God's desire for us is a whole relationship with God.

The bible suggests at least four elements of wholeness.

1. Hearing the gospel – reading the bible.
2. Healing our lives grows out of reading and incarnating the messages of Jesus.
3. Praying is a necessary to the development of our relationship with God.
4. knowing that evil exists and that God will help us in our struggle with evil from within and without.

These are gifts God desires for each of you.

*** WE APOLOGIZE for the quality of the audio; there was a problem with the recording microphone.

From Jonah and the whale we can learn bible truths for our day. The dimensions of God's love are limitless. But the real nugget in this story is this: Once again we are reminded that God changes God's mind for our benefit!

The call of Samuel teaches the fundamentals of Christian maturity. Eli instructions to Samuel to: lie down, listen up and talk back provide the starting points for mature growth. Lie Down: Means trust the spirit. Stop trying to be in control. Listen Up means prepare yourself to hear a word from God to you. Put your whole self (body, mind and spirit) in a relaxed and ready to receive state of being. Talk Back: Acknowledges that God wants a relationship with you where you: question, complain, give thanks and ask for genuine specific help. It all about the relationship with those God created in God's image.

Through the baptism of Jesus, God created something new and special. Baptized in Jesus' name we received power to become new people in Christ. That power enables us to confront our fears and overcome the evil that would overcome us. That spirit also bring us an assurance that allows us to know and believe that we have received this special relationship.