Since God is invisible, the best alternative is to see Him at work in the lives of many people, giving them peace, hope, and love. As the apostle John wrote long ago:

1 John 4:12 – No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. (ESV)

This means that if we want to convince someone else that God is alive, then they need to see Him in us. If God's love is perfected in us, then it should be apparent to others in our relationships and through our deeds. If we sincerely care for others, show compassion, and share love to the world, then we will display God's existence. However, if we present to the world disdain, indifference, and dishonesty, then God will never be seen by those around us.

So, perhaps next time when we hear from someone or read in a post that they don't believe in God because He cannot be seen, let's not argue or get into an online debate, Instead, let's try to show God's perfect love through what we say, write, or do, because those will be more effective than trying to score over others with theological or biblical points.

Question: Do I believe that God abides in me? Do others recognize this?

Prayer: Lord God, help us to be open to Your love and grant us opportunities to show Your compassion to those we encounter today. In Your holy name, we pray. Amen.

I think that this must have been the best wine ever produced in history. Why? Because the person who miraculously made it was Jesus, so He would make it the most perfect wine ever. It wouldn't be mediocre or some of the cheap stuff folks now buy. It would reflect the sovereignty, power, and grace of God all in one, so it must have been the best wine ever made. Perhaps, we'll get to taste how good it was when we participate in the great heavenly feast that is yet to come.

I like the process that Christ uses here. He has empty vessels filled with water which, when poured back out, has miraculously turned into wine. As well as being a miracle, I think it is also a reflection of what Christ can do for each one of us. He receives our empty lives and fills them with the living water of God's Word, and then, when we are ready to share this blessing with others, it is poured out and received as a wonderful wine of Christ's mercy, grace, and love. In other words, He miraculously changes us in order to share the fruits of our faith with other people.

Today, and throughout this coming weekend, we will be given opportunities to share our faith with our families and friends, acquaintances and strangers. Let's hope and pray that what we pour out from our spirits will be something sweet and palatable, exceptional and life-changing.

Points to ponder: How has Christ changed the emptiness in my life? How have I shared my faith with others?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for filling our lives with Your love and grace, mercy and compassion. Grant us opportunities today to share these blessings with the people we encounter. In Your holy name, we pray. Amen.

However, try to explain how a woman of reasonably advanced years (not overly advanced, you understand) gets her shoes on the wrong feet. It is not as bad as it sounds. It was only my orthotic inserts, but I trotted around a large shopping mall for quite some time, all the while wondering why my feet hurt. Finally, when I got home and looked carefully …

Sometimes, our whole life hurts. We wander around in a daze trying to figure out what is wrong, when all we need to do is return home to the Father, admit our guilt, and join the party.

Luke 15:20-24 – And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son." But the father said to his servants, "Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." And they began to be merry. (NKJV)

But it all started with the journey toward home.

Prayer: Lord, we admit that we are a long way from You in so many ways. We know the direction to take. Help us take that first step toward You. For Christ's sake, we pray. Amen.

On the drive home, I began to think about this encounter. Gone was the personal touch that salespeople used to offer us as consumers. It seems easier now to send people to another source to get their help. As I thought about it, I realized that this does not just happen in the bike shop but in a lot of other stores as well. When we ask where something is, they tend to point and say, "Down aisle six on the right-hand side." A quick "thank you" and the conversation is over, and we are on our way to get said item.

Acts 22:15 – For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. (NKJV)

This short time-frame makes it very hard for the light of Jesus in us to shine to the other person, and even harder for us to get into a conversation that might lead to Jesus. Have we gone too far the other way with our hurried lifestyle that the personal times of days gone by are lost?

While technology is not a bad thing, we just need to be vigilant and make sure that we are sharing with unbelievers. There will come a day when this earth will be no more. Have we done all that we can to spread the good word? For me, it means that I will have to make an extra effort to have conversation with people I come into contact with daily.

1 Peter 4:7 – But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. (NKJV)

Matthew 24:14 – And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (NKJV)

Prayer: Dear Lord, we are thankful that You chose to come as a man and not in the form of a video to save us. As we navigate technology, help us not to get caught up in it, but rather to use it to share the good news of Jesus. Help us to keep our focus on You and our relationship with You first and foremost. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

I have written fourteen cookbooks, but my favourite recipes are the still simplest ones, and I like to share them with my friends. The best peanut butter cookies are made with a cup of sugar, a cup of peanut butter, and an egg. A can of chick peas, drained, rinsed, and tossed with some salsa makes a tasty side dish. Pour a can of spaghetti sauce over an onion and some skinless chicken in the crock pot for great Chicken Cacciatore.

The best things in life are simple, aren't they? A baby's smile, a robin's call, a spider's web. Simple, yet unique.

No matter what Bible version I read, there is the same simple, unique Gospel. Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to pay the price for my sin. He rose from the dead, and He is alive right now, offering me eternal life. All I have to do is ask Him to forgive me and to come into my life. He will.

Prayer: Lord, how much easier could it be? You loved us so much that You sacrificed Your own Son for us. Forgive us when we make Your truth complicated. Help us to share Your recipe for Jesus, in the simple way You gave it! Amen.

See if you've ever been in this place in your spiritual life:

Your spirit is parched and withered. In prayer you hear only the echoes of your own pleas. You wander aimlessly through the barren soulscape, searching for that Friend and Companion promised in scripture, the One who promised to comfort you and give you living water in a dry, parched land. But there is only emptiness.

Scripture uses the imagery of the desert for such times as these, and is honest enough to suggest that they will come to most of us and come when we least want to deal with them.

Ever keep a journal? A spiritual journal is an excellent way of expressing the journey of faith with its ups and downs and its twists and turns. It becomes a reminder that all is not darkness and that life has its mountaintop moments as well as the valleys of the shadow of death and the deserts of dryness.

I know the power of the Word in my life, especially when I feel dry and worn and weary. I will never weary of telling about the passages of Scripture that persuade me of the nearer presence of my Saviour in the moments I need him most. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". And that means

I can walk through the valley of the
shadow of death,
I can bear the emptiness of the desert,

the moments of doubt,
the experiences of suffering and sorrow,
the agony of indecision,
the guilt of sin and all that life can
throw at me,
and still know that God is with me,
I am not alone,
I am never alone.

Prayer: O Holy Spirit, Love of God, infuse your grace, and descend plentifully into my heart; enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there your cheerful beams; dwell in that soul that longs to be your temple; water that barren soil, overrun with weeds and briars, and lost for want of cultivating, and make it fruitful with your dew from heaven. Oh, come, refreshment of those that languish and faint. Amen. (St. Augustine)

Have you ever wondered why people do the things they do? The good things, I mean.

An old teacher of mine said "You can make someone do something once through guilt. You can bring them a few times more through obligation and duty. But give them joy and it will be a thousandfold!" How much can be done when there is joy in it. How little when there is none.

Where do we get such joy? Joy is something larger, more wonderful and more marvellous than you are. Joy comes from being part of it all and knowing it too. Joy is less the emotion you feel and more living your life in the greater circle of God's amazing ways.

Joy is something you can't do on your own. It's not by yourself. Joy comes from others and most of all from God.

Prayer: Dear God, what you have for us is bigger than our everyday, bigger even than our noblest dreams. Thank you for inviting us to be part of your plan. Thank you for setting out your future and telling us that we belong to it. Thank you that we can know it too. That joy is our strength today — through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.