Before my First Communion in 1957, I asked my parents if I could do something that surprised them. I wanted Mom and Dad to walk me to the Communion Rail, which was expected. But then I asked the unexpected. "Can I have Uncle Joe walk us, too?" 

I believe God picks you up when life knocks you down. God places you around His loving, caring shoulders. Yet, that doesn't stop some believers from dumping on God their anger or bitterness because they or someone they love is sick. 

A man went to his pastor for spiritual advice. He complained that he was bombarded with many temptations that led him to sin. He described his soul as "filled with cobwebs all around me. They are my temptations. I get stuck on them. They trap me." Frustrated, he asked the pastor, "How can I clear my soul of these pesky cobwebs?" The pastor looked at him with compassion and wisely said, "Kill the spider."

Easter is a love letter from Jesus written in the ink of His Blood. Use your life to write a love letter back to Him. I believe in God who helps us all. Happy Easter.

Jesus cried because He is compassionate. He cares for the sufferings of others. Jesus became human so He can understand the sufferings of His people. Jesus didn't know suffering in Heaven. He surely knows it now on earth.

Complacency is spiritual poison that makes you blind. What is complacency and how does it hurt you? It is defined as "a feeling of being satisfied with yourself so that you do not think any change is necessary."

One of my favorite movies is "Oh, God" from 1977. God appears as a kindly old man (played by George Burns) to an assistant grocery store manager named Jerry Landers (played by John Denver). 

If you look at the things happening in your life only from the outside world, you won't get a clear picture. Your understanding will be incomplete or even blurred. This lack of clear vision could cause you to doubt God's love and care. 

Many are giving credit to Travis Kelce for the Kansas City Chiefs winning Super Bowl 58. Not only because of his great performance on the field, but for what he did before the game ever started. 

Who would have thought that God would use the Three Stooges to touch a sad little boy with happiness? I believe when God heals, He restores the entire person, not just the body. He heals their soul, mind and heart as well. 

Don't be afraid to approach God even though you have failed Him many times. God wants your faith, not your successes.

Mark's story of Jesus healing a man with the evil spirit I call J-Day. It is a report of the very first battle of Jesus fighting Satan for the liberation of the human people. Jesus declared in Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Good News." 

Temperance is where you choose not to do something that would be sinful. Temperance requires a lot of practice. Satan makes sin so pleasurable. That's why so many people do it.

This wise man taught me that even when our sky is at its darkest, there is a star called faith that leads us to the Christ. Keep the faith.

Christmas is just not a date on the calendar, but a way of life. The comedian Bob Hope once said, “My idea of Christmas is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?”