WHEN SNAKES WALKED UPRIGHT

Good day dear friends.
Growing up and eavesdropping on conversations between my mother and her sisters, other cousins, and aunts, sometimes I would hear my mom or someone else in the conversation say about a person being discussed, "Oh she's been around since snakes walked upright!" Being young I would think, they did? I hadn't yet made the connection to the biblical story or may not have paid that close attention to the snake in the Adam and Eve story yet.
Last night at youth the topic was on fear so it seemed a natural place to take the fear of snakes to Genesis 3. The story opens with a description of the snake ("serpent") as being more "crafty" or some other word describing its tendency to deceive. I asked the kids what they noticed about the snake's abilities, and one said, "It lies!" I said, back it up a bit, and someone correctly replied, "It can talk!"Yes, and we can imagine it's have a face to face conversation with this woman, and she's apparently not afraid of this snake as many would be. And it could carry on a face-to-face conversation because it walked upright. Texans can easily imagine a six-foot rattler having a face to face with someone if it walked upright. Most Texans can easily imagine running away from an upright snake!
Temptation comes sometimes in weird form. It may not resemble the usual. In fact that's why we sometimes give in because we think it's either too good, or too easy not to pass up whatever invitation temptation has brought. That's why internet scams find so many takers: the idea of easy or fast money can't be passed up and desperation keeps us from thinking through the offer. You probably get the tons of postcards or letters advising us of money, cars, lands, vacations, etc. that are ours if we will just do, and usually they want our credit or bank account number. Gotcha!
God wants us to "be wise as serpents and harmless as doves." (Mat 10:16). In other words astute about what's being offered in the form of a potential sin, and to not give in. Many a time we've walked away from a potential sin and we may have even shaken our heads and said, "I can't believe I walked away from that" only to not very much later have said, "Thank God, He helped me walk away otherwise I would be..."
We're the ones who walk upright. Let's be upright with God.
PRAYER: Loving Father, we thank You for Your presence with us. Let me walk upright today in my spiritual walk. Make me as wise as a serpent to see what is really being offered or said to me, and let me be able to walk away from that which will harm me or others. I pray this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

THE FUTURE

Good day dear friends.
Diana Wiley leaves today for Rwanda. I mentioned in yesterday's ConCafe that she was leaving yesterday. Please keep her in your prayers.
Our text for this day is Jeremiah 29:11 which reads: "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope."
The current issue of Texas Monthly is on The Future. It is a black cover with a black and white photograph of Lance Armstrong. It is a bold move to come out with an entire issue of a magazine that tries to determine the future. What does the future hold? We've all asked that question at one time or another. And recently in two sermons I asked how many wanted to know the day of the death, and even the manner in which they would die. Only very few wanted to know the day of their death and even fewer the manner in which they would die. Most, like yours truly, would like to be surprised.
Why do we wonder/worry about the future? Can we be better prepared and would we be better prepared for it if we knew all the details? Some might, others would put off important details until the last minute. What does the future hold we ask? The Christian says, "I may not know what the future holds, but I know Who holds the future."The hymn writer, Bill Gaither said it best, "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow."
So, go ahead Texas Monthly and others, predict away. We'll stay focused on He who will see us through all things. After all, the verse for today says it all. Why worry about our coming days when the greatest present for the present is Christ Jesus Himself.
PRAYER: Loving God of today and all days, help me in my faith to face today and all it brings. You hold the future and You know the plans You have for us. Forgive me the times I've planned it out so carefully without checking or trusting in You. I trust You and I know You love me. I pray in Jesus' Name, Amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.

TEE TIME IS ME TIME. GOD CAN WAIT.

