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Some of the most powerful encouragements to the church are prayers answered.  Those moments when we bring our request to God in faith and He clearly delivers the answer.  Whatever adversity we're facing is overcome; sickness turns to health, a wayward child returns or maybe employment finally arrives.  The church rejoices over these victories as each of us has our faith infused with a good dose of God's miraculous nature.

How do we deal with things when the answer we're hoping for never seems to arrive?  Some of you have been praying earnestly... passionately for loved ones who seem stuck in lifestyles contrary to God's plan.  Some of you are praying for your own deliverence from something; your past, an abusive relationship or maybe an addiction.  You find yourself on your knees again and again crying out to God, you ask others to join you in your petition and still nothing happens.

Is God too overwhelmed with everyone else's request?

Is He even real?

Is He just turning a deaf ear to me?

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You know that feeling you get sometimes when you're alone?  The one that makes you think you may not be totally alone after all but you feel foolish for even thinking such a thought?  I don't mean this in a cracking-up-gone-fishing-in-the-desert way but the sensation we all get from time to time.  Usually these kinds of thoughts originate from two factors, neither of which are exactly good.

The first one is fear.  I remember this feeling well as a boy being alone in our house.  A creak.  A groan.  Was that a door shutting?  Footsteps?  Curiosity overcomes intrepidation and an investigative journey reveals that the fear was unfounded.  Phew!  Funny how I never noticed any of those noises when I was with my familiy or friends.  Being alone can bring out some strange thoughts and reactions.

The second factor that can make you feel "watched" is guilt.  The man who eats from what he has earned, goes home to his wife, drives the car he owns and generally does what he claims to do has no reason to look over his shoulder.  This person can be found in their most private moment to be essentially the same as they are in the most public spotlight.  Sometimes, though, the temptation is there to make choices we wouldn't (or shouldn't) make when we believe we're alone.  Sneaking is incompatible with integrity.

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So here's a little note to all of my good friends who go the extra mile to make Christmas everything it is supposed to be.  First of all, thank you.  You spend hours baking things and decorating your home and quite possibly your workplace with festivity.  December is one of the tastiest months of the year and seeing as how I'm THAT guy, the one who consumes a large portion of those Christmas culinary creations, I tip my hat to y'all.  The music, the mood, the classic movies, the traditions and that satisfied feeling you get when you're surrounded by family and friends are all things I love about this time of year.  They're all part of what Christmas should be.  Right?

Think about the original Christmas for a moment.  If you look at it through God's eyes it went exactly the way it was supposed to.  The parents, the lineage, the location, the timing, the messengers and well... everything went according to His plan.  No portion of it was out of place and no detail was overlooked.  God's like that though, when...

We are a church in a box, well sort of but also literally.  I know, I know, we're supposed to think outside the box and break dividing walls because boxes are generally bad.  I would agree that confined spaces that limit people's creativity and the Spirit of God are bad.  You know what's good though?  Boxes at Christmas!  Now we're talkin'.  You see our church really does meet in a box, a nearly perfect square one.  It was given to us by our loving and generous God who provided in remarkable, if not miraculous, methods to bring us from where we were to where we are.

My imagination wanders a little as I picture a giant someone popping the lid off of our little box to see what's inside just like my kiddos willl do Christmas morning.  What amazing gifts might be contained inside this package labeled "church"?  Of course I'm not talking about the physical contents anymore but the stuff of substance; the real value held within.  Say my imaginary, giant someone took the top off during a Sunday morning service...

"Oh there's a big surprise! That's an incredible - I think I'm going to have a heart attack and die of not surprise!"  ~ Iago in Aladdin

Today the local media (TNT) is reporting about another child molestation case.  These stories have become all too familiar.  The perpetrator (in this case Luis A. Rodriguez has been charged, not convicted as of yet) often is someone people trust with their children and then takes advantage of his position to victimize innocent young people.  The justice system, media and general public spend a lot of time trying to assess innocence versus guilt and "little bit guilty" versus "really guilty".  We try and decide if there are others who also deserve a portion of the blame for not holding the criminal accountable or not taking enough precautions to prevent this kind of thing.  We analyze the bad guy over and over trying to figure out what makes him tick.  The deviant behavior disgusts us as it should, but maybe, just maybe we're a little too fascinated by the monster.

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“Does your church hold to the biblical view on _______?”  I’ve probably had that question asked to me in various forms about a million times give or take a few.  Sometimes it even takes the next step and becomes an exhortation, challenge or even a demand, declaring that we must hold fast to the true teachings of Scripture.  On a surface level I have no problem saying, “Yes!  Of course we strive to keep to the biblical standard in everything that we do.” Almost immediately, though, I have to ask the follow up question, “What do you believe the biblical view on this subject is?”   

The reality is that there are a whole bunch of rather different ideas within the realm of Christianity about what is Biblical and what isn’t.  Even inside evangelical groups there are very distinct opinions on what certain passages mean. The splintering only increases when we move into the life application of the text, “What does this mean to me now?”  The way we handle our worship, finances, parenting, marriage and sexuality are all impacted by our interpretation of what is “biblical”.

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Can you hear the opening theme music in your mind?  Do you remember the dramatic reenactments of crimes designed to make hair stand on end and leave little doubt that the real killer is still out there, probably outside your bedroom window?  Robert Stack had a great way of not only instilling doubt, but fear into an impressionable young viewer.  I remember wanting the mystery to be solved and unsolved all at the same time, suspense is delicious and exhausting.

Mysteries invite investigation and call for explanation; we all want to know why and how something happens.  Our curiosity launches us while our ego refuses to accept defeat, at least in most cases.  There are some things where ongoing mystery is the best we can hope for.  I don't mean that we are required to settle for second best, I mean that the mystery is the best, the very best, possible answer to our question.

'Tis the season for us to consider the Christmas story.  The birth of Jesus is such an accepted fact of our faith and the extra...

Football fans are all familiar with Tim Tebow and the incredible following he has.  It is hard not to cheer for a young man who leads by example, works hard and wins.  The University of Florida has practically enshrined him and literally engraved the words of his passionate speech after a disappointing loss to Ole Miss.  They didn't lose a single game after that and won the national championship.  Despite his success, NFL scouts have been quick to point out gaping shortfalls in his throwing mechanics and accuracy, most of them relegating him to the status of back up at best.

"Tebow love" has surged again recently as the underdog started and won for the Broncos the last few weeks.  They're winning with him in an unconventional offence where he throws very little; some QBs do more in a quarter than he does in a game.  There's humor when things that aren't supposed to be, are.  I have no idea if Denver will continue to win with Tebow or not and my suspicion is that the scouts are probably right over the long...