I Will Follow Him...

Following Jesus Means Looking Ahead

From Luke 9: 51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53 but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 The they went on to another village. 57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." 59 To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60 But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61 Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." 62 Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

"If only I had..." We've had thoughts like that of missed opportunities, previous career choices, offers, etc. Sometimes we get sad thinking that had we just done that instead of this, we'd be better off. Such was the case with three who encountered Jesus and thought about serving alongside Him. It starts in an unfriendly region; people did not "receive" Jesus and the disciples wanted to call a bolt of lightning to come from the sky to destroy this village. Which is another devotional, not today's... But a man comes to Jesus and offers, "I will follow You wherever You go." This man understood the itinerant system and was willing to follow it in order to serve Jesus, but Jesus shares the reality of the journey. The modern versions says, "Are you ready to rough it? We're not staying in the best inns, you know." Jesus implies that even if Bob Bodett left the light on, they wouldn't be seeing it. To follow Jesus means sometimes having to sacrifice comfort and luxury.

Another man is approached by Jesus and Jesus says to him, "Follow me." This time it was Jesus offering an invitation. The man responds, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." He was perhaps saying he had many obligations to his dad and until they were fulfilled he could not leave home. Jesus' reply is that His mission is about life not death and it is an urgent one in which followers must be about Jesus' business now, not later.

A third man offers to follow Jesus, "I will follow You, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family." He was ready, except he wanted to say his goodbyes to his loved ones. Sometimes that takes a while. Jesus' response was "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." Kingdom business is serious business and it requires immediate attention, focused concentration on what is ahead not behind.

We can play the different games of why we're not ready to follow Jesus; we want the best for ourselves, comfort and luxury, bigger and better appointments or committee responsibilities, this or that - Jesus is looking for those who put God first, then themselves. We can also play the fulfillment obligation game; I have so much to do right now in my life that I couldn't possibly go now. I had a plan for myself and I've not yet completed it. I want to have fun now and do this and that, maybe later... - Jesus is looking for those who love God enough to go when called. It was no accident that Jesus said whoever left father or mother or lands, etc. would soon receive a hundredfold of whatever was sacrificed for Him. We can also play the my time with family is important to me right now and I have to say goodbye to them first; I'll catch up with You a bit later. Jesus is looking for forward-looking kingdom people; those who set their eyes and the work ahead and are ready now to do it, not later.

Jesus needs you now.

PRAYER: Loving God, I'm ready. Send me and put me to whatever helps Your kingdom. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Free to Bear Fruit!

The Spirit Can Lead us to Fruitfulness

Today's passage comes from Galatians 5: 1 Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you. 13 It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. 14 For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom. 15 If you bite and ravage each other, watch out - in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then? 16 My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. 17 For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. 18 Why don't you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence? 19 It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; 20 trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; 21 the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom.22 But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard - things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, 23 not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. 24 Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good - crucified. 25 Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives.

In this country, this is the week leading to one of our biggest celebrations as a nation; the Fourth of July. It is the celebration of our declaration of independence from Great Britain. For us as believers, Jesus Christ has given us freedom through our relationship with Him. The only form of slavery we should know is of that of service in Jesus Christ to others. Freedom in Christ does not mean freedom to act on our pleasures or desires, but to seek that which glorifies God. The basis of our freedom is found in what Jesus left as the great commandment "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." A life lived in fighting with one another is no life at all; it is a show ground for Satan, not God. Our call is to live guided by the Holy Spirit not our carnal desires. Paul's list in this modern version of life led by the physical is easier to understand: 1) repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; 2) a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; 3) frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; 4) trinket gods; 5) magic show religion; 6) paranoid loneliness; 7) cutthroat competition; 8) all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; 9) a brutal temper; 10) an impotence to love or be loved; 11) divided homes and divided lives; 12) small-minded and lopsided pursuits; 13) the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; 14) uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; 15) ugly parodies of community. Quite a list. Quite a life if you can call it that.

By contrast, the Spirit-filled and Spirit-led life results in these: 1) God brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard; 2) things like affection for others, 3) exuberance about life, 4) serenity; 5) a willingness to stick with things; 6) a sense of compassion in the heart; 7) a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people; 8) an involvement in loyal commitments; 9) no longer feel like forcing our way in life; 10) an ability to marshal and direct our energies wisely. That is a sound way to live and it blesses God and others by our choosing to have our path directed by God's Holy Spirit. It is a complete life.

