My husband and I recently had occasion to go to the United States. Ronald dreads going across the border because he has had several bad experiences. On one crossing, he had to wait for hours while his car was searched. It is no wonder he was stopped as often as he was: he was in his twenties and drove a fancy sports car.

We were stopped at the border, and when the officer came out of his booth, he asked my husband where we were all from. It was the funniest thing, but my husband hesitated, as if he had forgotten. The officer looked at Ronald in a questioning fashion, but let him proceed with our trip. Later that day, we were sitting in the living room of a friend's home, when out of my husband's mouth popped this comment, "That officer looked at me like I was a criminal." In a quick-witted retort, I burst out, "You are a criminal; you have stolen my heart!"

Is love a crime? According to the Scriptures it can turn out this way, and we need only to look at the death of Jesus to realize this.

Why did the people want Christ crucified? When Pilate asked the enraged crowds, "What crime has he committed?" they yelled out, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."

Was there any offence in Jesus? "I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty," Pilate responded to the gathered crowd. Even Pilate recognized the indisputable fact that Jesus was innocent. Pilate could see the real motive behind their accusations. The leaders' hearts were filled with envy, and they resented the people's changing allegiance — because of His miracles — from them to Jesus.

What then was Jesus' real crime? It was His love. He came to steal our hearts away. He loves us with an unshakeable love, infinite beyond our understanding. His crime was not blasphemy; on the contrary, He elevated God to His rightful place of honour with an obedience that is mind-staggering. He knew He had come to give his life as a ransom for many. This is the real Passion of the Christ.

Prayer: Father, we thank You for sending Your Son Jesus into this world and for His dying for us. Help us to rest in You and to know that nothing could ever separate us from Your love. Amen.

My mother-in-law was a beautiful-spirited woman who enjoyed the great outdoors. One of her many pleasures in life included picking berries. On one such occasion, her whole family went on an outing to pick some wild ones.

Everything seemed fine, until all of a sudden, they could hear screams coming out from the bush. Everyone dropped whatever they were doing and ran to the rescue. When they arrived, they found their mother lying on the ground in great distress and visibly shaken to the core. She had tripped and fallen into a pit, but it was not an ordinary one — it was a snake pit. These insidious creatures were slithering all over her and had even made their way inside her boots. Realizing the severity of her situation, she continued to scream.

Life has its share of quagmires and unpleasant situations in which we never expected to find ourselves. We plan for our day, but unbeknownst to us, some formidable troubles come our way. My mother-in-law's plans for her day probably did not include snakes, but her cries for help did not go unheard. Her husband then lovingly brought her to a safer place. This struck a chord with me, as it reflects the love of God in our moments of need. When we cry out for heavenly assistance, we can be assured that without hesitation it will come. God reaches down, takes our hand, and lifts us up in the arms of grace.

Prayer: Thank you, God, for Your loving benevolent care in our lives. You are always watching over us day and night, and in our greatest moments of need, whenever we call, You are there. Take our hand through this day, and lead us along the safest path for our feet. Amen.

I arrived at work, but since we had no parking lot, I was left on my own to find a spot. I found one away across the street, but it presented me with a challenge, as I had to parallel park. In my opinion, parallel parking should not be attempted by the faint of heart, by people with high blood pressure, or by those who are vertically challenged. I fit into the latter category as I stand a quarter of an inch less than five feet. Fortunately for me, the street was one way and not busy. Armed with this information, I took up the brave task of parking.

Back and forth I went, slowly and cautiously, as I edged in one inch at a time. It took me about ten minutes to successfully squeeze in. I felt extremely delighted at my sense of accomplishment. I got out of the car, and as I did, I heard this strange commotion coming from the adjacent building. I looked up, and there in the window stood about eight students looking down at me and applauding. I was embarrassed as I realized that they had probably witnessed the whole event as it unfolded.

Like my parking experience, life sometimes presents us with some dubious and challenging situations. It may be slow going, but inch by inch, we will eventually reach our destination as we continue to persevere. Let us look up and see the great cloud of heavenly witnesses applauding us on. Let us be encouraged; we are never alone in our journey as we run the race for Christ.

Prayer: God, thank You for all the encouragement, strength, and comfort You bring to us. Your love is the sustaining force of our lives as we soar by winds of grace. We know that we are never alone. Touch us by Your presence, and help us to rejoice today, whatever challenges come our way. Amen.

When I was in my late twenties I was extremely hurt by a Christian friend whom I deeply loved and trusted. It seems like yesterday as I remember stepping into my car after this unfortunate incident. Overwhelming feelings of sadness and pain were flooding my soul as I began to ascend a steep hill on my way home. I started to notice a spectacular blue light coming over the hill's horizon. I continued up the hill, and as I did, the blue light continued to stretch vertically out into the heavens. I had no idea what the light was until it was joined by a blue horizontal one — it was a cross.

