God the One and Only!

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Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the ordinances—that the Lord your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, so that you and your children and your children’s children may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:1-9)

May the grace and peace of the Lord be with you and yours, dear Friend!  I pray that time with God during this day bless you more and more.  May it be a part of our spiritual formation to fully trust God and God's ordinances in all that we say, think, and do.

Several years ago we went to visit my brother in Miami, Florida.  Actually, he lived in a small community outside the big city.  Several businesses in the area are run by devout Jews.  I don't recall a purchase that I made in one of the stores, but I do remember finding inside the box a small photocopied version of The Shema, which we find in the above passage.  The store owner is committed to God and shares that commitment in every sale that he makes.  "Hear, O Israel:  The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might."  What a strong witness.  The Shema he hands out is in ancient Hebrew, but most customers know what it says.  As we studied on Monday, in an effort to trap or trick Jesus, that one scribe wanted to know if Jesus knew the Great Commandment, which is The Shema, and of course, He did.  Every child within the Jewish faith is taught that at an early age.  We tend to forget that Judaism is very much a home-based religion; all the teachings and observances of the faith begin in the home; the key teaching is this passage which parents seek to teach their children just as they were taught by Moses; "Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.  Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."  The above photo shows how some Orthodox Jews take the "emblem on your forehead."  Inside that little box is The Shema.

Which place mentioned above is the most important?  I would think God inspired Moses to say first, "keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart."  As we live and go about our everyday lives, what is in our heart either blesses or curses our faith.  To hold the truth that we indeed love God  with our heart, our soul, and with all our might, will show through.  We can have all the posters and signs on our homes and on our fences and on the back of our vehicles, but unless we truly live, it; what good do all those signs really serve?  The best sign is a life well lived in faith and charity.  Observe a person, better yet, ask a child who has observed you most of their lives, and see what that child says is important about you?  At meeting with family before a loved one's funeral, most pastors will ask what we remember most about the deceased, and the answers have varied; but the ones that stand out are those where the children have said, "Mom/Dad truly loved the Lord and sought to live a life of faithfulness."  Will that be said about us?

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, great are You and worthy of my love and praise.  May my life, from this point forward, truly be one that loves you with everything I have.  Fill my heart with love for You and Yours.  Fill my soul to overflowing with hope and faith.  And let my strength be one that comes directly from You.  Let my life be a living sermon based on and in You!  This I pray in the Name of He who saved me, Jesus my Lord and Savior, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!  Live the above prayer in a mighty way today and all days!

Eradio Valverde

ConCafe recommends this book on the Lord's Prayer, which I wrote some years ago:  https://amzn.to/2ACta1F

Worship the Living God!

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But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God! (Hebrews 9:11-14)

Good day to you, dear Friend!  Praying that all is well with you and yours.  I would invite prayers to some of our shut-ins whom Nellie and I visited yesterday, taking Holy Communion to them; Wilene Tate, Belle Witt, and Kathleen Bowman, who is still in assisted care awaiting a walk-through to be discharged home. These are very sweet ladies whom I have enjoyed visiting and praying with.  Prayers for our nation; prayers for one another; prayers for ourselves. 

The writer of Hebrews continues to marvel at all that Jesus was able to do for our sake.  Following last week's epistle theme, Jesus is our high priest, the bridge between God and humanity, and the "high priest of the good things that have come."  Knowing they are too numerous to list, he is thankful for the new life that Christ brings to those who surrender to Him.  He also acknowledges that Jesus is now in the one true Holy Place, which is Heaven, because of the blood sacrifice He made with His own blood; whose blood continues to work through the Holy Spirit to "purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God."  What a marvelous thing.  In simpler terms, all the bad we always seem to remember has truly died because of Christ's blood and has lifted us to the worship of the living God.  Our God is a God of Life, not death and in death remain those things we committed in word, thought, and deed, never to be resurrected again.

All new and old believers have received a clean slate of life.  From the slate that had in red letters CONDEMNED, that slate has been thrown away and we have a new, clean slate on which we can write our praises to the living God.  And God has written our names on that slate that is the Book of Life.  So, we give up the old way of living, to live as redeemed, sanctified, new creatures of the Lord, seeking to make big and positive differences in the lives of those around us.

PRAYER;  Loving Father, how awesome is Your love.  Please help me bury my past.  Put to death that which continues to torment us and plague us with thoughts of worthlessness, and grant to us a new spirit, a right attitude towards You and Your love.  Set our feet firmly on the path of life in abundance.  This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!  Your smile of joy may give away that you have nothing to hide anymore!

Eradio Valverde

Love God. Love Your Neighbor. Love Yourself. Repeat.