Good day dear friends.
Today in your prayer time, please lift up our sister Diana Wiley as she prepares to leave today for Rwanda. Diana is planning to take two teams there as well as a team to Mozambique and she needs our prayers. May the Lord seal her with His Holy Spirit and protect her goings and comings. May the Lord call to those who should be going to mission in Africa. Once your prayers are in that region, please pray for Kenya and the ethnic genocide that is going on there. The death toll is already 800 people and the pictures that the media has been showing on those deaths have been alarming. Pray for the families of five soliders killed by a roadside bomb yesterday. Rev. Bill Henderson's son, Billy, is preparing to go to Iraq, please pray for his safekeeping.
Here is a favorite passage of many from Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; 7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
Our church was visited by death. We had three funerals in one week. Each touched many, and this load is heavy on the pastors as we've participated in all three. Saturday's funeral was especially tiring as we celebrated the worship service here in San Marcos, with burial north of Georgetown. I rode in the hearse and the driver and I had to wait until all the family left the graveside before we could leave. I was at the church at 9 a.m. and returned back to the church at 3:15 p.m. Not complaining, just informing.
Two world religious leaders died within the last couple of days. The Mormons lost their president and the Greek Orthodox Church lost their archbishop. Archbishop Christodoulos died at age 69, and Gordon B. Hinckley, head of the Mormons died at the age of 97. May God comfort those families and church families during this time.
Their deaths coupled with a discussion in our Sunday school class about the declining number of individuals responding to God's call into ministry makes this a day for praying for the ordained ministry. All in our class wanted to know why is the number of young men declining and the number of young women entering the ministry increasing? (We're talking percentage, given the overall decline of total people into ministry.) There are several reasons, though each person might have their own opinion or reason. General church worship attendance here in our country is down to 40%. Four out of ten people still feel the need to be in corporate worship. Six don't feel anything obviously, maybe they feel sleepy and sleep in. Yesterday a colleague said he lost some families because their church changed worship times and the patriarch of this family said Sunday at 8:15 was the only time he and his sons could play golf. We see where their priority is. "Sorry God, first things first." Then there's the perception of ministers from church families. If a family thinks little of the minister or worse, holds him in low esteem, how can the Lord move among the children of that family when all the child hears are negative things about ministers? Interestingly enough, God will sometimes call forth ministers from those very families, as if to say, "How will you feel once your son/daughter becomes the target of criticism from people just like you?" Hmm.
May our prayer today be one for God to continue to bless His church. I believe God is moving. Some say, "God's up to something!" He always is. Our God is a God of adventure and excitement. Never a dull moment in His service. Many have been the colleagues who have shared with me wonderful, unexpected, unexplainable things God did during the last month of 2007. May 2008 be the year when we see more young men and women saying yes to God as God continues to call servants into His ministry. May our prayers reflect our attiudes towards God's servants in our midst. May our words be word of life, hope, and love as we pray for one another.
PRAYER: Loving God of the church, bring Your comfort and peace to those who mourn. As we pray today for the ordained ministry, may You continue to call those whom can best serve You. May we be visited by Your Spirit to truly be the church in all ways. Forgive us when we put ourselves first and You last. May You always be first in my life and in Your church. I pray in the Name of He who put You first, Jesus my Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

THE FRONT PORCH

Good day dear friends.

Luke 10:29: "And who is my neighbor?"

If you were designing a new home for yourself and family, would you choose a front porch or a rear deck? Think long and hard about that. Have you seen a new home being built with a front porch? When we lived in San Antonio, we loved to go to the Parade of Homes. The event is to showcase new homes being built in neighborhoods that we'll call "pricey." One of those years, one of the homes had a porch that went around the three sides of the house, and we thought it was the most interesting of all the homes on the parade that year. It said a lot about who might have built the home and would say a lot about who would buy it.
A front porch brings back memories of a different time. People wanted to see and interact with other people. Why did we shift from that to a time now where we have peep holes and some say, "Who is it?" to "What in the world do they want?" or even "Shhh! Be quiet, they might think we're not home!" Hmm. In many ways the attitude of our country has changed as well. At one time we were the rich neighbor with the open door policy to all. Why, we even have a statue in New York that has something that is not read much or followed much any more. We've become the neighbor of the rear deck. We're home, but we're entertaining ourselves, being outside we can't hear the doorbell.

