Broken Cisterns; What Are They Good For?

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4 Hear God's Message, House of Jacob! Yes, you - House of Israel! 5 God's Message: "What did your ancestors find fault with in me that they drifted so far from me, Took up with Sir Windbag and turned into windbags themselves? 6 It never occurred to them to say, 'Where's God, the God who got us out of Egypt, Who took care of us through thick and thin, those rough-and-tumble wilderness years of parched deserts and death valleys, A land that no one who enters comes out of, a cruel, inhospitable land?' 7 "I brought you to a garden land where you could eat lush fruit. But you barged in and polluted my land, trashed and defiled my dear land. 8 The priests never thought to ask, 'Where's God?' The religion experts knew nothing of me. The rulers defied me. The prophets preached god Baal And chased empty god-dreams and silly god-schemes. 9 Because of all this, I'm bringing charges against you" - God's Decree - "charging you and your children and your grandchildren. 10 Look around. Have you ever seen anything quite like this? Sail to the western islands and look. Travel to the Kedar wilderness and look. Look closely. Has this ever happened before, 11 That a nation has traded in its gods for gods that aren't even close to gods? But my people have traded my Glory for empty god-dreams and silly god-schemes. 12 "Stand in shock, heavens, at what you see! Throw up your hands in disbelief - this can't be!" God's Decree. 13 "My people have committed a compound sin: they've walked out on me, the fountain Of fresh flowing waters, and then dug cisterns - cisterns that leak, cisterns that are no better than sieves. (Jeremiah 3:4-13 The Message Bible)

Jeremiah. One of the great prophets. He had a heart for God and for God's people; so much so that he wept a lot for his people. Known as the "weeping prophet," he was always a favorite on which my Mom called when one of us cried more than we should; "Are you Jeremiah, you cryer?" (Sounds better en español). But he also suffered personally for his message as he was beat, imprisoned, and even thrown into cisterns as punishment. He also inspired someone to write a song with his name in it, albeit a bullfrog. Okay, you have to be of a certain age to remember that song. But Jeremiah wrote some incredible words including a prayer I have been sayiing daily and often from the 17th chapter, verse 14: "Heal me and I shall be healed; save me and I shall be saved, for Thou art my praise." I pray that often each day in English and Spanish believing every word and trusting God completely for my healing.

In this passage for today, we read of the heartbreak that caused the prophet to weep. God's people, as we often do, sometimes think we know more than God, and find ourselves in messes so bad we don't have anywhere to go but up! Here in this Message Bible, the language gives away his frustration as we read in verse 5, "Took up with Sir Windbag and turned into windbags themselves?" That's usually where we find ourselves when we forget to ask, "Where's God, the God who got us our of Egypt, Who took care of us through thick and thin, those rough-and-tumble wilderness years of parched deserts and death valleys, a land thta on one who enters comes out of, a cruel, inhospitable land?" And that's the key of this entire passage, "Where is God?" When we find our bearings in God, we find the bearings we need for ourselves.

God identifies exactly what went wrong: "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."

First, they abandoned the source of living water—God Himself, who never runs dry, never disappoints, never fails. Second, they frantically started digging their own wells, crafting their own solutions, building their own security systems. But here's the devastating truth: everything we build apart from God is fundamentally broken. It can't hold what we desperately need it to contain.

We dig cisterns of career success that leak when the economy shifts. We build containers of relationships that crack under pressure. We construct wells of material security that run dry when circumstances change. Meanwhile, the fountain of fresh, life-giving water remains available, flowing freely, waiting for us to return.

This isn't just ancient history—it's our story too. How often do we walk away from God not because He's failed us, but because we've gotten distracted? We start believing that other things can satisfy our deepest thirsts. We replace God "as the central focus of anyone's life and thought" with substitutes like "injustice, greed, lust for power."

The heartbreak in God's voice echoes through the centuries: "You were so devoted in your youth, so eager to please. What happened? When did My love stop being enough?"

Maybe we didn't consciously decide to abandon God. Maybe we just gradually shifted our attention, slowly redirected our hope, quietly placed our trust in things that seemed more tangible, more immediately rewarding. But the result is the same: we end up thirsty, holding empty buckets, wondering why life feels so dry.

The beauty of this passage lies not just in its diagnosis but in its implicit invitation. God isn't asking these questions because He's given up on His people—He's asking because He wants them back. The fountain is still flowing. The invitation to drink deeply is still extended.

