Although it is not necessarily obvious at first, the treatment of God toward us is expected to be reciprocated toward others as he works within us. God loves us, and he expects us to love others. God is generous with us, and he expects us to be generous with others. God forgives, as should we. God has compassion, and so should we.

Every attribute of God is expected to be evidenced by those who say they love Him ... it is one of the core ways that we know that God approves of us, and is working in us.

What if something is missing? What if something big is missing in our make-up? What if mercy is missing?

If mercy is missing, then we avoid those all around us who are drowning in one form of crisis or another, we don't want to have significant relationships with them, and (in essence) we act as if God doesn't exist at all ...

It might be observed that God had created everything by the sixth day, however there was still one thing of creation that was not yet "good", and this last thing of creation is still in tension on the seventh day.

What is it? Simply, the "will of man" is not yet aligned with the "will of God". That is, the final shape of our will is yet to be determined. As a result, our will is still being shaped and formed from the chaos of choosing our own path or that path that God has offered.

Perhaps the seventh day of Creation - the Sabbath - seeks to complete God's plan. He created it. He made it holy. Now, God wants you to join him in this seventh day so that he can shape the chaos of your life into something wonderful!

When considering the activities of God, creation is among the most prominent. God takes chaos, pregnant with possibility, and he forms things of beauty and order. He also involves us in creation, just as he did with Adam in Genesis 2:19.

Adam was assigned a limited role in creation. God laid before him just a small amount of chaos, and he was responsible for joining with God in only that portion of creation.

We too get to participate in creation. Mountains of chaos surround us and ache for order and beauty. But what chaos does God wish you to work with? More to the point, do you have so much chaos around you that you cannot focus on accomplishing God's agenda? Has sin put you in an overwhelming sea of chaos?

If we are to join with God, then perhaps our first step is to understand what small task he is calling us to do. Then, once this is known, it is an obvious choice to simplify our life by moving our attention away from the sinful senseless chaos and clutter that overwhelms most of us. Throw it out. Divest. Simplify.

What does God want his people to do? What directions does he want you to go in? If you don't know what directions He wants you to go in, the extent of your Christianity will be either vanity or as a Sunday pew potato. Pointless!

But there is a direction that God wants you to pursue. Actively pursue. This direction doesn't look like the rest of the life patterns of everyone else. Christians tend to go in a different direction than the rest of the world, and it may feel like you're fighting against the crowd. It feels like you're going the wrong way down a one-way street sometimes.

When something is counter to the world, it will take focus to see it and perseverance to pursue it. So, our first step is the need to know our Father's business. And once we begin to understand what our Father's business entails, it helps us to be able to understand how we are going to participate in that business.

It doesn't end with knowledge and conviction. Once you begin to realize the Father's business: Go! Do it! Be in that direction. It's not merely a matter of understanding what God wants you to do. It's a matter of being able actually to go and do it.

When God comes into our lives through Christ, we begin transforming into the likeness of Christ (Rom. 8:28-30). Christians change. They no longer look like the rest of those who live in the world. We glow. We stand out as we reflect God's blessing. Christians are like stars in a dark sky.

We tell the world nothing if we look like everyone else. Are you one of His stars?

Advent is a season of many traditions, and one of these traditions is the giving of gifts. Gift-giving is a symbol of the gift that God gave us - love. Yet, most beautifully wrapped presents are merely a symbol of God's gift, and they do not have the impact of God's gift.

God's gift of love is sacrificial, it impacts the recipient, and it grows in the recipient to impact the lives of many others. What kinds of gifts are you giving this Christmas? Are you giving empty gifts or are you giving gifts that are empowered with the love of Christ?

A well-known Gatorade commercial shows hard-working athletes sweating red, green, yellow, and purple liquid - obviously illustrating that Gatorade is flowing all through them. The closing question is, "Is it in you?"

When the people of God have His faith flowing through them, then it also comes out of us and one of these outflows is our testimony of the hope that we have in Him. If we have faith then we will have a testimony, and testimonies are developed through testing.

Christians should never fear the trials and troubles they face, for in trouble is where our faith is enacted ... faith gives us vision for God ... and out of us will come praise and testimony about the hope that we have!

Do you remember the stories of hell? I do. I remember hearing the vast descriptions told to me of the torment and flames and pain that await those who continue to be disobedient. The threat of punishment is a common method to enforce behavior in rebellious individuals ... like, you know, kids.

But does it really cause long term change, or merely subdue urges? The threat of hell (or any punishment) subdues urges, but doesn't change the underlying behavior. That is, as soon as the threat is removed or as soon as the threat doesn't seem real, then the behavior is likely to return.

God's primary approach toward changing us is not through threats of eternal burning torment, and He even says this in John 4:16-18. Rather, God is instilling love in us and giving us a vision for the future - hope. With this hope, we change because we want to take hold of an attractive alternative to living and also because we realize that it is what is best for us. The Advent Season is a time when we are reminded of this hope, and it is a time when we can embrace it afresh. How? Well, Peter has left us with some advice that might help us to be successful with envisioning this hope.

Genuine and lasting hope is God's vision for our future, but it is so often distorted and distracted by what we desire rather than what He designs. The Advent season should be a time when we are reminded and encouraged by the vision of God's hope, and it becomes clear to us once again. More often, unfortunately, that vision is distorted by coveting, materialism, nostalgia, altruism and pluralism. Can the hope of God emerge from this pile of holiday messages and meanings? More importantly, do we want to focus on God's hope at Christmas?