����

Advent is full of the trappings of the coming of God. But often, among the church services, the charitable donations, and the renditions of “O Holy Night,” we miss God. Like Zechariah, we can be so busy creating space for God to dwell that we forget to prepare our own hearts.

How can looking back deepen our trust in God for the future? An often-overlooked passage from Matthew’s Gospel provides an answer.

In this “hurried life,” how can we find more time with God? And how can we go deeper with God this Advent season when shopping, parties, and Christmas events get added to an already packed schedule?

The Bible refers to death as a great enemy. In American culture, there are two ways we usually deal with death: denial and despair. But Scripture offers a different way.

I love being the center of attention. However, when I think my life is about me, I limit my ability to see the life God has called me to and I stop myself from having the courage to follow him on an amazing adventure.

As we stare down the arrival of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, I wonder what it would look like for us to cultivate excitement about what we can give rather than expectation of what we’ll receive.

Over the years, the Lord has done a lot of work in my heart to help me better love my family, dysfunctions and all. Here are a few practices I have found helpful along the way.

At Thanksgiving we are guests at God’s table of healing and grace. As good guests, we receive his grace and forgiveness and carry it out into the world to be agents of healing, even in the places where we have brought the brokenness.

Sometimes God displaces us and sometimes we choose displacement to survive, thrive, or walk in obedience to God. However we end up being displaced, whether through persecution, a natural disaster, or by choice, such as taking a specific job, God uses displacement to shape us and draw us closer to him. 

What we are called says something about our identity and our purpose.