You only get so many—

That’s what I’ve heard them say

So many sunrises

As you journey on life’s way.

This past week in our ministry, we have been looking at the prophet, Nathan. Not much is said about Nathan in scripture, but most of us are familiar with the story of Nathan having an essential conversation with King David.

It is always hard to believe when we swap the calendar over to different year. The older I get the faster the calendar pages seem to turn. I was warned of this phenomenon for most of my life and then when kids became a part of my life it seemed like it really sped up. 2023 found one of my kids graduating from high school. He was only a few years old when we moved to Highland Park Church of Christ what seemed like on a few years ago—but was actually 15 1/2 years ago. I don’t have toddlers in my home anymore—they are all growing up and doing so much too fast.

“Marley was dead, to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.”

If you are into the history and celebration of Christmas then you have likely heard or read those words. They are the opening lines to the beloved holiday classic, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. As most of you likely are aware, the story begins by introducing us very quickly to the characters of Ebenezer Scrooge and his deceased business partner, Jacob Marley. Seven years after his death Marley appears to Scrooge dragging his heavy chains and money boxes which were forged by him in a lifetime of greed and selfishness. According to the Dickens story, he has been doomed to carry those weights with him for eternity. The fate will be similar for the miserly Scrooge if the course of his life, and the condition of his heart, is not altered.

Saturday morning, as I strapped on my gear for the St. Jude Half Marathon in the hotel I had to make sure I had everything. I had the usual: tennis shoes, socks, shorts, shirt, headphones, and a hat. But I wasn’t real sure this year what the weather was going to do so I decided to pack a backpack to carry with me as I ran. I had a rain jacket and rain pants because I didn’t really want to get soaked. I packed a thicker hoodie because weather was dropping. In the case that it got too cold I went ahead and packed some sweat pants into the backpack. Then I got to thinking, “What if I get lost out there and end up stranded on the streets of Memphis for a night or two.” So I went ahead and packed enough food for a few days and shoved them to the bottom of the bag.

Well, we have made int through another Thanksgiving holiday season. The turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and all the casseroles are behind us. Black Friday has come and gone. The Iron Bowl has been played. Now to work off all the junk we have eaten and shake off the laziness that comes with the long holiday. Thanksgiving is finally in the rearview.

It is the time of year that I remember that I usually got threatened with the thought that Santa Claus was watching. For a kid that didn’t get many toys through the year growing up, this was quite the deterrent for bad behavior for at least a couple of months out of the year. I wanted to make sure that December 25 would bring some much coveted toys that I had spotted, circled, and page marked in the JC Penny catalog. I knew what I ultimately wanted the most, and so, at least on occasion, I could avoid getting in the kind of trouble that might threaten that outcome. The rumor was that Santa could see everything so that gave a little extra push to do the right thing all the time.

Imogene Gray: Mrs Imogene is 104 and has lost her sight. She spends most of her days in the bed at a nursing home. In the past couple of weeks, I have had the opportunity to visit with her. As some of us were leaving a visit the other day, she told one of the people in our group how she had been discussing the Bible with someone and how she believed they were nearing the decision to be baptized into Christ. Many times in life we become to busy for where our own feet are! Ms. Imogene even at a point in life that is frustrating, and what most would call depressing sees it as an opportunity to impact people for Jesus! What is our excuse?

So what is the scariest thing to you? What the kind of movies or scenarios frighten you the most? Is it spiders? Clowns? Werewolves? Monsters? The list could go on I’m sure. Many people have their own phobias that are as varied from person to person as the costumes that will be worn by our kiddos at our Trunk-or-Treat.

“On the mount of the LORD there is vision.” exclaimed Abraham in Genesis 22:14 when God brought his attention to the ram caught in a thicket that would be Isaac’s replacement. The Hebrew writer gives us more insight into Abraham’s thoughts on the sacrifice to be offered. The writer states that Abraham believed God could have raised Isaac from the dead. He also adds that Abraham did indeed receive him back. He was lost but the ram was found to take his place.