Merry Christmas

We want to wish all of you a merry and meaningful Christmas. I pray that the Savior would be singular in your affections this holy day. May He outshine the gifts and time with family. May he not be a trite reference.

Celebrate the King with me! See him as Matthew, as the King of kings...whom Magi (intellectuals) seek and bow down to. He's the prophesied one; the hope of the nations. He's the Jewish Messiah, desending from Abraham, fulfilling the covenants. He's worshipped by men from the East, representing the nations who will bow at His feet. A jealous king slaughtered children as Jesus' family escaped to Egypt, echoing back to the Exodus, when a crazed Pharoah heard the cries of mourning families as the Israelites escaped from Egypt. He is Immanuel, "God with us."

See him as Luke, as the Good Shepherd...whom shepherds praised and heralded in the streets. He's the champion of the lowly...from an unsuspecting teenage girl to those lowly shepherds. When you hear that He was wrapped in cloths in the manger, think forward to Him being wrapped in cloths after His crucifixion...and remember that those grave cloths were cast aside as He rose in triumphant victory over death! Hear the angelic proclamation, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news (gospel) of great joy which will be for all people." Jews and Gentiles alike are included (Luke 2:32).

Done with school...sort of

The fall semester ended today, and I feel like a free man. I'm looking forward to a couple of weeks without tests and papers. In fact, I'm really anxious about wasting this time.

I'll still be working, which will require a lot of focus and energy over the next two months. We're working on the upcoming seminary magazine, and it's a doozy. It will be our Centennial edition since the school celebrates 100 years in 2008, so it is a REALLY big deal. It's cool to read biographies about some of the presidents, but the whole project is a daunting task. It should have been started months ago, but I've come to grips with the fact that I cannot change that. Please pray for me and our team as we try to tell the legacy of an institution who challenges and trains men and women to bring the radically transforming person of Jesus Christ to a blind and hurting world. Pray for clarity, efficiency, joy, and sanity. Pray that we will be Christlike in the crunch-time and give grace to one another as anxiety rears its head. Pray that Christ will be exalted above the institution. Thanks for praying (even if, like I sometimes do, you prayed this prayer just now because you're afraid you'll forget to later).

I'm hoping to use the break to catch up on a lot of reading for my church planting internship, pray a lot about our future in church planting, spend time w/ the fam, and tell people about Jesus. Please pray for boldness and obedience in sharing Christ with strangers and/or family. I hope to blog a little more also...so stay tuned!