God doesn't need our cisterns to be completely destroyed before we can return to Him. He simply needs us to recognize that they're broken, that they were never meant to be our primary source of satisfaction. The living water is still available, still fresh, still able to satisfy every thirst we've been trying to quench elsewhere.

PRAYER: Lord, You are the fountain of living water, and yet we confess we've been digging our own wells. Forgive us for the times we've walked away from Your unfailing love to chase after things that promised much but delivered little. Help us see the broken cisterns in our own lives—the places where we've tried to find security, identity, and satisfaction apart from You. Show us how empty these substitutes really are, not to shame us but to draw us back to the abundance that flows from Your heart. We're thirsty, Lord. We're tired of trying to make broken things work. Draw us back to the fresh, life-giving water that only You can provide. Remind us again of Your faithfulness in our past, and help us trust You with our future. Restore the joy of our relationship with You; in Jesus' strong name we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. OUR CALL TO ACTION: What cisterns have you been digging? What sources of satisfaction have you been relying on that might be leaking or running dry? Instead of frantically trying to repair what's broken, consider returning to the fountain of living water. Spend time in prayer and Scripture, allowing God's presence to refresh your soul in ways that your substitutes never could.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Behave! The Rewards Are Outta This World!

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1 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. 4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” 6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” 7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. (Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-15 NIV)

Happy Happy Happy Day, dear Friend! I pray God's smiling face be upon you, which I know it is - do you? The joy of the Lord is my strength! Is it yours? It can be! Every single word from God's word that you read provides you with a connection, if not the connection, to face the day, make your decisions, and to get that added boost to move forward and upward! These aches and pains will soon leave us; but the great things like joy, the smile of loved ones, the memories of those gone on before us; those cannot and will not be erased!

I love that God saw fit to add a BEHAVE section to His precious word. I know, it's a shame really that we should know and do better, but we don't. I'm the first to admit the mischievousness of my younger years still lingers, invited and otherwise, sometimes getting me into situations I didn't much anticipate. But it hit me that as we read the Bible and follow God's path along it, we have the Old Testament and all that it contains to prepare us for Jesus; boom, we come to the New Testament, and Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John say, "Tah dah, hereeeeee's Jesus!" And yes, Come, Lord Jesus! we say. Then Luke says, and here's how we responded in the book of Acts, and the rest of it says, behave! Yes, you read that right! Paul, called of God by Jesus Himself, has to write letters to folks who were NOT behaving! You would think the Here's Jesus part would have made all people say, "I know Jesus loves me and so I will live like Him! But, no; what do we read about in Paul's letters? Stop doing this, don't do that; behave!

And here we are, reading what may be Paul's letter to all the people who are Hebrew. And how does this passage start? "Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters." Okay, most brothers and sisters do love each other, but sometimes they don't. And sometimes they fight or argue. Paul continues, "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." Whoa, you forgot there's a supernatural component to our faith did you? You can't and shouldn't! Some people, Paul says, were so nice to some strangers that they were really being nice to angels!! Think about the "brownie points" those loving souls got on that day. And they did it not for the points, but because it was just a part of their nature to do good, like showing hospitality. What would today's modern Christians be doing? I won't answer that, but will sigh along with you.

This next part will sound like Paul's not only saying behave, but some would say, he's gone to meddlin'. Which is a Texas way of getting into businesses that are not ours. But, if I'm remembering correctly, he's merely reinforcing what Our Lord said in Matthew 25: "Remember those in person as if you were with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." And the list goes on as a summary of all Paul shared in his many letters to believers. Our discipleship is costly, requiring our obedience to God to bless all people.

When someone is forgotten by society, we remember them. When someone is oppressed, we feel their pain as if it were our own. This kind of love is costly—it disrupts our comfortable routines and forces us to care about problems we didn't create and can't easily solve.

The challenge extends to our marriages and relationships: "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure." In a culture that treats commitment as conditional and purity as outdated, following Christ means swimming against the current, choosing faithfulness even when it's difficult.

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" The writer connects contentment directly to God's faithfulness. When we're secure in His unchanging presence, we're free from the anxiety that drives endless accumulation.