We cannot pick and choose from one list and the other. Our discipleship is a total commitment to the spiritual realm and to God. To choose anything else would be to choose something less.

PRAYER: Lead me, dear God, to a life of complete commitment to You and Yours. May my life be filled and guided by the Holy Spirit. I cannot accept nothing less. I want the fullness of life that comes in being in You and bearing fruit for You. This I need and this I ask for, in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Who's Taking Your Place?

Saying Goodbye and Welcome!

Hear now the Word of God from 2 Kings 2: 1 Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. 3 The company of prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?" And he said, "Yes, I know; keep silent." 4 Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has sent me to Jericho." But he said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they came to Jericho. 5 The company of prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?" And he answered, "Yes, I know; be silent." 6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground. 9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit." 10 He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not." 11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 12 Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

If your first name starts with an E, like Eradio, you stand a better chance of going to Heaven without dying. The first was Enoch, who walked with the Lord and one day they just kept walking right from this life into glory. The second is Elijah about whom you have just read above. It is a fitting entry given all the old man suffered and did for God. It was not that long ago we read of Elijah's frustration and fear after having defeated the prophets of Baal and having been led into the wilderness to hear God's voice in the wilderness after experiencing a mighty wind, an earthquake and fire. After that encounter with God, Elijah's prophetic ministry continued and one of the highlights was finding a successor, Elisha, to take his place. Elisha was a farm boy who felt God's call upon his life when he met Elijah. He left farming to become a follower of God.

One of the things that is affecting the Christian church today is that members have not taken seriously the call to make other disciples. And as a result, upon their death, they leave a vacancy. As a pastor I have tried to share God's call to all who would hear it and see if indeed God is calling them, and I have been blessed by those who have said to me they felt a calling through my ministry. In the same way, you should be praying about making an impact on the lives of others so that one day they can take your place in ministry. The other day one of my key lay leaders in one of the churches of this district confessed, without my prompting, that he and others had not done a good job of finding people to take their place. He worried about his church and what would happen when all these wonderful leaders are called "home."

The day came when the Spirit let Elijah know that his day to return home had come. He started out on this final journey by traveling to several places. All along the way as they encounter prophets, the Spirit had revealed to them as well that today was the day of Elijah's departure. And they shared that with Elisha. "Do you know that today the Lord will take your master away from you?" Thanks for reminding me! Elijah had tried to convince his protege to stay behind, but the young man insisted on being by his side when this happened. They finally reached the point where they came to the Jordan River and Elijah takes his mantle and strikes the water, the water parts and they cross over. Then the moment of goodbye occurs and the old man asks Elisha what he wants. Elisha responds that he wants a double portion of the prophetic spirit that had blessed Elijah's ministry. It was as if he was saying, "I want to be faithful like you but be able to do more!" Elijah says that he can if he happens to be able to witness his being taken up.

A chariot of fire comes to pick the old man up. Elisha is overcome with joy and emotion and cries, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" A witness to the power and glory of God and a recipient of what God had shared with his mentor.

You and I are called to continue to bless others with what we know about God. We are commanded to make new disciples and we have been given permission to reach others. In fact, we never travel alone and nor do we travel without the weapons of joy, love, and peace with which to share with those who do not yet know the love of God. It may come through a simple act of kindness of sharing a cup of coffee and time of conversation. Last night in a tiny church, I introduced their new pastor to them and they were sharing how this past Sunday, a young man who had drive by their church (and it's in the middle of nowhere!) saw the sign for Free Coffee, went in, had the coffee and the conversation and decided to worship with them, baptized his baby son, and then he and his wife joined the church. New believers and followers, through a simple act of sharing and caring.

PRAYER: Lord, help us to continue to find those who will take our places and even start new places of service and ministry with You and for You. Help us know we can do it, with Your power and presence. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Remember Your Salvation!

Remind Yourself of God's Great Work in Your Life

From The Message version of the Bible we read Psalm 77: 1 I yell out to my God, I yell with all my might, I yell at the top of my lungs. He listens. 2 I found myself in trouble and went looking for my Lord; my life was an open wound that wouldn't heal. When friends said, "Everything will turn out all right," I didn't believe a word they said. 11 Once again I'll go over what God has done, lay out on the table the ancient wonders; 12 I'll ponder all the things you've accomplished, and give a long, loving look at your acts. 13 O God! Your way is holy! No god is great like God! 14 You're the God who makes things happen; you showed everyone what you can do - 15 You pulled your people out of the worst kind of trouble, rescued the children of Jacob and Joseph. 16 Ocean saw you in action, God, saw you and trembled with fear; Deep Ocean was scared to death. 17 Clouds belched buckets of rain, Sky exploded with thunder, your arrows flashing this way and that. 18 From Whirlwind came your thundering voice, Lightning exposed the world, Earth reeled and rocked. 19 You strode right through Ocean, walked straight through roaring Ocean, but nobody saw you come or go. 20Hidden in the hands of Moses and Aaron, You led your people like a flock of sheep.

