For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6 NAS)

Every year, about a month before Christmas, many active Christians around the world will begin to prepare for the season of joy and celebration of the Lord's birth. This nearly month long preparation for Christmas is called the Advent, and often includes church activities, choir rehearsals, prayer meetings, carols practices, and more. Advent, according to SwissWorld.org, "is the period beginning on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Eve, historically seen as the preparation of the arrival of Christ. During the 19th century in particular, this waiting period before Christmas was viewed as a way of teaching children patience before a reward - hence the development of the Advent Calendar, a calendar with 24 little flaps opening onto windows with images within a Christmas scene." Each day, a date in the calendar will be opened to count the remainder days before Christmas, and this is often done with joy and excitement, looking forward with anticipation, yet patiently waiting for the day to celebrate the birth of our Lord.

Much like the way the Advent calendar works, all of us as Christians should also live our lives with joy and excitement, looking forward with anticipation, yet patiently waiting for the day of our Lord's return.

Traditionally, some families countdown the 24 days of Advent by marking each day with a new candle or hanging a little religious picture on the wall each day. In this modern age, however, Advent calendars are available digitally on the Internet, and all we need to do is simply search for Advent calendars to find a site that provides a 24 day calendar with the dates covered that can be opened by the visitor progressively day by day to countdown to Christmas Day.

Long before this tradition, however, many Jews were already counting down to the day our Lord was to be born. Isaiah and many other prophets in the Old Testament foretold of the Lord's coming long before He was born on earth, that of a son who was to be given to us, and whose name is the Mighty God and Eternal Father (Isaiah 9:6). Many had waited for His arrival, yet when He finally arrived and came to His own, His own failed to recognize Him for who He was, and did not received Him, the Promised One of God (John 1:11).

This season, therefore, as we busy ourselves in preparing for Christmas, let us ask ourselves, are we too busy counting down to the day we will celebrate the Lord's birth that we fail to receive Him when He visited us (John 1:11)? Are we like Martha who was too busy with her preparation to recognize what was truly important (Luke 10:38-42)? If we fail to recognize the Lord while busying ourselves with the preparation, then we are not much different from the non-believers, for even they who do not know the real reason for the celebration, busy themselves to prepare for Christmas each year with the buying of gifts, decorating of homes, offices, shopping malls and Christmas trees, cooking and baking special delicacies for grand feasts to welcome the winter festivities.

Teach us, therefore, O Lord, to stay focus on You when preparing for this joyous occasion to celebrate Your birth on earth. Help us Lord go through the Advent with understanding of the true purpose and meaning of this season. Do not let us, O Lord, be caught up with the activities and festivities to fail to recognize what is truly important. Still our hearts Lord to be patient as we look forward in anticipation for Your return and bless us O Lord in all we do for this season.

They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." (Genesis 3:8-10)

Ever since the fall of man, many have sought to hide from God rather than to seek Him. The first 'game' of hide and seek began when Adam chose to listen to a lie and disobey God. Instead of going before God to seek His forgiveness, however, Adam hid from Him. Although Adam claimed it was because he was afraid, due to his nakedness, it was in reality, the fear resulting from guilt and the shame of disobedience that created the barrier between man and God. Since then, a close relationship between God and man was no longer possible, not until Jesus, the second Adam, at Calvary restored us to God through the breaking of the veil between God and man to all who would believe in Him.

For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)

So also it is written, "The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (1 Corinthians 15:45)

but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. (2 Corinthians 3:16)

Today, many of us still hide from God. We hide from Him the things we should not do, and we hide from Him the things we should do but did not do. We hide because we are ashamed and have fallen short of the glory of God. We do things that displease Him, and we do things that are unclean, against the holiness of God.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23)

For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. (Romans 7:15-19)

What then shall we do? We shall seek God and not hide from Him. We shall draw near to God, be ready to conquer self, and fight against sin.

For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. (Romans 6:19b)

For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:14)

Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. (Romans 13:12b-14)

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11)

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

Let us all, therefore, draw near to God and forsake the 'game' of hide and seek. Seek God earnestly and do not hide from Him anymore.

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS." - Jesus (Matthew 11:28-29)

NOTE: All scriptural references in this article are based on the New American Standard Bible

Not everything in life can wait, and sometimes we grow impatient when we have tasks outstanding nearing deadlines. We get frustrated when we fail to meet our targets, and we take short cuts to make ends meet, which often fall short of required expectation. This behavior is not something new. It has happened before, a long time ago, in the history of Israel.

Now he [Saul] waited seven days, according to the appointed time set by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, "Bring to me the burnt offering and the peace offerings." And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; (1 Samuel 13:8-10a NAS)

Saul, in his impatience, disobeyed God and took upon himself the task of offering sacrifices to God without Samuel, which cost him his position as king of Israel (1 Samuel 13:13-14a). Although it was disobedience that cost Saul his kingdom, it was impatience that caused Saul to disobey.