This isn't about settling for less or lacking ambition. It's about finding your security in the right place. When you know that the God who owns everything will never abandon you, you can hold earthly possessions lightly. You can be generous because you're not afraid of running out. You can be content because your worth isn't measured by your wealth.

The passage culminates in a beautiful picture of worship: "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."

Real worship isn't confined to Sunday mornings. It's a lifestyle of praise and practical love. It's lips that speak God's goodness and hands that demonstrate it. The same Jesus who receives our songs of praise also delights in our acts of service.

Notice that both praise and generosity are called "sacrifices." They cost us something—our pride, our comfort, our resources. But these are the sacrifices that please God, not because He needs them but because they transform us into people who reflect His character.

Because Jesus never changes, we can live with confidence even in uncertain times. We can love boldly because His love for us never wavers. We can give generously because His provision never fails. We can extend hospitality because His welcome of us is permanent. We can speak truth because His Word endures forever.

This isn't about trying harder to be good Christians. It's about allowing the unchanging nature of Christ to work through our ever-changing lives, creating stability in chaos and hope in uncertainty.

PRAYER: Loving Father, thank You for Jesus, Who remains unchanging, ever loving and ever ready to forgive and to deploy us to do His work. We know there is much work still to be done and we willingly accept, with Your grace and peace to do what we need to do, to reach the world for Jesus. We want to, and with Your help, will behave! We love You, Loving Father; we pray in the Name above all Names, Jesus, our Lord, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: This week, choose one specific way to live out the unchanging love of Christ in your changing world. Perhaps it's reaching out to someone who feels forgotten, practicing radical hospitality by inviting someone new into your home, or finding a practical way to support those who are suffering.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

A Kingdom Meal

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1 On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. 7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8 "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9 and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, "Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, "Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." 12 He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." (Luke 14:1, 7-14 NRSV)

Happy Wednesday, dear Friend! Welcome back! And thank you for your kind and generous prayers for me. I saw Dr. Box this morning and my healing is on track! I had hoped the uncomfortable brace would come off, but it's the primary instrument of healing pre-therapy so I need to keep it on for about four weeks. It will be next week when the sutures come off and therapy will begin in about a month. I am so thankful for your prayers and thankful to God for His mercy and patience shared with me. I'm so thankful to my bride for her loving care and patience with me and her willingness to take up driving again to get me to the doctor's office! I love you, Nellie!

The Bible is an honest book. The Bible is a book of geography. The Bible is also a book about meals. The meals shared with us serve deep purposes; celebrations, remembrances, vision-setting, etc. etc. Some of the meals in the Bible mirror ours on earth, where someone invites another to eat, and in response they invite each other back, etc. In fact, the Bible closes with a celebration meal where all who lived and died in the Lord will rejoice in His presence as eternity opens and the earthly ends.

You and I have been blessed to have been seated at numerous meals where we were blessed by the company, the invitation, the actual food, and the honor of being in the company of those who hosted. I have sat with with a friend who shared his last two slices of whole wheat bread, the last tablespoon of natural peanut butter, and two eggs at a time when I had no food in my cupboards and believe me it was a banquet and a feast! I've also sat at tables where the price of the meal was $650 a plate, and I was the recipient of six free tickets so that Nellie and our girls could join us in an exclusive meal in Washington, D.C. I've also been told that it was time to eat and that I should leave. I have also been fed in homes where the family was sharing a part of what little they had for the rest of the month. As a pastor I have been seated at tables of honor and at tables near the kid's table.

Jesus notices at a meal to which He has been invited at the home of the leader of the Pharisees that on the Sabbath how the other guests acted when it was time to be seated. The other guests chose the places of honor, so He responded with a parable. It was about humility. "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, 'Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would have to take the lowest place.'" Jesus teaches that if one starts with humility and willingly seats themselves at the lowest place so that the host may come and invite you to move up to the place of honor. The lesson Jesus says, "For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Boom!

But Jesus doesn't stop with personal humility. He pushes deeper, challenging the very motivation behind our generosity: "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid."

This hits uncomfortably close to home. How often do we give strategically? How frequently do our acts of kindness come with subtle strings attached—expecting gratitude, reciprocation, or at least recognition?

Jesus calls us to something revolutionary: generosity without guarantee of return. He challenges us to extend our table to "the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind"—those who cannot enhance our social status, advance our careers, or repay our kindness.

This is kingdom mathematics: when you give expecting nothing back, you receive everything that matters.

