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Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment. He replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it.  Love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:36-39. Sometimes our relationship with God is described as vertical and our relationships with others as horizontal.   It is easy for all of us to get out of balance, to neglect areas of our lives. We can focus too much on money or not be responsible with it. We can eat or exercise too much or not enough. We can neglect work, rest, or family.    Jesus makes it clear that loving God is the most important but does not let us separate that from loving our neighbor. There are many ways we can love God. We can worship with other Christians, talk with God in prayer, or praise God for His love, mercy, and creativity. We can thank Him for His forgiveness and His many blessings to us each day. We can learn about Him reading/studying the Bible. We can submit our thinking to Him by bringing worries to Him, resisting critical attitudes, and dwelling on guilt. We can learn more about God through Christian books and conferences. We can focus on His goodness through Christian music. These are all good. However, if we only focus on our relationship with God we ignore His command to love others. "If you love me, keep my commandments," said Jesus. John 14:15.   We can love others by forgiving, praying for those who irritate us, sharing with those who have needs, and taking the initiative to show kindness and mercy to those in crisis. "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27.   We can also get out of balance by caring for people but neglecting to know Jesus deeply. We can be so involved with church activities, attending, discussing, assisting, organizing, planning, and leading that we neglect our relationship with Christ. We can even be so busy learning the Bible that we don't talk with Jesus about what we are learning. Jesus said to the religious leaders who rejected Him, "You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." John 5:39-40   Jesus makes it clear that loving God is most important and that loving others is also essential. The phrase "a mile wide and an inch deep" refers to being dedicated to one principle while neglecting another. Jesus calls us to go a mile deep in knowing Him and a mile wide in loving others.

There was a time in my life when I didn’t recognize the person staring back at me in the mirror. I was lost—not just in addiction, but in hopelessness, shame, and a cycle I couldn't seem to break. Drugs numbed the pain for a while, but they also stole pieces of who I was. I chased relief and ran from my issues, until my wife told me that she could not live with me anymore unless I stopped using.  She had turned to God and church to help her to deal with my addiction.  I would go to church with her on Sundays because she wanted me to go but wasn’t getting a whole lot out of it.  I really struggled when she would talk about the Holy Spirit and didn’t understand how God works or if any of it was even real.   Then, God showed up in a way that I would notice.  He met me in my car driving home from work on May 30th, 2024.  I ended up behind a semi and written in the dirt on the back was “God is Great”.  I remember getting goosebumps and felt like it was a sign that I was supposed to follow him and trust him. I began asking more questions but was still struggling with why he would even mess with someone with my past.   A couple of months after that, I felt like he was really trying to get my attention. A semi swerved in front of me and cut me off.  After I was done being angry, I noticed that “Jesus Saves” was written on the back of this semi.  What was God doing?  I was so confused.   Isaiah 41:10 assures us that God is always with us; “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”   I still have a lot of questions, but I now feel seen by God and know that he is always there.  I am beginning to understand what it is like to have a relationship with him and what Jesus has done for me.   Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for finding me and showing me your loving mercy and forgiveness.  I pray for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that I may know you better.  Lord, please open my eyes and soften my heart to grow closer to you. Amen.

Last night, I laid in bed thinking  about forgiveness. As I thought about all the sin in my life that Jesus has forgiven me for, it just overwhelmed me! His forgiveness is real forgiveness—the kind of forgiveness we experience when someone doesn’t hang on to old hurts…when someone doesn’t remind us of that thing we did a long time ago. Partial forgiveness is not Jesus’s way. His way is complete forgiveness. But that doesn’t always happen in our lives, right? We see that situation in the Bible in the life of King David… A long time ago there was a king in Israel, King David. One of his son’s, Absalom, decided he wanted to be king (2 Samuel 15:10). So Absalom got his people together and they rebelled. King David was in trouble. He decided to leave Jerusalem—he knew Absalom would try to kill him! As he headed out, there was this guy, Shimei, who saw David and started cursing him (2 Samuel 16:5–14). He threw rocks and dirt at David. Shimei not only dishonored King David, but he was a traitor —he supported Absalom’s attempt to overthrow his father and take the throne. As it turns out, Absalom was killed and King David returned to Jerusalem. As David crossed the Jordan River, who came running out to meet him? Shimei. And he cried out to David about how he had done wrong…that he had sinned…and here he was, the first of his tribe to come out and meet the king. David was merciful to Shimei that day. He said, “You shall not die” (2 Samuel 19:23) even though Shimei’s traitorous behavior deserved the punishment of death. But you know what? David didn’t actually forgive Shimei. He just postponed punishment…because he later instructed his son, Solomon, to give Shimei what he deserved (1 Kings 2:9). That’s not real forgiveness. But let’s consider Shimei too. Real forgiveness comes in response to repentance, Did Shimei truly repent of his behavior? We don’t really know, but it seems to me he wasn’t really sincere running out to David. If Shimei was truly repentant, he would have actively sought David out and asked for forgiveness. Shimei did acknowledge his sin—but only when he got caught. Now David was back in town. He was king. That put Shimei in a bad spot—he decided to try and avoid the consequences of his betrayal. That’s not real repentance. What do we learn here? Real repentance and real forgiveness go together. When you truly repent, Jesus truly forgives. He remembers your sin no more (Hebrews 8:12). No more means just that: no more. Not like David, who remembered Shimei’s sin. Yet true repentance is not a flippant, “Hey, I’m sorry” and off you go to the next sin. It’s turning away from sin, hating sin, and turning to Jesus for forgiveness and for life. I pray that you truly turn from sin and receive the forgiveness only Jesus can offer. If you need prayer or a Bible let one of the Feed Your Soul team members know.

