We all have a lot of things to get done. A lot of things we want to have happen this year. But don’t allow what is most urgent to get in the way of what is most important. Don’t water down the joy and grace you can receive this year by trying to keep up with last year or meet other people’s expectations. Let’s all do less and live more. Give presents, but also be present. That’s how you receive the gift of encountering Jesus this Christmas season. Slow down and soon you’ll find you have more time for what matters, and that means you will start to matter more.

Life is all about other people, but other people will disappoint us. They’ll hurt us, try our patience, be thankless, be unpredictable, be unfaithful; they will make our lives, sometimes, very unhappy. We will want to give up on them. Pull away. Go away to a cave. But we cannot give up on people, because when we do, we give on a big part of the joy God has in store for us.

Some of us struggle with the fear of not having enough. We wonder if there will be enough money to pay for all the things we need. Or if there will be time to do all the things required—like make it home in time for the holidays or get the house clean enough for the people that are coming. We wonder if there’s enough energy to get through the challenges at work or in the family. Think about your money, your time, and your stuff--no matter how much it increases, don’t you notice that your appetite grows to meet it? Studies have shown for a long time that as our income increases, spending increases, and the end result is people making minimum wage or six figures both complain of the same thing: there just never seems to be enough. Talk to a person who is totally into fitness and health and what is their greatest worry? Their health! Talk to a person with lots of money. What is there greatest fear? Not having enough! There is something in us as people where enough is never enough. So where do we go to satisfy this hunger for enough? In John chapter 6, Jesus gives us the answer when He says, “I AM the bread of life.” He says, “I AM the one who satisfies your spiritual hunger so that enough is enough.” Jesus is our hope for enough!

Our world desperately needs hope. Right now, in our city, there is a mom who feels like her family is out of control and she needs hope. There is someone that moved to the area but they haven’t found the job they hoped they would and money is running out. They need hope. There is a single parent who is juggling so much with an incredible attitude, but he is tired and needs hope. There is somebody in the middle of chemo treatments, whose strength is gone and they wake up every morning feeling like they were a punching bag the day before. They need hope. There is someone who has everything they need from the outside point of view: money, home, car, job, and friends. There is a prisoner who feels he or she will never be whole again. There is a follower of Jesus who has committed to Him, been a part of a church, but has slipped away and gotten back into some old habits and ultimately feels desperate and alone. They need hope. Our world desperately needs hope—how can you share hope with others this week?

As Tony Evans says, we are to live our lives in such a way that when people look at us, they are so inspired by the preview that they want to see the movie. And in this movie, when Jesus returns, He is producer, director and star. This movie will not disappoint! By practicing gratitude and living expectantly, by loving and praying for others we can preview the greatest show on earth—the return of Jesus.

How do we practice gratitude? Some people keep thankfulness journals where once a day or a few times a week they literally write down things they are thankful for. Some families take time before the evening meal to each list off the things they are thankful for. A lot of times it starts off pretty shallow, but the more you practice the better you get. David Steindl-Rast has a very simple gratitude practice he calls “stop, look, go.” He says it’s as easy as crossing the street. As you go through your day, stop every now and then and look. Find something amazing and let it fill you with gratitude. Then go. Thank God for it. Thank another person for it. Speak it out loud or silently to yourself. Or go do something good or kind as a result.

David Steindl-Rast, a Benedictine monk for many decades, gave a Ted Talk about gratitude and here’s what he said: “It is not happiness that makes us grateful. It's gratefulness that makes us happy.” So often we think, “if only this problem would go away, or if only this thing would happen the way I want it to happen, then I would be happy and then I would we grateful. I will be grateful when I have something to be grateful about.” But that’s not how it works. Don’t we all know people who have more stuff and fewer problems, but are less happy and grateful? And don’t we all know people who have more problems, less stuff, yet are happier and more grateful? Researcher Brene Brown found the same thing. She conducted interviews for 12 years, collected 11,000 pieces of data on what makes some people whole-hearted, resilient and happy. In all that time she did not meet a single person who would describe themselves as joyful or their life as joy-filled who did not actively practice gratitude. Take time to practice gratitude and begin to see how God works in that to make you happier. 