I remember vividly the song from my Sunday school days in my little church of Kingsville, Texas, where we sang, "If you're saved and you know it clap your hands...If you're saved and you know it then your heart will surely show it; if you're saved and you know it clap your hands." I also remember very well when my daughters came home singing the version they learned, "If you're happy and you know it...etc." I wondered when did we change it? If they learned it at public school then I can understand someone liking the melody and message of being happy and of course, they're not allowed to sing about salvation. Yet, I heard the song in church the same way. I stomped my feet, shook instead of nodded my head, and didn't clap my hands.

The psalmist was anything but happy in the words penned in this psalm 77. He was miserable and troubled. This version more honestly puts it that he yelled out in pain and frustration because of his situation whatever that might have been. It was a needed release. It is a release some of us have tried from time to time depending on what we faced. As the psalmist has found himself in trouble, so have we, and we have had God to Whom we could yell. He knew God listened but the state of mind this challenge brought to his life kept him from believing it. To have a problem that one compares to ones life being "an open wound that wouldn't heal," it is a serious thing indeed. Even the comforting counsel and presence of friends sometimes doesn't seem like enough.

He did what we should do. He laid out in his mind all that God had done in his life up to that point. The commentary in the Wesley Study Bible calls this a remembrance of salvation. He remembered when he did not know God and how his life was at that time. But when he entered into a relationship with God his life changed for the better. No "ancient wonder," no "ponder(ing) on the things accomplished" by God compares to the joy found in knowing God's grace and love. To know, trust, love, and walk with God is salvation. It is a way of living spiritually and positively. It is a way of true happiness. I love the phrase, "You're the God who makes things happen." (v. 14). And the psalmist knows that in the way God rescued those whom we have read about in ancient days, God will again rescue him and us when we remind ourselves and pray to God for God's power and peace in our lives.

Say to yourself, There is nothing so great facing me that with God's power and peace I cannot face and defeat. I will take the hand of God, listen for God's voice, and walk out of trouble and into peace.

PRAYER: Loving God, speak to my heart and those who are reading this, that we may receive the power and peace You offer to us. And if anyone reading this does not yet know You, may today be the day of new birth, of entering into a real and lasting relationship with You. May we turn over our sinful ways to You and let You be the one to guide and lead. Help those facing trouble to take your hand and walk right out of it into peace. This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

What Has God Done for You?

Have You Told Anyone?

Luke 8:26 Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me"— 29 for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) 30 Jesus then asked him, "What is your name?" He said, "Legion"; for many demons had entered him. 31 They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss. 32 Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. 34 When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 35Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenesasked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

"You're only as good as your last _________" fill in the blank. Sermon. Interview. Recital. Etc. God is always good. God has always been good in my life and I don't measure God's performance by the last blessing or the last miracle in my life. I measure my being alive as a great blessing from God. I measure my having faith in God as a great blessing. Yet, the Bible and life today, is filled with those who only speak about God is when they have either left Him or need Him. I have been guilty of that in my life, too, but I strive towards giving thanks for all things and in all things.

This is the story of a man who had a lot to be thankful for. The picture of his life when we meet him is sad. Filled with multiple demons, living among the dead, naked, not wanting contact with people, and Jesus comes into his life. The power of Jesus over the demons sets this man free. It came with a cost, for a herd of swine was lost in this act of deliverance, and those who lost their investment asked Jesus to leave. The man now free to do as he pleases, chooses to leave with Jesus. Jesus instead sends him home with this message, "Declare how much God has done for you." And he did.

God has shared with us good news. God has given us new life. God has promised us victory over sin and death. The question is, what have we done about it? Why do we keep it to ourselves? Many have yet heard and some may just be waiting for us to tell them.

PRAYER: Loving God, speak to our hearts and remind us of all the good You have done. And give us the courage and the wisdom to share with those who have yet to hear. We pray in Christ Jesus' name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.

Eradio Valverde

We Are God's Children!

We Should Be On The Road to Maturity

We find from reading Paul's letter to the Galatians 3, these words from verse 23 to 29: 23 Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27 As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.

