to show the same to others?

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8)

 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.  But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,  he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. (Titus 3:3-5)

It seems to me that I keep repeating this theme in my various blog posts.  I can’t seem to get past this most remarkable truth.  And maybe it’s because I don’t want to.  There is so much Christian chatter and philosophizing, so much noise about becoming better Christians or changing the world or taking back our cities and nations.  It all sounds so complicated and planned and scheduled and calculated and I just want to scream because we somehow lose sight of the simplicity and power of the cross. 

Now some of you may think I’m being simple-minded and unsophisticated.  After all, there is “work” to be done.  We have to move past this and grow up.  We need to mature.  Do we not?  No, I think not.  There is nothing more powerful, more loving and more life-changing than saying to someone, “God has not rejected you and I can prove it.”  The soul breathes this in and gushes out in life.  Why does it need to get more complicated than telling those soul-marred phantoms that there is someone ready to accept them?  I don’t think it is.

Call me simple if you like, but that’s His story and I’m sticking with it.

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners (Romans 5:6)

“At just the right time” Christ showed up in history, not a moment too soon or a moment too late.  And as brilliant as that is, it gets even better, because Christ shows up in your life at just the right time also.  He reveals Himself to you when you need Him.  He speaks and guides you when you needed it.  He supplies what you need at the right time.  And I know it may not seem that way sometimes, but I am firmly convinced that it is true.  I don’t believe God is messing with us.   I don’t believe He likes to watch us squirm and fret.  I don’t believe He takes some twisted pleasure in our anguish or hardships.  Instead He would much rather that we trust Him and trust that He is doing the right thing in our lives at the right time.  Jesus tried to teach His followers that very principle when He said:

So I tell you, don’t worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn’t life consist of more than food and clothing…Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not…So don’t worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

You see, the point here is that the Father knows what we need and will give us what we need from “day to day.”  In other words, Just In Time.  He doesn’t give us what we will need tomorrow today.  He gives us what we need today… today!   By the way, I don’t think this verse in only talking about “stuff.”  There is plenty we need daily that is not material goods.

So, I want you to be encouraged.  I want you to be hopeful.  And I want you to be worry-free.  We have a Just In Time God and He comes through every time.  “Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms” (Ps 68:19).  Please Lord, let us see your goodness to us each day.

How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. (Psalm 119: 9,11)

 There it was, the prescription for dealing with sin.  All I had to do was memorize more Scriptures – the right Scriptures – and apply them in strategic situations to dispatch sin right out of my life. So I spent more time memorizing more Scriptures.  I even memorized the entire book of Philippians.  But somehow sin still found a way in.  Sin had a way of circumventing my scriptural blockade and I was left devastated, ashamed and confused.  Why didn’t it work, this magic elixir, these words of power that promised so much?  Precisely because I was treating the Scriptures as a magical remedy.  I was led to believe that just having the words was enough, that the string of syllables found in my Bible and implanted in my mind could hold back the tidal wave of sin.  It was not so.

 Now before I continue on, let me pause to clarify.  I actually think that memorizing Scripture is a good practice for any Christian.  I think that too many of us don’t know our Bible well enough and that memorization seems to be a lost art much to the detriment of individual Christians and the Church as a whole.  I am not against Scripture memorization, I am just more critical of the way it has been applied.  So let me now go on.

 I was so focused on the words of the Scripture that I lost track of the Word in Scripture.  So intent was I on discovering the perfect combination of verses to deal with whatever was ailing me at the moment that I lost focus of the Perfect One.  I missed the incarnate Word and saw instead an incantation.  I missed treasuring HIM in my heart.  That is the only way to stay pure, by staying focused on Christ.  So what does that really mean?  That is a nice concept but how do we do that.  Let me suggested three truths, three ways to focus on Christ so that He will become a treasure in your heart.

