Today’s Reading: Acts 5:16-17 (NIV)
16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed. 17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.
Good morning!
Can you recall the most popular stocking stuffer in the winter of 1980? The Rubik’s Cube® became a worldwide puzzling sensation, and as of 2009, over 350 million cubes have been sold. The Rubik’s Cube® is considered to be the world’s best-selling toy puzzle ever! The cube has six faces, covered by nine colored stickers, in red, white, blue, orange, green and yellow. Each face turns independently. To correctly solve the puzzle, each face must become one solid color. If you have not yet experienced the frustration and joy in solving a Rubik’s Cube® puzzle, let me encourage you to pick up a cube at your nearest toy store and play today.
Speedcubing is a competition in trying to solve the Rubik’s Cube® puzzle in the shortest time possible. Did you know there are books published on solving the Rubik’s Cube® mystery and championship competitions are held worldwide in various formats for puzzle aficionados? Some of these competitions include: solving the cube with your feet; solving the cube using one hand, solving the cube blindfolded, and my personal favorite is solving the cube underwater in a single breath; I definitely need to practice my technique in the bath tub. Now when my husband wonders why I’m spending so much time in the bathroom, at least I’ll have a good excuse! “Honey, you know I’m practicing my famous Rubik’s Cube solution under water - glub, glub.”
It takes a mathematical mind to solve the cube quickly. While I do enjoy a good puzzle, I confess my mind was not built for memorizing the algorithms necessary to quickly solve the cube. I get caught up in the artistry of the color scheme, lost in the intrinsic beauty of each twist and turn. The human mind is an amazing gift. I stand in awe of the brilliant ones who make solving the Rubik’s Cube® look like child’s play.
It is a puzzle to me, how the High Priest and the Sadducees could get so worked up over the healing of its people. It wasn’t enough that Jesus had died and rose again. His healing love was power over sin and sickness, and yet, those placed in positions of authority could not stand to see it continue. It seems their personal desire to control the outcomes in any given situation was much more important than the health and wellbeing of the people whom they had been charged to nurture and care for. Some of life’s puzzles have never been solved; they continually perpetuate themselves from generation to generation.
There is one true solution to world’s sin sickness. His name is Jesus, and if you call on Him, He will save you. You do not need to a range of memorized transliterations to find the Savior of the world. He is right here, in front of you, right now, with arms outstretched, waiting to hear you call His name out loud. His Word is the best stocking stuffer you will ever receive! Won’t you call on the Lord Jesus Christ today? He will help you resolve your life’s puzzle once and for all.
Grace and peace,
Deb Spaulding
Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO
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