BREAKING NEWS, "Jesus appears, walks across the Intracoastal from Palm Beach to West Palm Beach and is still out on the water." Suppose the story beneath the headline talked about how crowds of us Christians had gathered at the shore to watch the miracle unfold before our very eyes.

Then Brahma said, "We will hide man’s divinity deep in man himself. He will never look for it there." And ever since then, the legend concludes, man has been climbing, digging, diving, exploring — searching for that which is already within himself.

The grieving mother told him of her sorrow, then asked, "What prayers and magical incantations do you have that will bring back my son?" The sage replied, "Go back down the mountain and find a mustard seed from a home that has never known sorrow, and we will use it to drive the sorrow out of your life."

At the University of Wisconsin, there was an undergraduate literary club — a group of brilliant male students who had demonstrated considerable writing talent. At each meeting, one of the members would read aloud a story or an essay he had written and then submit it to the criticism of the others.

A wise old preacher compiled a list of “rules” that people who seem devoted to making things miserable for themselves and others follow— taking the joy out of life in the process.

Rule number one: Feel sorry for yourself.

“Goodbye” is the English equivalent of the Spanish “Adios” both are very much the same in meaning. Adios literally means I commit you to God and Goodbye literally “God be with ye." This is often the time when you realize that time seems to move ever so fast, and life is short, indeed.

“Cum Laude,” imeans “With Honors.” Grduating “Magna Cum Laude,” means “With High Honors.” Graduating “Summa Cum Laude,” means “With Supreme Honors.” Then he said, “A new one I plan to use in the future, I call “Magna Cute Dentium,” which means “By the skin of your teeth.”

In, “Celebrate the Temporary,"  Clyde Reid, writes: “Don’t wait until all the problems are solved or all the bills are paid. You will wait forever. Eternity will come and go, and you will still be waiting. ... There is joy and beauty today. It is temporary, here now and gone tomorrow, so celebrate it while you can.”

O beautiful for spacious skies,

For amber waves of grain,

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain!

America! America!

God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!

As a people of God and sons and daughters of the Covenant of Christ, we are an involved society of believers as a church. Like one of our forbearers in the faith, the Rev. John Witherspoon, we are known to roll up our sleeves and get busy doing God’s work and engaging in “Kingdom Business.”

Religious freedom benefits society as a whole. When Christians are free to practice their faith, they contribute to moral clarity, compassion, and service. Hospitals, schools, charities, and humanitarian efforts around the world have been built on Christian values of love, sacrifice, and dignity for all people.

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

A representative government rested on the “self-evident” concept “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness..” They should protect those rights or deserve no loyalty.

God, In your diversity and unity

help to make us one as you are one,

the one who dances in harmony with each other who is self-giving, 

other-giving, who honors each other and loves each other, continually reaching out into your world to bring the world closer to you. by Phu Luu

Several years ago, Billy Graham told about hearing that when when President Eisenhower was touring the Battlefield at Valley Forge and  recalling the sacrifice and patriotism displayed over and over again in the Revolution , he made this statement at the conclusion of the tour: “This is where they got it for us.”

Jesus often debated with religious leaders by asking if they have read something from Scripture. 

It is in Scripture that reality is shared and real life is displayed while at the same time we find for ourselves, The Way, The Truth and The Life who is Jesus the Christ.

There is no other job in the world that is as heartbreaking, or as rewarding, as motherhood. And no other job will have the influence, or the impact on the world, as a mom. 90% of teenagers, when asked who influences them most, still say it is their parents and most often it is mom who has the greatest impact.

In his Letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul says that the Good News of Jesus Christ, which He proclaims, is "the revelation of a mystery kept secret for endless ages, but now so clear that it must be broadcast everywhere." This is something we as the church of Jesus Christ in our day must never forget!

The saying goes, "It's all fun and games until someone tosses an alligator in the drive-thru window." That's how a recent CNN news story began. They reported that a South Florida man was taken into custody after being accused of pitching a three-and-a-half-foot gator through the drivethrouh window at Wendys.

​Native Americans see Earth Day as an extension of a daily, sacred duty to Mother Earth, viewing her not as a resource but as a living relative, provider, and sacred interconnected being, emphasizing reciprocity, respect, and spiritual connection, with many stewardship as a vital model for planetary health.

Joseph Campbell once said that many live "wasteland" lives. They are "Baffled and wandering in a wase - land" without any sense of where to find the source of a fruitful life -- where to find the source of nourish- ment for the soul -- where to find the source of the wholeness of life.

There is a musical soundtrack to your life that hums on repeat, replaying in your soul, perhaps just beneath the surface of consciousness. It is a compilation of experiences and encounters with music that moved you, leaving an imprint upon you. 

