However, there is a more serious time when we hide: when we do something patently wrong. We avoid church because we don't want to feel more guilty than we already do. We fear the church gossips will whisper our transgression so loudly that all will hear. We fear being shunned by the congregation, the elders, the minister, and God. We fear we'll be told not to come back, so we just don't go. In essence, we hide and thus are robbed of the blessing of God's forgiveness.

God doesn't behave like fallible people. Instead of shunning us, God constantly seeks us. Think of Adam and Eve in the verdant garden, Elijah hiding in the cave, and the lost son:

Genesis 3:8-9 – Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?" (NIV)

1 Kings 19:13 – When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (NIV)

Luke 15:20b – But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. (NIV)

We may wander away from church, but no matter the distance, God still searches until He finds us. Prodigal sons and daughters that we are, God seeks us even before we know we are lost. Like Jesus taught in the parable of the lost son and the loving Father, as we hang our heads in shame, admitting our guilt, we experience God's forgiving love and hugging acceptance.

For sure, God constantly seeks us and welcomes us when He finds us.

Prayer: Father God, we admit we tend to wander off on our own. We tend to get lost. Please find us when we wander, forgive us, and accept us, for we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Psalm 23:1-4 – The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (NIV)

When I was young and foolish, my boyfriend and I slipped away from our church picnic to find a secluded place. Walking along a dirt road from the picnic area, we came across a beautiful, verdant field filled with lovely plants waving in the breeze. Beckoned to explore, we never wondered why there were no trails through that field. But the moment we plunged in among the plants, we found out why. Those lovely plants were stinging nettles! Oh, the welts on my arms and legs! With the damage done, we quickly returned to the road.

Back home, my unhappy mother slathered my itching arms and legs with calamine lotion while she scolded me for snagging my clothes. When she finished, she wiped away my tears with a tissue, hugged me, and said, "I love you, but you're grounded." Then, she made me wear mittens so I couldn't scratch my very itchy skin.

That was just one time when I deliberately and stubbornly persisted in continuing down the path I'd chosen. Every time I experienced the painful consequences, I knelt in prayer asking for forgiveness. That's when Jesus Christ used a comforting word from a family member, a friend, or even a sermon at church to comfort my angst.

Being in a relationship with Jesus Christ means that He stays with us in challenging times as well as good times. When we ask the Lord to forgive us, He does, and sometimes, He even removes the consequences, but not always. Sometimes, like a good parent, He allows us to experience the fallout of ill-considered actions … like walking through a field of stinging nettles and suffering from the stinging welts of sin.

Prayer: Father God, forgive us when we stray into the stinging nettles of sin and comfort us with Your presence, for we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Luke is careful throughout his gospel to place Jesus in history. That was important back then, because there were so many "mystery" and "fertility" religions which claimed to have miraculous births and gods who died and rose again. So, Luke anchors the account of Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection in history. It is as if Luke wishes to say, "Make no mistake. This is no cult fantasy, but reality. Epiphany. Emmanuel. God with us."

Today, it is just as important to place Jesus in history. With so many super-hero stories on television and in the movies, and so many "scholars" who place more faith in doubting and questioning than they do in Christ, it is important to remind the world that Jesus is a historical figure. Jesus is Who He claimed to be. He was, and is, and will come again. This is no myth. It is reality. Either you believe the evidence or you don't. As for me, I find joy in believing.

Prayer: Great God of history, I come to You in Jesus' name asking You to give to me the greatest gift of all this Christmas season, the gift of faith in Jesus. I regret my wrong and my stubborn refusal to believe. Lord God, I would believe. Help my inclination to unbelief. For I pray this in the name of the One Who is pure grace. Amen.

Like the lad, most people respond better to love. It is the greatest motivator. Paul wrote,

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a,13 – Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (NIV)

As far as motivational priorities go, love has always been better than anything else. One day, when a lawyer came to Jesus with questions concerning priorities, Jesus responded quite simply. He said in effect, "Love God first, then love your neighbour — as you love yourself." Jesus had a way of keeping it very simple. Love God. Love each other. Love yourself, also. How simple! How utterly complete! Like the lawyer, do we get so caught up in our day-to-day priorities that we fail to see God's love bursting forth like the sunshine? Are we so caught up in our own issues, that all we can see is the mess and so miss the joy of the law of love? Let us respond with love, delighting in those around us and so experience the goodness of the law of love.