A number of years ago I heard someone asked about his job.  He was raised on a farm and grew up to have a job in an office.  He was asked if he would ever consider working on a farm again.  He replied that he enjoyed the farm, but if he were to go back, he would need to decide what he would think about.  That’s one of the smartest comments I’ve ever heard.  His experience of working on the farm had been primarily labor not thinking.  He knew that his mind wouldn’t be empty.  He would be thinking about something.  What would it be?  He could let his mind run wild or he could discipline himself to think about something in particular.     In mental health professions there is the saying, “You feel what you think.”  If we repeatedly think negatively, we tend to feel negative.  If we repeatedly think positively, we tend to feel positive.  In Alcoholics Anonymous there is the idea of “stinking thinking.”  This is a “pattern of negative, irrational, or self-defeating thoughts that can lead to negative emotions and behaviors.”  If I repeatedly think about how I’ve been treated unfairly or repeatedly think about the losses I’ve experienced, I will be resentful, angry, and sad.  It will eat me up.  I will be less likely to make good decisions, take good care of myself, or do my part to have positive relationships.  Those of us who are Christians can think about the fact that we are forgiven, belong to Christ, and that He loves us.  At the same time that doesn’t make all of our negative situations go away and Christians can struggle with our thoughts too.            In Philippians 4:4-8 Paul writes to Christians about worry, prayer, and our thinking.  “Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”  Conveniently, Paul lists 7 things to think about.  Over time, we can discipline ourselves to think about each one on a different day of the week.  How will I feel if I think about those positive qualities every week?     Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2:4, “…God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”     If you don’t belong to Jesus, know that He loves you so much that He died and came back to life in order to forgive our sins.  If we believe this about Him, turn away from the wrong things we do, and commit ourselves to live as He wishes, He will save us and give us the Holy Spirit to guide us.  If you want someone to pray with you or to have a Bible, please ask one of the Feed Your Soul team members.