We are God's children. We can ask for no better parent than God. We can ask for no better label than to be able to say we are in the family of God. Our earthly families may have been less than perfect, but in God's family, through faith in Christ, we find that which we need. Paul is celebrating this and so should we! Hear what he's saying. There was a time when we did not know the love and grace of God. We lived either according to our passions or under the guilt of the prison of dos and don'ts. It was the revelation of faith through Christ that we discovered grace. In Jesus we found the clothing we needed that not only identified us but guides us. Our oldest grandchild just graduated from Kindergarten where she was required to wear a uniform. Sarita is an artistic girl who likes to express herself not only on paper but in her clothing. To have to wear almost the same thing day after day was not good for her spirit. When she learned she would be attending a grade school where they wear what they want she was elated. To wear Christ is elation as well. We are embraced and covered with His love for us. We are embraced by the One who will not let us fall away or be eternally separated from the love of God. And, because of the clothing of Christ, there is now no divisions between whatever labels we or society has placed on us. No more Jew or Greek, Paul says. No slave nor free, not even male or female; we "are one in Christ Jesus." All heirs of God.

So quit the "broke" thinking of "I'm poor" or "My church is poor." It's thinking like that that has us poor in all things; thought, spirit, ideas, resources, etc. Put on Christ and the label of being the son/daughter of the Most High God. Apply that to your daily thoughts and you will be blessed and a blessing to others.

Quit also, listening to those who continue to try to label you in a category or a division. We are one in Christ Jesus. Those who insist on labeling are outsiders, outside of the love and blessings of God. They're the poorer for it. Love them and pray for them, but listen not to those voices, listen for God's voice.

PRAYER: Thank you, loving God, for making me Yours. Help me to share the Good News of Your love and grace with others. This I pray in Christ Jesus, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Even in Despair, God is There!

Listening to the voice of God...

1 Kings 19: 1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow." 3 Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." 6 He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you." 8 He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. 9 At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 10 He answered, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." 11 He said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" 14 He answered, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away."15 Then the Lord said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus;

"The more you do for God, the more the Devil wants you back." My Mom used to tell me that, and I've heard it in several ways since then, but it comes to mean that every victory you claim for God may come with a reaction from those who oppose God and the things of God. Such was the case with Elijah, the great prophet of God. He had had a show-down with 400 priests of Baal at Mount Carmel and handily defeated them. He showed to those gathered there that there are no other gods, just one, ours. This angered both the king and queen, who were no fans of God. You may have heard of them, King Ahab, and Queen Jezebel. She may be more infamous because of her temper and reactions to God's things. It was her words that said to Elijah you'll be dead by tomorrow. Not a good word to hear from your queen. Elijah did what many of us would do, he fled.

He wanders into the wilderness to seek God. God had blessed his life and had always provided for him, but this last threat was a breaking point in his life. Elijah felt he could do no more and asks God to take his life. A man I once knew would come to a point in his work day when he would announce, "I have ceased to be productive!" and he would go home. Elijah felt that way but in a deeper sense wanted to go home to God. He finds a place of shade under a "solitary broom tree" where he lays down and sleeps. A tapping from an angel awakens him and he is told to "Get up and eat." He finds that this heavenly messenger has baked a cake of bread and brought a jar of water. He ate this meal and then lay down again. A second time, awakened by the angel, he is told again, "Get up and eat." (This is beginning to sound like a Methodist story; pot luck or covered dish?). But this second feeding comes with a warning, "Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you."

Elijah wanted to die, and God feeds him. Elijah wanted no more on the road of service with God, and God prepares him for a longer journey. It was a journey of 40 days and nights of fasting and prayer. He comes to Mount Horeb and in a cave there spends this fortieth night. God visits and asks what he is doing there. Elijah answers again with despair, "I have been trying to serve you, but I have found too much opposition to what I am trying to do. People don't respect Your Word, they have destroyed places of worship, they have killed your prophets; I'm the last one left and even now they are looking for me to kill me."

Even in despair, God is there. Even in the glum face of defeat God provides a sliver of hope that all will be well, we have to but wait and trust God. And sometimes that seems like the hardest thing. In the rest of this story, God tells Elijah to stand on the mountain for God was to pass. A great wind comes with the strength to break rocks in pieces, yet God was not in the wind. There comes an earthquake after the wind, but God was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake comes a fire, but God was not in the fire. After the fire, sheer silence. Elijah wrapped his head and stood at the entrance of the cave. Again, the question comes from God, "What are you doing, Elijah?" Elijah again shares the same response, and God tells him to continue his work.

