Later, Gator

Happy New Year! A little early, you say? I guess so, but I won't be blogging until New Year's Eve has come and gone. At that time, I'll be sharing pictures of our weekend trip to Washington D.C. We're taking Amtrak down and back, and the train ride promises to be almost as much of an adventure as the time in our nation's capital.

If things go as planned, Sunday morning we'll be worshiping in one of the most innovative churches in the country. National Community Church is a mult-site church meeting in four D.C. locations, including a Union Station movie theatre and their own Capitol Hill coffee house, Ebenezer's. Can't wait!

See you next year!

Out with the Old and In with the New

There are two things that really get my blood pumping this time of year. The first is my 2007 Bible in 365 card.


The second is my 2008 Bible in 365 card. That's what I'm talkin' about!

BTW, I'll be reading from the New Century Version (NCV) this year. I usually read the NIV every other year, but I decided to try another new version for 2008. I'll plan to use the NIV in 2009.

Advent - Week Four

Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent. In our series Who Do You Say I Am?, we celebrated Christ as The Gift of the Bread of Life.

Our text was John 6:25-35. Let me set it up for you. John 6 is the tale of two incredible days in the life of Jesus. Day One starts with Jesus feeding the 5000, and Day Two ends with many of his followers (no doubt many of them just in it for another Happy Meal) deserting him because of a difficult teaching. In between those events the disciples go boating on a stormy lake, where they are met by their Master walking on the water. The next morning, the full stomachs from Day One transition to empty stomachs for Day Two, and go looking for Jesus, finding him across the lake.

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There's a lot of good stuff (a theological term) here, but suffice it to say Jesus used their physical hunger to illustrate their deeper spiritual hunger; hunger that would only be satisfied with the bread from heaven... the bread of life.

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In the 6th, 7th and 8th chapters of John, Jesus uses three metaphors to describe himself: bread, water and light. Chapter 6: You honor Moses because he gave you bread from heaven. That's great but the bread Moses gave was a symbol - a symbol of me! Chapter 7: You honor Moses because he gave you water from the rock. That's great but the water Moses gave was a symbol - a symbol of me! I'm the real bread; I'm the real water; and (Chapter 8) I'm the real light.

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I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry... (6:35)

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If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. (7:37)

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I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness... (8:12)

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Sometimes we get the real thing mixed up with the symbol. This Christmas, as you eat more than you should, remember that the bread is a symbol of Jesus, the Bread of Life. As your family gathers around the Christmas tree, remember the tree is a symbol of Jesus, the Tree of Life. As you celebrate by the glow of holiday candles, remember the candles are a symbol of Jesus, the light of the world.

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From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!

365: James (Day 355)

I am thankful that I chose to read through the Bible this year using The Message. It has been a wonderful experience. I hope you've been keeping up. We're handing out new The Bible in 365 cards this Sunday. If you're reading this blog, but you are not part of our church fellowship, contact me and I'll be happy to mail you a 365 card so you can read along in 2008. In about a week I'll share with you which translation I'll be reading from next year.

Today's reading is the book of James. Eugene Peterson's introduction spoke to me and that's what I want to share with you.

When Christian believers gather in churches, everything
that can go wrong sooner or later does. Outsiders, on observing this, conclude that there is nothing to the religion business except, perhaps, business - and dishonest business at that. Insiders see it differently. Just as a hospital collects the sick under one roof and labels them as such, the church collects sinners. Many of the people outside the hospital are every bit as sick as the ones inside, but their illnesses are either undiagnosed or disguised. It's similar with sinners outside the church.

So Christian churches are not, as a rule, model communities of good behavior. They are, rather, places where human misbehavior is brought out in the open, faced, and dealt with. [1]

This brings to mind a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer I shared a few weeks ago:

You are loved just as you are; enjoy the fellowship of others who have found the same forgiveness that you're enjoying now. You are a sinner, a great desperate sinner; now come, as the sinner that you are: He does not want anything from you, a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone . . . He wants to be gracious to you. You do not have to go on lying to yourself and your brothers, as if your were without sin; you can dare to be a sinner. [2]

The age old question: Is the church a holy place for holy people, or a hospital for the spiritually sick?

