January 1st Jesus came with shouts of peace, peace to the people on earth!

We do make a difference in our world.

And the choices we make do matter.

There are days when I need to hear Mr. Rogers’ voice, “It's not so much what we have in this life that matters. It's what we do with what we have. The alphabet is fine, but it's what we do with it that matters most. Making words like ‘friend’ and ‘love’. That's what really matters.”

Welcome to the year 2026 my friends. And yes, we do get to choose the kind of world we want to live in. Let’s begin with Helen Keller’s reminder, “I am one, but still I am one; I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; And just because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”

And I will take Mother Teresa’s words to heart, “If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”

Now we’re back to New Year resolutions. So, I begin here. Indifference is not an option.

I carry this quote with me from Carlos Santana, “The most valuable possession you can own is an open heart. The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace.” Terry Hershey “SabbathMoments”

“The Work of Christmas”

“When the song of the angels is stilled,

when the star in the sky is gone,

when the kings and princes are home,

when the shepherds are back with their flocks,

the work of Christmas begins:

to find the lost,

to heal the broken,

to feed the hungry,

to release the prisoner,

to rebuild the nations,

to bring peace among the people,

to make music in the heart.”

(From Howard Thurman’s “The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations”)

John 1:5 The light overcomes the darkness…Jesus is the light of the world!

1 John 2:8 Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.

This is the  last day of 2025 my prayer is  that  the New Year brings basic decency back to America. Let the light within us give hope to others who are suffering and marginalized in our society and in the world at large. Carla

John 1:5 And the light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Christ entered this dark world to give it spiritual light (Isaiah 9:2). The word translated comprehend can mean (1) to take hold of; (2) to overpower; or (3) to understand. Therefore, this verse may mean that darkness did not positively take hold of or understand the light, or that darkness did not negatively overcome the light. Both statements are true. Humans did not appropriate or understand the light, nor did they overtake or overpower it. Although Satan and his forces resist the light, they cannot thwart its power. In short, Jesus is life and light; those who accept Him are “sons of light” (12:35, 36). As the creation of light was the beginning of the original creation (Genesis 1:3), so when believers receive the light, they become part of the new creation (2 Corinthians 4:3–6). The NKJV Study Bible

The contrast between light and darkness is a prominent theme in John’s Gospel (compare John 1:8–10; 1 John 2:8–10). This antithesis draws on Genesis 1:1–5 (John 1:1) as well as Old Testament  traditions of the advent of the Messiah as a light dawning over a world of physical and spiritual darkness (Isaiah 9:2; 60:1–2).

Light and darkness dualism is also present in Jewish literature from this period. The War Scroll, a Dead Sea Scrolls’ document, depicts a cosmic, end times battle between the “sons of light” and the “sons of darkness.” In the document known as the Rule of the Community, the Dead Sea Scrolls’ community associated themselves with the light of the true followers of God and categorized all others as under the dominion of darkness. John’s analogy is similar, but emphasizes one, ultimate light for humanity, which is Jesus. Faithlife Study Bible

John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 

Psalm 18:28 

For You will light my lamp;

The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.

Ephesians 3:18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—

Philippians 3:12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 

“There's a light in this world, a healing spirit more powerful than any darkness we may encounter. We sometimes lose sight of this force when there is suffering, too much pain. Then suddenly the spirit will emerge through the lives of ordinary people who hear a call, and answer in extraordinary ways.” From the film "Mother Teresa"

My friends, let us remember than many hearts are sore. Brokenness is real. In people around us, people we know and love. And yet—the gift of soft-heartedness. So, thank you again, Mr. Rogers. “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

Just recently I saw someone wearing a shirt with the saying, “Radicalized by Basic Decency”. I nodded and smiled. And it did my heart good.

However, sometimes, I am broken. Very broken. And I don’t have the words. And I don’t have the strength. So, how can I be a witness then?

Well, this is interesting. You see, compassion (service and care and basic decency) and healing (restoration) are not mutually exclusive. Because the light we share is born in those broken places. Which means that being a witness goes hand in glove with renewal.

In other words, we find replenishment and we choose to be a witness. This is not a pep talk. This is not a test to pass. Or a list I check off for God’s thumbs up. This is permission; the invitation and the affirmation to be and to live, wholeheartedly, softheartedly, and kindheartedly, the truth of who I am.

