The prophet Habakkuk protests God's seeming inaction in the face of injustice and violence: the wicked thrive at the expense of the righteous. Habakkuk listens and God responds: "The righteous shall live by faith."  The gift of faith by which we receive through God's Word and the Holy Spirit is to be lived one day at a time and is something to be practiced, not taken for granted. We are each a mysterious combination of our families, teachers, friends, and experiences. Paul invites us to fan into flame the gifts of God we receive through the people in our lives. Not all gifts feel like blessings. Some are the traumas and losses we inevitably undergo. Even so, we have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control. Jesus invites us to let forgiveness, faith, and service become our daily habit. By following in Jesus’ way, we are empowered to freely share that love with every person we meet.