It is both. The biblical writers recognized that there was a difference between the real church and the ideal church. In the Church of God, most of the time when we use the word church, we're talking about those who bow before Christ from all over the planet. [3] That's one way the word is used in the Bible. It is also used of the visible church, which consists of believers, seekers, and non-believers [4], real people with all their real problems, addictions, neuroses and sins.

Yes, non-believers should find love and acceptance here. We need to stop thinking of this as a failing - this is the beauty of the church.

[1] Eugene Peterson, The Message (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002), 2201.

[2] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1954), 111.

[3] Stanley J. Grenz, Theology for the Community of God (Grand Rapids: Eerdman's, 1994), 467.

[4] Stanley J. Grenz, David Guretzki and Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 68.

Advent - Week Three

Wow! It's already the third Sunday of Advent. Today we continued our series Who Do You Say I Am? Jesus' answer for this week? The Gift of Living Water.

The Feast of Tabernacles celebrated two things. First, by living for a week in temporary shelters, the people of Israel participated with their ancestors in the wilderness experience. Second, it was a harvest celebration during which the people expressed their thanks to God for his provision and care, especially for the gift of rain that makes the harvest possible.

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Imagine this: It's the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. The priest gets a pitcher of water from the Pool of Siloam, lifts it high and walks into Jerusalem through the Water Gate, and makes his way to the Temple Courts. Upon his arrival, the gathered people shout the words: With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation (Isaiah 12:3). The priest pours his pitcher of water out on the ground.

Just about then, Jesus makes his presence at the Feast known by crying out in a loud voice: If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him (John 7:37-38).

Living (running) water brings three benefits: 1) it refreshes, 2) brings peace, and 3) gives life. Forgive me for not developing all these thoughts fully, but I'm just going to skim the surface (so to speak).

1. Refreshment - Andrews Glacier and its beautiful lake (Andrews Tarn) sits at 11,000 feet in Rocky Mountain National Park. Park information warns against drinking the water, because of possible parasites, but Janelle and I couldn't resist (thankfully, we didn't suffer any negative consequences). After the climb from our campsite (10,000 feet), that cold water really hit the spot. Isaiah wrote about God providing water in the desert and streams in the wasteland (Isaiah 43:20). God knows how to quench our thirst and provide real refreshment.


2. Peace - For ancient humanity the sea was a source of fear frought with dangers; it's churning was caused by the presence of monsters and evil powers. The psalmist writes: ...we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. [But] there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells (Psalm 46:2-4). This passage contrasts the terror of the raging seas with a peaceful stream that comes from God.


3. Life - The town of Sychar (where Jesus met with the Samaritan woman) wouldn't have been there except for Jacob's well. While not living (running) water, it provided for the townspeople's needs along with their herds and flocks. Jesus said he was the source of internal springs of water welling up within us to eternal life (John 4:14).

The prophet Jeremiah wrote: My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water (Jeremiah 2:13).

Why is it we've been offered springs of living water welling up within us to eternal life, yet we opt for doing things our way - digging our own wells and making do with whatever muddy water we happen upon?

The disciples had a similar choice. After a particularly difficult teaching (John 6), many of Jesus' followers left him. Do you want to leave, too? Jesus asked. Peter answered: Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.

Christ offers us the gift of living water.

1. Is life all good? Or are you worn out physically, spiritually and emotionally? When life taps your dry, God wants to refresh you in every way and give you the strength to go on.


2. If your life had a name, would it be peace or chaos? Maybe this year you're looking forward to singing Silent Night, but your world is anything but heavenly peace. Micah 5:5 reads: He will be their peace. He wants to be your peace, too.