The beauty of Jesus' teaching is that it offers both immediate freedom and eternal reward. When we stop chasing human approval and start seeking God's approval, we discover a peace that the world's ladder-climbing can never provide. When we give without expecting return, we tap into the inexhaustible joy of participating in God's own generous nature.

But let's be honest—this is countercultural and challenging. Our society rewards self-promotion and strategic networking. We're told to "look out for number one" and "leverage our relationships." Jesus asks us to trust that God's way, though it appears foolish to the world, leads to true blessing.

The question isn't whether God's way works—it's whether we'll have the courage to try it. This passage confronts our tendency to treat relationships as transactions and generosity as investment. Jesus reveals that when we serve those who cannot serve us back, we discover the heart of God Himself. We find that the blessing isn't in what we receive but in becoming the kind of people who give freely.

This doesn't mean abandoning friendships or neglecting family. It means expanding our circle of care beyond those who can benefit us. It means looking for opportunities to serve without recognition, to give without reciprocation, to love without conditions.

PRAYER: Loving God, You always show us the better way; forgive us for thinking we know better or could do better. Grant us hearts to love others, even the ones no one else wants or even sees. Grant us your eyes to reach all; this we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Instead of seeking the place of honor, intentionally choose to serve behind the scenes. Instead of only spending time with those who can benefit you, reach out to someone who cannot repay your kindness—perhaps through volunteering, visiting someone lonely, or simply showing unexpected generosity to a stranger. Notice how it feels to give without expecting anything in return, and discover for yourself the blessing Jesus promises to those who live by His radical love.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Break Free!

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10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11 And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment." 13 When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. 14 But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day." 15 But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?" 17 When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing. (Luke 13:10-17 NRSV)

Eighteen years. Let that number settle in your heart for a moment. Eighteen years of looking down instead of up. Eighteen years of seeing feet instead of faces, dust instead of sky. This unnamed woman carried not just physical affliction, but the accumulated weight of social invisibility, religious exclusion, and daily humiliation.

Yet something remarkable happens in this passage: Jesus sees her. In a culture where women, especially disabled women, were often overlooked, Jesus notices. He doesn't wait for her to cry out, to push through crowds, or to prove her worthiness. He simply sees her need and acts.

But here's where the story gets uncomfortable for us. The religious leaders are indignant—not because a woman suffered for eighteen years, but because Jesus chose to heal her on the Sabbath. They had grown so attached to their interpretation of God's law that they couldn't celebrate God's mercy when it appeared right before them.

How often do we find ourselves in the same position? How often do our rigid expectations of how God should work blind us to how God is actually working? We can become so invested in our theological boxes, our denominational boundaries, our cultural preferences, that we miss the very presence of Christ moving among us.

Jesus calls the religious leaders "hypocrites," pointing out that they would untie their animals to give them water on the Sabbath, yet they begrudge freedom for a "daughter of Abraham" who has been bound for nearly two decades. The logic is devastating: if compassion for livestock is acceptable, how much more should we celebrate the liberation of a human being created in God's image?

This challenges us to examine our own hearts. What have we allowed to become more important than human dignity and freedom? What rules, traditions, or comfort zones have we elevated above love? Where might we be hindering rather than helping God's work of healing and restoration in the world?

The woman's immediate response to healing is profound—she stands up straight and praises God. There's something beautiful about the connection between physical healing and spiritual worship. When we experience God's liberating power in our lives, praise becomes as natural as breathing.

But notice that her healing doesn't just affect her—it affects the entire community. The religious leaders are put to shame, and "the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing" (v. 17). Freedom is contagious. When one person is liberated, it creates ripple effects that can transform entire communities.

We all have our bent places—areas where we've been curved inward by pain, fear, shame, or simply the weight of living in a broken world. Some of our ailments are visible, others hidden. Some we've carried for eighteen years, others for eighteen days. But the same Jesus who saw and healed this woman sees us too.

The question is: Are we willing to let him straighten what has been bent? Are we ready to stand tall and praise God, even if it makes others uncomfortable? And perhaps most challengingly, are we prepared to celebrate when others experience the same liberation we long for ourselves?