Is that reflected in our churches as well? Is that the role of our ushers and greeters? I believe that the church has become our "front porch" in many ways, and God's call to us is to keep it like the front porch of old: Make everyone feel welcome, call out to people, ask how they're doing, find out ways to be neighborly, and help out when needed.

PRAYER: Lord, when you answered that question to the rich young ruler, you shared a story of compassion between a nonJew and a Jew. That neighbor went out of his way to care for someone that normally might have gone out of his way to avoid him or even hurt him. Lord, help me today not turn away but turn towards my neighbor. He may not look like me. She may not speak like me, but they are my neighbor. I pray this in Your Name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

e.v.

THE DO NOT PRAY REGISTRY

Good day dear friends.
I dislike, strongly dislike the use of the word "hate," however, I come close to using that term when it comes to a certain company that loves to call my house, and probably yours, at different hours of the day. This morning that call came at 4:30 a.m. Not the best time of day to call to sell me something. I looked at the Caller ID and saw that it was my friends at that company, and so I just picked up and dropped the phone back into its cradle. Once up and ready to do this devotional, I decided to report this company, again, to the Do Not Call Registry that the US Government operates. This agency knows that not all companies will abide by its rules, and like this one particular company, will continue to hound us to either complete a short survery or consider buying whatever it is they are selling. What makes it worse is now text messages are appearing on my cell phone with offers to buy good from online pharmacies. Just what I needed!
If you are having problems with these annoying callers, you can register your home and cell phone numbers with the National Do Not Call Registry at http://www.donotcall.gov/. You can just click on the Register part and follow their instructions. If only there was a way to block my email addresses from spammers...
I thought to myself you know there is a Do No Pray Registry and folks don't even have to sign up for it, they just live it. I shudder to think what life would be like if I didn't take time to pray. At Wednesday's study with the youth, we studied Dreams and Visions, and the one lesson we learned from Joseph and St. Paul, just two of many who experienced dreams and visions, the common thread was that these people were always connected with God and because of that they could be the recipients of God's dreams and visions. They were able to look over the heads of men and women and see God's vision for them. I asked the kids how they stayed connected with home or friends if they didn't carry their cell phones everywhere. Only one youth, and boy did she let us know it, does not own a cell phone. Thanks to the cell phone the myth that 2/3 of the world's population no longer can say they've never made a phone call. It's been interesting to see photos or news stories of remote areas of the world where you can see cell phones tucked into belts next to swords or guns or other weapons. One funny scene was in the OLD Crocodile Dundee movie where an aborigine is able to do something rather quickly fooling even Mick Dundee, and it was because of his cell phone and not smoke or drum signals.
Are you on the Do Not Pray Registry? That is the one that says you will not pray? Chances are because you are reading this that you are a person of prayer and for that I thank God for you. You help bless the church. Those who do not pray bring sadly, the opposite effect to God's church. If you do happen to be registerd as a Do Not Pray person, please change that right now. Pray!
PRAYER: Dear God, I thank You for all those who pray. I thank You for those who seek You through their prayers and have blessed Your church. I ask Lord You would touch those who do not pray and help them to see they would do so much more if they would just take time to pray. Be glorified today in me I ask, in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

NO ROOM AT THE INN

Good day dear friends.

