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During the pandemic, essential workers kept America alive. One of those was New Yorker Gustavo Ajeche. Gustavo immigrated from Guatemala in 2004 and started to rebuild his life. By day he works construction. When he leaves that job, he goes to his second job, delivering food to New York’s financial district. His wife was a nanny for a Manhattan family. Gustavo has little but responsibilities. He cares for his family and supports an extended family in Guatemala. His jobs bring him little recognition until the pandemic hit. Then, he and other essential workers proved their worth. He said, “The pandemic was hard, but it taught me I can help. I would come home exhausted, but hearing ‘gracias” or ‘God bless you,’ that was beautiful. I’ll never forget my roots in Guatemala. I struggled for my community. But I feel like a real New Yorker now.” We need a “well done” from time to time. It is the oxygen of the soul. That’s why Jesus reminded those who labored for the kingdom not to give up. A day would come that would make it worth it all. In what we call the parable of the talents, a simple servant hears the words of praise from God himself. “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” (Matthew 25:21) Life can be difficult, and Christianity is challenging at times. But we live for a time when God himself will say, “well done.” Keep going! -Robert G. Taylor-

Stop and listen and experience. Something astounding is happening to you. You are breathing. Each day we take 20,000 breaths. Each breath brings oxygen and carbon dioxide into balance to keep life going. And it affects not only the lungs but your brain as well. With each deep breath, our heart rate drops and calms us down. The breath is the very essence of our life. When it stops, life begins to cease. This fundamental aspect of life applies to God. Paul wrote Timothy: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16) When we read the text of the Bible, we have the rhythmic exhalation of God’s mind. We can absorb it and live. Remember that we are alive because we breathe, but we have eternal life because God did. Listen to God’s breath. -Robert G. Taylor-

Norman Bridwell wrote a dog story. It was not an ordinary story but one about a giant red dog. The name of the book is Clifford, the Big Red Dog. It’s a story for children, but this bedtime storybook affects people as they grow into adulthood. Bridwell gets fan mail and tries to answer each letter. One even pushed him to dedicate one of his books to a child whom he never met. What would motivate such an action? Bridwell explained: “He struck me as being very special. His mother later wrote and told me that the dedication made him feel like a star.” Everyone needs to feel like a star. Lost in a world of nameless faces, we want someone to notice, care, and love. That’s what God does for us. He puts every human being in the spotlight. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) While it is true that Jesus died for the world, it’s much more intimate than that. He died for you, to take away your sins, to make you his child. While a dog story can help a child feel like a star, Christ gives each one even more. God loves you, yes, you! -Robert G. Taylor-

The world has 14 mountain peaks over 26,000. Many seek to climb them all. Yet, only 44 people have climbed all fourteen. One of them is Ed Viesturs. In 1993, Ed, without the help of supplemental oxygen, achieved the “central summit” of the 14th-highest peak. It was close enough to count. But across a narrow spine of 300 feet was the true summit of the mountain. Yet, it seemed suicidal to try. It took eight more years and a dozen more climbs before Ed inched his way to the true summit. As Australian explorer Damien Gildea said, “People are stopping short because it’s too hard. And I say, that’s not really a good excuse for a climber.” Do you climb as high as you can go? Paul was a climber. He gave up fame and family approval to pursue Christ and preach the gospel. He did it because something was more than “good enough.” He told the Philippians: “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13–14) Has your faith grown into a convenience comfortableness? Perhaps you have decided that “far enough” is enough for God. Yet, if you are a genuine spiritual climber, ask yourself if that's a good excuse. Where are you on the mountain of spiritual growth today? -Robert G. Taylor-  

Noriyuki was only 2 years old when a rare disease gripped his body. He developed spinal tuberculosis. He spent the next 9 years in the hospital. At age 11, doctors had given up and told him he would never walk again. One doctor took a chance and fused four vertebrae in his spine. He did not know if it would work or not. But Nuriyuki did learn to walk. He became an engineer but dreamed of becoming a comedian. After walking away from his job, he joined the Groundlings, an improv comedy group in Los Angeles. Out of his disability, he found a unique ability. What crippled him gave him stamina. Paul knew that. He had something that crippled him, a condition he hid under the moniker of “thorn in the flesh.” Prayer did not work to remove the pain. Instead, God told him how to grow strong. “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) We find ourselves beaten to the ground only to believe we cannot rise. It is then that God extends his hand to lift. What happened to Nuriyki? You may know him as an Oscar-nominated actor. Most know Nuriyuki Morita, also known as Pat to many as Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid. Weakness shapes the strongest people. Will you let God shape you? -Robert G. Taylor-

Most know the expression “TMI” stands for “too much information.” It usually refers to information that is too sensitive or personal to share. Yet, the “much” needs our focus. Information floods our world. How much information? Today the daily volume of emails, texts, videos, and posts exceeds the number of stars by 40 times. Some estimate that the same number of words ever spoken will happen every quarter-hour within three years. With so much information, why is there so much foolishness and ignorance? Because we share the data created by people rather than finding wisdom in the eternal. Paul walked among philosophers, the learned of his day. He trained as a rabbi with deep knowledge of Jewish tradition. Against this backdrop, Paul knew the limitations of man’s thinking. He told the Corinthians:  “Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Corinthians 1:20) God provides what we need to live, not only for today but forever. The world’s sharing is nothing more than the pooling of ignorance. We don’t need more information, but we do need more wisdom. Start listening for God’s mind in the world rather than the bytes and bits that make up our days. -Robert G. Taylor-

In 1966, the number of people who believed in God was staggering. Over 97% of the American people said they did. Time passed, and 60 years later, the number had fallen by a third. So people today go looking for answers. And where else does a modern turn for his answers? Google. Its artificial intelligence doing brute force calculations feeds up answers. But AI (artificial intelligence) has become the god that tells us what to eat, what to wear, and how to think. But that the power comes humans carving out the electronic hieroglyphics of hexadecimal. You could say, “Hey Google, what should I do with my life?” But your answer would not be God’s answer. We now reflect a more ancient age that Paul observed. “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” (Romans 1:22–23) As much as technology aids our lives, it is not a substitute for the Maker of life. If you want to know what God thinks, don’t ask Google. Ask God. He gives a better answer. -Robert G. Taylor-

By all accounts, Eddie Jaku should have lived a miserable life. The 101-year-old man has a different title. He is “the happiest man in the world.” Jaku described himself as German first and Jewish second. In 1939, Jaku watched Jewish stores and synagogues burn due to Nazi atrocities. When he returned home from school, authorities sent him to Buchenwald concentration camp. He escaped, but was arrested again and sent to Dachau. But he survived. After the war, he found his wife and started his family. That family now includes many great-grandchildren, whom he calls “his blessings.” One of the significant errors of life is that circumstances shape our happiness. Paul knew differently. He found joy amid desperate circumstances. Out of prison, he preached: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4) No matter what happens in your life, joy comes from God, not ease. When life feels miserable, take the time to rejoice. It’s his great gift. -Robert G. Taylor-