 First, meditate on the great wonder that the Father chose you from the beginning of world to be with Him, to be saved, redeemed, adopted, accepted.  He actually chose you, not a people group, an ethnic group or a church denomination, but He chose an individual – You.  Next, having grasped that concept (if you can), think about the extent to which Jesus was willing to go to ensure your company with Him for all eternity.  Finally, as you consider these two great and breathtaking truths, turn every moment into an opportunity to say Thank you to Him – to live in thanksgiving and gratitude.  You see, I think that if we make Christ our focus and live out of that grateful heart, Sin loses its luster, its appeal fades, its power diminishes and before we know it, Sin no longer controls.  It is not a matter of trying harder not to sin, of doubling our effort, of shouting Scriptures so that we can somehow scare Sin away, instead the only way is to stay focused on THE WAY.  It is about a Person and knowing Him.  One of my all-time favorite hymns captures best what I am trying to say.  Here are the words:

 O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

Refrain:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
O’er us sin no more hath dominion—
For more than conqu’rors we are!

His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

So, how can a young man or young woman, old man or old woman keep their way pure, by keeping it according to THE Word and looking full in His wonderful face.

Immediately after this, Jesus made his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake while he sent the people home. Afterward he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone. Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves.  About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came to them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw him, they screamed in terror, thinking he was a ghost. But Jesus spoke to them at once. “It’s all right,” he said. “I am here! Don’t be afraid.”  Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you by walking on water.” “All right, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.

 So I’m not exactly sure everything that is going on here, but one thing is very clear – Peter is crazy!  They are in a boat in the middle of the lake, fighting a storm and what they think is a ghost shows up next to them on top of the water.  My first reaction would not be, “Hey, I should go out there and join him.”  No, I think I’ll stay in the comfort of my boat, such as it is.  Sure it may be a little rocky, a little wet and unstable, but at least I know I’m reasonably safe.  Boats are where people belong, secure, not out ON the water.  “Stay in the boat,” our brains scream at us!

 Peter, I think, had a different motivation.  If this really was Jesus out there on the water, then Peter wanted to experience everything the Lord had for him.  Peter didn’t want to miss any opportunity to follow or be with Jesus.  If Jesus was there, then Peter was going to be there.  If Jesus was walking on water, as unlikely as that should be, then Peter was going to walk on water.  Peter was willing to risk everything to live the fullness of life with Jesus.  And stepping out of the boat into the storm was certainly a risk, a big risk; after all he could drown, but was a risk worth taking to be with Jesus.

 Here’s what we need to think about.  Most of us would likely stay in the boat – like the other eleven disciples.  That is the reasonable thing to do.  Most of us would listen to our inner voice telling us to stay in the boat.  I understand.  It makes sense and it is scary out there on the water in the midst of our life storms.  Many of us have built “boats” in our attempt to be safe or at least have some semblance of safety in our lives.  But we’ve built those boats out of the planks of fear, anger, frustration, pain, self-effort, self-protection or control.  We’ve convinced ourselves that as long as we stay in the boat, the storm won’t get to us.  However, remember that Jesus is not in the boat!  He is out there in the middle of the storm telling us that it is safe to go to Him.  He is not some illusion, some nice idea or some good but misguided teacher.  No, He is real and He is really God.  And being on the water, in the storm with Jesus is better than trying to live in our boats and just get by.

 Getting out of our boats may seem terrifying, just like climbing a ladder is for me.  But getting out of the boat doesn’t have to be traumatic or dramatic.  I think it starts with simply recognizing that our boat isn’t such a good place to be – it’s not as safe, secure or reliable as we would like to believe.  Life with Jesus is much better, more fulfilling than floundering about in our self-made rowboat.   When He calls us out to Him, we can, like Peter, risk everything to be with Him.  When He calls us out to Him, we respond by letting go of all those things we think will protect us and stay focused on Him – who He is and what He is saying to us.  I can’t promise it will be easy.  The storms will still come and they will be frightening, but think about the adrenaline rush, the adventure, of walking above and through the storm with Jesus.  Now that is a journey worth taking. Oh, and don’t forget the raincoat.