Please know this my friends: it is from this self—the broken or wounded self—that compassion and kindness and tenderness and empathy and healing and reconciliation can flow.

And let us carry this with us, into the New Year. Sabbath Moments

Hosea 12:8 (ESV) "Ephraim has said, 'Ah, but I am rich; I have found wealth for myself; in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin. '"

Our society puts so much emphasis on marketing, acquiring and consuming. But have you ever sat down and made a list of things you can't buy? Love, friends, family and all genuine relationships are not for sale. We can't "add to cart" things like character, contentment or forgiveness. College tuition doesn't guarantee we receive wisdom or purpose. All the money in the world can't buy us more days of life or more life in our days.

Still, though we cannot go shopping for these things, we can find what our hearts deeply long for ... if we just know where to look.

Similar to us, the Israelites of Hosea's time had been told and sold the lie that wealth could get them anything they needed. In Hosea 12:8, Ephraim said, "Ah, but I am rich; I have found wealth for myself; in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin." Not only did the people feel secure with their possessions, but they believed their wealth gained them right standing with God, or at least an expensive illusion of righteousness, weighed in "false balances" they thought He wouldn't notice (Hosea 12:7).

God countered these false claims with His powerful Truth: "I will again make you dwell in tents" (Hosea 12:9). Long ago, the Israelites had lived in tents in the wilderness after the Lord delivered them from slavery in Egypt (Numbers 1:52; Deuteronomy 1:32-33). Today's verse in Hosea was a powerful reminder that they would find themselves in similarly humble circumstances once again.

The same is true for us: Anyone can go from pride to humility in the blink of an eye. Everything in this world that we try to use to fill the deep longings of our hearts, from our money to our jobs, possessions and even people, all are temporary. They can vanish in an instant.Stripped of everything worldly, all we truly have is complete and utter dependance on God.

Friend, the beautiful news is: He alone is more than enough. First5

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 God Loves Us…all of us!

John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

No one loves you more than God. There is no one righteous, no one. Salvation is the unmerited and undeserved gift of God offered to all of mankind. No greater gift exists. We are His ambassadors to spread the message of peace and of reconciliation to the world. Carla

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 

Reconciled refers to the end of hostility between God and people. Christ’s death provided the means of reconciliation. His suffering made peace between God and humanity possible (Isaiah 53:5 ; 2 Corinthians 1:3).

Paul presented Christ’s sacrifice as the basis of reconciliation and the source of his apostolic vocation (verses 14–18). He wants the Corinthians to understand the centrality of Christ in his ministry in contrast to other teachers, who boast about themselves.

The Hebrew word used here, kosmos, for the world refers to people estranged from God and under the influence of sin and the devil (4:4). God does not use people’s sins as a reason to withhold salvation or reconciliation. 

We are ambassadors meaning  representatives of Christ. Paul and his companions not only spoke on behalf of Christ, but their lives—namely, their endurance of suffering—represented Christ’s life and character. As Christ’s representatives, they were charged with presenting the message of God’s plan of reconciliation to the world.

To be sin describes how God regarded Christ as sin for the sake of undeserving sinners (Galatians 3:13). More specifically, Paul may be presenting Christ as a substitute for sinful humanity or he could be referring to Christ’s identification with sin through His union with sinful humanity. Another possibility is that Paul is interpreting Christ’s sacrifice in light of Old Testament  sacrificial concepts (Leviticus 4:24; 5:12; Isaiah 53:10).

Through Christ’s death and resurrection, God demonstrated His righteousness (dikaiosynē) by judging sin yet showing mercy to sinners. Here Paul refers to the idea of Christians becoming the righteousness of God. He may mean that believers, as a result of God’s justification, receive a right standing before God while Christ takes on their sins (Romans 5:8). Alternatively, Paul could be describing God’s righteous character, which believers receive and should live out in their lives. Faithlife Study Bible

Paul is presenting the results of Christ’s death for the believer and the believer’s death with Him (verse 14). Because believers are united with Jesus both in His death and resurrection, they participate in the new creation. That is, they receive the benefits of being restored by Christ to what God had originally created them to be (Genesis 1:26; 1 Corinthians 15:45–49). A believer’s life should change, because he or she is being transformed into the likeness of Christ (3:18). Instead of living for oneself, a believer lives for Christ (verse 15). Instead of evaluating others with the values of the world, a believer looks at this world through the eyes of faith (verse 16).

