We are in the season of getting ready. Advent is a time of waiting. God wants us to live with an expectation of what is to come. We are in the time of faith. We are in the now and not yet time of life. We get what he has for us now but also the anticipation of what is to come.

Desires we long for, prayers, we've been praying, and news we're waiting to hear can tempt us to be impatient, discouraged, to worry, and even to wonder if God cares. He wants to restore His relationship with us and to give us peace, joy, health, and provision. God restores all things!

We want to fix our eyes on Jesus as our gift giver. Jesus is the gift giver of the Holy Spirit. This gift makes us fully alive in Him!

We live in the now and not yet of our Christian faith. Jesus came and he's coming again! We have victory now that he won for us on the cross and we will have it in all its fullness when he comes again. On one hand we don't have to wait because Jesus lives in us, but we still have to wait to experience life forever with him in heaven. So we wait.

People need to see us living for Jesus  so,  they too can join us on this journey in life where Jesus is everything and it  is all about Him. Paul describes this life in Galatians 2:20 where he says :  I have been crucified with Christ. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. Paul is saying, it's no longer about me. It's now all about Christ.

We need to represent well our God who is a giver. He's the God who is always giving! God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son! Every good and perfect gift comes down from heaven from the Father.

Truth is the "what" of our lives. Love is the "why and how." The combination of real truth and real love is what God wants us to live out at work, at home, in the fellowship of others, and in the community.

Be ready to spread the word whether or not the time is right. Point out errors, warn people and encourage them. Be patient when you teach.

People need to see us living in anticipation of Jesus. They need to see us living with faith and not fear, with hope and not despair, and with an unshakable attitude that shows we know the best is yet to come.

We need to humble ourselves and empty ourselves of us so the Holy Spirit can fill us completely with the real Jesus as we then share our faith and joy in Him!