Consider this

                John the Baptist had one job and that was to “prepare the way for the Lord” (Luke 1:76).   He did that by highlighting three blessings that Jesus would bring.                   First, he talked about a restored relationship with God.   Reunions can be wonderful.   In fact, many of you are looking forward to the Christmas season because of the reunions that will take place.   John said that Jesus would come, “To give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God” (verses 77 and 78).   Sin separates us from God, but through his Son, God gives us a way home.                 Next, John spoke of Jesus as “The rising sun [who] will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and the shadow of death” (verses 78 and 79).   The world can seem like a dark place, but

                I have wasted the last month looking for tires for my daughter’s truck.   I have been to every tire store in town.   I have searched the internet for deals.   I even bought a tire-changer so that I could install used tires if I found some good ones.                   After seeing all of this, some of my friends have accused me of being “cheap”.   However, that is not the issue.   In fact, I eventually ordered new tires from one of the shops in town and I was happy about it.   I was not cheap.   I was scared of making a bad decision.                   I hate being wrong and that is a problem!                 We all want others to think that we have our lives together and that we are capable of handling anything that comes our way.   That is good!   I believe that people should try to do their best all the time.   However, when we over emphasize the need to be right in everything, we create a culture where mistakes must be hidden and where we only talk about the go