Doesn’t humility require that we realize no person or tradition completely fathoms God, as in the parable of the elephant and blind men? We all see parts of the truth but not the whole. In that sense, everyone is right… or wrong.

Truth is truth and false is false, right? Makes sense, yet somehow in the world of religion alternative facts are not only acceptable but also encouraged. Many people are comfortable believing that contradictory truth claims can be equally embraced.

I’ve got two primary ways for asking for something. I suspect you’re like this too. You’ll either get the prudent or passionate David. The way Daniel prays in chapter 9 is more the latter. Pleading with God through prayer connects us with his heart.

My heart squirms, my mind twitches and my soul wriggles under pressure. When suffering and sin push me around, I really don’t want to wait on God. And, I’d like to burn all the T-shirts telling me to remain calm. Know what I mean?

How do you feel when someone cuts in line, or a retailer won’t honor a coupon? How about when you’re not paid fairly? Or when a loved one encounters injustice? And, we not only want people to play fair, but God too. But does He?

Whether triggered by people, problems, pain or politics, anger can be a complicated emotion. It can feel so sweet and yet so bitter, so comforting and yet so scary, so fair and yet so mean, so defensible and yet so shameful. What does righteous anger look like?

Maybe you saw that there’s a new movie due out this month called “A Dog’s Purpose”. In the trailer, the star doggie, Bailey, narrates the storyline. “Are we here for a reason? Is there a point to any of this? And why does food taste so much better in the trash? …I tried to make sense of all the things I’d seen. Was there a point to this journey of life? And how did bacon fit it?”

Are predictions and forecasts about 2017 a concern? Here’s some Gospel perspective.

A refugee is someone who flees their country to escape violence, war, persecution, hunger or natural disaster. In the last couple of years, the numbers have swelled and become an international crisis. But the truth is we are all refugees until we go home.

Somebody commented recently that they really need the happy of Christmas. I was reminded of Andy Williams’ classic lyrics, “It’s the hap, happiest time of the year”. How about you? For some of us that will be fairly easy to engage. For others, 2016 has felt like a most un-Christmas year, and doing merry can feel like pressure or highlight losses.

But the real Christmas story leads us in a different direction. It isn’t about happy or merry but something deeper and better. And the target audience wasn’t those who were doing OK but the opposite.