Amazing God, Worker of incredible things, work on the needs of this dear reader in all that they face today; in Christ Jesus' name I pray, amen.
Our text for this morning is Romans 8:28: We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
We all have perfect days and we all have not-so-perfect days. We usually have at least two options on how we're going to face each new day and its challenges and blessings: We can rejoice and thank God or we can look for someone to blame (but try to avoid yourself - that would be too easy and obvious!). Paul understood that 1) Those who love the Lord are so blessed that they understand that in all things God is present and 2) that some good will come of that particular event or circumstance. The key is the love we have for God. There's always an ideal, a real, and unreal way to see love. The unreal is a passing, "Sure, I love you" sort of love or verbal (and I can't quite do justice to that with a word that might make it seem better than it is!) statement. The real is "Yes, I love you, but I'm going through some really tough times here and I haven't quite made time for You!" And the ideal which is "Yes, God, I love you and I know You love me. You better than me understand what I am going through and I'm trusting You for this and all things."
Think about it: Today can be one of the greatest days in our lives if we love God the way that God loves us. Put aside excuses and obstacles and hardships and open your heart to give back to God in the way God gives to you; and while you're at it love others the way that you love yourself. If that sounds familiar, thank Jesus!
PRAYER: Precious Lord, thank You for loving me. I ask that I might love You today like never before. Give me the love that changes my attitude and gives me peace. I ask this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.
Eradio Valverde
Prayer Request: Dear friends, as Nellie and I came in last night we got word that one of our faithful worship participants, a man named Gilbert was killed sometime this past weekend. Gilbert was always in church and many thought him to be homeless, though we believe he had a room somewhere, possibly in La Feria, TX, which is right next door. I saw him sleeping under one of our highway bridges and I always saw him on his bike in different parts of town. This weekend, somewhere between here and La Feria, a drunk driver killed him. I have no other details about his death or final wishes. We believe he may have had some family in McAllen. Pray for them and pray for those who come into our lives, different from us, but who seek to know God and seek to know us.