Prayer: Dear God, surround us with Your loving arms. Enable us to delight in You first, and then in each other. Grant that we may love each other as we are loved by You. Grant to us the kind of love that rejoices in those around us like a child delights in a candy display. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

When God delays answering our prayers, however, it is not a bad thing, for He does it not out of procrastination, but for His glory. A biblical example of this is the time when Jesus heard that His friend, Lazarus, was ill and dying, as recorded in John chapter 11. Jesus delayed going to heal him for two days. We aren't told exactly what Jesus was doing to cause Him to stay where He was. Instead, we are told that Jesus responded to the news of Lazarus' illness by saying, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." (John 11:4 NIV) When He came close to Bethany, Martha, a sister of Lazarus, rebuked Him, saying, "If you had been here, my brother would not have died." (John 11:21b NIV) Nevertheless, Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26 NIV)

This is our assurance, too. Jesus alone knows when death will come. No one else does, not even the doctors. So, when it seems that God is delaying in answering our prayers, let's remember that Jesus knows our need and will step up to answer our prayers — but in His time.

Prayer: Lord God, we turn to You when life assails. Nevertheless, Jesus assures us that He is the resurrection and the life. We are confident that You know us and our needs. We pray that You will comfort us with Your Holy Spirit and enable us to accept what seems to be a delay but is really a sign of Your mercy and grace. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

While I believe Jesus' words that God does feed the birds of the air, I love to watch them flutter around my bird feeders as they chow down for the trip ahead every spring and fall, or if it's summer, to furiously fly off to feed hungry chicks. Their vibrant colours — the red of the cardinals, the blue of the jays, and the yellow of the finches — all captivate me.

However, there are some critters that don't captivate me, and I definitely don't want to encounter them: skunks. Our area has a plethora of them. Many nights, I smell them as they waddle around scarfing up slugs and other not-so-nice insects beneath the feeders. Skunks are among the unintended consequences to my generosity — and so are squirrels.

Although they can be comical to watch, pirate squirrels regularly decimate the contents of my bird feeders. During the process of stuffing their cheek pouches with seeds, squirrels wrap their furry bodies around the feeders, dislodge the lids, and often knock the whole feeder to the ground, scattering seed throughout the grass.

This also feeds the wild rabbits that entertain us with high hops and alert, twitching noses scanning for predatory neighbourhood cats. The felines scarcely faze the squirrels, because the squirrels are so much faster. With cheek pouches stuffed full, these lively critters scamper away, hopping from tree branch to tree branch, quickly hiding their booty in secret storage spots known only to them. Come winter, they've hidden away enough seed that would have fed a huge flock of birds.

When I must buy more seed, my pocketbook takes a hit, but the expense helps the migrating birds make the journey to and from warmer climates. So much enjoyment comes from watching God's critters. They're so valuable.

Even so, Jesus tells us that we humans are much more valuable than the outlay of funds to feed wild and tame critters. Do I truly value other people much more than I value the wild things in my area?

Jesus reminds us that God appreciates and loves each one of us, even though we all at times smell like skunks and do things that we'd rather not remember. Still, God loves us. Like the childhood song goes, "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong, we are weak, but He is strong." But here is the kicker: because God loves all of us skunks, we are to love each other, even the other skunks.

1 John 4:10-11 – This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (NIV)

Prayer: Lord God, we come in Jesus' name, awed by Your critters, and even more, by Your love for us. Thank You … thank You … thank You! Bless all Your creatures and while You're at it, please bless us, too, and enable us to bless others in Your name. Amen.

One winter night, after spending the day moderating a meeting in a small church in northern Ontario, Canada, I headed back to my home in Oakville. Night had fallen, and a severe lake effect storm had blown up. Nevertheless, I had to get home to my family, so I drove the many kilometres down Highway 11 in blizzard conditions. As I drove, my windshield wipers couldn't keep up, so the car crept along, with the driver's side window down and my head outside in order to see through the heavy curtain of snow. As I went, an urgent, still, small voice in my mind said, "Stop, now." I did. As I attempted to open my door, it hit a guard rail. When I looked down, I saw a precipice. Talk about a close call!

Throughout Elijah's life, he often received a directive or intervention through God's still, small voice. It was a rather common occurrence for him, not so much for us. Nevertheless, we do have occasions when we have a sense that we ought to do something, pray for someone, or supply someone's need for clothing, food, or even money. The Bible calls that sense, that intuition, God's voice. It states, "Love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him." (Deuteronomy 30:20 NIV)

There are times when God's still, small voice rescues us from some situation, like driving off a cliff in a snowstorm. "Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" (Isaiah 30:21 NIV)

Although some may deny that such a thought has a divine origin, this writer believes that it was more than mere chance, more than a hunch or women's intuition, more than being clever, astute, or just plain smart. Whatever we choose to call it, we should call it what it truly is: God's still, small voice calling to us.

God often uses a still, small voice to get our attention. Are we listening?

Prayer: Lord God, may we hear Your still, small voice and do what You have for us to do this day. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, we pray. Amen.