You may remember that Sunday night is among my favorite times of the week. Most times it is very quiet while wrapping up the day. Stress over what to say next week is not kicking in just yet. Hopefully the day can end with some level of satisfaction in my efforts. There are of course those occasions when my night is spent wondering where things went wrong. When you have good services along with good meetings then you can rest knowing things went well. Count tonight as one of the evenings with peace over the day's activity. One can only hope this good will continues into the new year.

We now enter the final week of school prior to the holiday break. There is enough going on this week to keep me busy. Some of my duties revolve around being a dad. Work related stuff will also weigh on my mind. You cannot beat a Baptist business meeting for the potential for excitement. I could tell you some real horror stories about those but let me spare you the gory details. I still need to make time for exercise in the attempt to lose some of the weight gained from my past steroid use. At least fifteen of my 230 pounds are unwanted and unnecessary. Holidays are not the best time to think of losing weight but perhaps we can hold our own. Nothing like having a full week to get you in the Christmas spirit. Let's just hope that it isn't the spirit of the Grinch.

So what expectations do you have at Christmas? We talked today of John the Baptist as he wrestled with his ideas on the Messiah against what Jesus was doing in ministry. John asks if Jesus is the one or should he keep looking for another. One of my discoveries this past week is that no single biblical scholar can pin down all of the reasons for the inquiry. Most say that John is being taken by doubt or disappointment as he sits in a prison cell. I can understand that approach. Seems like our difficulties often cloud our judgement. The molehills tend to look like mountains when we are in a crisis. We may even wonder if our faithfulness is worth it when things go south in life. One area of agreement is that Jesus never scolds his relative for wanting to know an answer. Take comfort in knowing that an honest, searching question of God will be given a response even if it takes time.

One commentator writes that John asks his question less from doubt and more from a desire to know the truth. You may find that disappointment may lead you to deeper questions than you might normally ask. Times arise in life when we are down so our heart becomes increasingly eager to uncover new truth. Not all people reach this point. Far too many believers seem content to allow the status quo to become the new normal. If John is moved by disillusionment then he is met with new insight. Jesus reminds him that His ministry falls right in line with the biblical expectation. Those who are in great need are having new life made possible by the presence of Jesus. It may not always be what the masses would expect of the Messiah but it is exactly what God wishes to be doing.

Expectation is well and good. Just be sure you allow God room to display His purpose in your life. It may not always match up to what you want but it always falls in line with what you need. When you allow God to be God then you leave space for your faith to expand. It is little good to be conservative yet keep a closed mind. Faith always has the capacity for hope and growth. John learns that by asking a question. How will we discover it?

Bro. Trey