Emmanuel.

We like to use that particular name of God this time of year.  We sing songs and write Isaiah 7:14 on our Christmas cards.

With us.

I know it in my head, but does my heart really grasp it?

We worship a God who wanted to be with us.

The chasm between us — the one that was our fault, not His — was not acceptable to Him.  He wanted to be with us.  He wanted to be near us.

Christmas.  When God came and dwelt among us.  When God came near.

We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your Name is near… (Psalm 75:1)

Frosty hadn’t had his V-8 yet.

This is Wilson’s distant cousin from the north.

 Clearly, someone had a productive study break.

“Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you.  Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have.”  ( Jeremiah 29:8 )

The dreams you encourage them to have.

Oh, we do like for others to promise us what we want, don’t we?

They do it for glory.  We do it for control.

But God calls it deception.

He doesn’t always give us what we want.

He doesn’t always tell us what we want to hear.

But He is the Truth.

Will we listen to Him?

I read this today and felt that it was an appropriate reflection on this day of giving thanks.  May we be grateful for that which could have undone us and for that which didn’t turn out as we planned.  It is these things that forced us to relinquish control and cling to Him.

Thank you, Lord, for the unexpected.

Our society is so fascinated with parading mistakes online, on TV, on the front page.  We watch broken marriages, addictions, relational rifts and all sorts of indignities play out before eyes.  And because we consume it, we’re served up more of it on a platter.  Give the people what they want!

We don’t seem to mind that the brokenness of these lives is displayed for all to see.  But here’s the thing — we seem to grow disinterested when the indignity stretches beyond celebrity status to faces for whom we have no names.  It’s just so depressing, we say.  Give us more about this girl and how she cheated on that guy.  Show us more pictures of this guy making a fool out of himself because he’s high on meth.  Tell us more about this person’s drunk driving conviction.

Injustice.  Modern-day slavery.  Trafficking.  Mass rape.  Hunger.  Abuse.  Poverty.  Neglect.

If we’re going to indulge in watching other people’s sins, then perhaps we shouldn’t limit it to the ones that make us feel better about ourselves.

I love Washington D.C.  It is by far one of my favorite cities to visit, and I’ve loved getting to travel there for work a few times over the past year.

As my plane took off from Reagan Airport a couple of weeks ago, I looked out the window in an attempt to spot as many landmarks as possible.

I saw the Capitol, then the Washington and Jefferson Monuments.

But before I could pick out any others, they were gone.

I literally blinked, and we were completely enveloped in thick rain clouds from that moment until we landed in Boston.

I was a little miffed.  I had wanted to see more of these marvels that have stood so long as reminders of people and events and principles.

But before I knew it, they were gone.

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies.  But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail.  (Isaiah 51:6)

We’re at peak foliage right now.  It’s breathtaking as always.

But the days are getting much shorter.  The temperatures are getting much colder.  And somewhere along the way we jumped to the end of October.

I have no idea how that happened.

These past several months have blown by, and here I sit on the eve of another New England winter.

(Of course, when it snows in mid-October, I wonder whether it has already arrived.)

It seems like that’s usually the case in life.  The days of sunshine seem to race by, and we spend much of our time feeling trapped by circumstances that will take quite awhile to run their course.  We long to stretch our legs and breathe in fresh air, different air.  Winter can be harsh and relentless.  And we end up a little stir-crazy in the confinement of the dark, cold solitude that it can bring.

But what if we embraced, rather than resisted, winter?  What if we welcomed its periodic entry into our lives?

Because there’s really no way around it (Genesis 8:22).  Other seasons we love cannot come unless we endure winter.

That snow that blankets the ground later brings life and growth.

And in due time, it brings forth a harvest.

Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.  No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.  (Hebrews 12:10-11)

I fear many in the world might look at why the Church reads Scripture and be confused.

We read it to gain knowledge and information.

At times, we  read it to change the way we think or act.

And sometimes we read it to justify the way we think or act.

But do we read it to change who we are, that we may be formed in His likeness?

For the word of God is alive and powerful.  It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow.  It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God.  Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.  (Hebrews 4:12-13, NLT)

“Christian consciousness begins in the painful realization that what we had assumed was the truth is in fact a lie.”

(Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction)

I was reading I Corinthians 13 in The Message the other day and stopped when I got to this:

Love … doesn’t revel when others grovel…  (13:6)

When others mess up, love doesn’t throw their failures back in their face.

When others ask for forgiveness, love doesn’t dwell on why they need to do so.

When others are broken, love doesn’t crush them.

When others are humbled, love humbly stoops down and lifts them up.

When the sins of others are laid bare before all, love covers them.  (I Peter 4:8)

The son said to him, ” Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”  But the father said to his servants, “Quick!  Bring the best robe and put it on him … Let’s have a feast and celebrate.  For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” … The older brother became angry … “All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders … But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!”  “My son,” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.  But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”  (Luke 15:21-32)