In the last week have you had the feeling that you don't have enough time in the day? According to market-research group Nielsen, American adults spend more than 11 hours each day watching, reading, listening to or simply interacting with media. That’s 9 hours 32 min. just four years ago. Have you considered how you're spending the time God has given you each day? When we consider that our life is a gift to be used for God. There will be people in your life, should you choose to leverage your time for the sake of Jesus, who misunderstand your purpose. They won’t be able to comprehend that to give away 40, 60, 80 years for the incomparable gift of eternity with Jesus. Over the course of the next 5 days, each of us will have 82.5 hours awake to leverage for the sake of the Gospel. We may have less. How will you spend yours?

The story of Daniel is almost completely unbelievable. God used Daniel to influence multiple kingdoms for over sixty years, all while being an exile from his home. Daniel's success brought out the jealousy and selfishness in his enemies. Yet despite their plotting, the enemies of Daniel failed. Daniel's faithfulness to God put God's glory on display. Daniel's protection from the lion's den reminds us of Jesus victory over death. Our lives, like Daniel's and Christ's, should be lived in such a way that everyone sees our unflinching devotion to God.

Every Christian should know the story of Ruth. What might seem like a random story in the Old Testament is actually one of the most clear illustrations of God's love for His people. The marriage of Boaz and Ruth foreshadows how God, through Jesus Christ, would redeem us. Boaz redeems the family line of Elimelek from financial poverty and extinction; Jesus redeemed the family of God from spiritual depravity and eternal damnation. We need to recognize our need for a redeemer, surrender to the Redeemer, and embrace life with the Redeemer.

In the most unlikely of ways, David conquered Goliath and strengthened the people of Israel to action. Perhaps you heard the story of David and Goliath and were led to believe the lesson to be learned was that we needed to be brave in the face of fear and sin. Unfortunately, we're not the hero in this story. We're the cowering people of Israel. This story points us to the work of Jesus conquering sin. David was unwilling to allow the disrespectful Philistine armies to continue on. He insisted on God receiving His rightful glory. Jesus, through His death and resurrection, conquered sin and death. We must remember whose we are and be strengthened to action in this life.

Joseph is perhaps the brightest sign pointing to Jesus throughout the entire Old Testament. No other person, excluding God himself, is written more about in Genesis than Joseph. As the favorite son of Jacob, Joseph did himself no favors when it came to the jealousy of his brothers. Eventually, Joseph's life was characterized by betrayal, suffering, and difficulty. If events of the lives of Joseph and Jesus teaches us anything it is that God’s ways are not our ways.In the sorrows of life, do you focus more on the circumstances or what can be learned in the midst of them?

Between the story of God creating man and the story of God choosing a man to make a people of his own, we find the story of Noah. Less than ten generations after the creation of man, sin is running so rampant that God is grieved and wishes He had never created man in the first place. Noah however, was consider righteous in his generation. God used Noah to preserve a people for himself. All of this points us to Jesus, whom God used to redeem a people from themselves to His own glory. Much like the people of Noah's time, most people today don't recognize that they are in need of rescue. God's grace toward us should result in humility and surrender.

The life and calling of Abraham is astounding. What we see God doing in Abraham, for His chosen people, is but a shadow of God’s overarching work on behalf of all His creation. If we find it impossible to understand why God would ask Abraham to give up his son, what must that mean about God’s love in giving up His? God’s instruction to sacrifice Isaac revealed Abraham’s depth of love toward God. In giving up His only Son Jesus, God revealed the depth of His love for us. In Abraham’s life, Isaac represented God’s promise and faithfulness to uphold His covenant with Abraham. However, Isaac was also the biggest potential idol to draw Abraham away from his covenant with God. The reason Abraham is a legend of our faith is because he refused to allow anything to become more important to him than God. His actions proved the condition of his heart. What are your actions proving is most important to you?

God is continuing to tell His story through His church. We’re going to take a look back at some of the more notable stories in Scripture, and make sure we know the truth. In the beginning, God created everything. However, in the midst of perfection, man chose sin. Imagine the overwhelming sorrow that Adam and Eve must have felt as they walked out of the garden God made specifically, perfectly, for them. A garden that represented God’s creative glory, His generous provision, and unsurpassable love now served as a reminder of the separation from their heavenly father. This garden scene served as a prelude to the remarkable scene that would unfold thousands of years later in another garden. Adam’s failure to submit in the garden is redeemed by Jesus’s submission in His garden. From beginning to end, from garden to garden, God is telling His story so that through our lives, He would receive glory.

With the first beat of His perfect tiny heart, Jesus changed everything. His presence on Earth, among us, revealed how far from God we truly are, and provided a way back to our Father in Heaven. We responded with doubt, cynicism, contempt, disgust, hatred, violence, and murder. God was far from us, then through Jesus, with us. Crucified and no longer with us once again. Yet, with the next beat of His heart, with us once again. What will our response be in the knowledge that Jesus is HERE? Worship like Jesus is HERE.

What would you say to Jesus if He were standing right in front of you? Most people, possibly even unbelievers, have a some faith. Or at least have a desire to have faith. Unfortunately, even some of the most passionate Christians have shortsighted faith. In John 11, Martha still believed that Jesus was the Messiah. She struggled to understand His actions. Our prayers reveal a similar shortsighted faith. The beauty of Christmas is that God is no longer far off. He is here. It's time we started praying like Jesus is here.