3. This isn't just a matter of cold drinks and chillaxin'; this is a matter of life and death. When your very life hangs in the balance, God will be there to save you.

Have a fantastic week!

How is Christ living water to your life?

Historical? Building

This cool old building sits on PA-66 across the Kiskiminetas River from Apollo, PA, and is backed up right against a steep hillside. I pass it every time I drive to our church's state camp ground and offices in Emlenton.

I'd say it's abandoned, but last summer I saw someone sitting on the second floor balcony. Was it a hotel? A boarding house?

If anyone has any information about this fascinating building, please share.

Scatter-Brained Prayer

Have you ever had trouble with your mind wandering when you were trying to pray? You are not alone.

Thomas à Kempis (ca. 1380-1471) had the same problem. He was a Roman Catholic monk, one of the Brothers of the Common Life, who wrote The Imitation of Christ, translated into more languages than any book other than the Bible.

I thought I'd share a few of his thoughts. Then I'll share a couple things I've learned to combat wandering mind syndrome.

Book Three - Internal Consolation

Oh, how I suffer inwardly when I think about heavenly things, for when I pray a multitude of carnal imaginations immediately invades my thoughts! O my God, do not be far from me or turn away in anger from Your servant!

Send forth Your lightning and scatter these thoughts - shoot out Your arrows and let all the fantasies of the enemy be put to flight.

Gather my senses and draw them home to You, make me forget all worldly things, and enable me to quickly and scornfully drive away all vicious imaginations.

Help me, O everlasting Truth, so that no foolishness will affect me.

Come to me, Heavenly Sweetness, and cause all impurity to flee from before Your face.

In mercy deal gently with me, and pardon me as often as I think of anything besides You.

For I must truly confess that I am always subject to many distractions.

A multitude of times I am not where I am bodily standing or sitting, but instead I am where my thoughts take me.

I am where my thoughts are, and commonly my thoughts are where my emotions are.

This too easily happens to me with those things that are naturally delightful or habitually pleasing.

Some tips for harnessing your mind during prayer:

1. Keep paper and pen handy to write down any nagging thoughts during prayer. Once something is written down it's easier to put out of your mind.
2. Use an acronym like A.C.T.S.: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication (or as a dear friend of mine calls it - Shopping List). Such a tool can keep you focused.
3. Pray from a list. A list of concerns and praises can keep your thoughts ordered.
4. Pray out loud. It's more difficult to get distracted when praying out loud.

If you still get distracted, don't be discouraged. Talk to God about it and try again.

What about you? Do you have any other suggestions?

Fishers of... Fish?

I thought my blog has been pretty serious lately, so I thought I'd share this amazing video. I was introduced to this video by my friends at Church for Men - Florida. I thought it was amusing, though, that these guys refer to someone else (not present) as Country Bumpkin! Enjoy.

Dead Man Walking

In M. Night Shyamalan’s 1999 thriller The Sixth Sense, tormented youngster Cole Sear (played by Haley Joel Osment) remarks that he sees dead people. The only thing is these ghosts don’t know they’re dead.

Sister Helen Prejean, one of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille, wrote Dead Man Walking, which was made into the 1995 movie by the same title. It is the true story of a nun serving as spiritual counselor to a man on death row, while at the same time feeling compassion for the family of his victim. “Dead man walking,” is the traditional cry of a prison guard escorting a prisoner to his execution; in other words, he’s already dead, the state just hasn’t yet made it official.

Growing up in Harbor Creek, Pennsylvania, I was surrounded by Concord grape vineyards—we were just a few miles from Westfield, NY, grape juice capital of the world. In the early autumn we would roll down our windows and drive up Route 20 along Lake Erie enjoying the fragrance of the ripe grapes ready for harvest. It was like breathing in grape juice. Every roadside stand had displays piled high with concord grapes, which we’d eat like candy. We’d hold a grape between our fingers, press it to our lips and pop the succulent, juicy interior into our mouths, throw away the skin and then start all over with another. They were incredible.