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One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, ‘Which commandment is the first of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The first is, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The second is this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’ Then the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that “he is one, and besides him there is no other”; and “to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength”, and “to love one’s neighbour as oneself”,—this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.’ When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ After that no one dared to ask him any question. (Mark 12:28-34)

Happy Monday to you, dear Friend!  I pray this finds you and yours doing well.  I pray also that time with the Lord will bless you and those around you.  As we pray this morning, please lift up Pastor Matt Pennington, who yesterday, surprised by a Pastor Appreciation reception, was sick with a stomach bug!  Pray for him and for members of my family who also had that kind of bug.  I pray you were not affected by it. Pray for the sick, the lonely, the hurting, the lost, and those who think they don't have a prayer.  Also those pray for the survivors and friends of the almost countless acts of violence this past week, especially those at the Jewish synagogue, Tree of Life, in Philadelphia.  Pray that senseless violence end. Pray for each other, and pray for yourselves.

It was quite a day for Jesus.  He had to contend with those who would never throw Jesus a Pastor's Appreciation reception.  They just wanted to throw Jesus.  There were, earlier in this chapter of Mark, the Sadducees, the Herodians, the Pharisees, and the scribes; it was the Super Bowl of Sour People, and religious ones at that.  The questions varied from paying taxes, marriage, His purpose in being there in the first place; and finally the one in this passage.  A lone scribe, one who dedicated his entire life to the Law, and the copying of it over and over again, so much so they were not allowed to marry, asks Jesus wanted to trap Jesus with a simple Sunday school question:  "Which commandment is the first of all?"  Jesus answered correctly, "Hear, O Israel:  the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength."  This was straight from Jewish Scriptures. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5 aka "The Shema").  Jesus then added, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  This led to the scribe giving Jesus the passing grade, and Jesus telling him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."  And that stopped the questioning of Jesus for that day.

Love is the key to the first Commandment.  Love of God, love of neighbor, and love of self.  Some struggle with loving God.  They are angry at Him, or don't know Him, or claim He doesn't exist and therefore have no love for God.  Some struggle with love of neighbor.  They don't like them.  They don't like the way they talk, or dress, for where they're from; and quite honestly look for any number of excuses for not to like, let alone, love their neighbor and so they don't.  And some struggle with love of self.  They have judged themselves harshly or have heeded the comments from others and have allowed themselves to be put in a box in which they don't belong, but until the power of God lifts them out of there, they will not love themselves, let alone others until they do.  The key is to know that love comes from God.  John 3:16 shares the beauty of that love; God so loved the world, that He gave...  His Son to come and take our place, but first to show us how to love God, our neighbor and ourselves.  One of the most striking pictures on social media for me was the picture of a man from Alabama holding a child so that the mother of the child could fill out the paperwork needed for them to see the doctor.  This was in a waiting room of a medical facility.  The mom and her baby were African American, and the man holding and rocking the baby was white.  That went viral.  So should our love for God, our neighbors, and ourselves.  No barriers, no excuses, no nothing - just love as God showed us how.  Imagine how the world will change, once we do.

PRAYER:  Loving Father, thank You for your love for me.  Fill my heart with love, the kind that shows unconditional love to all people, to You, and to myself.  Lift up those who need lifting, bless those who need a blessing, and convict the hearts of those unwilling to love.  This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!  Show love like never before!  Amaze your neighbors!

Eradio Valverde

Our God Has a Personal Touch! Definitely, a Bible Story You Should Know & Share!

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Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;  and the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which flows around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die." Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; and the rib which the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed. (Genesis 2:7-25 Revised Standard Version)

A very happy Friday to you and yours, dear Friend, is my prayer. I want to thank all of you for your birthday wishes yesterday!  It was a great day, thanks to the Lord; we enjoyed a safe drive here and spent wonderful time with our three little ones, including Eliana Beth, who turned six.  The Mission Hospital had a trick or treat event and we took the kids there and enjoyed seeing them have a little fun before bed.  Caleb Eradio wanted to know why a hospital would hand out candy?  Good question!

This is a Bible story we should all know; that God created you and me with a personal touch!  Last week we looked at the creation story in Genesis 1 and it emphasized the power of God to create with just using the spoke word, and today's story if you read the passage involves the personal touch.  We are made from dust and to dust we shall return.  You may have heard that as a cross made of ash was placed on your forehead during Ash Wednesday.  You may have heard that mentioned in some way, at a funeral.  It is a truth.  I just read this morning that 57 elements found on the earth's crust are also found in the human body.  The photo above shows a modern depiction of an ancient story.  That God, on hands and knees, scooped out from the dust and formed the first man.  This is a personal touch; God getting His fingernails dirty in the making of the first man.  And as some professors have demonstrated during lectures, on hands and knees, they lift up the form of man, and placing him to their lips demonstrate the touch in which God breathed into the first man the breath of life.  "And man became a living being."  From there, God moves to create, notice the word, "planted" in the formation of this garden called Eden, which is the word for paradise.  And the description of that garden goes into ancient detail of where this garden was geographically; namely, what corner of the world it was found.  God places trees that are pleasing to the eye and which are good for food, including two trees that bear our knowing; the tree of life (on loan to Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom! (joke)), and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  God also gave the man responsibility over the garden, namely to till and keep it, and along with it a positive command, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."  