Because of Christ’s propitiation, His satisfaction of God’s righteous demands, God is now able to turn toward us. God has made us new creatures in Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, a word meaning “a change of relation from enmity to peace.” We who have been reconciled to God have the privilege of telling others that they can be reconciled to Him as well.

God could change His relationship toward us because our sins have been imputed (reckoned) to Christ, instead of to us. In other words, God placed our sins on Christ, who knew no sin. His death was in our place and for our sins. If we believe in Jesus, God counts Jesus’ righteousness as our righteousness (verse 21). 

The word of reconciliation that has been entrusted to us is to tell all people that God wants to restore them to a relationship with Himself (Romans 5:8). This is the Good News that everyone needs to hear.

Ambassadors are more than messengers. They are representatives of the sovereign who sent them. In the Roman Empire, there were two kinds of provinces, the senatorial and the imperial. The senatorial provinces were generally peaceful and friendly to Rome. They had submitted to Roman rule and were under the control of the Senate. The imperial provinces, however, had been acquired later, and were not as peaceful. These provinces were under the authority of the emperor himself. Syria, including Judea, was such an imperial province. To these provinces, the emperor sent ambassadors to govern and maintain peace. Christians have been called by their King to serve as ambassadors in a world that is in rebellion against Him. However, God has given His representatives a message of peace and of reconciliation.

Jesus never did anything wrong. Yet He died for our sins, so that we could be declared righteous, that is to say, justified (verse 19). The NKJV Study Bible

Romans 5:10–11 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Romans 6:3–10 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life…

Ephesians 6:20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Isaiah 65:17

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;

And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.

Romans 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

God will not let you go. The big news of the Bible is not that you love God but that God loves you! He tattooed your name on the palm of his hand. His thoughts of you outnumber the sand on the shore. You never leave his mind, escape his sight, or flee his thoughts.

You need not win his love; you already have it. He sees the worst of you and loves you still. Your sins of tomorrow and failings of the future will not surprise him; he sees them now. Every day and deed of your life has passed before his eyes and been calculated in his decision. He knows you better than you know you and has reached this verdict: he loves you still. No discovery will disillusion him. No rebellion will dissuade him. He loves you with an everlasting love. God’s love—never failing, never ending. Max Lucado

1 Kings 11:1-13 Only the love of God for His creation can save us from ourselves.

Deuteronomy 17:17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.

1 Kings 9:4-7 Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, 5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ 6 But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

God hates pride and arrogance. We can only stand before Him because of the sacrifice of Jesus who gave up His life for our sins. God gives the good and perfect gift of salvation. The riches of this world mean nothing in comparison to the gift that He offers to mankind and it is  by faith in Christ alone. He  can do what we cannot. Jesus fulfilled the promise to David that the King of the Jews would come from his bloodline. The promises of God will not be broken. Only the love of God can cover the multitude of the sins of humanity. He will not tolerate idols in our lives. Carla

1 Kings 11:1-13 But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites—2 from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. 8 And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

9 So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”

The word order in the Hebrew text emphasizes the word foreign, with a secondary emphasis on the adjective many. Solomon had committed two egregious sins. Taking foreign wives violated the Lord’s prohibitions against marrying Canaanite women taking many wives violated the standard of monogamy established at the beginning (Genesis 2:24, 25), and resulted in rampant polygamy, something God had also forbidden to Israel’s future kings (Deuteronomy 17:17). Doubtless many of Solomon’s marriages were in accord with the common ancient Middle Eastern convention of sealing alliances by marriages between members of the royal houses contracting the alliances. Solomon’s yielding to the customs of the day would have serious spiritual consequences for himself (verses 3–13) and his people (2 Kings 17:7–20).

If the reference to 60 queens and 80 concubines in Song 6:8 is to Solomon’s wives, it represents a much earlier period in Solomon’s reign. Although it is true that David did not always live up to God’s standards, he was loyal to God and trusted Him implicitly, even when he was rebuked for his sins (2 Samuel 12:13; Psalm 32:1–5; 53:1–5). Because of the influence of his many wives, Solomon compromised his faith by worshiping foreign gods. Ashtoreth was a Canaanite goddess of love and war. Milcom was the national god of the Ammonites.