I am set to go to General Conference as part of a committee that puts the Book of Discipline together. For those of you who aren't United Methodist, every four years, delegates from around the globe gather in a place to vote on what goes or leaves the Book of Discipline (BOD). The BOD is our book of law in a matter of speaking. There is a year-round agency that works with an elected committee to select the places where we meet as a General Conference. The GC meets usually in the spring, this time around late April (23rd thru May 2nd). Given the size of the conference many cities are quite interested in welcoming us. There are roughly one thousand delegates, spouses, sometimes children, media, general agency folks, the world's largest Cokesbury (our official United Methodist store that for the ten days of the conference sets up floor space that rivals most Best Buys or Circuit Cities), bringing the total of those with the GC to about 7,000. The city that is hosting us this time is Fort Worth, Texas, just up the road from us. It is interesting that the area where most of the GC will take place used to be called "Hell's Half Acre," a site of ill repute (see http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nl/content3.asp?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=2789379&ct=4710975). In trying to woo the GC, a lot of promises were made, as you can imagine, and one of them was that a huge Sheraton with 2,000 rooms would be completed right across the street from the FW Convention Center. Wouldn't you know it that the news just came down that the Sheraton will NOT be ready in time to have that block of rooms for UM delegates. Did someone say panic?
There are all sorts of plans being made, with each delegation attending scrambling to find off-site rooms, and the GC folks are promising a regular shuttle service between the conference site and all the hotels and motels in town. Indeed, the scene is Biblical. There is no room at the inn, because the inn is still under construction.

I sit with the delegation as we make plans for General Conference. While I am not a GC delegate, I am a Jurisdictional Conference (JC) delegate. JC meets in the summer after the spring meeting of GC. This time around we're meeting in Dallas. I believe Dallas is ready for our group. It was fun to hear different ideas about what to do, where to stay. Someone had a church member who owns a lakefront cabin not far from Ft. Worth that could sleep four comfortably, eight as well, though they didn't say "uncomfortably." Someone suggested renting a suite with two bedrooms in the Hilton, which may become or is, the official hotel for the GC, our conference's suite for resting, meeting, planning, etc. That was until someone remembered those are expensive. Darn! But what was interesting to hear and we'll be reading more about this later, are those folks who live in FW who are willing to let folks stay with them as their guest for the ten days. That takes a lot for those families and individuals who are willing to provide hospitality as the Bible teaches.

Growing up in the Spanish language conference, The Rio Grande Conference, our youth retreats were done in that way; youth who attended say a conference in Austin from Houston or San Antonio were housed with a family willing to take youth for the weekend. That was always an adventure for both the host family and the youth staying with them. It was at an Austin meeting of the youth, that the son of such parents took three of us guys from Houston to his house without first consulting with his parents. We couldn't hear the full "discussion" with "Junior," but the hushed tones did carry some expression. It all worked out. No telling what Junior had to suffer in the days after we left... but that's another story.
What we can do is to be in prayer and fasting for the business of the General Conference. Delegates will be voting on important policy of our church. Pray the God's Holy Spirit guide each delegate and each person participating or observing the conference in ways that glorify God.

PRAYER: Loving God, guide us and those we've mentioned in this article to faithfulness and fruitfulness. May we always be guide by You. We thank You for Your love, in Jesus' Name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

e.v.

DEAR MARTIN

Good day dear friends.

Today's text comes from Acts 10:27-28 "And as he (Peter) talked with him, he went in and found that many had assembled; and he said to them, "You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean."

Today is Martin Luther King Day. You will receive no mail nor any other service from those governmental agencies that respect the day as a holiday. Our church office is closed, though tonight we will have not one but two meetings. Today is also the day that retired Bishop Woodie White writes his annual "Dear Martin" letter. Immediately after the assassination of the great civil rights leader, Bishop White, then a pastor wrote a letter to Dr. King bringing him up to date on what strides we've made in civil rights. I regret I have not read that letter for this year since it isn't published yet. Last year's letter had to do with Bishop White's burden on his heart about the war that we're engaged in.

This year, I wish Bishop White and we, could say we're away from war and that we as a nation love one another and that racism is a thing of the past. It is still a part of the prayer list of many a Christian and I hope yours as well. This year Bishop White will certainly mention that on the Golf Channel, one of the talking heads, Ms. Kelly Tilghman "joked" that young golfers who do not measure up to Tiger Woods' ability should "lynch him in a back alley." What a joke. Tiger for his part graciously accepted Ms. Tilghman's apology and moved on. Don Imus was fired for a season for saying something stupid, this "joke" involves the killing of an innocent black man and as far as I know she was only suspended for two weeks. This past week "Golfweek" magazine fired its vice-president and editor Dave Seanor for allowing that magazine to run a hate cover, a large noose over a purple background. The cover story was called "Caught in a Noose." Martin, I wish we could say we love one another and as the Apostle Peter discovered in the story we read in Acts 8, that we should not call "profane or unclean" anyone God has made.
What would you share with Martin? More importantly, what are you sharing with those brothers and sisters different from you?