This is the same as placing a bowl of all kinds of candy on a table reachable by your child.  You can tell your child in a nice way, "Help yourself to the candy, except the chocolate ones; those make you sick."  This is a positive command, freely giving the candy to the child, but with one restriction.  The restriction in this case tells a child who has an allergy to chocolate to not eat the chocolate candies.  Intended for good, this restriction may cause the child to think about the chocolate candies more than the others.  The result your child may or may not understand; you will get sick.  In the same way, this first man, who by the way we know to be Adam, the word for "man," is told to freely eat of any tree, save for the one which is the knowledge of good and evil; and the restriction which the man may or may not have known, comes with the consequence of death.

God then declares that it is not good for the man to be alone, and begins to create and present to the man all the creatures of the world.  As God forms them, He presents them.  The man names them and is coming quickly to the realization that while some may provide some companionship, there is not an ideal "helpmeet" from the King James Version of the Bible, meaning partner and a little more than partner.  Companion is another word that comes from this ancient word.  Adam liked the dog, and may have liked that the parrot mimics words, and the money is cute, but not cute enough nor close enough to being a companion.  Tarzan would disagree - until he found Jane.  So God decides divine surgery should take place.  A deep sleep comes upon the man, and while he slept, God took a rib from the man, and from that rib made a woman.  This woman was called Eve, which means living. God brings the woman to the man and this causes Adam to be poetic, "This at last the bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."  In Hebrew, Ishah, woman, meaning taken out of ish, man.  And then the basis for marriage in the traditional sense outlined here, "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed."

We know the rest of the story.  Adam takes Eve on a tour of the property, showing her all the trees from which they could eat, and then the visit to the off-limits tree.  At some point in that conversation, one of the two added their own restriction, "don't even touch it!"  Which will come into play in the next story.

What we affirm from this creation story is important.  We matter to God.  Our belief in a Creator God shows our God to be a God of the personal touch.  The God who kissed us into existence and who provided all things for that first couple.  In that paradise garden, the true paradise was knowing and walking with God in a relationship that blessed God and blessed the couple.  Paradise still happens when we trust God enough to involve Him in our daily lives with our walks and talks with God.  While we believe that first couple during their walks with God had nothing to complain or worry about, we do. Imagine the things God revealed to them as they listened to God.  And imagine the things God may tell us if we but listen to Him!  And while we make time to walk and talk with God, God is hoping to hear from us and to be at work in us.  It's up to you to make the invitation.

PRAYER:  Awesome God, thank You for loving me enough to care for me.  Forgive me those times I have thought I didn't need You or could walk this life without You.  I invite you to come into my life as the God who loves and cares for me.  Help me to listen as I pray.  And let me be a blessing to You and to others.  This I pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!  Be a creative creature today; find ways to bless someone!

Eradio Valverde

Oh, Taste and See that the Lord is Good!

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I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.  I will glory in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.  Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.  I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.  Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;  he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.  Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. The LORD will rescue his servants; no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned. (Psalm 34: 1-8, 19-22 The Message in honor and memory of Rev. Eugene Peterson)

A wonderful Thursday to you and yours, dear Friend!  It's already a wonderful one over here, as early as it is, for it is our granddaughter Eliana's 6th birthday!  And we plan to drive down in a bit to be with her and enjoy the October Birthday party for her, Liam, Carli, and yours truly.  Eliana and I share the same birthday!  What a marvelous gift that was to me six years ago; and still is.  So, Happy Birthday, Eliana, and all who have birthdays in October!  A great month to be born!  Weren't you glad you chose it as your birth month?  I was blessed to have visited Kathleen Bowman yesterday at The Heights care facility.  She's doing good, all things considered and ready to come home!  The doctors have a different view, but that's how it usually goes; but her heart is set on getting well enough to return to her home and that is blessing her.  Please continue to lift her up in prayer.  Prayers for those whom you carry in your heart with needs that remain unshared or unspoken; God hears our thoughts and answers our prayers.  Pray for one another, pray for yourselves.

