There is a funny story about a man who always brought donuts to work. Every day, he stopped at the store to pick up a dozen donuts. Every day was the same. Every day he would eat one or two on the way in and shared the rest with his co-workers. One day, after the first of the year, he told his colleagues he had sworn off donuts. “I’ve got to take better care of myself,” he said, “No more donuts.” The co-workers all gave him a hard time – “No way. You’ll give in. Just give it a week.”

Sure enough, for weeks on end, he arrived at work with no donuts. The co-workers were impressed. But, sure enough, one day he arrived with a box of half-eaten donuts. “What happened?,” asked his fellow office workers, “I thought you were done with donuts.” The man responded, “When I was driving to work today, I felt God say to me, today you deserve a donut. I wasn’t sure it was God but I thought I’d just drive by the donut shop, and if there happened to be a parking place right up front, I would know that was a sign from God that he wanted me to have a donut. Well wouldn’t you know it, the eighth time I circled the donut shop….”

Change is hard, isn’t it? We get set in our routines and habits. We get comfortable with our lives. But sometimes there are changes we need to make to better our lives. Sometimes there are changes or sacrifices we need to make for the sake of others.

Recognizing the need for change is the first step towards a new future. Tell others about the decided change – they can help with resolve. Keep the end result in mind. Then, commit to prayer and trust God to give you the strength.

Let us pray: Today Loving God, I pray for all of those who desire to make changes in their lives – big or small. If this desire is truly from you, give them a glimpse of a new future. Surround them with the right people. Grant them courage and strength to take the first steps. We ask in Jesus name. Amen.

“Today’s message was written by my friend, Rev. Roger Kunkel, founder of Dial Hope.” – Joe

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). We have all read about those astounding night goggles that help military personnel see in the dark. For instance, in a totally black room you can see other persons, pictures on the wall, other objects in the room. Something in those goggles picks up the unseen light in the room so you can see.

What a marvelous parable for the church. There is some light in all darkness. We are the power that is able to pick up the beacon of unseen Light and enable the world to behold it more clearly. We know and trust a God who calls us out of darkness into his marvelous Light. Space scientists have long posited a theory about black holes in space. Black holes are dark cavities in which there appears to be no light whatsoever. The theory says that the force of gravity is so powerful that even the photons of light collapse in upon themselves under the pull. All light is gone.

Epiphany is the season in which we boldly proclaim that the Light of Jesus Christ can outshine even the black holes of space! The darkness of hopelessness, grief, illness, pain and depression do not have the last word. The Light has come. The Light shines in the deepest darkness and the darkness cannot, will not overcome it. That is the TA-DA! of the gospel. We have been touched by the Light.

Let us pray: O Lord of our hearts and minds, we know you are always with us and you love us. Grant us the peace that comes from that reassurance that whether we walk through fields of flowers or stumble along the streets of sadness, we will walk beside you. Though Jesus Christ, the Light of the world. Amen.

I recently read about a missionary named Jeffery Ginn and his family who were serving in Cali, Colombia. One morning Jeffrey entered his office to find that a map of the world that he had taped to the wall had fallen during the night. A corner of the map had remained taped to the wall as the rest fell. Jeffrey took the torn piece from the wall and knelt to repair the map. At that moment his three-year-old daughter came in. She sat down on the floor and watched her father intently. Jeffrey’s wife, noticing that their daughter had grown quiet, called, “Anna, what are you doing?” Their daughter replied, matter-of-factly, “We’re fixin’ the world, Mama! We’re fixin’ the world!”

That’s why Jesus came into the world. To fix it; to save it; to put it back together; and to call out followers who would join him in that mission.

So often when we look at the world around us there is great pain and suffering, greed and selfishness. But at the same time, if we look closely, we will notice there is also great beauty, healing and hope. If we look closely, we will notice people giving very generously; retired grandfathers tutoring inner city kids; moms banging nails for Habitat; neighbors watching children for single mothers; young folks advocating for peace and justice. Our list could go on and on.

The Gospel of John reassures us, “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.”

May God give us eyes to see, and hearts to respond.

Let us pray: Give us eyes to see your light, O God, that we would abound in hope. And grant us hearts to feel your love, that that gift would be ours to share. Amen.

There is a story about two unmarried sisters who had such a bitter fight that they stopped speaking to each other. Unable or unwilling to leave their small home, they continued to use the same rooms and sleep in the same bedroom. A chalk line divided the sleeping area into two halves. In fact, the chalk line divided rooms so that both sisters could come and go and get her own meals without trespassing on their sister’s space. In the black of night, each could hear the breathing and snoring of the other. For years they coexisted in silence. Neither was willing to take the first step to reconciliation.

Then one night one sister got up to go to the bathroom and fell, breaking her hip. The other sister heard the fall and scream and woke up. She jumped out of bed crossed the chalk line and came to her sister’s side. After a few typical sister jabs at why she would do such a foolish thing as trip on her own feet, the sister held her foe until the paramedics came and carried her to the hospital. In those moments of darkness, the truth and power of love revealed itself.

The late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall once told this story with these words. “The legal system can force open doors, and sometimes even knock down walls, but it cannot build bridges. That job belongs to you and me.”

Let us pray: Gracious God, we thank you for your unconditional love and forgiveness of us. Help us to share those same gifts with the people around us – friends, family, neighbors. May we be the first to build bridges – the first offer forgiveness, and the first to seek reconciliation – for we remember that life is short, and we don’t have forever. We ask all of this in the name of Christ. Amen.

I was talking to some of my friends not long ago about how busy we are these days and we got onto the subject of multi-tasking. The conversation turned to some of the things they see their kids do: things like scrolling through Instagram while they’re watching tv and messaging a group of friends all at the same time. Then we got to talking about some of things we see adults doing – like driving down the road while shaving. One of my friends said he actually saw someone driving down the road, eating a bowl of cereal on his way to work – cereal bowl balanced on the steering wheel!

How productive do we actually need to be?

C.S. Lewis wrote, “The future is something which every one of us reaches at the same rate of 60 minutes an hour.” It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you do. We have a choice. We can continue to try and balance more and more – and find ourselves racing through life, or we can work on our ability to say “no.”

Many people today feel distant from God – spiritually dry. But, when our hands are so full and our minds so preoccupied, is it any wonder?

May you pause today and consider: What truly gives your life meaning and joy? What might you let go of, to get more meaning and joy?

Let us pray: God here we are – your children – your family. We know that you have given us a path that leads to peace and wholeness. Sometimes it feels like we are stumbling in the dark looking for that path. Sometimes we’re too distracted to care. Lord, we love you. We need your grace in our lives… So, we ask you to help us set priorities that reflect our deepest need. Give us new energy, new passion, new faithfulness – that our lives would be whole and open to you. We ask in Jesus name. Amen.