A dear friend lost her husband this week—it’s a very sad time for her. Have you noticed how when someone dies, we try to console one another by saying, “Well, now he’s in a better place.” What we mean by this is that someone who is now dead is no longer suffering here in this world and is now in heaven. I’ll bet we’ve all said this at some point—which means most people must believe it. The flip side of this is that apparently we don’t believe many people are going to hell. This is amazing because Jesus taught that few people find the narrow gate that leads to heaven and there are many  people on the road to hell (Matthew 7:14). Did you know that Jesus said more about hell than you can find about hell anywhere else in the Bible? He did this to warn people! Jesus didn’t (and doesn’t) want anyone going to hell any more than we want loved ones—or ourselves—to end up there. One of the “hell parables” that Jesus told was about a rich man and a poor man (Luke 16:19–31). The poor man, Lazarus, was covered with sores, and he was hungry. Day after day, Lazarus laid outside the entry gate into the mansion where the rich man lived, sick and hungry. The rich man ignored Lazarus. Eventually Lazarus died and went to heaven. Now this absolutely shocked the Jewish crowd Jesus was talking to because they considered Lazarus a good-for-nothing outcast, someone who God punished with sickness and hunger because of some great sin he committed. Then the rich man died…and the Jewish people were even more shocked…because the rich man went to hell! They couldn’t believe such a thing. Here’s why: they thought the rich were rich because God favored them and therefore blessed them with all this money. The richer you were, the more God favored you. Here’s what they thought: all rich people went to heaven and all outcasts went to hell. But that’s not so… As Jesus continued the parable, the rich man tried to convince Abraham (from the Old Testament, remember?) who was also in heaven, to send Lazarus down from heaven to hell to cool off the rich man with some water. Abraham said no. He said this for two reasons: 1) it was now Lazarus’s turn to experience comfort in heaven just as the rich man had comfort on earth, and it was the rich man’s turn to experience anguish just as Lazarus had, and 2) there was no way for anyone to go back and forth between heaven and hell. Just not possible. Realizing there would be no relief for himself, the rich man asked that Lazarus be sent back to earth to warn the rich man’s brothers about hell, saying that someone like Lazarus—back from the dead—would be believed. Again, the answer was no. And the reason? “If your brothers don’t believe the Scriptures—which they already have—then they won’t believe a dead man either.” What Jesus is saying about the Scriptures—the Bible—in this parable is that the Bible alone  says all that we need to be saved. The truth in the Bible has the power to make you believe in God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Creation, sin, salvation, forgiveness, heaven, and even hell. Everything. That’s because it’s not just a book. It’s the very Word of God. And that’s why I so often ask if you’re reading your Bible—because God saves through His Word, and it has the power to turn unbelief into belief. I pray that you’ll pick up your Bible today and start to read. If you need one, let me know.

My Bible study group studied two women over the last 2 weeks: Lydia and an unnamed slave girl (Acts 16:11—18). Let’s meet Lydia first. The Apostle Paul and his fellow missionaries arrived in Philippi (in Greece today). As they searched for Jews to preach to, they met up with a small group of women, including Lydia. Naturally, Paul taught them the good news of Jesus. A miracle happened! The Lord opened Lydia’s heart, which means the Lord worked the miracle of salvation in her heart! At the same time, Lydia listened and understood the Word that Paul preached. She believed the gospel—and she was saved! A week later, the missionaries encountered a slave girl who was a fortune teller—she predicted the future for money. How did she do this? Well, the Bible says she had a spirit of divination. What this means is that she was in contact with demons. So apparently, her fortune-telling skills were the result of her demon connections. You know, you may think that fortune telling is an innocent activity. It is not . Did you know that God considers fortune-telling and divination an abomination? “Abomination” means detestable, something that is absolutely hated. In Deuteronomy, you’ll find several lists of things that God hates. Here are a few examples: child sacrifice, divination, fortune telling, speaking to the dead, and sorcery (Deuteronomy 18:10, 11). Did you catch that? Child sacrifice and fortune telling are equally detested by the Lord. Are you surprised by that? You shouldn’t be—because God hates anything and everything satanic and demon-related. These demonic things go on today. I was shocked last fall when our grandson came home from school and said the mom of one of his classmates practiced witchcraft. Several years ago, I was stunned when a coworker talked about what it was like to talk to her dead father. ALL these things are just as abominable to God today as they were 2000 years ago. All these things are still as sinful. What is done about demon-possession? Well, fortunately for the slave girl, a few days later, Paul commanded the demon to come out of her, and the demon obeyed. And while the demon departed from the girl, the Bible doesn’t tell us she was saved. In the gospels, Jesus often cast out demons. And though He gave that ability to His disciples, even they weren’t always able to cast them out (Matthew 17:16). Why not? Because it seems that the disciples became overconfident in these supernatural gifts and forgot that they were completely dependent on God for everything including the gift of casting out demons. The gift of casting out demons like the apostles doesn’t exist today as it did then, and deliverance from demons depends on exercising faith in the Lord Jesus Christ—in other words, believing in Jesus. Demons cannot remain in one who is truly saved . It is also possible through prayer, just as Jesus said (Mark 9:29). Did you know that the demons recognize Jesus as the Son of God (Luke 8:28)? They know exactly  who He is, and they hate Him. Perhaps you’re on the fence about Jesus…you know in your heart He’s the Son of God but you’re hesitating. Don’t hesitate. Come to Christ—He is truth and life. Be like Lydia…listen and understand and believe. If you need prayer or a Bible, let one of the Feed Your Soul team members know.