Nellie and I were blessed with a birthday meal at Cow Palace in Gonzales by Laverne Brzozowski and Rosannah Green.  These gracious ladies were in my Wednesday Bible study and decided to treat us in this way.  This meal, like all good meals involves taste.  I shouldn't confess that last night our daughter Carli surprised Dad with a small birthday cake.  Yes, taste again.  Taste is a doorway to great experiences, an amazing creation of God's handiwork that allows the mouth to tell the brain and all points in between - This is good!  Enjoy!  And for the psalmist, God is so awesome and good, that he decides we can taste God and if we do, we realize that God is good!  God is a blessing and presence for all the senses!  And to enjoy those is to fully immerse ourselves in worship and praise of Him!  Imagine Sundays being a time to truly enjoy the taste of the Lord; more people would want to go to church if they had that mindset!  Most of the things we enjoy in taste come well prepared, as labors of love and those are the ones we enjoy the most - Imagine all that God has labored just for you!  With His hands, He made you, shaped you, formed you, and placed you in a place to be a blessing for Him and His - enjoy!  Taste that!  If the seasoning is not right, change it!  Start in your heart and mind, and through prayer and obedience, the flavor will be just right.  Imagine if Jesus had said you and I were salt - wait!  He did!  We add the flavor to life; we can make other people glad to be alive because we are!

PRAYER:  Lord, as the psalmist said, so say we.  We want to praise You all the time.  We want praise to be part of the taste that lingers on our lips long after the meal of worship.  Let our hearts rejoice, let our lives be flavor that blesses the lives of others.  We sought You and You were there for us; You answered prayers and delivered us in times of need.  We have found the fullness of life in You.  You taste good!  Hear our prayer, bless our lives and loved ones; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen!

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!  Use all your senses today to realize how good and tasty God truly is!

Eradio Valverde

Prayers for Nellie and I, and all the members of our family, as we all travel today and tomorrow to be together in Mission, Texas!  Thank you!

At Long Last. All Things Known & Restored!

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Then Job replied to the LORD:  “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.  You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.  “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’  My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.  Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.  All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.  The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.  And he also had seven sons and three daughters. The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers. After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.  And so Job died, an old man and full of years. (Job 42:1-6, 10-17 The Message)

Friend, here we are, richer than ever!  The grace and love of God in our hearts puts us so ahead of so many - rejoice!  Read, receive, absorb, and rejoice in the things of God; nobody can take these away from you!  I pray this Wednesday is a joyous one for you.  By now you have enjoyed a few breaths that mean you are alive; and our breaths remind us of our need to pray.  I had the chance to take Nellie with me to visit Bonnie Blaynay in her nursing home in San Antonio yesterday.  She is recovering from a stroke and receiving treatment for restoring her back to health.  Please pray for her healing; pray for Wil, her husband, and their daughter who is caring for Wil while Bonnie is in treatment.  Pray for those on your prayer lists; pray for one another, and pray for yourselves.  

The story of Job is enough to bless you in realizing that poor man suffered much!  Forty-one chapters worth of suffering and misery; in this 42nd chapter, we find him replying to God, confessing and repenting of his sin, and receiving all things restored to him; his faith, his new family, and new possessions.  I chose The Message version because yesterday I got word that Rev. Eugene Peterson, who authored the paraphrase version of the Bible called The Message died.  The magazine Christianity Today's obit on him was titled, "Eugene Peterson Has Completed HIs Long Obedience."  He was 85 and had entered hospice for complications related to heart failure and dementia.  The family released a statement that said, "During previous days, it was apparent that he was navigating the thin and sacred space between earth and heaven... We heard him speaking to people we can only presume were welcoming him into paradise... Among his final words were, 'Let's go.'  And this joy: my, oh my; the man remained joyful right up to his blessed end, smiling frequently.  In such moments it's best for all mortal flesh to keep silence.  But if you have to say something say this:  'Holy, Holy, Holy.'"  Wow!  What a glorious end here on earth; the same as Job's, without as much suffering.  Job came to know God and to make peace with God.  And in this act of final obedience, all things were revealed to him by the Lord God.  It also led him to prayer, and he prayed for his friends.  And this led to him being richly blessed.

Of all the things listed in this passage, I rank the knowledge of God's presence and peace among the highest one can have.  It's an eternal thing that cannot be taken away.  It was a coming in full circle back to knowing that the God who gives and takes away, gives and gives and gives. This is a priceless treasure.

Of all the things we can seek today, seek to know God more deeply.  He will bless your life in unexpected and unexplainable ways!

PRAYER:  Eternal Father, all the hymn writers had it right; though different in explanations, Your awesomeness blesses us beyond words.  Bless this dear reader in knowing You more deeply today so that their life may be filled with those things that truly matter.  This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong, strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!  Make someone richer today by sharing a kind word!

Eradio Valverde

Our Eternal, Faithful High Priest

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Furthermore, the former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office; but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues for ever. Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests those who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect for ever. (Hebrews 7:23-28)

Are you ready for some good news, Friend?  I hope you are!  Here it is:  Jesus is our eternal, faithful high priest!  I pray that as we spend time in prayer and Bible study that would become even more real in our lives than it already is!  I ask for prayers for Elenor Ehrig, who is home now after spending the night in the hospital after a fall.  She is 92 years young and needs our prayers. I ask for continued prayers for Alison Benedict as she continues to recover from surgery in Denver.  Prayers for her mom, Jenice and a medical need she faced.  Pray for one another and pray for yourselves.