Poet Louise Fletcher beautifully writes about a place we can all dream of and hope for. She imagines "some wonderful place called the Land of Beginning Again, where all our mistakes and heartaches could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door and never be put on again."

     CATHEDRAL IN MILAN

     Rose Wreath: "All that pleases is but for a moment".

    Cross: "All that troubles us is but for a moment".

    Central Arch: "That only is important which is eternal"

We quarrel with the world and God because of the evil we encounter in our lives. Why is there so much war and hatred? Why so much sickness and sorrow? Why so much anxiety and insecurity? Why so much loneliness and emptiness? Why death? Why did God make such an imperfect world?

When Dietrich Bonhoeffer was in solitary confinement in a Nazi concentration camp, he said he appreciated, as never before, the gift of just being with Christian brothers and sisters -- just being together. He said his hunger for the Christian community was greater than his intense desire for food. 

With the woman at the well let us all drink the water that only He can give for in it there is health, strength, power, faith and hope. His water will quench all our longings and all our needs as in Him we will never be thirsty again. Praying that you are filled to the brim with Jesus and the water coming from Him.

As we journey through life as Jesus' followers, what does it take to get us to put down whatever it is that we're consuming and come down from the stands? As we journey through life as Jesus' followers, what does it take to transform us from spectators into actual players ready to “GET IN THE GAME”.

38 For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In a message to a 1967 International Peace Conference in Geneva, Casal said, "We live in an Age in which men have accomplished magnificent things and made miraculous advances, an Age in which man embarks upon the exploration of the stars. Yet, on our own planet, we continue to act as barbarians.

The town gathered before dawn, waiting to see whether the groundhog would glimpse his shadow. For Eli, the day felt familiar in another way. He had been living the same patterns for years—rising, working, worrying, sleeping—each day repeating the last, his heart restless and unchanged.

The family's St. Bernard, and the calf began running and playing together like dogs. Bucket is her "grass puppy" because the cow behaves just like the family dog. "They truly love each other. It's so special to witness," she marvels. "It really has been a beautiful friendship."

I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.

An amusing image in a popular magazine portrayed a shopper in a department store standing in front of a display of neatly stacked pillows. Pointing to the shelves, the store clerk says, “No. These are pillows for screaming into. You’ll find our sleeping pillows on the second floor.”

Legend has it that when Cornwallis, the British General, surrendered to General George Washington, ending the American Revolutionary War, the British fife and drum corps played “The World Turned Upside Down” while the surrendering soldiers marched to lay down their arms.

A native boy gave his missionary teacher an exquisite seashell for Christmas. He had to walk miles to the only place such shells existed. "How wonderful of you to have traveled so far for this present," His eyes lit up as he replied, "Long walk is part of the gift."

Mark Twain “It is my heart-warm and world-embracing Christmas hope and aspiration that all of us -- the high, the low, the rich, the poor, ...-- may eventually be gathered together in a heaven of everlasting rest and peace and bliss -- except the inventor of the telephone.”

Situated between steep mountains, for six months every year the small Norwegian town of Rjukan was shrouded in darkness 24 hours a day until one cold October day a few years ago when an engineer found a way to bring sunlight to the town. For the rest of the the story ...

Major James Nesmith had a vision for improving his golf game. But for seven years he didn't play a single hole, he didn't touch a golf club or even step onto a course. Ironically, it was during this seven-year break that he came up with his amazingly effective technique for improving his game

The angel appeared to those fearful shepherds saying, “Fear not, I bring you good news” This is the true meaning of Christmas—the Good News—that God sent His only Son to Earth to save people from their sins. Christmas is not a myth, not a tradition, not a dream—it is a glorious reality.”

Albert Schweitzer, once said, “The interior joy we feel when we have done a good deed and lent a helping hand, is the nourishment the soul requires."  To approach your life with an attitude of Gratefulness means to not just feel it but to show it to others and to the whole world by the way you live your life.

The practice of generosity involves two movements. First the realization of God’s abundance, the awe in the face of all we’ve received. And second, the question of how I can reflect that generosity, the courage to share of all we’ve received. That’s the rhythm of generosity. Receive. Share. Spirit. Peace.

"Today we are here to say

'Shipmate, G.I., Airman, and Guardian... the watch stands relieved

Relieved by those you have trained, Guided, and Led

You stand relieved... we have the watch..."

No machine can live our lives for us; no machine can spare us from the emotional stress, the spiritual conflict to which all human beings are subject. Consequently, Jesus’ great invitation is extended to us all: “Come to Me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you.”

As we journey through life as Jesus’ followers, what does it take to get us to put down whatever it is that we’re consuming, to come down from the stands and the critical what if spirits? What does it take to transform us from mere spectators to active participants eager to get in the game?