Impatience is expensive and the consequence may be more than we can imagine. Impatience frequently forces us to do things before considering the consequences and as a result fails to fulfill the intended purpose.

The Bible mentioned another man, who unlike Saul, waited patiently for the Lord.

And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, "Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, (Luke 2:25-30 NAS)

Although the Bible does not record how long Simeon waited before he saw the consolation of Israel which was the birth of Christ, we can safely assume it must have been for a period of time. This account of Simeon is a good example of what it means to wait patiently for the fulfillment of God's purpose in our lives. It does not mean, however, that we are to simply wait without doing anything. Rather, it means we should prepare and pave the way towards fulfilling the purpose of God patiently, just as the disciples waited to be "clothed with power from on high" before Pentecost (Luke 24:49 NAS).

Patience and impatience are all about setting our priorities right. Too often, we live our lives in constant rush because we are too conscious of lost time. We live our lives in frustration when things do not get done on time or when someone or something delays our time. Every minute counts in our lives, but what matters most is really what counts in our lives. Paul understands this point when he said:

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, (Philippians 5:7-8 NAS)

Impatience has always been a snare to human lives, and sometimes, even faithful servants of God fall prey. In the real world, impatience does nothing to help get things done, but does a lot in causing harm. We must therefore learn to take account of time in meeting our targets and deadlines, to set our priorities right, and not grow impatient, which can harm our lives.

Keep us calm O Lord
And still our hearts to know
Your presence here with us
Wherever we may go

Help us be patient Lord
Help us keep our cool
Help us in everything
Remember to honor You

Lead us Lord in all we do
Help us completely put our trust in You
For You alone are righteous and faithful
Abounding in lovingkindness unchanging and true

"It's not the result that is important. It's the process you go through, the things you learn along the way that makes you the person you are."

If you have not heard someone telling you this before, hear it from me - it is true!

Over the past few years, God has been teaching and molding me to understand what it means to do my best, and let Him do the rest. Whether as an employee or in my freelance business capacity, I have experienced many occasions of incomplete projects fulfillment and business deals falling through. What I have learnt through the process of it all, however, in itself deserves small celebration, because I have built new relationships and gained new contacts. I have also learnt not to expect everyone to meet my timeline, even when it means losing a business as a result.

Things take time, and even if delays lead to a sense of unfulfillment or the loss of monetary returns, it is worth it simply to understand not everyone works the way we do and not everyone has the same priorities. Our lives are in the Potter's hands, and it is not up to us to understand why many things in our lives do not turn out the way we want them to be. We may have gone through long processes to work towards a goal to achieve something, but sometimes at the end of it all, that something may turn out to be impractical, inapplicable, or not according to its intended purpose, or working the way you hope it to.

Take for example a book you are writing which you hope to make known to the world, but somewhere along the way, something happened that requires you to abandon your writing permanently. How would you feel? What if, as an employee, you have worked extremely hard for a project, and just when you are ready to launch the end product, you are told by your boss that the project has been abandon? How will you react? Do you blame God for not letting you achieve what you have set out to accomplish, or do you see God's way of molding you through the whole process, so that you are ready whenever called for to do the task for someone else, or for the purpose of God?

Many of us live our lives believing 'what we do is what we get', but in God's equation, what we do may not necessary be what we will receive at times. Although, there is much truth about reaping what you sow, and being rewarded when you do good, or be punished when you do evil (2 Corinthians 9:6; Galatians 6:8), it is ultimately up to God to decide what is best for you and I. Moses' life is a good example of what this means. He has to go through the wilderness as a shepherd before he is ready to do the task of God, even though long before that he feels ready to do the task as a prince.

What we need to do therefore is to realize our place on earth. Our task is to do our part in the process, to learn what we need to learn as we are molded in the Potter's hands, leaving God to decide on the result.

I [Paul] planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. (1 Corinthians 3:6-7 NAS)

In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. (Matthew 27:44 NIV)

Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him. (Mark 15:32b NIV)

But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." (Luke 23:40-42 NIV)

As I ponder over the verses above, I often wonder how the criminal hanging on the cross next to Jesus dramatically change from being cynical to a convert. What did Jesus do at the cross that change the criminal so amazingly within that short span of time?

I believe it is this:

Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34a NIV)

The repented criminal must have observed Jesus long enough to realize He is no ordinary Man. No one on earth who is about to die, will ever ask God to forgive the very people who want Him dead, unless He is more than a man – the Son of God.

The Bible says:

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— (Romans 5:12 NIV)

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:19 NIV)

So that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:21 NIV)

The sole purpose of Jesus’ death on the cross is to save mankind, and to free them from sin and slavery, that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

If you have yet to receive Jesus as your Lord, invite Him now by prayer to come into your life, and He will give you eternal life.