The role of the high priest in Judaism during the times of Jesus was very important.  Actually, it was very important in the Old Testament as well, but the role they played as the bridge-builders between God and humanity cannot be stated enough.  It was the high priest who would offer sacrifices on behalf of the people, including himself first.  The death of the sacrificial animal paid the price for the sins of those offering them.  When Jesus was nailed to the cross, He became our sacrificial lamb, the Lamb of God, and He paid the price of our sinfulness.  Through that act, and through God's will for His life, Jesus also became the "holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens" high priest.  It is His role to save those who approach God through Him, as He always makes intercessions for us.  

Think about that.  Our sins, however tragic we may think they are; and some are very tragic, Jesus has paid the price, and has saved us, that is have allowed us to enter into a right and loving relationship with God the Father, through Him.  We have been plucked from the jaws of certain death into life, and that an abundant, full life in Jesus.  That is faithfulness!

Our job should be to tell others about that relationship we have with Jesus.  Many want to know because many want to live, but don't know how.  The big news today is the lotto jackpots which together are worth over $2 billion dollars.  Many have bought tickets thinking that in that jackpot they will find a more meaningful life.  Some in their minds and hearts have quit their jobs, divorced their spouses, and even packed their bags to see the world.  The real jackpot is finding life in Jesus Christ.  To find that there is a cure for guilt and shame; that One greater than us was willing to take our place in death so that we might have life.  That, dear friend, is good news!

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, thank You for the things that matter most in our lives.  Fill the hearts of those seeking more and thinking it can be found in money or possessions.  Bless the minds of those who dream of a better life in money; reveal to them the real treasures that come from You.  This we pray in Christ Jesus' name, our eternal, faithful High Priest, amen!

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!  Shower those around you with a dazzling smile and joy from your heart!

Eradio Valverde

Steps of Faith Lead to Vision!

Image from agnusday.org

They came to Jericho. As he and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. (Mark 10:46-52)

A good Monday to you, dear Friend!  I trust your weekend was blessed and that you enjoyed time with our God in worship.  May our time in devotional prayer and study bless our day.

As Jesus and His disciples were leaving Jericho, a blind beggar cried out to Jesus with a cry that had not yet been heard in Jesus' ministry.  "Jesus, Son of David," was the greeting that this beggar knew to cry out.  As our friends the sheep in the above graphic explain, not very many at this point in Jesus' life or ministry knew that He was a descendant of the great King David.  And it took a blind man to know that and to call Jesus by that name.  Notice what he is asking; he wants mercy for himself.  Twice he cries this out, even when told to be quiet by his friends and fellow neighbors.  But, Jesus wants to meet him.  Bartimaeus, as he was named, goes to Jesus when called and answers he wants his sight when Jesus asks what He could do for him.  Notice also, that Bartimaeus calls Jesus, teacher, and asks for his sight.  Jesus replies, "Go; your faith has made you well."  From the moment he hears that his faith has made him well, his vision is being restored.  And those first steps after regaining his sight, are joyful steps of faith.  Though he was a beggar, as a means to support himself, one wonders if he spent time learning while listening to all who would speak near him.  He came to faith in Jesus by listening only.  He never saw Jesus before he was cured, and once he was cured, followed Jesus down the road; and we wonder for how long.  He had learned the lineage of Jesus somehow, and was not afraid to cry it out.  While some may say, "well, all good Jews owed their history to David and thus could count themselves as sons and daughters of the great king; this reference by Bartimaeus is one of faith in Who Jesus really was.  This may well have been the last thing that Bart ever begged for; his vision restored, his life made whole, he may have taken up an occupation to provide for himself and those who depended on him.  He was one who truly could sing, "I once was blind, but now I see."  

Bartimaeus' life prior to his regaining his sight was that of a homeless man.  Sitting by the side of the road begging for people to contribute to his wellbeing.  Bart was used to be ignored and overlooked.  For him to have cried out angered and possibly embarrassed the people around him.  "Who does this guy think he is?  He's not entitled to anything!" could have been what those around him thought and maybe even said to him.  Those with sight took for granted they could see Jesus.  Bart did not.  He listened and he responded.  While others wanted to learn something from Jesus, Bart begged for healing.  And while you and I are not physically blind, spiritually, if we ignore our spirit, it becomes the overlooked, ignored part of our being.  It could be our spirits that cry out for attention and healing.  We are guilty of being so concerned about material things that we have put our spirit close to dead last in things we attend to.  I am thankful you, dear reader, are reading this devotional, and I pray it feeds your spirit with the word of God; I pray that you might even forward this to someone who might be in need of an encouraging word.  And once your spirit is fed, it can help you to find and feed others who may still be in darkness when it comes to knowing the light of the world, who is Jesus Christ.