Paul begins all his letters by reminding the people of the Grace of God. "Grace be with you," he says. Jesus came to reveal that Grace to us: to show us what it is, to show us that it is real, to show us that it is available. But he also came to show us that we acquire that Grace for our lives through the totality of our response to God.

In the movies, time travelers typically step inside a machine and—poof—disappear. They then reappear instantaneously among cowboys, knights or dinosaurs. What these films show is basically time teleportation. Scientists don’t think this concept is likely in the real world, but they also don’t relegate time travel to the crackpot realm. 

The concept of “specious present” was first introduced by the philosopher William James in  1890. It is defined as the period of immediate consciousness — the interval between what has occurred in the near past and what will happen in the immediate future. In other words, it is the “now” between the past and present.

Peter Yancy wrote about grace after hearing about  a homeless woman who cried as she told how she had used her child to raise money for drugs.. When asked if she had sought help at a local church, she answered, "Why would I go there? I already feel terrible about myself. They'd just make me feel worse."

It is said that those who dream by day know many things that escape those who dream only by night.  In other words, one way to make your dreams come true is to wake up and do something about them. Dreams are only thoughts without power until you put them into action. 

We have the words but not the rhythm: not enough soul or enthusiasm flowing into it. Consequently, not enough joy -- contagious joy -- flows out of it. Have you ever witnessed, or worse felt yourself, “just going through the motions but not feeling spirit of the reading or hymn?

Former Google Chief Business Officer Mo Gawdat says that A.I. will one day become a billion times smarter than humans and predicts it will exceed human intelligence as soon as 2029. He cautions us, "The time is now to influence it with the right ethics to have humanity's best interests in mind."

Our living profession of faith is a frequently recurring experience. We make continuing acts of faith largely in the way we endure our normal, ordinary, day-to-day suffering. Our cross, therefore, is the cross of daily living. And we are indifferent to the Crucified Christ to the extent that we try to evade this everyday cross.

When Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was in solitary confinement in a Nazi concentration camp, he said he appreciated, as never before, the gift of just being with Christian brothers and sisters -- just being together. He said his hunger for the Christian community was greater than his intense desire for food.

The poet Louise Fletcher beautifully writes about a place we can all dream and hope for. She imagines "some wonderful place called the Land of Beginning Again, where all our mistakes and heartaches could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door and never be put on again."

So many of life’s joys are found in the little instances of awareness that the world is a beautiful gift and a wonderful place to be. The totality of God is so very vast we can not even begin to comprehend it but we see his work so often in the little things that surround our lives.

John celebrates how God's Presence in Jesus Christ makes it possible for us to move from mere existence to purposeful living, from deep despair to radiant hope, from loss and failure to exuberant victory, from crushing defeat to strong faith. “Every Breath is a blessing and every heartbeat is a gift.” 

The late master cellist, Pablo Casals, said, "Everywhere, people have demonstrated the same hunger for peace. Every performance has reaffirmed my conviction that it is not the peoples of the world but artificial barriers imposed by their governments that hold them apart."

His father replied, "Son, life is about where you put yourself as you respond to your own desires or to God’s call and claim on your life. You can choose if you want to live a self-centered life to be a 2 dollar stone or a 2,000,000 dollar stone as God’s person doing the will of God filled with meaning and purpose.”

​Love is the answer. The love of God in Jesus is a real antidote for that viewpoint, for that ache in the heart, for that brooding of the mind. You are the apple of God’s eye, and someone said God carries your picture in the front of his wallet. That is a liberating thought.​​

Onw of rhe ways in which God's Love becomes real to us -- which leads us into one of the biggest paradoxes of our Faith -- is one that can be extremely difficult to grasp. The paradox is this: many times, in our lives, the very best way to make the inward journey to God is through the outward journey to others.

The compassion of Jesus draws people to Him. This is  the central element to the Christian faith. Christians may disagree on many issues, but the image of the compassionate Christ and the good news of the forgiveness of sins is at the heart of the matter for all believers.

Nostalgia is weird. It fills you with a sense of deep sadness that you are no longer in that place, in that season. And yet it fills you with such deep joy at the goodness you experienced during those years. I find myself often saying, “God was good to us here.”

We remind our fathers on this Father’s Day that they will always need to remember that God has given them a call of responsibility toward their children. Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

There are places in this wonderful world where you will encounter many elements of human ingenuity that are mind boggling. There is a primitive bridge in South America made up of interlocking vines which support a precariously swinging wooden walkway -- hundreds of feet above a river.

Scripture is clear what you keep will be taken from you and what you give away will be given back many fold. Store up your treasures of love, faith, hope, charity, kindness by feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting the imprisoned and your reward will be great in the Kingdom.

