Conventional wisdom suggests that, in order to avoid disappointment, we ought to expect less out of Christmas. God suggests just the opposite. In the centuries leading up to the first Christmas, God revealed the truth about the coming Messiah and taught his people to raise their expectations for his work. This week we learn to prepare more for Jesus. Many people are content with measuring up to moral rules of their own invention. Fewer will accept the rigors of genuine excellence in the kingdom of the coming Christ. Yet the advent call of Christ is to prepare more for Jesus—by raising every valley and leveling every mountain.