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, bless our spirits.  Feed us with love, truth, joy, and peace.  Let our spirits brim to overflowing so that we may bless and nourish those around us.  Bless our efforts to grow Your kingdom here on the earth.  In Christ Jesus we pray, amen!

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!  Joy is evidence of a well-fed spirit.

Eradio Valverde

Bible Stories We Should Know: Then God Made Us All!

Image from theologyofwork.org

Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’  So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (Genesis 1: 26-31)

Happy Friday dear Friend!  Let's begin our celebrations with a visit back to when it all began; Genesis 1, the creation of humankind.  As we celebrate, celebrate a prayer of thanks for Mr. Doug Smith, who is battling cancer, but enjoying some good news of healing.  The war is not over, but battles are being won, thanks be to God!  This morning at 7 he undergoes a procedure to receive a feeding tube.  Pray that that go well and soon he can be free of that and regain normal eating again.  Church, why do we pray?  Because God answers prayer!  Continued prayers for our sister, Mrs. Bonnie Blayney, who is in a nursing facility after suffering a fall believed to have been the result of a stroke.  Pray for her complete recovery.  Prayers for me as I preach my final sermon at FUMC Gonzales as a staff person; I know I will preach again, Lord willing, as Pastor Matt needs me.  Pray for one another.  Pray for yourselves.

The heavenly courts have God speaking to those present at creation, thus the "we" in the first verse of this passage; "Let US make humankind in our image, according to our likeness."  Hebrews and New Testament views are that the Lord Jesus Christ was present at creation, as was the Holy Spirit.  Being believers in a Triune God, this is the why behind the plural reference to God's work of creation.  The verses prior to verse 26, beginning with verse 20 and on through 25 have God filling the earth with all kinds of creatures, except not yet humans.  Yet, as God is talking about making us, notice the role He gives:  "Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every cropping thing that creeps upon the earth."  Quite a list, especially when we consider that it seems like every other day, something "new" appears that we had not yet discovered.  But here comes our verse for today:  So God created humankind in His image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.  God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.'"  This is the first creation story of humans.  The second, more personal one is coming next week.  God creates us with the spoken word.  We bear the spiritual likeness of God and the human form resembles that of God Himself.  Note the ancient painting in today's graphic.  God is the bearded man extending his finger towards the relaxed man.  I attended the University of Houston during the summers of my college years and I will never forget in their student union building they had this similar painting, but the creator was Walt Disney, and the creature was Mickey Mouse himself.  It was an awesome painting, but through the years that painting was moved and I don't know where one could find it any longer.  

Our creation was final and complete as males and females.  The chicken came before the egg, but the process was in place for humans to have babies.  And it was part of God's command to "be fruitful and multiply."  Growing up, I thought it was common for families to be big!  My uncle had nine kids.  We were five and had my mother not miscarried so many, we would have been a bigger family than five.  Yes, all of our relatives were Roman Catholics, but we didn't lag far behind as Methodists!  Note also, that God gave us plants and fruits to eat.  Some have made an issue that this was the intended diet for humans.  And yes, it is a healthy one, but keep in mind that nothing had died yet.  Death was not even mentioned to humans at this point of they existence.  God wanted a paradise where life would be eternal.  And this we will discuss more in next week's study.  But, this is not a warning for you to eat only plants and fruits until next week (though for me and others it might not be a bad idea!).  The passage ends with "Its as so.  God saw everything that He had made, and indeed, it was very good.  And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."

You and I are uniquely made.  You and I resemble God.  Please remember that the next time you may be provoked to think or say something that is not nice, especially to those around you that you love and cherish! It has become so common place for things to provoke us to name-calling, and worse, for destructive actions towards those who don't agree with us.  The political scene in this country is sadly, an example of that.  I was going to use the word good, as in good example, but it is not.  Those who are voting "the wrong way" now seem to be our enemy.  Here's the truth:  We are all still brothers and sisters, made by the same Father.  Yes, there will be differences, but those should not divide us, nor drive us to rash actions.  All of this creation was made by the loving words of a loving Heavenly Father; and if you and I bear a resemblance to Him, then it would seem that we would be loving, and understanding, and even tolerant of disagreements.  Our enemy, who has not yet been mentioned at this point, is still our enemy.  He loves it when we call others names or do stupid things towards fellow human beings.  Don't sink to Satan's low level.  He is a defeated creature and he knows his fate.  We are called to rise above, so that in our death, we will rise to the heavenly realms of God.

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, thank You for making us!  The story of this creation of us as male and female should be a blessing to enjoy and share.  Guide my actions to resemble Yours.  May we truly be humans filled with love.  Let us treat each other in that way; as precious created beings of the Most High.  We pray in the name of He who died for us because of love; and love's great power from God raised Him from the dead; Jesus our Lord.  In His name, amen!

