One of the first miracles that Jesus did was turning water to wine at a wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11). What can this miracle teach us about spiritual transformations in our own lives? The piano interlude is included with permission of author Solomon Keal.

There are a lot of things to think about, care about, and stress about in this world. When someone dies it reminds us of how short life in this world can be and it can shift our perspective on what matters. We are blessed with many teachings about what life after death will be like; what can we learn from those teachings about what matters in our lives right now?

The Lord’s disciples asked Him, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). The response is the Lord’s Prayer, which teaches us not only words we can say, but how to have a loving relationship with the God of the Universe, and how to receive His love for all people.

What is it like to reason with the Lord, and how is this different from reasoning with each other? Can the tone and quality of our dialogue with each other change if we have first reasoned with the Lord?

In the Gospels, Jesus told His disciples that you can’t put new wine into old wineskins (Matthew 9, Mark 2, Luke 5). In what ways do we sometimes try to put “new wine” into “old wineskins” in our spiritual lives? And how can we choose “new wineskins” instead?

The Israelites really wanted to get into the Promised Land to establish their new home, but they needed some time in the wilderness to figure things out. Similarly, we may like the idea of sudden life change that fixes our problems, but that’s not generally the way life works. In what ways is time in the wilderness a necessary part of our journey toward spiritual life?

(Apologies for the hum in the audio)

The parable of The Tower of Babel describes how misunderstandings, confusion, and division arise when we are more concerned with managing other people’s lives than our own, and more concerned with getting our own way than helping others get theirs.

As with so many of the Lord’s teachings, this one contains several layers of meaning for our lives, beyond not setting our hearts too heavily on the physical treasures of this world. Spiritual treasures include the Lord’s Word, blessings from Him, generosity and an eternal perspective.

When we look at our lives, sometimes we see obstacles, failures, causes for anxiety and distress. But what does the Lord see? How can keeping that Divine perspective in mind help us through difficult times?

In 1 Kings 18, Elijah the prophet challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest: Whoever could call fire from heaven to their altar would prove that theirs was the real god. The prophets of Baal failed, but Elijah succeeded, even after pouring water all over the altar. What does this symbolize in our spiritual lives?