In John 15:1-10 Jesus refers to himself as the vine and us as the branches. In this passage we are admonished to stay connected to the vine. The thing is we can become disconnected and still look beautiful... for awhile. Think of a centerpiece vase of fresh cut flowers. Depending on when they were cut they may still look vibrant and full of life, when the truth is they’re already dead; they just don’t know it (or look it). Those grapes from the roadside stand smell and taste delicious, but they’re dead already, too. They started dying the minute they lost their connection to the vine.

That’s the way it is with people. We get disconnected from the vine, but there is no immediate consequence; we still look and feel okay, so we go on our way not recognizing the call, “Dead man walking.” If the consequences were immediate and readily visible, maybe we’d heed the warning and stay connected, but most of the time we don’t realize the danger until it’s too late.

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me (John 15:4).

How do you stay connected to the vine?

Advent - Week Two

Today is the second Sunday of Advent. Our Advent Series comes from the words of Jesus in Matthew 16:15 – But what about you? Who do you say I am? As we prepare for Christ’s coming, we have his personal challenge to decide for ourselves, Who is this Jesus?

John 8:12 reads: When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Have you ever had a long, dark night? Maybe you’ve been sick, or you’ve nursed a sick child or spouse through the night. Maybe your child was out past curfew and you sat by the phone waiting some word about where he/she might be. Years ago Janelle and I shared a concert in an Ocala, Florida church. We were originally supposed to stay in the pastor’s home, but his family was sick, so the church put us up in a hotel instead. We appreciated their concern for our health, but… TOO LATE! Janelle got sick as a dog. She spent most of the night vomiting, while I was watching reruns of The Courtship of Eddie’s Father. It was a long night for both of us.

The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second, or just over 669 million miles per hour. If light is so fast, on those long dark nights of the soul, why does morning take so long to get here?

The psalmist writes: Weeping may last for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5b). The message here is that even though the night may seem like it stretches on forever, it doesn’t. You’ll know joy once again. The people of Israel had to feel that same way under Roman oppression. Will this long night ever end?

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned (Isaiah 9:2).

You may be living through a long dark night right now. It might involve your health, your finances, your relationships, or any number of things. Hang in there; hold on. The One who said, Let there be light, can bring light to your darkness. Even now, God is on his way with your deliverance. Your Redeemer draws nigh.

Confession - Good for the Fellowship (5 of 4)

Okay; I know 5 of 4 isn't really possible, but I felt I had to add one more thing to this discussion.

The Church of God is one of the few church communities that still practices foot washing. It is a wonderful object lesson in service and humility. But it goes far beyond that. At left is Gilbert W. Stafford, Director of the D. Min. program at Anderson University School of Theology. His writings have helped inform some of my thinking on today's subject.

Read John 13:1-10.

Peter was ashamed to have his Lord and Master wash his dirty feet. According to Stafford, this was a practice performed by the lowest slave in the household (usually a woman and a foreigner), and Jewish slaves were not required to wash anyone’s feet—it was beneath the dignity of even a slave, if she were Jewish. [1]

Notice that after Peter relents and asks that his head and hands also be washed, Jesus tells him that’s not necessary. He’s already clean. Just his feet need washed. In our world of taking a shower every morning and wearing socks and shoes, even though we drive almost everywhere we go, it’s hard for us to relate to a society that bathes weekly at best, where people suffer from chronically dirty feet.

Jesus is teaching his disciples another lesson—one removed from servanthood and humility. As we walk through our day-to-day lives, we can pick up dirt, too. How many times has your mother cried out, “Wipe your feet!”? We also need to wipe our feet spiritually—hence foot washing. Sometimes this is a hard pill to swallow for those of us raised in the holiness tradition, but even we need to get rid of the dirt on our feet that we pick up every day. This dirt is composed of attitudes, temptations, and small acts of disobedience; it may be the riches, worries and pleasures—from the parable of the farmer—that, over time, choke the very life out of us. The foot washing of confession and repentance is necessary for our ongoing vital relationship with Christ. [2]

We don’t need re-converted; we don’t need re-baptized; we just need to wash our feet, and stay clean before our God. That’s what daily confession and repentance is all about.

