Before our trip to Switzerland, my mental snapshot was of snowy Alps, goats grazing, and mountain farmers blowing alpine horns. However, as we drove south from Zurich, the landscape was the same drab tangle of highways we saw in any city. When we got close to our lodging, we had to drive up a precarious one-lane dirt road.

In Monterey Bay, California, a boat captain saw fifteen Pacific white-sided dolphins join a super pod of more than two thousand dolphins. Various types and ages of dolphins gather in pods to fend off predators, feed, and socialize. Still, the size and diversity of this super pod was a rare sight to behold.

Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer became famous for his talent at age twenty. The art critics of his day called him “the greatest mind that ever expressed itself in line.” As his fame spread, influential people tried to hire him with promises of luxury and ease. Even other acclaimed artists such as Giovanni Bellini and Raphael revered his work. In what experts consider to be his best self-portrait, Dürer mingled his physical characteristics with what he thought Jesus might have looked like. He painted himself with long wavy hair, a beard, and eyes that seemed to convey a sense of divine purpose. Many assumed this piece was a prideful statement about the artist’s opinion of himself. Others who were familiar with his virtuous character believed the painting wasn’t blasphemous or big-headed but aspirational. They believed Dürer wanted to live a life that would allow people to see Jesus in him. If we truly know Christ, this is our desire as well. Believing in Him and accepting His death and resurrection as the basis for our relationship with God means we should now live for Jesus—not for ourselves (Galatians 2:19). We live for Him and He lives in us and works through us. The apostle Paul said this about his spiritual transformation: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (v. 20). May the glory of Christ shine through our lives today so that the world sees Him in us. 

After Hurricane Helene’s floodwaters nearly destroyed his small North Carolina town in 2024, a pastor noticed an inspiring pattern. As he struggled to answer the persistent question, “What do you need?” donations kept showing up exactly when he needed them. Phone chargers? Out of the blue, a man drove up with a generator, creating a charging station at the church. Drinking water? Suddenly, pallets of water bottles arrived. Coincidence? The Bible points us to God, not mere happenstance. “My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). The promise might seem empty to a town nearly demolished by a thirty-foot wall of raging water. But Paul, who was in prison when he offered this encouragement, was no stranger to hardship. Paul was writing to the church in Philippi to thank them for badly needed financial gifts. Except for them, he’d been neglected (v. 15). But God used them to meet his needs. So, His words shined a bright light on God who provided the “riches of His glory” found in Christ Jesus our Savior, in whom we have “every spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1:3). Joy, peace, truth, salvation are among the needs He richly provides. In kindness as well, He’ll provide a drink of water too, if that’s what we need. What a loving, generous God.

Researchers discovered that the water anole can stay underwater for twenty minutes without a fresh gulp of air. The tiny lizard has water-repelling skin, and after taking a deep dive it exhales a bubble of air that sticks to its snout. The clever creature then rebreathes the bubble again and again—something scientists believe is the recycling of the trapped air supply. Although water anoles possess this special ability, like many creatures, they must breathe to live. In Genesis we read that God “breathed into [Adam’s] nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (2:7). As He created all things in “the heavens and the earth” (v. 4), He also created man from “the dust of the ground” (v. 7). But it took God’s breath of life to make His creation fully alive. He transformed the first human into a living being—a living soul. Later, He formed Eve from Adam’s rib (v. 22). As spiritual beings, we’re able to serve God and enjoy fellowship with Him by belief in Christ. Jesus “breathed on” the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 12:20). One commentator writes that this “ ‘inbreathing’ of the Holy Spirit is essential in order for people to enjoy fellowship with God.” Each breath we take is God’s gift of physical life. As believers in Jesus, it’s also a reflection of our eternal life and being indwelt by the life-giving Spirit (Romans 8:11).