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Ask Father Paul ...

Dear Father Paul: A non-Christian friend says that Jesus never claimed to be God. What do you say? — Terri, Fayetteville

Dear Terri: Show this to your friend John 14:8-11. "Philip said, Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us. Jesus answered: Don't you know me Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, show us the Father? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say I am in the Father and the Father is in me; ot at least believe in the evidence of the miracles themselves." Terri, I'm going to believe that your friend is not just a hypercritical skeptic, but is earnestly seeking the truth and the truth is... that Jesus IS God! Your challenge is to let him/her see Jesus in your daily life.

Dear Father Paul: My husband and I fight every year about how much to spend on Christmas gifts for our children and grandchildren. He says I spend way too much, but if I listened to him we'd send each a check for $10 and be done with it. Christmas will be here soon. What do you say? — Mary, Fayetteville

Dear Mary: Your husband's first name wouldn't be Scrooge by any chance, would it? Sorry, I just couldn't help myself. Seriously, you don't mention your financial status so I am going to assume that you can afford to be generous, and frankly I lean a little in that direction. My wife and I probably spend a little more than we should on our kids and grandkids at Christmas, but it gives us a lot of pleasure. At the same time we try very hard to emphasize that the really important gift for all of us at Christmas is Jesus, and we've tried to engender a giving spirit to everybody in our family. I do recommend that you sit down together at the beginning of the gift buying season and agree on a "not-to-exceed" budget amount for the total of all the gifts you are going to buy, then stick to it strongly.

Dear Father Paul: My husband has become a hopeless golf addict. Any suggestions? — Pat, Fayetteville

Dear Pat: Sorry, I'm afraid I'm not much help. I have been afflicted with the same malady for nearly 25 years now. I even ended up buying a house on the golf course. I would say this, however. Tell your husband to keep his golf within some kind of reasonable bounds while the children are still at home; say, once a week. Kids really need their dads a lot and just "being there" is huge. Also, I'd suggest you do what my wife Judy did and take up the game yourself. She did and we became instant "golf buddies." She became a pretty good golfer too.I heard he tell a friend one time, "I decided that I could either sit home and complain about Paul's golf or get out there and join him in it." Seriously, some of the best times of our marriage have been spent on golf courses from Scotland to Hawaii.