Mt. Bethel Church - Mb North

God commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves, but do we know what that really means? What kind of neighbor are you? Do you live as God intends for you to live?To do that, we must love as He loves and forgive as He forgives.

When you look at the world around you, where's your focus? To be able to see the world more clearly, we must open our eyes and see our life's story through God's story. We must recognize the pivotal moments in our life when we knew that God was there with us, and we must then become a storyteller to others of His grace and mercy toward us.

How do you see yourself? Do you see the truth, or do you see yourself through a filter? To know God, we have to understand who we are and where we're supposed to be. We must be honest with ourselves in order to be free to clearly see God and who we are in Him.

When fear is our lens, we don't see God as He is. When we see Him clearly, we see the world differently. Because God is reliable, we do not have to fear and can be confident in His love and grace.

We need to give more attention to the God inspiring moments in our lives. God wants to fill us with purpose. Are you freely giving everything to God?

Come with expectation, and you won't be surprised. Anyone who is in sync with the Holy Spirit has God working in them, and when the Holy Spirit is present, all of God is present.

Advent is the unlikely season when God gave us the Savior of the world in the most unlikely form, a baby born in an unlikely place in an unlikely way to unlikely parents. How often has God shown up for you in the most unlikely place? Don't ignore the gifts of hope, joy, and peace He brings this season and always.

Are you ready? Are you ready to have your heart transformed through Christ? With a heart of repentance and a willingness to receive Him, we will be truly prepared for the gift of Jesus at Christmastime and throughout the year. Don't let the best give you've ever received go unopened.

In this time of preparation, have you readied your heart to receive the Christ child anew, or are you focused on the wrong things? We must turn away from the things that separate us from experiencing the true joy in Jesus Christ, and we must invest in sharing Him with others so that they, too, will know the joy of our Savior.

During the season of Advent we see signs of Christmas all around us, but we must be cautious to not let the distractions of the season prevent us from truly seeing its meaning. When we maintain our focus on Jesus and family and discipline ourselves through devotion, we begin to realize that all of the signs of the season point to Him, the true "reason for the season".

Have you ever lost something really important to you? Do you remember the anxiety you experienced before it was found? Just imagine how much God grieves when we are "lost", but when those who have been lost are found, He throws a party! To be found IN God is to understand the need FOR God. As believers, we need to understand that alone, we are never enough.