The inclusion of poppies in the remembrance of Memorial Day is tied to a poem written by Canadian Teacher and Surgeon John McCrae. displaying the grief and suffering of war as experienced in World War I. The NVA petitioned Congress that the “Poppy” be declared as the official flower of Memorial Day 

The important thing for us to remember is God's gift of human life is intentional. There is purpose and meaning to be discovered, lived, and shared.  God intends that our life be carefully lived, thoughtfully fashioned, and purposefully used so that the great, final day of total deliverance can come to every soul.

A little girl was looking at a children's book of Bible lessons when she stopped to gaze intently at the illustration of Jesus standing before the great crowd, breaking bread. er mother explained that this was only an artist's conception of Him. The girl replied, "Well, it sure looks like Him."

With so much turmoil,in the world, a very caring teacher decided to dialogue with her students each morning before the day's lesson. One student. said "If I could choose to be anything," the girl began, "I'd be a dog. They don't have to wake up scared every morning; all they want to do is love you."

Great Spirit, Creator of all, let me pray to Mother Earth who is your gift to the people. Hear your child, As I sit here on your lap of grass, I listen to the echoes of your voice in my brother, the Wind, as he blows from all corners and directions.
The soft and gentle raindrops are the Tears you cry for your children.

In the spring of 1843, a renowned British engineer by the name of Isambard Kingdom Brunel took a rare break from work to entertain his children with a magic trick. Unfortunately, things went awry when he accidentally swallowed a gold coin he had hidden under his tongue.

In his book, "Souls on Fire," Elie Wiesel, suggests that when we die and go to meet our Maker, we're not going to be asked why we didn't become someone important.. Instead, we will be asked, "Why didn't you accept the fire of God's Love into your heart to become the person God intended for you to be?

"When you live in the past,

with its mistakes and regrets,

it is hard. I am not there.

My name is not I WAS.

"When you live in the future,

with its problems and fears,

it is hard. I am not there.

My name is not I Will Be.

An astrophysicist reflecting on the age of our Universe once quipped, "sure, thirteen billion years is a long time, but it's nothing compared to eternity." We can also say that all of the distance between stars and galaxies is nothing compared to the expanse in the realm of the entire Kingdom of God’s.

Words are not always a accurate as we may hope.  When did everything become “Perfect” if you listen, "perfect" is used all the time. You give your name or address, and the feedback is “Perfect!” Now, which item would you like from our menu? Whatever you answer, the comeback is “Perfect.”

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, 

"I am a fragment of a mirror whose whole design and shape I do not know. Nevertheless, with what I have I can reflect light into the dark places of this world -- into the black places in the hearts of men -- and change some things in some people. Perhaps others may see and do likewise. This is what I am about. This is the meaning of my life."

When babies are born, they are said to be a bundle from heaven. And if this is so, isn't being childlike the nearest any of us ever get to the Creator? As we read in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus reminds us, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Four trees started to grow on top of a small hill. Three of the trees were very selfish, arrogant and proud trees, always boasting how big and tall they would become, teasing each other about how they would live forever. The fourth tree was very happy and content, just to be a tree.

The Zero Star Hotel is a unique hotel that is the work of two Swiss conceptual artists. They explain that the "Null Stern Hotel" — which translates from German to “Zero Star Hotel” -- is purposefully "anti-idyllic." The owners state that the only star in this setting is you.

Isaac Newton once said: "I can take my telescope and look millions and millions of miles into space. But I can set it aside and go into my room, shut the door, get down on my knees and see more of heaven and get closer to God than I can be assisted by all the telescopes and material things on earth."

Looking up, beautifully arched over our heads, was a rainbow. The wonder of it all filled our eyes with tears. I held my breath and listened closely, for I knew that at any moment, some great choir would break out in Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus." There was peace in the midst of the storm! There was God in the midst of the storm!”

Rabbi Kushner’s main thought is God chooses not to intervene to protect people from tragedies, nor will he punish or reward them for their actions, preferring that humans use their free will without interference. 

As a child of God, you can make every day a beautiful day in the neighborhood because you are to minister to the world. Whatever your secular vocation -- doctor, celebrity, student, educator – whatever neighborhood you live in – country, city or suburban -- whatever your family situation is – big or small, married or single -- while you are there, you are a full-time minister of Jesus Christ.

Dag Hammarskjöld’s lines always seemed like a perfect quote to begin a New Year, this year more than ever before! To thank God for all that has been, even the suffering and pain that we may have endured. To say Yes! to God for all that shall be, without any idea of what that might mean? This is the work of faith, and the work of a lifetime.

This is the day of Epiphany, a word that has come to mean a revelation, a new idea, a clarity in understanding and knowledge, and wisdom from on high. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is not here but today is God’s gift - that is why it is called the “Present”! Enjoy each day as God gives it to you ! Now there can be for you today’s epiphany!