PRAYER: Gracious God, like the woman in this story, we come before you carrying the weight of our bent places—the areas where pain, fear, and brokenness have curved us inward and downward. Open our eyes to see your presence among us, even in unexpected moments and places. Give us the courage to stand straight when you call us to freedom, and help us celebrate liberation wherever we encounter it, even when it challenges our expectations. May we be people who see others as you see them—beloved children worthy of dignity, healing, and hope. Through Christ our liberator, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: This week, look for someone who has been "bent over"—perhaps by circumstances, systemic injustice, or simply the weight of daily struggles. Practice the ministry of seeing: notice them as Jesus noticed the woman in the synagogue. Then ask yourself: How might God be calling you to participate in their liberation? It might be through advocacy, practical help, a kind word, or simply the gift of being truly seen and valued. Let the healing of this ancient woman inspire contemporary acts of compassion and justice in your own community.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Restoration God

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1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth 2 before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us! 8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. 9 You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches; 11 it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River. 12 Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? 13 The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it. 14 Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, 15 the stock that your right hand planted. 16 They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance. 17 But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. 18 Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name.19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved. (Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19 NRSV)

Our God is a God of Life. Newness and Life. Compassion and Love. Fresh Starts and Second Chances. The Author of the unfinished book, but Who is still writing; each stroke brings something wonderful and unexpected. Our God is the God who calls and sends. Our God equips the saints willing to serve and some of the transformations are incredible. Our God has heard all the excuses in the world and counters those which need changing. The call may not be to lead a mega church or preach in arenas; but a call to love your neighbor is just as important if not more. The call to walk across the aisle in church to shake the hand of the brother or sister you've come to consider an enemy rather than a spiritual sibling; can and should be made. You may be called to spend time with your family and away from the phone. The psalmist is sharing his call to God, Who has been calling us all along.

Ask any honest preacher why she is a preacher and she will tell you a story of transformation. Ask any honest lay leader, Sunday school teacher, youth counselor, etc., and you will hear the tales of God's involvement in lives, many unsuspecting, and how God brought those changes and the blessings began flowing.

The psalmist cries out to the Shepherd of Israel—the One who led His people like a flock and planted them like a choice vine. God had tenderly uprooted His people from Egypt, clearing the land and allowing them to take root and flourish. But now, the vineyard lies vulnerable, its walls broken, its branches ravaged by enemies.

This passage forces us to wrestle with two truths:

God is both the loving planter who delights in His vineyard and the righteous Judge who allows it to experience the consequences of neglecting Him.

Restoration is possible, but it requires honest repentance and a turning back to Him.

The refrain “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved” is more than a poetic cry—it’s a declaration of dependence. It says, “We cannot fix this on our own. We need Your presence, Your mercy, Your power.”

Our lives, too, can be like that vineyard—once flourishing under God’s care, but vulnerable when we let down the walls of prayer, compromise our obedience, or pursue self-reliance. The good news is that the same God who plants and prunes is also the One who restores and revives. But He calls us to return, not halfway, but fully—our hearts, our wills, our lives.

PRAYER: Lord, You are my Shepherd and the Gardener of our souls. We confess the places where we have allowed the walls to crumble and the weeds to grow. Shine Your face on us again. Uproot what is harmful, strengthen what is weak, and cause us to bear fruit that lasts. Restore our joy, renew our faith, and make our lives a vineyard that honors You. In Jesus’ strong name we pray, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Identify one “broken wall” in your walk with God this week. Bring it before Him in prayer and invite His restoring work to begin there.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

The Song of the Vineyard

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1 I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. 3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? 5 Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.” 7 The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. (Isaiah 5:1-7 NIV)

Friends, as we pray, please pray for the family of Mr. Hector Cruz, beloved neighbor and friend, who died Sunday of a cardiac arrest. May God's comfort be with his wife, Terri, and their beautiful family. Hector will be laid to rest in his beloved Colorado.