Last week, I wrote about howJesus healed a blind man (John 9). The man believed that Jesus was from God because Jesus had healed him, something that was possible only if Jesus actually was  from God (John 9:33). The man believed the truth about Jesus: Jesus had healed Him, and Jesus was from God. In response to Jesus, the man believed and worshiped Him. That man is now in heaven with Jesus. The Jewish leaders reacted very differently. They scorned Jesus and what He had done for the man. They turned away from Jesus. Are they in heaven? Not if they continued to reject Jesus. You know, Jesus worked so hard to make it clear to people when He was here on earth who He was. He worked so hard to get people to understand that through Him was life (John 1:4), and that He was the light of the world (John 8:12). Do you know what that means? Light, in the Bible, means biblical truth. When you walk in the light, you walk in truth and you have life—spiritual life. The opposite of this is darkness which refers to errors and lies. If you walk in darkness, you’re caught up in the lies and deception of the world. Jesus trudged all over Israel, walking miles and miles to get this message out to people. He worked and worked and worked...healing hundreds…feeding thousands…teaching countless numbers of people the truth of who He was, and that eternal life with God the Father in heaven was possible only by believing in Him.  My friend who I study with most every week commented on the amazing reality that Jesus left heaven to come to earth…can you believe He would do that? It’s hard to comprehend that Jesus’s love for sinners is so deep that He would give up glorious heaven to come down to earth. And for what purpose? To die on a cross so that sinners might have eternal life. He gave up heaven to come down to earth so that He would suffer and die. And do you know who He did that suffering for? Well, He did this for you… IF  you believe in Him, put your faith in Him. Trust Him with your life. Obey Him and do all that He commands. You know, when you are saved, Jesus is both your Savior and Lord  of your life—which has to do with obedience to all  the truth of God’s Word. So, maybe Jesus came down from heaven for you—I say maybe because if you have not put your faith in Jesus, you aren’t saved. It’s that simple. But how does salvation happen? One of the points made in the book of John again and again is that salvation is a miracle worked by God through the Holy Spirit. We can’t get saved on our own. We can’t do good things and earn our way to heaven. We can’t “make a decision for Christ.” We aren’t saved by joining a church. So what can you do? You can pray as the tax collector did, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18: 13). Like Peter told Simon the magician, you can pray to the Lord that you might be forgiven (Acts 8:22). God promises “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart . I will be found by you” (Jeremiah 29:13-14). Seek Him today. With all your heart. If you need a Bible or prayer, let me know.

I like to read for a while before I turn the light off at night. I’ve been reading 1 Samuel, which is the history of how Israel went from being a theocracy to a monarchy. Here’s what that means.  A “theocracy” means that God was their King, their leader, and that He chose men who acted as His representative ruler over Israel. These men were not kings.  In a monarchy, of course, a human king is the leader of a country. So, as a theocracy, Israel had what were called “judges.” From time to time, Israel’s judges did what our judges do today: they judged in disputes and resolved problems between people. But for the most part, they were military leaders chosen by God…and their main job was to act on God’s behalf by leading the nation through times of distress, usually when enemies were gathering their armies to attack Israel. God relied on His judges to lead Israel for about 300 years, and the prophet, Samuel, was the last of them. When Samuel was old and gray, the elders of Israel came to him and said, “Appoint for us a king” (1 Samuel 8:5). Had God failed them as their King? Of course not. What happened is that Israel started looking at the nations around them and started to envy those nations—they wanted what those nations had. And what those countries had that Israel didn’t have was an earthly king. A human they could call “king.” Unlike their neighbors’ kings, Israel’s judges were instructed by God (what a blessing!), and God made Israel victorious over their enemies again and again (what a blessing!). God made them winners! But Israel didn’t want God to be their King anymore. They actually told Samuel that they wanted to “be like all the nations…that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles” (1 Samuel 8:20). What short memories they had! With this request, Israel actually rejected God. They decided a human king was a better idea. What a mistake. But, God let them have their way. He gave them a king. How do you think having a king worked out for Israel? Well, it was disastrous for the most part. After just three kings, the nation split in two: Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Not one single king of the northern kingdom was a good king. None of them followed or obeyed God. They were such evil leaders that  eventually the northern kingdom fell to one of their enemies, Assyria. They were destroyed…forever…permanently. The southern kingdom had a mix of good and bad kings. They lasted longer but ended up the same way: defeated by the Babylonians, the temple destroyed, the land wiped out, and the people slaughtered or carted a thousand miles away into exile. This was what human kings did for them: total destruction.   Isn’t it easy to ask God for what we want ? Like Israel, we are proud and think we are so wise. But God always knows what’s best for us. When we trust God and His will for our lives, we can confidently ask Him to provide what we need.  We can depend on Him to provide for us and sustain us. It’s when we focus on our wants that we lose our way. The Bible tells us that the Lord is worthy of our trust. Keep your focus on God and trust in Him. If you need prayer or a Bible, let one of the Feed Your Soul team members know.

