Dear Friends,

I write this to you with the Fourth Sunday of Advent and Christmas Eve still ahead of us.  In some ways it seems odd to think ahead to January when December presses so close upon us.  But that serves to remind me of an Advent truth. 

As Christians we live as those for whom Christ has already come, and yet we also live in anticipation of his coming again.  We are to look to the future and live in light of  that future with confidence and assurance.  Whatever comes in the present is different because of the future we have in Christ and with Christ.  I am holding on to that truth no matter what else the next week brings!  As an old gospel hymn puts it: "Many things about tomorrow, I don't seem to understand; But I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand."

I have been listening to the audio-book of Tim LaHaye's Left Behind.  Many of you have read or heard about these books which have been enormously popular among Christians and in society as a whole.  The book's departure point is what happens when believers are united with Christ (raptured) leaving non-believers behind in a troubled world.  Our "tomorrows" are different because we accept Christ as our Savior with all that means for our relationship with God and with other believers.  This is a powerful truth and is claimed through a living relationship with Jesus Christ. 

The New Year gives each one of us an opportunity to consider our place in God's Kingdom and the vitality of our faith.  We cannot rely on the faith of others. We cannot let ourselves grow comfortable with unexamined spiritual lives.  We cannot neglect the hard questions. I invite you to services in January where we will renew our baptismal covenant and our covenant with God.

I urge you to join a small group for study and sharing so your discipleship can increase.  I urge you to get involved in mission and outreach to others, and to be a witness in your home, your work, your school, your community.

This is what the Lord expects of us.