Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

    Come, Thou long expected Jesus 
    Born to set Thy people free; 
    From our fears and sins release us, 
    Let us find our rest in Thee. 
    Israel’s Strength and Consolation, 
    Hope of all the earth Thou art; 
    Dear Desire of every nation, 
    Joy of every longing heart. 


    Born Thy people to deliver, 
    Born a child and yet a King, 
    Born to reign in us forever, 
    Now Thy gracious kingdom bring. 
    By Thine own eternal Spirit 
    Rule in all our hearts alone; 
    By Thine all sufficient merit, 
    Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

I felt little in my heart as I went to our Christmas Eve service last night. Feeling disconnected is not something new to me these days; my life feels full of fears, restlessness and sinful responses. The uncertainty of my future economically and physically seems doomed, but as we sang this Christmas song last night I struck by the lines "Born to set Thy people free; From our fears and sins release us, Let us find our rest in Thee." What wonderful words of sweet comfort. My future is secure. The best is yet to come!

    
    MERRY CHRISTMAS FRIENDS

The Darkest Hour vs. The Light of the World

I just saw a trailer for a movie that is coming out on Christmas Day that is called The Darkest Hour. It is the story of five young people fighting against an alien race who have attacked Earth. They attack using our power supply so that eventually the earth will go completely dark.

I was immediately struck by the oddity of such a movie coming out on Christmas Day. Is it appropriate to have a movie about darkness coming out on the day when we celebrate the arrival of true light into our world or does it actually contrast the idea and highlight our desperate need for light?

In the movie, all hope is put in these five people to save the world from the darkness. This is portrayed as physical darkness, but I wonder if there isn't a connection between physical darkness and spiritual darkness.

We know that only the birth and death of Jesus can save us from any threatening darkness. It is our only hope for salvation. He is our only true source of light.

Thanksgiving

I am thankful that what I so often feel day-to-day isn't truth. the truth is that I was created for a better place.