My father found time to plant and grow trees and shrubs and plants of all kinds in our yard in Kingsville, Texas. One time it was a China Apple tree, or so we called it; tiny, semi-sweet apples would come forth and soon were gone. Hmm, I wonder why? We had a huge pomegranate shrub that yielded very sweet pomegranates that we enjoyed thoroughly consuming. We had carnation plants that brought forth nice flowers that my Mom and grandma loved on Mother's and Father's Day. I once planted watermelon seeds and had a nice watermelon that was slightly bigger than a football and very sweet. There's something to be said about the earth bringing forth new life, more especially edible life or life that can fill the air with awesome aromas. And for Israel, nothing said more about its own life than that of a vineyard, which were common to them. In 1962, a Yale School of Divinity professor, Dr. B. Davie Napier, wrote a book with that name, Song of The Vineyard, as an introduction to the theology of the Old Testament. The author went on to become president of Pacific School of Religion; and it sets out a way for people to more fully understand God's work among the people called Israelites. God is the owner and planter of the vineyard. He loves it. And later in scripture we meet God's Son, Jesus, Who says He is the true vine. The writer of this passage has him singing to God a love song about this vineyard. It sits on a fertile hillside and it has been cleaned up and made ready for its purpose. A watchtower is set in it as are winepresses; the only thing missing is a crop of good grapes. The poor vineyard could only bring forth bad fruit, aka sour grapes. I pause to mention this is the right season in our grocery store for the most sweet and delicious white grapes, which I personally prefer; but the days leading to the perfect crop some days bring not-so-good, not so sweet grapes.

God, as He talks with those living in Jerusalem that He has done all He could yet the crops are not what God desires. The only thing left is to bring about destruction, headed towards a wasteland; an unpruned non-cultivated land that will soon share its fertile land with briers and thorns and clouds will only pass over that land. The reason? The nation gave up being a just land choosing instead to be a land of bloodshed. God looked for righteousness and only heard cries of those in trouble, hurting; giving up.

This isn’t just ancient poetry—it’s a sobering reminder of the deep relationship God longs to have with His people, and the disappointment when His care is met with rebellion or neglect. In the story, the vineyard is Israel, but today it could easily be us—our lives, churches, and communities. God has given us everything needed to bear the fruit of justice, mercy, and righteousness. What are we producing?

Bad fruit comes when we lose our focus on Him, when our priorities shift toward self-interest, or when we grow complacent. Good fruit grows when our roots sink deep into His Word, when we are attentive to His voice, and when we love as He loves.

Isaiah’s warning is clear: God expects His vineyard to yield fruit worthy of His care. The question is—what will He find when He comes to inspect the harvest in our lives? When will we begin to truly do what God wants from us? What will it take for us to become the desired vineyard of the Lord?

PRAYER: Lord, You have poured out Your love, care, and provision over our lives. Forgive us for the times we’ve allowed weeds of sin and self-interest to grow in our hearts. Tend the soil of our souls. Prune what is unfruitful. Help us to bear fruit that honors You—fruit of love, justice, mercy, and humility. May our lives be those vineyards that brings You joy. In Jesus’ strong name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Examine your “vineyard” this week. Ask God to show you one area where He desires more fruit—and be intentional in nurturing it through prayer, obedience, and love.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio.Valverde, Jr.

Run With Perserverance

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29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days. 31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. 32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 11:29-12:2 NRSV)

A tremendous Tuesday, Friend! Make it a day of prayer filled with power and passion for Jesus! Lift high His name with those who seek healing, new lives, new opportunities, new relationships, and new ministry venues. Make it a day you spend with Jesus so that others may come to know Him.

As a child I ran everywhere I could. I loved to run but I also loved to eat and thus my body never really reflected a discipline life of exercise. Oh well. I enjoyed running and riding my bike. And years later in Houston as I tried out for the school's football team I was told I needed to run a mile under seven minutes. Upon hearing it it scared me a bit, but as I thought about it and talked to others interested in the team as well, we decided that if we could keep a certain pace we would make it. The pace we determined would be one, two, three, four, and repeat, one, two, three, four. I started to have faith in myself, that with God's help, I could make the team. And I did.

The writer of Hebrews continues with his masterpiece on faith. It's an encouraging who'w who and what's up of what things faith made possible in the Old Testament. The people of Israel walked through the Red Sea on dry land; the Egyptians were not so lucky. Faith saw impenetrable walls fall; and women of questionable morals had her life turned around to be included in the lineage of Jesus! And on and on reads the list of what could happen, happen because of faith. Even to the prophets who endured suffering—each story testifies that faith is not passive. It moves forward, even when the path is costly.

By the time we reach chapter 12, the imagery shifts to a race. We are surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses”—those who have already finished their course. Their example is meant to inspire, but not to distract. The focus is clear: fix your eyes on Jesus, and run the race at God's pace.