PRAYER: Loving God, we thank You for Your love and the way You see and hold us. Forgive us our sins and those times we've judged others differently because of appearance or speech or economic background. Truly make me Yours. Give me the vision You gave Peter. I ask and pray this in Jesus' Name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

e.v.

ENDORA IS IN THE BIBLE?

Good day dear friends.
We continue to ask prayer for Ed Lyon who remains in ICU at CTMC. Ed was such an active guy, hunting even as late as recently, so this has been difficult for his family.
Our Wednesday night classes got started last night and we had some folks there, but I invite you to check out all the classes being offered. The only cost is the cost of the book for most classes and if you can't afford the book you don't have to buy it! Katrina made a great beef stew (drove all the staff mad while it was being made!) and it was delicious! Every Wednesday for the next five weeks at 5:30 is the meal, then the classes begin at 6 until 7. Come out and learn something!
I had the pleasure of being with the youth of our church yesterday from about 4:15 until 6. As kids arrived I would hit them with questions to get them to begin speaking and somehow we started talking about ghosts and we turned the discussion into a Bible study about that subject going into 1 Samuel 28. I told the kids that there was a ghost story in the Bible and it would also answer a question that I had posed to them, "Where did the mother-in-law on Bewitched get her name?" Some of the kids knew of that ancient tv show, others had seen the recent movie. The adult sponsors even knew the name of the actress who played her. The answer was Endora, and it is in this passage that we find a witch at Endor. Saul was king, albeit one alienated from God at that point and he panicked when God no longer spoke to him and sought out the services of those whom he had banished from the land, witches, or as most modern versions of the Bible call "mediums" and "spiritists." Saul asks his men to find a witch and one is found in the town of Endor. Saul disguises himself as he visits and asks her to call up the ghost of Samuel, who had died. Saul believes that in Samuel he can find an answer about the pending battle between his troops and those of the Philistines. The witch calls up this ghost and then screams for she now knows that Saul is the king who has outlawed people like herself and fears for her life. Saul says nothing will happen to her for doing this favor for him. The ghost that comes up does not have good news for Saul and in fact tells him that Saul and his sons would join him tomorrow. Yes, I did tell the kids the old joke about the two golfers that made a pact for the one who died first to find out if there was golf in heaven. The first one dies and appears to his still living friend and says, "There is golf in heaven and guess what, you and I have a tee time tomorrow at 2!"
We learned a couple of things from this study: Stay in touch and obedient to God. Saul's downfall was that very thing. He was not obedient to God. He reached a point where he believed his kingly manner and experience had taught him enough things to not have to touch base with God. The kids could relate to "Call me when you get there," that most parents ask of their kings. God asks the same of us, "Stay in touch, let me know if I can help." The other thing was that as attractive or fascinating as the occult may appear, there is a danger to mess around with stuff that is not of God. I know the Harry Potter novels and movies have exposed kids to that side of things and even makes it look exciting and adventerous, the truth is that in real life, the occult is all negative and not at all about God.
I shared how I knew of one pastor who was facing a move and he was so panicked about where he might be heading that when he left his church the church discovered about $800 in psychic line charges. If we belong to God and trust God, God will bless us and we need not be afraid.
Next week the youth program will start at 4:15 and I urge all youth from the church to be there at that time.
PRAYER: God of goodness and love, help me today trust You more. Lead me to obedience in all things. I ask this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

BLEST BE THE TIE THAT BINDS

Good day dear friends.

