As Jesus was coming out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son whom I love—in You I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:10)

It must have been a captivating scene. Here was a man who was definitely not part of the inner religious circle. He was a “PK” (priest’s kid) who appeared to have rebelled against the conformed practices of the day, and he was preaching a new and strange message.

Scary…some may have thought—and probably he was. A wardrobe of camel’s hair and a diet of locust and wild honey? That seems a little much for any of us today to comprehend.

But crowds were flocking to him and responding to his strange, new message. How could he handle all this attention? Would it go to his head just like so many others? Would the fallacy of it all show up and just die away?

It didn’t. Why? The message remained pure. John, probably against strong temptation, kept his focus on the message he had been called to proclaim. He proclaimed Jesus Christ to the world he lived in.

When John’s disciples complained that everyone was abandoning him and turning to Jesus, he simply responded, “He must increase and I must decrease.” He knew who Jesus was and his message remained pure.

What is our main message today? Is it different from what the world around us is proclaiming? Is it pure? Is it, “Jesus Christ is the One?

God of Justice, may we proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ and not get caught up in our own importance!

I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord, the beginning and the end, Who is, and Was, and Who is yet to come-the Almighty. (Revelations 1:8)

Some things are known intuitively, and those things we know through our own intuition are based in our spirituality. Spirituality is involved in every aspect of our lives, whether we know it or not. In the human creature, it involves the emotional, physical and mental states of our being and connects the people of the world into oneness. Spirituality is the force of goodness and wholeness throughout the universe.

This is not just an opinion or thought. It is a truth that pervades the whole of humanity and runs deep within every human soul, even if it is not vocalized or acknowledged. God is alive and in control of God’s world and intended from the beginning of physical time that it be in oneness.

The end of one year and the beginning of another is a time for change and always has been. I can change for good or for bad. Each of us determines our own changes and the results that come about from them. I can get sober, I can quit smoking, I can lose weight–the list goes on indefinitely. I can be cheerful and creative or I can be negative and destructive. My attitude determines the results of my changing life.

Spirituality has been given freely, but it needs to be nurtured in every life. We need to surround ourselves with loving, caring, honest people in order to allow the gift of spirituality to grow within us. My continued willingness to be part of the “one” that God intended is essential if I am to make changes and be a part of a creative and uplifted humanity.

Blessed Creator, strengthen each of us to look at ourselves and see if what we are is what You intended. Help us to change so that we become truly Your creations in every detail!

The Gospel According To Luke

Skip Ewing

He was an old hand at living and making his way.

He smelled like old whiskey and he needed a shave.

His home was an alley of eighth avenue,

But if you had a minute, or an hour or two,

He'd tell you the Gospel according to Luke.

Luke carried his bible in a Crown Royal bag.

He wiped off his brow with an old dirty rag.

He'd tell you straight out just the way he believed,

“Faith in the Good Lord is all that you need.

I try hard to practice the words that I preach.

Give to your brother if he is in need.

Offer up thanks for the gifts you receive.

There's treasure in heaven for the generous few.”

That was the Gospel according to Luke.

So I bought him breakfast at the Daylight Cafe;

Biscuits and gravy, hot coffee and eggs.

He was hungry and ragged, hadn't eaten in days,

But I was the one there who felt out of place

When he folded his hands, bowed his head and said grace.

A week ago Wednesday I saw him again

Downtown at the Mission surrounded by friends

Passing out all the change he'd collected that week

Saying, “You boys might need this a lot more than me.

I try hard to practice the words that I preach.

Give to your brother his he is in need.

Offer up thanks for the gifts you receive.

There's treasure in heave for the generous few.”

That was the Gospel according to Luke.

He was an old hand at living and making his way.

He smelled like old whiskey and he needed a shave.

His home was an alley of eighth avenue,

But if you had a minute, or an hour or two,

He'd tell you the Gospel according to Luke.

Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” Mark 5:36

During the anxious moments that followed my mother-in-law’s heart attack, she was fortunate to receive immediate medical care. Later, her doctor told me that treatment within fifteen minutes of a heart attack results in a survival rate of 33 percent for critical patients. But just 5 percent survive if treated beyond that time frame.