The use of a high place in association with the worship of foreign gods shows the terrible danger that the high places presented to Israel (3:2–4; 14:23; also Micah 1:3). Chemosh was the national god of Moab. His worship was practiced repeatedly by God’s people (2 Kings 23:13). The veneration of this deity is also attested in the recently discovered Ebla Tablets in a form that suggests his association with the city of Carchemish along the upper bend of the Euphrates River. Molech is associated with human sacrifice and with Baal (Jeremiah 7:31, 32; 19:5, 6; 32:35).

God appeared twice before to Solomon (3:5; 9:2). Solomon’s spiritual odyssey may be seen in the details of his audiences with God. While God graciously postponed the division of Solomon’s kingdom until after his death, internal troubles appeared while he was still alive (verses 14–40).

Jeroboam was the son of Nebat (11:26; 12:20). The tribe is Judah, the principal tribe of the southern kingdom. Simeon had assimilated with Judah by this time (12:17, 20, 21). The NKJV Study Bible

In response to Solomon’s unfaithfulness, God raises three adversaries against him: Hadad from the east (1 Kings 11:14–22), Rezon from the north (verses 23–25), and Jeroboam from one of Israel’s own tribes (verses 26–40). Through these adversaries, God destabilizes the peace that Solomon established both within Israel and at her borders (4:24–25) and leads to the division of the kingdom. 

God appeared to Solomon at Gibeon (3:1–15) and after the temple dedication (9:1–9). Yahweh prohibited Solomon from following other gods during His second appearance (9:6). 

The Hebrew word used here, berith, for covenant appears throughout 1–2 Kings in reference to covenants between God and humanity. It also can refer to political treaties (1 Kings  5:12; 15:19; 20:34).

For  the sake of David your father perhaps is a reference to the Davidic covenant, which promised that God would not remove His steadfast love from David’s reigning son (2 Samuel 7:15). One tribe was later specified as Judah, the tribe of David (1 Kings 12:20). Faithlife Study Bible

2 Kings 23:13 Then the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, which were on the south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the people of Ammon. 

The very gifts that allow us to be fully human and fully alive are fragile precisely because they have the capacity to be broken open. These are all gifts that spill courage and hope.

And I take this wisdom from Kate Bowler to heart. “I think so many of us would like to identify as being soft hearted, but we worry that it’s a liability right now. Shouldn’t we toughen ourselves up? Shouldn’t we get battle ready for a world that doesn’t equate tender heartedness with bravery, survival, or meeting reality head on?
But I think tender heartedness is the ability to stay not just broken, but broken open to the world around us. There’s so much pain that just breaks us. That’s the truth. There’s so much fear, too, and there are very good reasons to feel scared and overwhelmed right now. But I believe soft heartedness is one of the only ways that we can move forward. The alternatives are likely too heavy to bear.”

Here’s the deal: There is exquisite beauty in what is fragile, in what can be broken. In love, tenderness, kindness, generosity, gentleness and empathy, there is strength and power and life.
So, yes. I do want to touch the fragile things.
I do not want my heart to be hard.
I do want my heart to be soft. (Well, at least that’s what I say out loud.)
It doesn’t help that we live in a world where soft isn’t popular. And fragile is considered detrimental. It’s no surprise that we choose tough, fighter, inflexible. It is not unexpected that we hear way too many stories about cruelty and bullying and bombast and ways we demean and diminish one another. When I see this, it is easy to close the door of my heart.

We are human. Yes, we are prone to breakage. That’s not a surprise. Every one of us is, or has tussled with grief, heartache, sorrow, woundedness and loss.

But after a while, there’s no payoff to living implacable or callous. And I want to touch the fragile things. I want to touch my heart. My friends, I believe that the light shines precisely because there are broken places.

Remember, Jesus never told us to create the light. He did not even ask us to make a resolution to try harder. He simply invited us to let the light shine. Meaning that the light is already there. To paraphrase Leonard Cohen, There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. And that’s how the light gets out. Sabbath Moments

“When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flocks,
the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the heart.”
(From Howard Thurman’s “The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations”) (Thurman was an African-American theologian, educator, and civil rights leader).