Author Gerald N. Callahan is a professor at Colorado State University. Colorado has long been my home, so I was interested in his recent book River Odyssey, in which he discusses his experiences and thoughts about life. Interesting, for example, is his rueful confession, "I drink too much . . . I eat like myocardial infarctions and colon cancer don't kill middle-aged men, and every morning I swear I'll change, but nothing ever changes."

That confession could be made by multitudes of people. How difficult it is to change! Whether we want to revolutionize our whole lifestyle or give up certain habits--how hard it is to do that!

Dramatic change is possible, however, when we open our hearts to Jesus Christ. Instead of being "a slave of sin," we can be set free (Jn. 8:34-36). The transformation that happened to bigoted Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus can happen any day to anybody (Acts 9:1-9). The miracle of the new birth is an offer of God to you. If you have never experienced that new birth, call on Christ now. If you have, then prayerfully ask for the help of the Holy Spirit to make the necessary changes. He is the One who gives the power to change.  — Vernon C. Grounds