On the way to heal Jairus’s desperately ill daughter (someone definitely needing immediate medical care), Jesus did the unthinkable: He paused (Mark 5:30). He stopped to identify who touched Him, and then spoke gently with the woman. You can imagine what Jairus was thinking: There’s no time for this, my daughter is dying! And then, his worst fears came true—Jesus appeared to have delayed too long and his daughter passed away (v. 35).

But Jesus turned to Jairus and offered a word of encouragement: “Don’t be afraid; just believe” (v. 36). Then, calmly ignoring the mockery of onlookers, Christ spoke to Jairus’s daughter and she came back to life! He revealed that He can never be too late. Time can’t limit what He’s able to do and when He chooses to do it.

How often do we feel like Jairus, thinking that God was simply too late to accomplish what we had hoped for. But with God, there’s no such thing. He’s never too late in fulfilling His good and merciful work in our lives.

By Peter Chin

Jesus, help me to remember that You’re sovereign even over time itself, and that You’re never too late to accomplish Your perfect plans.

Giles Kelmanson, a South African game ranger, described the incredible scene: two honey badgers battling a pride of six lions. Although outnumbered, the honey badgers refused to back down from ferocious predators ten times their size. The lions thought the kill would be simple, but video footage shows the badgers walking away with something like a swagger.

David and Goliath offer an even more improbable story. Young, inexperienced David confronted the fierce Philistine Goliath. Towering above his young combatant, Goliath possessed brute strength and unrivaled weaponry—bronze armor and a lethal, razor-edged javelin (1 Samuel 17:5–6). David, a fledgling shepherd, carried only a slingshot when he arrived at the battlefield with bread and cheeses for his brothers (vv. 17–18).

Goliath challenged Israel to engage in battle, but no one was willing to fight. King Saul and “all the Israelites were . . . terrified” (v. 11). Imagine the shock when David stepped into the fray. What gave him the courage none of Israel’s hardened warriors possessed? For most, Goliath dominated their vision. David, however, saw God. “The Lord will deliver [Goliath] into my hands,” he insisted (v. 46). While everyone else believed Goliath controlled the story, he believed God loomed larger. And, with a single stone to the giant’s forehead, David’s faith proved true.

We’re tempted to believe that “Goliath” (our troubles) directs the story. God is larger, however. He dominates the story of our lives.

By Winn Collier

My three-year-old grandson’s day was off to a rotten start. He couldn’t find his favorite shirt. The shoes he wanted to wear were too hot. He fussed and fumed at his grandmother and then sat down to cry.

“Why are you so upset?” I asked. We talked for a while and after he calmed down, I gently inquired, “Have you been good for Grandma?” He looked thoughtfully at his shoes and responded, “No, I was bad. I’m sorry.”

My heart went out to him. Instead of denying what he had done, he was honest. In the following moments we asked Jesus to forgive us when we do wrong and to help us do better.

In Isaiah 1, God confronts His people about wrongs they’d committed. Bribes and injustice were rampant in the courts, and orphans and widows were taken advantage of for material gain. Yet even then God responded mercifully, asking the people of Judah to confess what they’d done and turn from it: “Come now, let us settle the matter . . . . Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).

God longs for us to be open with Him about our sins. He meets honesty and repentance with loving forgiveness: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Because our God is merciful, new beginnings await!

By James Banks

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves. (Philippians 2:3)

Although the North American Indians had no written alphabet before they met the white man, their language was anything but primitive. The vocabulary of many Indian languages was as large as that of their French and English conquerors. Often their expressions were far more eloquent. In an Indian tongue, for example, the concept for the word “friend” is beautifully stated as “one-who-carries-my-sorrow-on-his-back.”

A friend or family member who comes to you for solace...or even claiming to seek advice...very often wants nothing more than your presence, your listening ear, and your quiet caring of sorrows. A young man discovered that shortly after his marriage. His wife frequently came home from her job telling him of the woes of her day. His response was to offer suggestions and give solutions. His wife finally said to him, “I’ve already solved the problems of today.” Perplexed, the husband asked, “Then why are you telling me all this?” She replied, “I don’t need Mr. Fixit. I need a loving ear.”

The friend who provides both physical and emotional shelter is a true haven, one who helps another to weather the storms of life safely.

God of love and mercy, help us to be the support and loving ear for our friends and loved ones!