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As recipients of God’s amazing affection, no matter how little we think we are worth, the God of the universe, the Almighty God, the One who thought us up, and who thought we were such a good idea that He went through with making us – He ascribes the highest possible value to us! He values our lives at the price of His only Son’s life. We are beloved! We are cherished and treasured by the Almighty God of the universe!

You are a living miracle. Experts and mathematicians who are way smarter than me have calculated the odds of all the variables working out to specifically create you are about 4 trillion to 1. How incomprehensibly miraculous is it that you exist!? You are no accident. You are not here by coincidence or by luck. You exist by design. Someone thought you up. From before the foundations of the earth were laid.

This is the season of Advent, when we celebrate Jesus’ birth! When the long wait for His arrival ends – and the celebration of Emmanuel – God with us – begins! It’s Christmastime! And all that goes along with this season is for Jesus!

Jesus’ second coming is actually talked about more in the New Testament than His first. We Christians make an enormous deal out of Christmas – and we should! – the Incarnation of God on earth was the event on which all of human history pivots! But Jesus Himself repeatedly called people to look ahead to His second coming.

We call the season of Christmas “Advent," which is a word that simply means “coming” or “arriving”, and there is a pattern to it every year. There is an annual rhythm to Advent which is also like an annual practice for the second coming of the Savior Jesus to earth – and it begins with Preparation. From the foundations of the earth – from the moment of humanity’s first sin against God – He was making preparations to come to us, to be our Savior...

Jesus is the centerpiece of Christmastime! And all that goes along with this season is for Him! Garlands. Lights. Tinsel. Bows. Wrapping Paper. It’s all for Him! Songs and Symphonies. Parties and Caroling. Ugly Christmas sweaters. Goofy Office Gift Swaps. Classic door decorations. Cheesy Christmas movies. Even when we don’t know it – even when we don’t mean to celebrate Jesus – all of it is in celebration of the Arrival of Jesus!

The worship of God is far more than the activities of humankind. In the natural world all around us, there is a service of worship that is happening all day, every day, around the clock, in adoration of God! The Bible frequently calls our attention to the ongoing worship that exists in the natural world...

We’ve been talking about how to clarify and pursue some dreams for our lives together with the Lord in really practical ways. Today, I want to offer just a few concluding thoughts to help you pursue your dreams together with the Lord – remembering that He designed you, Heloves you, and He knows the good plans He has for you.

Imagine that you were standing in a large room, like a big auditorium or gymnasium. You are standing in one corner of the room, and your dream of where you want to be is at the far corner of the room. That dream may be something for your spiritual life, or your home or family, or your career, or some other hope or wish or goal you have... But you can’t reach it from where you are.  It’s all the way across the room. You’ve got to map out some steps to get there. What are 2-3 clear, measurable, attainable first steps that will get you on a path towards your dream?

God’s journey for us in life rarely looks like a straight line arrow. It often looks more like zig-zagging line with lots of twists and turns along the way. Some of this is our doing; some of it is His; and in His sovereign mercy, He is weaving it all together into an amazing tapestry of faithfulness. Where we sometimes get into trouble in walking with the Lord is when we put our expectations about HOW our desires are going to be fulfilled ahead of the God who intends to fulfill them. We see this happen in the Bible with Abram.

There’s an important distinction between having clear goals vs. having just good intentions. All the hoping and wishing – and, even praying – in the world isn’t going to amount to anything if I don’t DO something about it. You have a vision for your future. You can see where you want to go. You’ve identified some simple, initial steps you can take in the right direction. And guess what? You are now a small step or two closer to realizing your dream of becoming more like Jesus!

What’s your dream? What are you dreaming about with God? What are your hopes for yourself? for your character? your family? your future? your legacy? These are ALL great things to have a vision for in your life with the Lord. Depending on the size of your dream, you might be just 10 steps away, or it might be 50,000 steps away. But once you envision with the Lord where you want to go with Him, and you start taking steps forward on that path with Him, you will be getting closer and closer to actually achieving that future in the Lord that you have envisioned for yourself.

Today on Practical Faith, I want to lead you in a short exercise of dreaming with God about your future. You can do this wherever you are right now: in your car, at home, at the gym, wherever. For just a couple of minutes, we are going to talk and think about and practice dreaming together with God, who said, “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a good future.”

Today, we are wrapping up our short series on the topic of “Discipleship at Home,” and I want to address one of the most common objections I hear around this topic, and that is this: “It’s too late for me. I missed my chance. My kids are grown. I wish I had known about all this stuff earlier...”

Welcome back to “Practical Faith” – where today, we will continue in our short series on the topic of “Discipleship at Home.”