Even in despair, God is there. Even when we think our faithfulness and our discipleship is doing nothing good, God may surprise us and show us that God is still in control and working. Our efforts may seem in vain, but it may be years later that we hear that what we have shared or said have found a home and the blossom of that seed planted will result in yet another victory for God. If you read the rest of the story, God blesses Elijah in ways he did not expect, and the final blessing is one that amazes us even today. (You'll have to read the rest of the story!)

Even if you find yourself unappreciated or swimming upstream in your daily walk with Christ, God is with you and the greatest victories may have not yet come your way, but still you remain faithful. Even in despair, God is there.

PRAYER: Loving God, may this message speak to the hearts of those who need it. Many have been the days when we have sought You and thought we were alone and abandoned, but Your Word proves otherwise and may this passage serve to strengthen us in our faithfulness to You. Bless this dear reader and his/her needs, and if this gets forwarded to someone else, may that other reader also receive that which You have prepared for them. This we pray in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Everybody Gets The Blues

But it's God that lifts us up!

Psalm 42:1 As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, "Where is your God?" 4 These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. 5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help 6 and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts; all your waves and your billows have gone over me. 8 By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. 9 I say to God, my rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I walk about mournfully because the enemy oppresses me?" 10 As with a deadly wound in my body, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me continually, "Where is your God?" 11 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.

A newer version of the Bible, The Message, has the psalmist saying, "I'm on a diet of tears - tears for breakfast, tears for supper. All day long people knock at my door, Pestering, 'Where is this God of yours?'" Either we have been there or close to there; days where sadness takes over our lives and we find ourselves thinking that God has abandoned us. The great thing about the psalmist was that he knew he had been the one to allow this to happen to him, thus the first line - he must be like the deer seeking "flowing streams" because in finding God would be where he would find the power to uplift his spirit. Yes, it can happen on a Monday; the thought of getting back to the routine (or rut) of everyday life, the challenges that were out of mind on Friday come back to needing fulfillment, etc. It is easy to get the blues, even after a great weekend of worship and praise.

The "fix" or cure is to set our eyes on God again, and God will bring smiles to our faces and praises to our lips; in everything and everyday, our lives should be about seeking and praising God. A dear member of one of my churches died this past Saturday. She had liver cancer and being the widow of a serviceman, she received treatment at Brooks Army Medical Center. Her son shared with me how even undergoing treatment for this terminal disease, she made it a point to know her neighbors and visit them and share how God had blessed her life and how she was changed because of the love of God. Dinorah Cloyd was an artist, who used her talent of painting to share beauty and hope with so many. She had gone from painting canvases to note cards to bookmarks, that she used to share with other patients. The doctors and nurses gave witness to her life and compared her to Ghandi; she loved others because she loved God and she knew God loved her. When she was released to go home it took several minutes because so many wanted to thank her again for her visits and sharing of her faith, which gave many of them hope.(Please pray for the Cloyd family, including Rev. Carlos Cloyd, her son and her two daughters.)

What witness do we have about our God? Do we let the geography get to us, the lows of valleys and highs of mountains? Do we let the "whitewater rapids," and "breaking surf" crash and crush us? The answer should be no. These are but temporal things, the big picture of faith says, God is still in control and God is still worthy of our praise!

Let God dry the tears and let us turn to God so that we can give witness to the living God, the God of hope and life.

PRAYER: Loving God of life, we ask for your blessings on those whom we have not yet blessed. We ask for comfort for those who are on a diet of tears. Comfort them and give them hope and let us have from You the words that we can share with others. Whatever need I may have, I turn over to You for your blessing and protection, and all this I pray in the name of Christ Jesus, my Lord and Savior, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Personal Privilege: Happy Birthday to my wife, Nellie. She is my biggest fan and devoted reader of ConCafe since day one. May God bless her with many more, because I need her!

God Forgives Our Sins

Still we go scuba diving!

Hear these words, people of God: Micah 7:18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of your possession? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in showing clemency. 19 He will again have compassion upon us; he will tread our iniquities under foot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. From Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. And from the last book, Revelation 21:1: 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

God forgives all of our sins. It seems too good to be true, but it is. Hear it again: God forgives all of our sins. And the Bible says there is an action on God's part that should speak to us. And this comes to us as a promise and as a help; God takes our sins and "cast(s) all our sins into the depths of the sea." Hebrews then adds God saying, "For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." God has trouble with His memory, like us older types, God forgets those sins for which we have asked forgiveness. Here begs the questions, why don't we?

