Billy Graham's favorite hymn, 'And Can it Be' written by John Wesley in 1738: 1) And can it be that I should gain An int'rest in the Savior's blood? Died He for me, who caused His pain? For me, who Him to death pursued? Amazing love! how can it be That Thou, my God, should die for me? Refrain: Amazing love! how can it be That Thou, my God, should die for me! 2) 'Tis mystery all! Th'Immortal dies! Who can explore His strange design? In vain the firstborn seraph tries To sound the depths of love divine! 'Tis mercy all! let earth adore, Let angel minds inquire no more. [Refrain] 3) He left His Father's throne above, So free, so infinite His grace; Emptied Himself of all but love, And bled for Adam's helpless race; 'Tis mercy all, immense and free; For, O my God, it found out me. [Refrain] 4) Long my imprisoned spirit lay Fast bound in sin and nature's night; Thine eye diffused a quick'ning ray, I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off, my heart was free; I rose, went forth and followed Thee. [Refrain] 5) No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in Him is mine! Alive in Him, my living Head, And clothed in righteousness divine, Bold I approach th'eternal throne, And claim the crown, through Christ my own. [Refrain]

Welcome to Day 2 of this brand new year, and, I bid each one a hearty hello on this Friday, January 2, 2026. If you use any of the social media apps you are aware of the flood of artificial intelligence aided postings, mostly of altered photographs. In the above photo, the top picture is of yours truly taken in a studio project we did last November. The bottom photo is of how ChatGPT altered that image making me into the quinsintential Coca-Cola Santa. To resemble that particular image of the jolly old elf has been my goal since beginning the Santa adventure some 16 years ago. I didn't post the photo in my blog today to get your response on how well I am doing in reflecting this image, rather, I posted it because it reminded me of what people should see when they look at and interact with us as individuals. Okay. Here I go with another song I grew up singing:

 

 Let The Beauty of Jesus

words: Albert W. T. Orsbom (1916)
music: Tom M. Jones (1927)

Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,
All His wonderful passion and purity;
May His spirit divine all my being refine,
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.

When somebody has been so unkind to you,
Some words spoken that pierces you thru and thru;
Think how He was beguiled, spat upon and reviled,
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you.

From the dawn of the morning to close of day,
In example in deeds and in all you say;
Lay your gifts at His feet, ever strive to keep sweet,
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you.

 

I will tell you this about that. Because we still have what the Apostle Paul named as the 'old man', (Ephesians 4, and Romans 6), living in us, showing forth our Savior when it really counts, that is, in our day by day living, well, it can be challenging. Don't make me go into detail how I know that to be true. My point in bringing it up is that we should not give up. Sure. In reading a number of lists that people have posted as new year resolutions, the 'be kinder' came up often. True kindness to others for believers is when we reflect our Savior and our identity as His own as we go about our daily living. Again, the Apostle Paul calls on believers to have the mind of Christ, Philippians 2:5, and, that's likely where I need to work going forward in 2026 and beyond. You've got this covered already? Good for you! Sorry to disappoint you, but, I am, at best, a work in progress with a long way to go. You will pray for me? Thanks so much because I need all the help I can get. 

I will close with this. How about us praying one for another that we will make progress this year in the area that matters most, our spiritual walk. Got it? Good. Take care now. You hear? And, may God add His blessings. Amen.