By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

Can you imagine getting up every morning, stepping outside your tent and seeing the enormous pillar of cloud dominating the horizon?  Then as the sun starts to set, the cloud begins to glow red and orange and soon becomes a pillar of fire, giving you the light you need to live effectively in the midst of darkness.  You go to sleep knowing that your great God is there, present, watching over you and your family.  They experienced this wonder every day of every year for forty years!  Each day they would know that their God was with them, protecting, providing and piloting them into His promise for them – without fail, without wavering.  The only thing they had to do was follow – simply get up and go with their God wherever He was going.  Just follow and trust Him.

Today we don’t have a literal pillar of cloud or fire we can see out our window, but we have something better – we have very specific promises that Jesus made to us to be with us, to guide us, to give us the Holy Spirit as a permanent, personal Divine presence.  Here is what Jesus said,

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you…he will teach you all things…he will guide you into all the truth”

Jesus also said about Himself, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

The pillar of cloud and fire – the presence of God in my life.  Think about this.  Jesus is promising us that we can be assured that we will never be alone, that His Spirit will be present in our lives, teaching and guiding us, every day of every year for all of our years!  He is telling us that we don’t need to be stumbling around and falling in the darkness of the world around us.  This is my assurance that Christ Himself is piloting my life through the desert of this world – His Holy Spirit.  I only need to be willing to follow, to get up and go where He goes.

Listen.  LISTEN!  This is too important to miss.  When the darkness of this world threatens to engulf us, when we lay down at night wondering, worrying, stressing, fearful of what will happen tomorrow, stop and say to Him, “Jesus, you promised… YOU PROMISED!”  Then look, look for His answer.  Look to see where He is going, what He is doing.  Listen to the whispering of the Holy Spirit in your heart.  I don’t know what that will look like in your life.  I don’t know specifically how He will show up, but I do know that the pillar of cloud and fire – God’s presence – is right there in your heart and, yes, you can see it.  It looks just like Jesus.

Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging.  When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

 I just have to say, Bartimaeus is the kind of guy I want to be like when I grow up – except for the blind part.  Look at what is going on in this story.  Blind Bartimaeus is sitting by the side of road begging when he hears that Jesus is passing by.  Obviously, he has heard of Jesus, knows what he can do and knows that this is his opportunity to perhaps receive a touch from God.  How do we know this?  Because he calls Jesus, “Son of David,” a messianic title.  Bartimaeus understood that Jesus was not just any man or any teacher; he was the Hope of Israel and Bartimaeus’ own hope for a different life, a new life.  But Bartimaeus didn’t call out for a miracle.  He didn’t demand a healing.  He did not claim any “right.”  What did Bartimaeus shout?  “Have mercy on me!”  Not only that but even as the crowd tried to shut him up, he shouted even louder.  He would not be intimidated, he would not be cowed, he would not be coerced into silence.  He needed God and he knew it.  He had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

So Jesus hears him and calls for him.  Bartimaeus throws off his cloak and runs to Jesus.  What does he want, Jesus asks?  Bartimaeus gives the best answer in the world – a request that we all need to make:  “I WANT TO SEE!”  “I want to see.”

If am going to be honest with myself (and with you the readers), I have to admit that I am blind.  Blind to much of God’s goodness in my life.  Blind to the things He is doing around me.  Blind to my own sinfulness and deception.  Blind to my own self-ness.  Blind to all the promises, blessings, grace, miracles that God has made possible for me in Christ.  I sit by the side of the world’s road and beg for meaning, for validation, for significance – all the things that the world cannot give. Why is it so hard to see?   But here is Jesus, calling me, stopping to call me! even me, asking what I need from Him.  There is only one answer possible.  I WANT TO SEE.  I want to see God.  I want to see Jesus and, like Bartimaeus, I won’t be squelched.  As the world tries to trample my hope, and the devil tries to stomp me into silence, and as my own doubts rise up to question my audacity at daring to reach out to a holy God, I shout out to Him, “have mercy on me.  I want to see you.”  I have nothing to lose and God to gain.