The race of faith requires both endurance and shedding. Each of us can and should run that race. Endurance is needed because the road is long and often uphill. And as we run, we need to shed those uncessary burdens be they sins, fears, or distractions because they will weigh us down and will slow us down if we cling to them. The call is to travel light, unentangled, and wholly focused on Christ.

Jesus is not only the one who begins our faith (“pioneer”) but also the one who brings it to completion (“perfecter”). He ran His own race with joy, even when it meant the agony of the cross, because He knew what lay beyond—the redemption of His people and the glory of God.

The challenge for us is to run with that same focus. The invitation is to remember that we do not run alone. The witnesses cheer us on, Christ runs before us, and His Spirit strengthens us every step of the way.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You are the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. Thank You for the cloud of witnesses whose lives inspire us to endure. Help us to lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely. Strengthen our hearts to run with perseverance, eyes fixed on You, no matter the cost. May our lives bring glory to the Father as we follow Your path. Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Run your race with endurance—eyes fixed on Jesus, heart free from all that would hold you back.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Jesus: The Fire in Your Life

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49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” 54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time? (Luke 12:49-56 NIV)

Dear Friend, As we pray today, please add to your prayers, Mr. Clay Pace has asked "Please pray for a friend of mine Pete Jauer. He's 84 years old and has become weaker to the point of his Dr's hinting to him that he's just winding down. He called me yesterday and told me he will live or die and he's alright with either as he a man of strong faith." May God's will be done in Brother Jauer's life. Pray for one another; pray for your needs.

Just yesterday I heard the story of the most insignificant, but most influential man in Christian history. It concerned a revival being held by the Evangelist Mordecai Ham who had filled his tent with interested people from North Carolina In November, 1934. Two fourteen year old boys were walking by intrigued by what they were hearing, but when they peeked inside the tent they determined there wasn't any room for them and so continued walking away. An usher saw the boys and ran after them and said, "Boys, I can find you two seats near the front!" The two stayed and followed the man to their seats. As they heard the bold proclamation of God's love, they both walked to the front and surrendered their lives to the Lord Jesus. The two boys were Grady Wilson and Billy Graham. Billy, as you well know, became an evangelist who preached the gospel to almost a billion people around the world. Grady became a key associate in The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The person sharing the story asked what would have become if that one usher did not take it as his job to bring the boys back? The fire in the usher's heart for his job is precisely what Jesus is talking about in this passage. The usher's fire brought about the first in Billy's heart that led him to preach the word that reached the world. My bride shared how when she knew that Billy was going to be on TV she would not miss a broadcast of Mr. Graham's sermons.

Slave-trader John Newton is another figure in history, whose life was changed for the better when he realized the importance and power of God in his life. It led to his conversion and his rejection of humans owning other humans, and eventually he gave up his job as a ship's captain and led him to writing the famous hymn many of us love, Amazing Grace, a personal reflection on God's power to transform.

These words of Jesus are jarring. We often picture Him as the gentle Shepherd, the Prince of Peace. Yet here, He speaks of fire, division, and urgency. This is not the soothing language of comfort—it is the sharp call of confrontation.

The “fire” Jesus speaks of is both purifying and refining. Fire reveals what is true, burning away what is false. When Christ comes into a life, things cannot stay the same. His presence forces a choice: Will we align with His truth, or resist it?

Jesus knew that His mission would divide even the closest of relationships. The peace He offers is not the shallow peace of avoiding conflict, but the deep peace that comes through surrender to God—sometimes at great cost. Following Him will mean parting ways with values, priorities, and sometimes even people who pull us away from obedience.

The crowd listening to Jesus could predict tomorrow’s weather but failed to recognize the spiritual moment right before them. The challenge remains for us: Do we see what God is doing in our time, or are we distracted by everything else?

This passage is both invitation and warning. Jesus is inviting us to be part of His refining work, to let His fire consume our self-reliance, our compromise, and our comfortable faith. But He warns that ignoring the urgency of His call is dangerous. The time to choose is now.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You are the refining fire our souls need. Forgive us for wanting a comfortable faith instead of a courageous one. Burn away everything in us that resists Your will. Give us discernment to see what You are doing in our time, and the courage to follow wherever You lead—even when it costs us. Kindle Your fire in us, and let it spread. In Your powerful name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Don’t settle for a lukewarm faith. Let Christ’s fire refine you, awaken you, and set you wholly apart for Him.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.