Sorry I've been away. The work load got too great and something had to give. Actually several things did, and the blog was one of them. Now I am back to regular crazy busy instead of insanely busy. The special services are behind us, the presents are all wrapped and opened, all the holidays behind us, and the new sermon series has been launched. There is still a lot to do with getting ready for Summer as well as leaving for the Dominican in just under two weeks. Anyway, to jump start, I have two articles that really go together and I think are excellent. One is by David Brooks who I often enjoy, and the other is out of Time magazine. Both talk about the fact that we are allowing government to turn us into children and we expect government to take care of all our problems. I am afraid the Republican party, more interested in being against Obama simply because he's not a republican, than being for things that matter, are actually playing into this by accusing him of not doing enough when really the problem may be that government is doing too much and not leaving us to work on our rugged self-sufficiency. Just a thought. Read the articles and than think about what your expectations are for the government. "The God that Fails" by David Brooks "The Lesson" by Amanda Ripley

Back to the old question of whether to cancel church tomorrow morning or not. I hate to, but I don't want people to be unsafe either. Sounds like the snow is supposed to stop early tomorrow morning, but the blowing might mean that the roads aren't ready yet. Also don't know how quickly church will be plowed out. I can get there no matter what. So, we will see in the morning. Ben Bailey, my Assistant Director at Berea made a good point on Facebook. I'll quote it here; "Snow storms point out to me the difference between religion and regeneration. 4 or 5 years ago I would have been thrilled if church was cancelled. This will make 3 weeks I haven't been there and I am missing it a lot!" I know how he feels. I like being at church, not for the religious exercise, but for the friendships, fellowship, and joy of worshiping/learning/serving together. Guess we'll see in the morning and make the decision then.

Wow, here we are in the new year! It has been a crazy week or so. There was all the preparation for both Christmas Eve and Sunday service. We traveled to Sarah's folks on the 25th and returned the evening on the 26th. That night was spent cleaning up after my second child was sick all over himself, the car seat and the van just as we backed into the driveway. Sunday morning was church (and the storm). Left Sunday afternoon for my parents. Came back on Tuesday. Time to record radio shows for January. Big shout out to Nate for helping with that. 5 shows down, 2 visits with people back in town for holidays. New Years retreat at Berea plus working like crazy on all the reports for the annual meeting and its almost Sunday again! Still need to do snow blowing. So in all this we still haven't had our own family Christmas. Maybe today although Sarah is not feeling well this afternoon. It looks like the storm my mean that I don't have to get everything finished for this Sunday. That will give me some breathing room although I would really rather have service. I am excited for the start of the new series, "Saints & Sinners". I continue to be excited about what I am learning and what we will be able to share with the church family. Well, if not this week, then next.

Yesterday I blogged about God coming to us. He is the initiator. That got me thinking about how God removed the barrier between us. I got thinking about how we normally put that. It usually sounds like this:

"God removed the barrier of sin so that we could come to Him." or "Jesus died for us so that now we can come to Christ and be saved."

I think perhaps we could and should look at that another way. God didn't remove a barrier of us coming to Him. The barrier was keeping Him from coming to us. He desires us (James 4:5) and loves us (John 3:16) and our sin barred Him from being able to fellowship with us and connect to us, which was why we were created. Even the sinner can glorify God (Exodus 14:4) but the sinner cannot fellowship and connect with God. Christ didn't satisfy us, He satisfied God.

"This is the kind of love we are talking about--not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God." (1 John 4:10 Message)

I like how this translation expresses it. Christ removed the damage we had done so God could come. Isn't it amazing? We make the mess, God cleans it up. He removes the barrier that kept Him from coming to us because He loved us that much! Celebrate that love this Christmas. By the Way, there will be no blog the rest of the week as I take some time off to spend Christmas with my family. The blog will return sometime the middle of next week. Have a great Christmas!

As we approach Christmas and finish our lists, our wrapping, our cooking, and all the travel and logistical plans for our celebrations, remember; God Came to us. This is the message that so often gets lost, especially by Christians. God came to us. He didn't ask us to come to Him, He came to us. His love for us was so great, that He initiated. As you enjoy getting together with family or friends this Christmas, do you remember that God wants to spend time with you? He loves you and wants that personal time. So often our approach to Christianity is to be a loyal follower, trying to do good, be obedient, etc. etc. But while those are all good things, they are not the central point. The point is a personal and intimate relationship with God. In fact, that is so important that those who faithfully serve and do good without the personal intimate relationship are rejected. "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' (Matthew 7:22-23) Do you believe correctly, do good, and know your theology well, yet not have a personal relationship, one that is intimate and regular with God? God came to us!! He loves us and has broken down the barriers that could prevent us from accepting Him. What JOY!