So, how has confession and repentance shown itself vital to your daily walk with Christ?

[1] Gilbert W. Stafford, Theology for Disciples (Anderson, IN: Warner, 1996), 576f.

[2] Ibid., 584; Stafford doesn’t come right out and equate foot washing with daily confession and repentance, but compares daily foot washing with the need to maintain one’s “ongoing vital relationship” with Christ.

Confession - Good for the Fellowship (4 of 4)

Confession allows us to break through to the cross and to the freedom available for us there.

Bonhoeffer: Confession in the presence of a brother is the profoundest kind of humiliation. It hurts, it cuts a man down, it is a dreadful blow to pride . . . in the confession of concrete sins the old man dies a painful, shameful death before the eyes of a brother. Because this humiliation is so hard we continually scheme to evade confessing to a brother. [1]

As the saying goes: The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable. What we don't realize now, is the incredible peace awaiting us on the other side of confession. It is that dying to self that opens our souls to the light and joy and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

While pride would convince us of our right to secrecy and our need for self-protection, confession destroys pride. We cannot find the Cross of Jesus if we shrink from going to the place where it is to be found, namely, the public death of the sinner. [2]

So, what are your thoughts on the subject?

How have you found freedom through confession?

[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1954), 114.

[2] Ibid.

Two Weeks Can Make a Difference

Two weeks ago.
Today.

Confession - Good for the Fellowship (3 of 4)

Greetings from snowy southwest Pennsylvania. Why is it snow makes everything feel so much... warmer? It's 27 degrees outside, snowing, and it's wonderful!

Anyway, back to our series on confession.

Unconfessed sin destroys fellowship, and without fellowship, what’s the church?

Back to Bonhoeffer: Sin demands to have a man by himself. It withdraws him from the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him . . . Sin wants to remain unknown. It shuns the light. In the darkness of the unexpressed it poisons the whole being of a person . . . [but] in confession the light of the Gospel breaks into the darkness and seclusion of the heart. [1]

We strongly grasp our right to keep secrets because we wrongly think our sin affects no one but ourselves. There is no sin in thought, word, or deed, no matter how personal or secret, that does not inflict injury upon the whole fellowship. [2]

Keeping my confession between me and Christ does nothing to defuse the secret. It is still a bomb waiting to detonate when it can do the most harm. But in confessing to another Christian, what was a secret becomes merely a private matter. There is little fear of exposure, for the power of sin has been broken in our being accountable to another. If the private matter becomes public, there is great freedom in being able to say, Yes, I’ve confessed that to Frank, and it’s made a world of difference in my life.

How have you experienced confession as the defusing of the ‘secret bomb’?

[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1954), 112.

[2] Ibid., 89.

Confession - Good for the Fellowship (2 of 4)

This is Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I've been turning some of his writings over in my head, influencing this series of posts.

I know a family whose child was diagnosed with a mild case of Cerebral Palsy. Seeing the look on the faces of the child’s parents, the doctor offered these comforting words: Nothing has changed since yesterday. You’re still the same people; your child is the same child. CP is just a name for what you already know is going on.

Confession doesn’t make real what we’re confessing. It's there whether we confess it or not. Confession is just agreeing with God. It gives our brothers and sisters the opportunity to assure us, Yes, God has forgiven you. You are loved just as you are; enjoy the fellowship of others who have found the same forgiveness that you’re enjoying now. You are a sinner, a great, desperate sinner; now come, as the sinner that you are: He does not want anything from you, a sacrifice, a work; He wants you alone . . . He wants to be gracious to you. You do not have to go on lying to yourself and your brothers, as if you were without sin; you can dare to be a sinner. [1] Read this.