Recently I went to a clinic for an eye injury.  I was in a different state and it had taken a while to find the clinic.  My eye was hurting and I was wondering whether the damage would be permanent.  As usual, the receptionist asked for information.  But there was something extra.  There was a kindness in her attitude that was reassuring.  There is a saying that it’s hard to define kindness, but we know when we experience it from others.  We may not remember specifically what people say to us, but we remember when they are kind.  Shortly before His arrest, Jesus made a point of teaching his followers about serving others. When Jesus lived in Israel, people walked in sandals and the roads were made of dirt.  So, people’s feet got really dirty.  It was the task of a servant to wash people’s feet.  This was not a fun or glamorous duty.  People probably didn’t say, “Hey, I get to wash feet.  This is fun.”  During supper Jesus washed the feet of his closest 12 followers.   “After He had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, He said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you?  You call me Teacher and Lord – and you are right, for that is what I am.  So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have set you an example, that you also should do, as I have done to you.  Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them.  If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.’” John 13:12-17. So, if Jesus is our Teacher and Lord, then we also need to follow His example.  He served others, so we also need to serve.  We can greet a neighbor or say something kind to them.  We can take time to listen to someone who doesn’t have people to talk with.  We can call someone who is lonely or recently had a loss.  We can eat with someone.  We can give a ride to someone who needs one.  We can give flowers or cut their grass when they aren’t able to.         The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in the city of Ephesus about following Jesus.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are what He has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” Ephesians 2:8-10.  What good works has my Lord and Teacher prepared for me today?  I need to pay attention to recognize my opportunities and then act on them.  What good work has your Lord and Teacher prepared for you today?  Are you looking for it?  Are you ready to do it?  If we follow Jesus, this is our way of life.

Lately, we’ve been living in a true Wisconsin spring. One day it’s sunny and warm, the next there’s snow. Then come the tornado warnings, followed by heavy downpours—and then, somehow, back to sunshine that makes you want to drop everything and just sit outside in it.   The ups and downs of the weather lately are wild. But it reminds me so much of life. One day, everything feels like it’s going your way—you’re smiling, feeling good, full of hope. The next day, it’s like a storm rolls in. Something unexpected hits, and just like that, your mood shifts, your stress rises, and life feels a whole lot harder. Life can feel just as uncertain and ever-changing as a Midwest spring. But here’s the good news: we’re not left alone to deal with it.   Matthew 6:34  says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”   As Jesus sat with people and taught them, He showed them a new way to live—one rooted in trust, not fear. He reminded them that God is not only aware of their struggles but deeply involved in their daily lives. This verse encourages us to focus on today. Not because tomorrow doesn’t matter, but because God already holds it. We don’t need to carry it all at once.   There’s something beautiful that happens after a surprise snowstorm in April: when the sun finally shines again, you appreciate it in a whole new way. You  feel  it. In the same way, the difficult days in life teach us to hold on to hope. They help us recognize and treasure the moments when God shows up with peace, comfort, or unexpected joy.   When it feels like the season is dragging on—when you’re tired, unsure, or wondering if anything good is coming—don’t lose heart.   Galatians 6:9  gives us this encouragement: “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap (receive, experience the results), if we do not give up.”   There is a harvest coming. There is sunshine ahead. And your faith—even when it feels small—is not wasted. God sees every step, every prayer, every act of trust. So today, take it one day at a time. Don’t let what may or may not happen tomorrow steal the peace God offers you today. Trust that He is with you now and already preparing what you’ll need next.   Prayer: God, thank You for being with me in every season—sunshine and storm. Help me not to worry about what’s coming next, but to trust You with today. When life feels shaky or unclear, remind me that You are steady. Teach me to hold on, to keep doing good, and to believe that in Your perfect time, You will bring the harvest. Amen.

