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Everyone Needs Courage and Hope
We find in 1 Peter 3:13-22 these words: Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God's will, than to suffer for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.
We're so good at finding, and making, excuses for not doing what God has asked of us. The eagerness found in some is to avoid God. This passage says something completely different; no harm comes to those who do what God asks. Yet, even if we do suffer harm or ridicule for doing what God asks, we're still blessed! The Christian cannot live a life in fear, and certainly not the fear found in nonChristians. Our life is one called to boldness and not intimidation; to live a life that blesses and makes holy the Lord in our hearts. And we should always be ready to share the hope found within us; and that we should do with gentleness and awe. I remember my year of running and hiding from God. I was hiding in the belly of a very large fish in Houston, Texas. Among 40,000 employees of this corporation I thought I could hide safely from God and what God was asking of my life. Yet, I could not escape the hope that God had placed in my heart since I invited Jesus into it as my Lord and Savior. And that hope was what made several ask during my short career there, "What is it about you that makes you different? You have something in you that makes you different!" Remember I was still hiding and running so I don't remember what I shared; but it wasn't what God wanted. As a result, my conscience was muddied and God was not glorified in me. Everything Christ had done for me I kept carefully hidden, knowing that one day He would finally call me out of this fish and perhaps even hoping that He wouldn't. Had the Flood come again as in the days of Noah I would not be on the ark; I would be among those drowned, and rightly so.
The day came when God spoke to me twice. And this, thanks to the U.S. Mail. The first letter I received was from the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. I was a Crusade Scholar, meaning the scholarship offering taken up in all UM churches once a year had found its way to my needs as a seminary student, and though I had dropped out and ran, God found me and the letter simply said that I was still a Crusade Scholar and if I wanted to return to seminary I could, still with this financial assistance. The very next day I received a second letter, this one from a seminary out of state that said they understood I was a Crusade Scholar and if I wanted to return to seminary I did not have to apply, I simply had to call this number and I would be in. The light broke the darkness, and even with the money I was making I found the peace that I needed for my soul.
God is looking for you too, you who hide. God is around the next bend for you who are running away from God; better yet, look as you run to see who is running with you! We cannot hide from God, nor can we run from Him. We cannot escape the hope that is lovingly placed in us to bless us and others. May we find in all of this the eagerness we need to be a blessing for God and God's people.
PRAYER: Loving God, as You spoke to Peter to share these words, speak to us and help us be a blessing to those around us. Whatever we may be suffering or facing, remind us of the hope that is in us that cannot be removed. If we run or hide, run and hide with us; but deliver us from fear and into courage and boldness. This we pray in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
PRAYER UPDATES: Rev. Pat Gideon came out of surgery well; today doctors expect she will be up and walking. This is our prayer.
Rev. Beth Tatum underwent a spinal tap and a brain MRI and today she hears the results of these exams. They do confirm she does have MS, but with medical advances and God's healing touch we pray that Pastor Beth's ministry continue strong, faithful, and fruitful. Pray as she shares this with her church.
Pastor Betty, even though she underwent surgery here in Corpus Christi, still drove to her church in Beeville and was in our district pre-conference Sunday afternoon. Pray that she continue to heal.
Thank you for your prayers.