So how does the story end?  Bartimaeus received his sight and, I believe, the first thing he saw was Jesus, full in the face!  It doesn’t get better than that.  That is greatly encouraging to me.  Knowing, being assured, that as we cry out to Christ, we will see Him and will be able to follow Him along the road of our journey with Him.

 I realized that it was working – I started to believe what was being said about me.  I just wanted to run, hide and cry, “Uncle!”  Why bother trying to fight back.  I didn’t have the resources to fight even if I wanted to.  He was winning.  He was beating me into submission.  Just admit defeat and move on or rather slink away.  I had but one appeal left, to the only authority I hoped and prayed could get me out of this mess and set my life back on track.

 And He did!  The evidence was gathered up and destroyed.  My enemy, that slimy snake, slithered away and I was rescued from his unrelenting pounding.  Now I could live my life the way it was intended to be lived.  I could breathe!

 This story is true.  My enemy, Satan, was trying to destroy me and only through Christ could I be freed from his abuse.  You see, I have seen his schemes working in my life.  He loves to torment us with our sin.  He loves to accuse us of infidelity to Christ.  He loves to destroy our hope, our joy, our peace.  He loves to make us feel unworthy and unlovable.  He loves to beat on us until we give up on the hope of our calling and walk away a defeated, barely functional Christian.  Instead of walking out the fullness of the life Christ has for us, we settle for a shadow of the real thing and think ourselves lucky or blessed.

 The only way to get out from under Satan’s thumb is to appeal to Christ and Him crucified.  Listen to what the apostle Paul says in his letter to the Colossians:

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross. In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross of Christ.

 All the evidence of sin, all the requirements of law we could never fulfill, all our failings, all our unholiness and imperfections were pounded into that wooden cross where the blood trickled down to expunge the dark ink written on our soul.  “Satan, would you accuse me now?  You have no evidence.  You have no standing.  You have been shown to be a toothless tiger.  Run, I say, run before the splendor of His pierced side and leave me alone!”

Satan tried to take me out, to take me out of the Kingdom fight, to forget my calling.  And I must admit it nearly worked.  But then I go back to the basics – Jesus died for my sins; He died and rose again to declare me “not guilty.”  He did this to cleanse me and free me from domination by Satan.  It sounds so corny sometimes – theses words overused and misused, but it is true and it is the only thing that gives me any hope.  It is the only truth that lets me know I am acceptable to God.  And not just acceptable, but actually accepted and loved.  I am not odious or repulsive to Him! 

 So as I reflect on this great truth and exult in the freedom gained for me, I take up my shield, grasp firmly the sword and plunge again into the battle.

 I want to be more Christ like.  I want my life to reflect the values that I claim to hold.  I want to show the “family resemblance” to my Father in the everyday goings-on of my life.  To do that, I need more than just will power, I need resurrection power.  I need the very life of Christ to course through my spiritual veins.   I recently read a sermon by the great 1800’s Scottish preacher Andrew Murray about the life of the vine based on John 15:5 – “I am the vine, you are the branches…apart from me you can do nothing”  Murray makes the point that the branch is totally dependent on the vine.  In order to grow, to thrive, to stay hydrated, to produce grapes, the branch must simply rest in the effectiveness and faithfulness of the vine to provide everything it needs.  The same is true for our lives – becoming totally dependent on Christ for all we need.  It is both a hard and simple concept to grasp.  We want to be self-reliant, but in order to truly change our lives we need to go to the One who has the power to change us.

 Murray writes, “The man who has got something is not absolutely dependent.  But the man who has got nothing is absolutely dependent… The branch has nothing but what it gets from the vine.  You and I have nothing but what we get from Jesus.”   As long as I hold on to the notion that I can change myself, that my self-effort can produce a better me, I will never be absolutely dependent.  I will always be fighting Him for control of my life, but, oh to be nothing, to bring nothing to the table but my desperate need, then I can receive from Him everything.