Pressure shows up in everyday life — in school, work, family, friendships, and even in the quiet moments when we wonder if we’re doing enough or being enough. It can feel heavy like the weight of everything is resting on our shoulders. Sometimes, it’s loud and urgent. Other times, it sneaks in slowly and quietly, building up until we feel overwhelmed . But pressure doesn’t get the final word . Even in the middle of all that stress, there’s hope. God promises that we’re not alone. He sees us. He knows what we’re carrying. And He offers us something better than perfection— He offers us peace . When we bring our pressure to Him, He meets us with compassion, strength, and rest—one moment at a time. The Bible reminds us that “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions (kindness) never fail. They are new every morning; great is (God’s) faithfulness.”   (Lamentations 3:22–23) The Truth is that God provides exactly what is needed at just the right time. He does this over and over again. That’s what Lamentations 3:22–23 reminds us. God’s love never runs out. His compassion is new every single day. Even when life feels scary or uncertain, God is still there. He is still good. He is still faithful. You might not always know  how  things will work out, but you can trust who is working it out — a God who loves you and never fails. Mother Theresa served the poor most of her life, and she experienced this kind of faithfulness in her life. She was an incredible follower of God. She lives a life of trusting God so fully that even in the hardest of moments, she knew he would come through. In the early days of the Orphanage, Mother Theresa opened called “Missionaries of Charity,” Mother Teresa and her sisters had no food left. Their pantry was empty, and they had no money. The sisters came to her, worried about what they would eat that day. Mother Teresa simply replied, “God will provide. He has always been faithful.” They prayed together and went about their day as usual, caring for the poor. Within hours, a man unexpectedly arrived at their door with bags full of rice and other food. He explained that he had felt a sudden urge to bring them supplies that morning. Mother Teresa smiled and said to her sisters, “You see? God is faithful. He provides at the moment we need it — not before, not after.” This story is just one of many that shows how completely Mother Teresa relied on God to provide, no matter how grim the situation seemed. Her life was an ongoing act of trust. Today, you may be in a similar season, where the pressure is building, and you may need to step into trusting God so fully that you realize you cannot do this on your own. That can be scary, but God knows what you need. And just like He did for Mother Teresa, He will show up for you—maybe not in the way you expect, but always in the way you need. Remember, you are not carrying the weight of your life alone. God’s love is steady. His faithfulness is real. His timing is perfect. So, take a breath. Bring your worries to Him. Choose trust over fear. And watch how God gently meets you in the middle of the pressure—with peace, provision, and His unfailing presence. Prayer: God, I’m feeling the weight of so much right now. It’s hard to know how things will work out, and I don’t always see a way forward. But I want to trust You. Help me to believe that You see me, that You care, and that You will provide what I need—right when I need it.   Remind me of Your faithfulness when I start to forget. Fill me with Your peace, and help me to rest in You today. Amen.

As the temperature warms up many people are beginning to think of planting gardens.  My father grew tomato plants each summer in hot and humid St. Louis.  I will always remember the feel of a warm, bright red tomato falling into the cup of my hand.  Jesus often told stories about gardening as part of His teaching.  In John 15:5 and 8, Jesus said, “I am the true vine; you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing…This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” If a tomato branch is separated from the tomato vine, that branch will not bear fruit.  It will die.  And if the branch remains in the tomato vine it will produce fruit.  It produces the same type of fruit as the vine.  Tomato vines produce tomatoes, not cucumbers or grapes.  Since Jesus is the true vine and we are the branches, if we remain in Him we will produce fruit that is like Him.  The Jesus vine produces Jesus fruit.  What does our fruit look like?    Our fruit looks like Jesus.  And what does Jesus look like?  We see His character and His actions in the Bible.  Jesus is loving, strong, merciful, sacrificial, honors God, and tells people that He is the way to the Father.  In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul writes what we are gradually ripening into if we are abiding in Christ.  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”  Just as a branch is nourished by the vine, we are nourished by Jesus.  As we are nourished by Him, He gradually changes us to become more like Him, to have these qualities in our lives.  We will also bear fruit by telling people about who Jesus is and our relationship with Him. How do we as branches remain in Jesus, the true vine?  Let’s compare it with other relationships.  How do we abide in or stay close to the people we value most?  We stay in communication.  It may be spending time together working, cooking, or eating.  Maybe it includes talking on the phone or social media.  We are more likely to tell the people we are closest to what we really think and how we really feel.  We feel safer with them.  However, if there is little to no communication with someone, how are we close?  It’s the same with abiding in Jesus.  Talking with Jesus about what is important in our heart, reading the Bible, doing what the Bible teaches, and worshiping with others at church are some of the most important ways of being close to and nourished by Jesus.  “Come near to God and He will come near to you.” (James 4:8)         Prayer:   Father, thank you for Jesus’ teaching.  Thank you that you want me to know you and tell you my worries and my joys.  Thank you that you call me to live my life with You and for You.  Jesus, I choose to abide in You.  Amen.