It was huge as it stood about fifty feet into the air. When I saw this magnificent cross these words came flooding through my mind, "By this shall you overcome." God would use these words to bring comfort to my heart. I could overcome my difficult situation as I continued looking towards the cross.

Sometimes in life, it is challenging to sort out the truth from fiction and right from wrong, because our human understanding is limited. But the day will come when all things will be made known, and God will come with glorious vindication of all who have been wronged. We can go on through the power of the cross by forgetting those things which are behind, and running with joy the race which is set before us. Let us press on to know the Lord.

Prayer: God, You are our infinite source of safety and hope. We know that we will continue to experience Your grace as we forget those things which are behind and press on to know You more. Help us to set our hearts upon the cross as You lead us by the power of Your love. Amen.

I once served in a church where I had to rely totally upon God for everything I needed. I was much younger then; living a life of faith was exciting to me; and, since I was not married, I had to provide only for myself.

I remember one particular situation where I was getting low on soap. I made a mental note to buy some, and then proceeded on with the rest of my day. I did not mention my need to anyone; actually, I had forgotten all about the soap until an unusual event took place.

I lived in the house attached to the church, which was usually kept in immaculate condition. I knew where everything was at any given time, and when something was out of place, I knew it right away. For several days, I had noticed a small gift-wrapped package lying on the counter. It was not unusual for people to drop off items at the house for others to pick up, but soon it became apparent that no one was claiming this package.

A week had gone by when my curiosity got the best of me. I had to find out what was inside this package, and as I started opening it up, I was amazed by what I saw. Yes, you guessed it! It was a bar of soap. Heaven delights in giving us good gifts and fulfilling all our needs. God saw my need before I had even prayed, and if heaven sees our needs before we ask, then what will God do for us when we really begin to pray? God will do for us infinitely beyond what we could ask or even dare to think. Heaven will come and provide for each and every need we have, and on this we can depend.

Prayer: God, You are the great provider, and our needs are ever before You. Help us to be mindful of Your care all around us and to know that Your answer will descend on wings of grace. Thank You for providing our daily needs. Amen.

Has anyone ever written you a song? I had one written for me as a graduating gift from theological school. The song, called "Shout it Down", is about the mysterious encounter that Joshua has with a man before his attack upon Jericho. Joshua is facing a battle — and the odds are against him. A massive wall is separating him from gaining access into the Promised Land. Suddenly, a man with a drawn sword appears. Heavenly help has arrived; victory is assured. In the song written for me, Joshua meets God as One Who does not take sides, but Who takes over.

The first verse of the song tells that the people of God, in victorious faith, walked around the wall for seven days. On the last day, though, the priests sounded a blast of their trumpets, and then Joshua commanded the people to shout because the Lord had given them the city.

My song also talks about us meeting our own Jericho walls: circumstances trying to prevent us from possessing the things that God has prepared for us. The chorus echoes the point that we can look at the wall and feel overwhelmed, or we can see it as an opportunity for God's intervention.

Faith realizes that our victory does not rest in our own might or abilities, but in the strength and power of our heavenly warrior. God will go before us, and through grace and mercy, we will overcome.

Prayer: Lord, we need Your help, and we ask You to come and take control of our situation. Allow us to see, through the eyes of faith, Your power and Your ability to move on our behalf. Amen.

This morning while I was washing my dishes, I noticed a bird fluttering here and there. She was desperately trying to fit into a small opening in the eave of my neighbour's house where she was building a nest. I continued to watch her unsuccessful attempts to get inside. She had to fly down, and then quickly fly up again to reach inside this small space.

Then I noticed why she was having such difficulties. She had a deformed leg, which looked like the letter 'V'. The top part of her leg went downward, as normal, but the bottom part went upward. This created two serious problems for her to overcome. The first one was that she had only one leg to stand on, and the other was that the bottom part of her leg protruded out. She tried and then rested, and tried again, until, on the fourth attempt, she made it inside.

Her dilemma reminded me of how difficult our lives can sometimes be. Past or present experiences have often left obstacles in our path. These obstacles have hindered us from reaching our goals and dreams — just like this bird, which dreamed of building a nest for her young.

The mother bird faced challenges every day. Where did she get her strength? It was given to her by her Creator. We, too, can overcome our difficulties with courage by relying upon God's marvellous strength. We will know God's infinite love and grace strengthening our hearts as we look with faith upon the beautiful design that He has woven for our lives, no matter what our circumstances.

We know that our lives have value and worth in spite of our human frailties and limitations. We belong here to live life to its fullest. We, too, can be like the mother bird. We can rise above our limitations and soar even though there may be clouds in the sky. This is what our heavenly Father would want for us, because He loves us.

Prayer: We give thanks, God, that we will not grow weary or faint because our hope is in You. You will run and walk with us, and refresh us all along our way. Amen.