 Again Murray writes, “If I am something, then God is not everything, but when I become nothing, God can become all.”

 So the bottom line is this:  I won’t be making New Year’s resolutions, instead I will make daily declarations of my “nothingness” to Christ.  I desire to be a branch, a very dependent branch.  I want to be a branch every hour of every day of this year and every year.  And a year from now, I hope to be more nothing and Him be everything.  So instead of wishing you a Happy New Year, I wish you a Happy Nothing Year.

 So maybe we aren’t travelling in response to some government mandated census, but there is still plenty of turmoil in our lives.  It may take many forms – financial, emotional, relational, career, family, even spiritual, whatever it is it causes real turmoil.   How we respond will depend on who we think Christ is and His place in our lives.  There will be times of turmoil in our lives; chaos swirling around us.  In that case, I would suggest that you to let Christ enter into, be incarnated into, that world in order to show you how to live beyond the chaos and experience what only Christ can give.  Jesus once said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  That is quite the promise; I think we can take Him up on it.

 There is, however, a different kind of turmoil I want to consider.  A turmoil not due to external situations but due to the revelation of Christ in our lives.  When He shows up, He has a way of upsetting the status quo.  We seem to get all jumbled up because he challenges our neat little world that we have so carefully set up.  I began to think about how people respond to this turmoil and I looked at the story of the Wise Men, the magi, as a model for good and not so good responses.

 These wise men from the Persia area saw a star in the night sky and interpreted it as a sign of a great king being born.  They followed the heavenly sign post to Israel.  Arriving there they stopped in Jerusalem to consult with King Herod about the appearance of this star and its signaling of a new king of the Jews, the long promised Messiah.  The magi proceeded to Bethlehem to worship Christ.  In the meantime, Herod plotted to eliminate this threat to this kingship.

 In both cases the appearance of Christ, the revelation of the new king, caused some turmoil, it caused a shift in the lives of both the magi and Herod.  The magi had to decide how to respond to the news of a new king.  They could either ignore it and stay in the comfort of their homes in Persia, or they would have to go outside their comfort zone to seek the new king.  The magi represent for us the need to step outside our self-created box that dictates how we think God should work in our lives.  Stepping outside that box requires that we recognize His control – His Kingship – over our lives.  We speak of Jesus being “King” but what does that mean?  It means He has the say in how and when we spend our money and even how much we make.  It means He has the say in where we go.  It means He has the say in every aspect of our lives.  It means we do not have the right to make decisions without His approval.  Just as the magi did, we need to be willing to do whatever it takes to embrace the presence of Christ in our lives.

 The news of this newborn king also caused a crisis for Herod.   He also had to decide how to respond to the presence of Christ in his life.  For him it meant letting go of control of his kingdom.  It meant recognizing that he, Herod, was no longer the final authority.  But Herod couldn’t do that so he tried to kill Jesus; he tried to eliminate Christ from his life, get him out of his way.  Herod couldn’t allow anyone, much less God, upset his world.   Herod had to keep control and it cost many people’s lives.  Certainly, we aren’t going to order an execution of an entire village, but we are often like Herod in trying to keep God out of our lives.  We don’t want to give up control and we don’t want our lives to be challenged.  For us, Herod represents our attempts at keeping control of our lives at any cost.  The cost is usually a lot of hurt people – including ourselves.

 We need to understand that allowing Christ to enter into our lives may cause turmoil, when He challenges our values, our assumptions, our goals, our desires, and our control.  When the Word of God is revealed it causes shift and it demands recognition.  We can respond like Herod and try to maintain control of our lives and try to keep Him from upsetting our world or we can respond like the magi who sought to embrace the presence of Christ and let His Truth, His Life, his Light and His Peace guide us.

 The apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans said “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”   Here is another promise we can count on.  Trusting in him in the midst of or because of the turmoil in our lives will result in joy, peace and hope.  Have a very blessed Christmas season.