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!  Make a plant or fruit be one of the items you enjoy today.  And as you eat it, say, "Thank You, God!"

Eradio Valverde

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Assurance of God's Protection

Image from appalachianmagazine.com

You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.’ Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling-place, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot. Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation. (Psalm 91: 1-2, 9-16)

Happy Thursday, dear Friend!  There's always been something about the picture above that has caught my attention from the first time I saw to this morning when I chose it to be the graphic for this devotional.  The artist, who is now completely unknown was inspired by this passage.  He broke with tradition of similar paintings of children near high cliffs or dangerous peaks of mountains and instead show a less-than-secure bridge over some rapid running water and painted a sister and brother crossing the bridge with a guardian angel protecting their way.  Interestingly enough, this was intended for a Roman Catholic European audience, but the picture caught on in the Appalachian region, where many a homestead depended on a broken-down bridge to get to their home, with the threat of flooding always present.  The picture is appropriate in our area given the heavy rains we have experienced these past few days!

The psalmist loved the Lord God and had a super relationship with Him.  He came to see God as his hiding place, the place very similar to a fortress and a refuge, because David's trust in God never failed.  Just this past week, a dear friend who writes a weekly thought email, spoke of an old refrigerator box that became his clubhouse.  Entry into this secure place required a password, and that was the title of his devotional thought. I replied back saying that as a small town boy, one of my friends discovered what we long thought to be an underground butane tank on this abandoned lot near our creek.  He cleaned it out, swept it as best he could, and then found some big boxes to tear into what he called sofas.  He then brought his comic book collection, a candle, and a flashlight, and viola we had our own clubhouse of sorts.  We didn't need a password because nobody really knew where this exotic hiding place was!  It was our refuge and shelter from the annoyances of younger siblings or friends we didn't want to see.  As you can imagine, one day he left the candle on and a fire broke out in our hiding place taking up in smoke his prized comic book collection.  It would be years later as I reflected on that place, that our underground butane tank may have indeed be a place of not refuge, but refuse, namely a septic tank!

Our spiritual lives should trust in the Lord so much that all of what David wrote is true for us.  We can dwell with the Lord, trusting that no evil shall befall us; no scourge will come near us; and God indeed has commanded His angels to guard us in all our ways, if we so invite Him to do.  Angels will hold us up when we are weak.  Remember Jesus' last day of His Temptation?  He was challenged by this passage by Satan, and one version has Jesus ministered to by angels after the devil left Him.  It does involve as the verse says, "When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them."  We have to, but ask!  And right before that verse it says we should love God, and God will deliver us from trouble.

I pray that whatever rickety old bridge your life has brought to your feet, you will safely cross it knowing that like these two children, your guardian angel is watching and protecting you.  You have to just call on the Lord, and He will respond.

PRAYER:  Loving Father, You are so awesome!  Your love and care for us goes beyond measure.  We are thankful for the inspiration of Your Spirit upon David as he wrote this beautiful and powerful psalm.  We call upon You to safely guide our steps through the bridges that have come our way.  Some seem so shaky and brittle that with any wrong movement we can fall into worse situations, but we trust You and invite You to be a part of our lives and the lives of those whom we love.  Bless this dear reader and his/her life.  Guide and protect them - in Jesus' name we pray, amen!

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!  Who knows, you may just be the bridge someone needs to cross their bridge!  

Eradio Valverde

By His Stripes We Are Healed!

