Image by Eradio Valverde
How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard,on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion.For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life for evermore. (Psalm 133)
Dear Friend, may this be a great day for you! God knows your needs, fears, doubts, worries, and He says, "I got this!" May we trust Him like never before. God holds us in the palm of His hand and walks with us.
Psalm 133 is one of the shortest psalms in the Bible. It has only three verses, but packs a punch! It follows yesterday's reading from Acts regarding getting along and sharing. This passage also stresses unity among all people, especially kindred. Yet, we know from the first family (the one on the Bible not DC!) that Adam and Eve raised their two sons the same way; love and respect for God, prayer, worship, and giving. The result was the first murder, a fratricide where Cain kills Abel. And then... most of the Bible stories have the realities of human life, the dysfunction of family life in some cases; the breakdown of our relationship with God which prompted God to send Jesus. We still have hope that we will work side by side together for the good of each other, otherwise, what's the point. This holds especially true in churches. A couple of weeks ago I trained the staff-parish relations committee of our church. And the main job description is for this committee to "1. To encourage, strengthen, nurture, support, and respect the pastor(s) and staff and their families. 2. To promote unity in the church." Did you notice number two is to promote unity in the church? Why would this be in there? Hmm, I wonder...
As the psalmist wrote this, he knew that unity is sometimes a fleeting thing. David knew about having a divided family and like most royals we have studied throughout history, the claim to the throne and power causes many things to happen that are miles from unity. To have unity, David writes, is like being anointed and having that anointing oil run down the head onto the beard, even over the collars of the robes; meaning it's like an anointing. I'm sure he never forgot when the prophet Samuel came to anoint a new king and have gone through all of his older brothers, he was called out of the pasture by his dad, and there in front of his family, he was anointed as the king of Israel. It was a memory and experience he never forgot and likens that to unity. To have unity is like being anointed for good and service and it is a blessing, and like the dew he mentions, brings life for evermore.
My prayer is that God would bless every member of our families. That He would bless every member of our churches and that He would work in our hearts to bring peace and strength to us so that we might be instrumental in bringing unity to our situations. Easter was God's act, bringing life to the dead and may new life we ours in all places that matter.
PRAYER: Loving God, pour out Your anointing Spirit on us today, especially where unity is concerned. You know the flaws, the hiccups and the sins that have disrupted our unity - bring healing we pray, in Christ Jesus' holy name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Work for unity and may it start in our hearts.
Eradio Valverde
PRAYER REQUESTS: For Ms. Eva Boscamp, recovering from pain management treatments, may God bring her healing and peace. Continued prayers for Jimmie Fogle and his battle with cancer. For Pat Cochran in a hospital in San Antonio. Prayers for Roger Gray, and Charlotte Wilson, who is recovering from surgery. Please pray for one another. And, in keeping with showcasing our grandchildren, our oldest, Saraí Evangelina Cortez from this past Saturday feeding a goat at the Snake Farm.