It’s so tempting to take our focus off what is most important. When we take our focus off God, we begin to starve our faith and feed our fears. Focus on God and the fact that His goodness and unfailing love are pursuing you to do good for you.

Even when it’s hard, keep on loving, forgiving, sharing kindness, sharing grace,and offering forgiveness. Keep giving, serving and believing. Fear is always going to be there. It has a voice, but it doesn’t get a vote. When you place your trust in Jesus, you become a hope dispenser rather than a fear dispenser.

Stuff calls to us all the time. But there’s only one call that really matters above all the rest, and that is the call of God in our lives. Check out what Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:12-13 (NLT): “He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve Him, even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ.” That phrase Paul uses, He appointed me, carries the idea of being ‘placed.’ The placement is intentional. It’s done on purpose for a purpose. This may be news to you, but when you come to faith in Jesus, He appointed you to serve Him. Your life has been placed in such a way as to make a difference for Him. It has nothing to do with how good you are; it has to do with how generous and grace-filled God is. He trusts you. He strengthens you. He appoints you. He calls you. And your life is meant to be lived as a response to His call.

Don’t cling to clarity; cling to God. If God told us every detail of His plans—His huge, scary, wonderful plans that demand more of you than you ever imagined and achieve more than you ever dreamed—would that make it any easier to trust Him? Would it make it any easier to take the first step? No, because trust IS the first step. Connection creates trust when there is a lack of clarity; so seek connection, not clarity.

Take a few minutes and read Matthew 25:14-30. We say all people are created equal. We’re all equally loved by God, and equally matter to God, but we’re not gifted equally. He made some of you brilliant and some with amazing athletic ability. Some of you are incredible with organization while others can’t organize their way out of a paper bag. We don’t have the same gifts. Some get five bags of silver, some get two bags, some get one bag. We aren’t supposed to look around at what others have and gripe; we are called to manage the gifts He has given us and use them to impact other people for His glory.

Big opportunities come with big fear. Fear of proposing or being proposed to. Fear of buying your first car or house. Fear of going or not going to college. Fear of having your first child. Fear of switching jobs or starting a business or chasing a dream. If we aren’t careful, fear can hold us back from advancing into what God wants for our life. One kind of fear is self-doubt. “Oh, I could never do that. I’m just not qualified. I’m just not trained.” Actually, it’s the fear of failure. Second is self-pity. “Well I failed in the past, so I’ll never try again.” But you see, that’s the beauty of Christianity. Through grace God gives you another chance; Jesus’ blood cleanses us from sin and allows us to get a fresh start. We need to win the battle against fear, because God expects us to invest our gifts for Him.

We can never own enough to be secure. Never store enough money or food to get the security only God can provide. That’s why He tells us not to worry. Jesus asked, ‘who by worrying has added even a single day to their life?’ Worrying steals your life. Don’t seek security in money or stuff, because you can only find security in God. You should be wise. You should save and plan ahead. But none of us know what the future holds. But you can know this: your heavenly father cares for you. He knows what you need before you ask it. You can trust him. You can let your soul ‘take it easy’ in Him. You can be satisfied with what He has provided whether it is a little or a lot. Life is not measured by how much you own.

Stuff isn’t inherently bad. God is not opposed to people enjoying good things. I think He takes delight in good craftsmanship, good design, good service, good food, and good experiences. In the Bible you see God is not opposed to wealth either. As you read through the Old Testament many of the people God interacts with and upholds as heroes are very well off. Abraham had a lot of stuff as did his children and their children. Joseph, despite being a prisoner for many years, ends up in a position of wealth and authority. God leads the nation of Israel into a land flowing with milk and honey; in other words, it was a rich place full of good things. So stuff is not bad. What’s bad is looking to our stuff to do what only God can do: give lasting satisfaction.