The Christmas season is a powerful and unique time of year to remember that Jesus came to make a way for us to be near God. In his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus built a bridge between us and God allowing us to have continual, unhindered communion with our Creator. But God can’t force us into nearness with him. Even as believers filled with the Holy Spirit, we can choose to live as if God is still far off. So this Christmas season, may we choose to open our hearts to the living God that we might experience fullness of joy in his loving presence.   Our Scripture for today comes from James 4:8, and today's worship is As The Deer by Shane & Shane -- Thanks for listening to the First15 Podcast. My name is Ryn, and I’m a part of the First15 Team.  If you haven’t heard, we just launched a brand new First15 app, available now in your app store! One of the new features that you can enjoy when you download the app is our Guided Prayers. We’ve created unique guided prayers that are created specifically to help you connect with God in prayer wherever you are.    Today, we’re sharing a preview of a Guided Prayer I wrote titled, “Of Repentance.” What a gift it is that our God calls Himself our Father and invites us to bring all the wrongs that we’ve done and lay them down so that they no longer hinder us from the life He calls us to live. Taking inventory of our hearts in God’s presence is one way to experience deeper intimacy and freedom with Him. I pray this guided prayer helps you to do that today, friend. And I pray it serves as a template for your own prayers of repentance so that you can walk in the fullness of the life God has for you to live, free of the weights and chains that keep us bound.