Memory is a great thing most days. It is precious to remember loved ones. It is priceless to remember good things done for us or that we have done for others. It is powerful to remember what God has done for us. Yet, memory sometimes comes to haunt us. We confess to God that we are sinful and ask for forgiveness. God forgives our sins, casts them into the sea, forgets that we had even sinned, and in Revelation we see that that part about all our sins being in the "depths of the sea" becomes even more powerfully absent because "the sea was no more." Yet, we scuba dive in our memories and remember things. It's part of our conscience to let those past sins creep into our thinking, but here is where grace overrides conscience. God forgives and forgets. Oh, if only we were so gracious ourselves. We hold grudges. We shouldn't. We say we can forgive but not forget. We declare ourselves, though we are children of God, to be anything but Godlike. And it comes back to haunt us when it comes to such words and actions, and our words and actions said or done against God or God's people. Still, we scuba dive. We go lurking in the depths of the sea every time we let a memory of a past sin come to haunt us. What do we gain from that? Absolutely nothing, except to come face to face, as the diver in this graphic, with a monster of the deep.

I have a dear friend and brother in Christ whose second home is the sea, the underwater part. And he takes beautiful photos of the deep and shares them with me and those who are his friends on Facebook. And in all the pictures and movies he has taken underwater, Rev. Virgilio Vasquez Garza has yet to show me my past sins. At least in photographs! ;) And were he to come face to face with his or anyone else's sins, that would probably be the day he quit going under there looking for beauty.

Say this to yourself: My sins are forgiven. My sins are forgotten. My sins for now are sleeping with the fishes, but the day is coming when they will be no more.

PRAYER: Thank You, Loving God, for Your mercy and grace. My prayer is that You would help me and those reading this as their own prayer, to rely on Your grace to forget our sins. We are a people sent, not sit or set; so help us move towards You. We ask this in Our Lord and Savior's name, Jesus Christ, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

To see the photo of the scuba diver and this in another format: http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=ddb0d8e9e8610bb92960afa4d&id=30c5e7a3b4

Forgiveness of even my sins!

Christ's love hits close to home.

From Luke 7 & 8: 36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. 37 And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. 38 She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner." 40Jesus spoke up and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." "Teacher," he replied, "speak." 41 "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he canceled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?" 43 Simon answered, "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the greater debt." And Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly." 44 Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little." 48 Then he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." 49 But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" 50 And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." 1 Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, 2 as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.

Somewhere in the mid-Atlantic, during a violent storm, a difficult question was asked of a little man who was afraid to die. The storm made him question survival and seeking a place below deck where he could die, instead he encounters a group of Christians celebrating their pending death. The leader of the group had to ask this man if he knew Jesus. The man replied that he knew Jesus to be the Savior of the world. The leader then asked if he knew Jesus to be his savior, and he had to confess that he did not.

The man asked that question could have been me or you. The man was very religious, but was not in a relationship with Jesus. The same is true about the man who hosted Jesus to supper. He wanted to know a little more about Jesus, but did not show any genuine signs of hospitality one would show to a friend or an honored guest. This mysterious woman did; weeping, she used her tears to wash Jesus' feet, and used her hair to dry them. She kissed His feet and used ointment to anoint Jesus' feet. She was in relationship with Jesus; she had know that she had made some wrong choices in her life; we call it sin. But she also knew that in Jesus she could find forgiveness for those sins, this the acts of gratitude toward Jesus. And the passage ends with with a partial list of wonn who followed Jesus and out of their gratitude, financially supported Jesus' ministry.

The man I mentioned above was a very religious man until he understood the need to have a relationship with Jesus. It would be a bit later when John Wesley went to a lay-led meeting at Aldersgate that he felt his heart "strangely warmed" and he understood that Christ had died for his sins, "even mine."

There should be no room in our hearts for sin. Sin kills. It's a slow, painful process and takes victims with it if we are not careful. But the Good News is that Jesus takes away our sins, even mine, for the asking. It's a message too good to keep to ourselves. Transformation begins from within, and taking away our sins is the first big step.

PRAYER: Living and Loving God, help me to stay in relationship with You. Forgive my sins and cast them into the deep part of the sea. Remove from my memory the harm they may have caused me and others. Let me be all about telling others about Your love. This I ask in the Name of He who came to take away my sin, Jesus my Lord and Savior, amen.