Paul writes: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

According to Paul, if I boast about (confess) my weaknesses (sins, shortcomings) I can expect Christ’s power to rest on me (I can expect help).

What’s that mean for me if I refuse to confess?

How have you experienced Christ’s help through confession?

[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1954), 111.

Cats and Dogs

Will snapped this photo today. I'm thinking maybe Tess has it too easy. Tess has grown up with my kids. She's been part of our family for 10 years... but I'm not sure how I feel about this; I mean it was after lunch and she was still in bed!


Reminds me of a joke.

A dog was sitting in the sun thinking. My human feeds me and keeps my water bowl filled; he walks me when I need it and gives me a warm place to sleep. He supplies my every need. Hmmm... he must be a god!

Meanwhile a cat was sitting in the sun thinking. My human feeds me and keeps my water bowl filled; he cleans my litter box and gives me a warm place to sleep. He supplies my every need. Hmmm... I must be a god!

Who are the furry members of your family?

Confession - Good for the Fellowship (1 of 4)

Why do we care so much about what others think? Why would we rather be thought well of than find the forgiveness and cleansing that comes with confession? Because we’d rather look good than feel good. We’d rather save face than find the joy and healing and wholeness that come with being transparent.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes in Life Together:

He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone. It may be that Christians, notwithstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their fellowship in service, may still be left to their loneliness. The final break-through to fellowship does not occur, because, though they have fellowship with one another as believers and devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners. The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and from the fellowship. We dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. So we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy. [1]

My paraphrase: We embrace fellowship as saints, but reject fellowship as sinners.

I’ve been reading through The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis. This is what caught my attention and then pushed me back to Bonhoeffer: The person who cares nothing about the approval or disapproval of people enjoys great peace of mind. [2]

But we do fear that disapproval; we fear being rejected by fellow church members. After all, what might they say?

Thomas again: You are not more holy when you are being praised, or more worthless when you are disparaged. [3]

Why does it matter more to us what others think than what God thinks?

[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1954), 110.

[2] Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, ed. Harold J. Chadwick (New Brunswick, NJ: Bridge Logos, 1999), 84.

[3] Ibid.

Happy New Year!

Advent. Only a few more weeks until Christmas as the year winds down. Not for the church. The First Sunday of Advent is the first Sunday of the Christian Calendar, so Happy New Year!

Advent is about preparing for Christ's coming... coming to Bethlehem in the Incarnation, coming into one's heart in conversion, and coming in the Parousia--the second coming or second Advent. This is a time to get ready to receive Christ.

Christmas can be disappointing for kids. If it weren't, every family would have a pony! Sometimes our expectations don't match up with reality. I remember a disappointing Christmas as a kid in the 60s. There was a great toy on the market that allowed a kid to make his own mini action figures. It involved a mold, plastic pellets, and the main part: a device that melted the plastic pellets into molten plastic allowing it to be injected into the mold. After it cooled, you had your action figure.

I wanted it so bad.

Flash forward to Christmas morning. I opened my present. It was a refill kit of the little plastic pellets. The toy was such a hot seller that my parents couldn't find one, so on Christmas morning I got the refill kit--and a promise. As soon as it's back in stock, we'll get it for you. Now 40-some years later, I don't know why, but let's just say I'm still waiting.

Peter had expectations. Because of his Jewish upbringing he expected the Messiah to be the Son of David establishing a kingdom that would never end. In so doing, Peter expected this conquering hero to free Israel from Roman oppression. On a retreat to Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples, Who do you say that I am? Sometimes our expectations can obscure the realities standing right in front of us, but Peter had already begun a journey of discovery that would last a lifetime, as he re-evaluated his expectations of the Messiah in light of his one-on-one Christ revelation. Peter's answer: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

What are you expecting for Christmas?

What are you expecting from Jesus?

(I owe some of the ideas in this post to Janet Lilly Wanner of Women of the Church of God. Thanks, Janet.)