“I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble” (Psalm 142:2 NIV).

I recently spent time at the beach with our two three-year-old grandchildren. It may not be advisable, but I taught them how to chase seagulls. What a wonderful sight to see a flock take flight, circle around and land only a few yards away. The smiles on the grandchildren’s faces were priceless.

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10 NIV).

Jesus calls His people to love Him with heart, mind, soul, and strength. We are to love one another and to share God’s love by serving others. Each of us is to be the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus to others, which can be seen in our verse today: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others.”

”Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed” (Mark 1:41-42 NKJV).

In today’s scripture we see that Jesus had compassion on this man suffering from leprosy and healed him. He did it with His touch and with His Word. No doubt this was the first loving touch this leper had felt in a long time.

“You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy” (Psalm 30:11 NIV).

After cancer shows up, the last thing you may feel like doing is dancing. It can feel as if you will never get back on your feet again, let alone dance. As impossible as it may sound, God can help you get your groove back.

“How right they are to adore you!” (Song of Solomon 1:4 NIV)

As a cancer caregiver, I could not help noticing that my wife’s cancer diagnosis and treatment took a toll on her own body image. Her self-reflection in the mirror revealed to her that she had cancer. She somehow saw “damaged goods.” Yet, when I looked at her, I saw the same woman that I found attractive and fell in love with many years ago. Same eyes, same nose, same mouth and cheeks and forehead. Same “Tippin chin,” as it’s called per her mother’s maiden name.

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2 NIV).

“I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you’” (Luke 15:18 NIV).

Up to now in this five-day devotional series we’ve been focusing on the challenges Jesus and His followers experienced while on their journey to Jerusalem, in between His ministry in Galilee and His death, resurrection, and heavenly ascension. Jesus has led them to understand that a difficult journey is one in which you must keep going. Don’t stop moving forward, even if the future feels uncertain in so many ways. Luke’s Gospel notes at every turn how God prepares us for the future while at the same time traveling alongside us with each step of our own “in betweens.”

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need” (Luke 12:31 NLT).

A counseling client of mine struggled with depressive illness for quite some time before finally seeking help. As a 51-year-old attorney, he reached a point where he could see little to live for. At one point his family doctor recommended that, due to his age and family history, he should get an initial colonoscopy. At his next session with me two weeks later he announced the shocking news: tests came back positive for Stage IV cancer. A cancer that started in his colon had already spread to his lymph nodes and liver. Initially the diagnosis left him feeling numb, but in his next visit with me he made an interesting comment. “This will sound strange,” he said, “but this cancer is actually turning out to be something of a blessing. Where before I had no sense of my future, now I’m feeling this desire to live and finally figure out what my real priorities in life are all about.”

“But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him” (Luke 10:33 NIV).

Before the cross and the empty tomb for Jesus and His disciples, there was Samaria. The place Jews simply didn’t go through en route to Jerusalem—ever. Jesus led His followers through parts of Samaria, which may fit Jesus’ description of the disciples being “lambs among wolves” (Luke 10:3 NIV). Yet Jesus still gave them these instructions: “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house’” (Luke 10:5 NIV). Jesus expected the disciples to be gracious, not abrasive. While possibly still in that region, Jesus got into a conversation with a Jewish lawyer who was following Him. The lawyer asked Jesus which neighbors he was commanded to love in order to inherit eternal life.

“[Jesus] sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem” (Luke 9:52-53 NIV).

Galilean Jews during the time of Jesus were accustomed to traveling to Jerusalem for feasts of worship three times each year. Everyone knew the road. It was the long way around. Go east to the Jordan River, then south, then turn back west and go up the mountains to Jerusalem. Why? Because going straight south to Jerusalem meant going through Samaria, where Jews were not welcomed—any more than Samaritans would be welcomed in Jerusalem.

Yet Jesus, on His journey to Jerusalem, chose not to go around but through Samaria.

“As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51 NIV).

Life is a series of what we may view as being “in-between times.” Each new day is another “in-between” day. So, what are you in between today?

The Gospel of Luke views the life of Jesus between His earthly conception and birth and His ascending into heaven (ascension). In the twenty-four chapters between these two events, we find that the last fourteen chapters deal with what is called His “journey to Jerusalem.” Luke introduces this time in Jesus’ life with the words of our verse for today: “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.” Some Bible scholars refer to this as a “bridge” verse between Jesus’ ministry in Galilee and His heavenly ascension. Across that bridge lay, for Jesus, a prolonged series of “in betweens” and “getting throughs.” In this five-day devotional series which starts today, we will look at lessons we can learn from Jesus as he lived His “in betweens.”

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37 NIV).

The big question when you’re expecting a baby is, “How are you going to fit a baby into your life?” You change your living space by getting rid of your stuff to make room for baby stuff. Your budget shows that you are spending less on vacations and more on baby stuff. And then there’s time. Somehow you will have to fit time with the baby into your already busy schedule.

“I was given the gift of a handicap” (2 Corinthians 12:7 MSG).

We could surely call cancer lots of things: horrible, terrible, hard, bad, a nightmare. We could come up with other words. One thing we probably would not think to call cancer is a gift.

An unidentified mystery illness afflicted the Apostle Paul, the missionary giant of the New Testament. He referred to it as a “thorn in his side” (see 2 Corinthians 12:7). Whether heart disease, kidney stones, appendicitis, neurological distress, or perhaps cancer, the “thorn” caused Paul acute pain.

Paul pleaded repeatedly for God to remove the thorn from his side, but God refused. He had superabundantly gifted Paul with divine experiences and visions. Paul came to understand the thorn to be God’s way of keeping him humble, always dependent on God. Forced to his knees, Paul prayed more than ever.