Yesterday's ConCafe and Sunday's Hymn of Sending Forth both got me to thinking of my first year at college. I went to Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas, in deep, make that DEEP East Texas. Or as the song said, "The Piney Woods of East Texas." East Texas in those days was very much a part of the Deep South, and may still be in the hearts and minds of many. We were only a little more than an hour away from Louisiana, and the term redneck and all the negativity that carries was born in East Texas. Not so in the church that gathered on Sunday nights for worship. My practice was to go home every weekend that I wasn't working in the school cafeteria. That worked out to almost every other weekend. And on those Sundays that I had to work, I had to work breakfast and lunch. Sunday nights we were on our own and that usually meant a walk to the Dairy Queen, which was about the only eating establishment worth walking to. But having been raised in the church, a Sunday without going to worship would not do for me. So, I checked that first Sunday I was there and found out that First United Methodist Church, then pastored by The Rev. Dr. Robert Gilpin, had a Sunday night worship service. So, I gathered those who would go with me and I think it was a group of about eight that walked down the four or five blocks to the church and we were all welcomed like family. The singing was just like at home with the exception being that the hymns were in English. All my life until then I had worshiped in Spanish and I didn't know the titles of the English hymns, but the melodies brought tears to my eyes knowing that at the same hour my home church was having its Sunday evening worship service.

What stayed with me was that at the end of every service, we would make a circle in that huge church, the twenty or so of us gathered there, we would join hands and Dr. Gilpin would lead us in the singing of "Blest Be the Tie That Binds." That first time in the circle I just hummed along to the melody because I didn't know the song. What a hymn!

"Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love;

the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above."

On those Sundays that I walked over there alone, I was still met as family and I sang the words

alongside those old ladies and old men whom I knew in my heart meant the words. We were different, but tied together in the love of Christ. Our time there was short but it was a time of fellowship, and in its own way, it was indeed very much "like to that above." I hope in that day we're all there in Heaven, the folks of that circle and the even greater circle from around the world, will all join hands and sing together this and all the hymns, thanking God for each other, for His love, and for the fellowship that keeps Christ's ministry ever before us.

PRAYER: Thank You, Loving God for the inspiration that You've given and continue to give to those who write the songs and melodies of great faith stories we call hymns and worship songs. May the singing of these make us truly Yours and truly each other's. We pray in Jesus' precious name, amen.

I can't close without sharing all the verses:

Before our Father’s throne

We pour our ardent prayers;

Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one

Our comforts and our cares.
We share each other’s woes,

Our mutual burdens bear;

And often for each other flows

The sympathizing tear.
When we asunder part,

It gives us inward pain;

But we shall still be joined in heart,

And hope to meet again.
This glorious hope revives

Our courage by the way;

While each in expectation lives,

And longs to see the day.
From sorrow, toil and pain,

And sin, we shall be free,

And perfect love and friendship reign

Through all eternity.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

e.v.

