No mysterious catch

Even if our hearts are attuned to God's will, there will be many times when God does not send a particularized word. We must not assume this means we are displeasing God. It is crucial to remember that God does not play hide-and-seek games with us. God is not frivolous or coy; he will not tease or torture us. With God there is no mysterious catch, no riddle to solve, no incantation to get just right -- not with the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

     God is the kind of person Jesus revealed Him to be. Such a person will show us if there is a problem and what it is, provided that we openheartedly pray and seek to be shown. We must make a point of not thinking of God in terms of human beings who may have enjoyed tricking us by not explaining what we were supposed to do."

(Dallas Willard d.2013, Christian philosopher)

Psalm 86:5 "You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you."

"The life of the church is poised in the Time Between. The time of the coming of Christ is now, in the Word preached and the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper. But the time of the coming of Christ to consummate all things is not yet, and there is nothing whatever that human beings can do to hasten that coming. The commands to "prepare ye the way of the Lord" in the apocalyptic announcement of the prophet Isaiah is given not in order to entice the Lord to come, but to expect him imminently, for he is already on his way."  Fleming Rutlege contemporary Christian preach and author

"If we want to participate in this Advent and Christmas event, we cannot simply sit there like spectators in a theater and enjoy all the friendly pictures. Rather, we must join in the action that is taking place and be drawn into this reversal of all things ourselves. Here we too must act on the stage, for here the spectator is always a person acting in the drama. We cannot remove ourselves from the action." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer d.1945 theologian, author)

So what character of the Christmas story are you connecting with this year?

Here are this week's lectionary lessons and the word I selected from each reading that grabbed my attention. You can reflect on each word for yourself.

Isaiah 7:10-16     sign

Psalm 80:1-7      shine

Psalm 80:8-19     restore

Romans 1:1-4     gospel

Romans 1:5-7     belong

Matthew 1:18-25  conceive

Revelation 20:11-15   book of life

Prayer for the day of December 21 - "God of all grace, let your Holy Spirit work on me and enter into the deepest hiding places of my soul. Grant that I keep nothing for myself but give my life over completely to You. Search my heart and thoughts and make me completely Your possession. Amen."