ERACISM

"Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature,
because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals
see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the
heart." 1 Samuel 16:6,7.
Over the holidays, Nellie, the girls and I, went to see a fantastic
movie called "The Great Debaters," based on the true story of the
Wiley College debating team. Every United Methodist should go and
see this movie just for the simple reason Wiley College is one of
ours. It is a historic black college based in Marshall, Texas. The
story is set in the heart of the depression, during the days of Jim
Crow laws, and the terrible treatment of African Americans. A
forward-looking professor believed the college could produce a
debating team and found those students that made Wiley a champion
among champions in debate. If you read the conference's newspaper,
The Witness, there was a blurb in there about Denzel Washington, who
produced and stars in this movie, planning to give $1 million to
Wiley College.
The movie also serves to remind us that we should be getting along
better with one another than we are. Here we are in 2008 and I wish
we could say that racism is a thing of the past, but it's not. We
make decisions and treat one another based on our outward
differences. Shame on us. Not one of us was asked at our conception
if we wanted to be what we were at our birth. And not any of us are
rich enough to try to surgically or medically change that either.
Okay, Michael did, but he's rich enough. An interesting part of the
movie was when this professor tries to get bigger, non-Black colleges
to debate them, and it hurt to hear that Southern Methodist
University in Dallas, was one of the first to turn them down.
Whether that was true in real life, it may not have been far from the
truth during those days.
The above text comes when the prophet Samuel was set by God to anoint
the new king of Israel and once in the house of Jesse, Samuel begins
his visual inspection of each son and believes the tallest and
handsomest would be the king. What a realization to hear God
say, "Sammy, you got it all wrong. I don't look at people the way
you humans do, I look not at the outward appearances, I look at the
heart." In other words, God had examined the heart of the tallest
and handsomest and oldest and youngest, and I know which one is to be
the king.
When did you begin to know the difference between you and others not
like you? Was it something you learned or did it just come to you?
Was it because you knew the heart or just because the outward
appearance was different?
God calls us to love one another, and guess what? That comes from
the heart not the skin. This Sunday was one of thost historic
moments in family history, our granddaughter was carried to the front
to join in, as best she could for being ten months old, the
children's sermon. Carli carried her down and I naturally was glued
to that beautiful little girl that is part of a new generation of
Valverdes and Cortez. She brought with her a mirror that she likes
to play with and as soon as Carli sat on the floor, Sarita begins to
hand it to the kids around her. I could hear her say in her own
language, "Would you like to play with my mirror?" In English it
sounded more like "gish?" One little child took it, smiled at her,
looked at the mirror and handed it back. That only made Sarita look
towards the other child closer to her and again hand it to him. This
was Keith Irwin and Keith took it, opened it, smiled at Sarita and
handed it back. I would venture to say that of all the children in
that sermon setting, not one yet makes a difference between
themselves and others based on outward differences.
PRAYER: Loving God of all people, grant me Your mind, Your eyes, and
Your heart, that I may indeed love others. Help me to unlearn what I
may have learned that serves no good purpose. Make me truly Your
child. I pray this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

WALKING ACROSS THE ROOM

Jesus said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations," (Matt. 28:19).
This weekend I heard a story shared by a colleague about the conversion of his grandfather. His grandfather had become a believer because a Methodist minister in a neighboring town would walk 12 miles to share the story of Jesus with him once a week. The setting for this story is in that part of Texas where rattlesnakes roam freely on the highways because the enjoy the heat from the South Texas sun. So, a "stroll" is not what this man endured during those 12 miles one way and then 12 back. But this colleague only knew of the great love his father had for that old minister who had walked those miles to share the Gospel. It was at that old man's death that he asked his father, "Dad, why did you love that man so much?" The father told him, "Because that man was willing to walk that distance so that my dad could become a Christian. And as a result here I am a pastor, and now you're a pastor too."
The colleague stated that today few are willing to pick up a phone and share at least an invitation to church with a friend, family member or co-worker. A major church has come out with an evangelism program called, "Walk Across the Room," as a way of stating what we should be doing.
What are we willing to do? We don't have to walk 12 miles now, most of us have cars to carry us. We have telephones to pick up and use to share an invitation to church, as well as having computers to share a word of hope or encouragement to others. But are we doing it? What's holding us back?
PRAYER: Loving God, use me today to share the news. And if I need to walk across the room, so be it. Let me be Yours and let me be all about You. I ask this in Christ Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

Deal or No Deal?

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:1 (NRSV)
Our last Sunday's worship experience was at a church in McAllen, Texas. The pastor there is a colleague of mine and her sermon was called, "Deal or No Deal?" It was based loosely on the popular game show on NBC hosted by Howie Mandel. If you haven't seen the game, please don't. You'll get hooked and then you'll blame me! It is a game fueled by raw human emotion and driven by greed and fear. Out of so many cases, you begin the game by choosing one case, which is yours and in which you hope, pray, sweat, and swear, if found one million dollars. Then you begin to choose six cases, after which, the whole room lights up red (any coincidence to the above passage?) and Howie gets a call from "the banker." The banker's job is to offer you a deal to get you out of the game with as little money as possible. His offers are always made on the mathematical odds of you having a million or whatever of the "big money" you have left to play. Most of the opening deals are ridiculous and are laughed off. It is, though, at this point that Howie asks, "Deal? or no deal?" There is a slight pause between the deal or no deal. To date there has not been one million dollar winner. I did watch an early show in which at the very end, the contestant had two cases and she opted for the deal and found out that her case did indeed contain the million dollars. It's fear that wins out and deals usually are taken.
The preacher last Sunday said that Satan tries to get us to deal. She put it more in card terms by saying that he would like nothing better than for us to fold and give up and walk away. Thankfully the story we find in the Gospels is that of Jesus going head to head with the devil and turning down every deal, then walking away the victor over temptation.
Are we that strong? Or do we give into deals offered to us? We can justify anything by saying, "we'll never have this opportunity again!" or "who will be harmed by my doing this just this once?" Is it fear or greed or lust or selfishness driving us?
This New Year will bring us as many deals as we can handle. If we follow the example of Jesus, who prepared by prayer and fasting and being guided by the Holy Spirit, we can say no to the deals and yes to God who provides the sweetest of all deals: His love and grace.
PRAYER: Loving God share with me that which is Yours for me. Let me see beyond the human and that which blinds. Let me seek to resist the easy deals and seek to glorify You. I ask this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

Who is My Neighbor?

I had the wonderful privilege of visiting a dear friend's church while on vacation. It had been years since I had heard him preach and his reaction as well as his family made it all worthwhile to visit his church. It was the last Sunday in January and he preached on the text assigned to that particular Sunday in the Lectionary. He began his sermon by saying he was not used to preaching on this text as he, as senior pastor, had accustomed to taking this particular Sunday off and letting his associate preach, but family matters took his associate away and here he was sharing the Word for that day. This made our trip to his church more fulfilling as it was our desire to hear him preach and we did.
He preached on the text about the visit of the Magi to Jesus and how Jesus was taken by Joseph out of Palestine into Egypt because of the danger Jesus was in for having been born at the time Herod heard about the child king. And my friend used the "R" word about Jesus that made me smile. I remember being fresh out of seminary in the Valley and receiving a phone call from my mother. She reported that a dear friend ("Comadre" actually) from another Valley church had a new seminary pastor (he and I graduated together from Perkins) and that this minister had the nerve to call Jesus a "refugee!" Oh, the horror! Somehow this lady and my mother had a view of "refugees" that they could not associate with the newborn or infant Jesus. I wondered what that view was or what misconception they had about those who have to flee their countries to come into another one. This was the early 80s and our country had not yet reached the frantic point of refugees and immigrants that we have today. The reality was that we had refugees from El Salvador and Nicaragua, who has fled political oppression and possible death to come to the USA. Jesus and his family did the same thing. Had Joseph brought Mary and Jesus through the Valley in those days, he would have found churches willing to house, clothe, shelter, and protect them. What would he have found now? What would he have found had they come in through Arizona?
The truth of the matter is that The Bible speaks of hospitality and our caring for one another. Nowhere in those pages does it say for us to care only for those from our country or racial background or those who are here "legally." It speaks of our being like our Heavenly Father, who is a being of love and compassion. Exodus 22:21 reads, "21 "You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." How fitting that years and years later, God's own Son would be a "stranger" (foreigner) in the land of Egypt Himself. This is not a political matter as much as it is a theological one. We are the children of the Most High, who sees all the same and wants us to do the same. Jesus repeated the great teaching, "We should love our neighbor as we love ourselves," and when asked who is "our neighbor" he tells the story of a hated foreigner caring for a Jew, to answer the question, anyone in need is our neighbor.
PRAYER: Loving God, give me Your eyes to see the needs of all. Make me truly be a person of love towards all. Remove from my heart and mind the checklist of who may or may not be my neighbor as You Son taught us that anyone in need is indeed our neighbor. I pray in His Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.