Image from youtube.com/richmoore
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.  By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?  And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to bruise him; he has put him to grief; when he makes himself an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand;  he shall see the fruit of the travail of his soul and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities.  Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:4-12 RSV)
Happy Wednesday, dear Friend!  I pray the Lord make this a wonderful Wednesday for you and yours!  Cast your burdens, worries, anxieties unto the Lord and trust that He will deal with them in His way!  We continue to pray for those along the flood waters of recent rains, for those still digging out of hurricane ravages, and for those families who have lost loved ones because of weather; may the Lord comfort them.  Pray for one another; pray for yourselves.
The prophet, inspired by the Spirit of God, spoke and recorded the powerful words of today's passage.  Did he know that his words would come true many years after he first received them?  The answer is probably not; but he was called by God to speak God's words, and so he trusted that God would fulfill what he was writing down.  The words could easily be applied to the scene on Golgotha by the crowds witnessing the crucifixion of Jesus.  The believers did not yet know that Jesus was carrying our griefs and our sorrows, nor did they know that Jesus was wounded because of our transgressions and iniquities; all they could see was a man being brutally tortured, then murdered, because of us.  The eyewitnesses may have thought, "Why is God causing or allowing this for this poor man?" not knowing that it would be in reflection that the impact of that event would bring revelation of God's grace and love to humanity.  
The prophet writes a truth when he says, "All we like sheep have got astray; we have turned every one to his own way."  Yet, he also writes a more powerful truth, "and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."  The list continues, "By oppression and judgment, He has taken away" our sins.  There was no fault found in Him, yet He borne our faults to the cross.  Once dead, the prophet's words ring true, "And they made His grave with the wicked (the two thieves by His side) and with a rich man (Joseph of Arimathea) in His death, although He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth."  All for the glory of God.
The man in the prophetic description is our Savior, Jesus.  On Him we can cast our sins and iniquities, and He has already paid the price for them.  Through Jesus' suffering, we are made new and whole, clean and pure.  And He continues as our intercessor even for our transgressions.
Dear one, if it has been some time since you have confessed your sins to the Lord; now is the time to do so again, or for the very first time.  You don't have to say them out loud, just think them before the Lord and know that He will take them away from us and grant us pardon and release from the jail of the guilt we have been carrying for all this time.  Your Wednesday will indeed be a wonderful one if you do that!
PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, hear the prayer of this dear reader, as they confess their sins and iniquities to You.  Grant them release and freedom!  Let them know that they have been made new and whole, pure and clean. Make the moment be a special one of new life and freedom.  This we pray in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!  Show someone the Way that you have found in Jesus!
Eradio Valverde
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Appreciate Those Who Work For, And Love the Lord!

Image from Jesusisthesubject.org

Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, ‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’; as he says also in another place,‘You are a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchizedek.'  In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 5:1-10)

Good day to you dear Friend!  The cold and rain continue at this writing, but thank God we are warm and secure in His favor; may the same be true for you and yours.  Prayers for those who are homeless and exposed to the elements of the rain and cold.  Prayers one for the other; prayers for ourselves.

A priest is one who serves as a bridge between God and humanity.  The word priest comes from the Latin word ponti, which is close to the Spanish "puente."  The role of a priest, and certainly a high priest from biblical times, was as this passage says, "put in charge of things pertaining to God" on behalf of all mortals, especially those who are under his charge (attends his/her church).  The big question in preaching class when I took it was "By whose authority do you preach?"  The answer was two-fold; those called by God to preach have God's authority, and that, especially in most denominations comes also through the processing and licensing agencies of each church.  But the authority for one to preach comes from those who sit in the pews/chairs on that Sunday when we preach.  The purpose of the preacher is to share something "pertaining to God on their behalf," and the role of they in the pews/chairs, is to receive it, understand it, implement it and share it.  Those churches were the lay people come only to recharge and renew, and then go and do the work of the Lord are those churches which are growing.  Those churches where because of custom and habit, gather to hear a joke or two, some good teaching and head-nodding; then a return home like nothing happened; well, those churches are not growing and are not being faithful to God.

The passage for today reminds me that October has been set aside by someone as Pastor Appreciation Month.  Most churches, beside praying for their pastors, show love and kindness by gifts, large and small to those "chosen among mortals" who have been "put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf" in their church or setting.  The passage reminds us that pastors are fully human, with feelings, dreams and desires, sometimes having "to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward," all the while reminded that we too, are much the same way at times.  Yet, the main focus for most pastors is Jesus, the true and eternal high priest Whom we love and serve.  We preach Him and His truth, and we minister to those in need, seeking to revitalize, revive, or renew the work of God in our midst.  

Let our focus today be on our pastors.  Take a moment to pray for him/her.  Thank God for their calling and lift up any concerns or worries you have about that which s/he is trying to do in your church.  I remind us that whomever you have as pastor, whether you like that person or not, they are there in the office of Jesus, serving Jesus.  Pray that they not lose their way; pray that their calling be renewed daily to serve more faithfully and fruitfully.  And, if you have not yet shown any appreciation for him or her, buy them at least a card where you can express a word or two about gratitude for that which they do.  Tell them you are praying for them and their families; asking that God bless and protect them and guide them to new heights of service.  Then, examine what it is you have been called to do; dedicate that to your prayer life, and then listen to the Lord seeking to respond in ways that bless God.

PRAYER:  Loving Father, we thank You for our pastors.  We ask that today be a day of renewal in their spiritual lives.  Remind our pastors of that which first caught their attention to Your desire for them to serve You.  May today be when their calling is renewed and recharged!  Father, bless those moments of doubt and frustration; lift our pastors up from there and back on the path that leads them to lead us to faithfulness and fruitfulness.  We ask blessings upon their families; and Father I ask blessings on this dear reader, and their call to serve You too.  Remind and renew that calling too.  May they seek to do more; shower them with blessings too.  And this I pray in Christ Jesus, our true high priest, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!  Shine so brightly your pastor will wonder what you're up to!

Eradio Valverde

"Jesus Always Loved You Best!"

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James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, ‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.’ And he said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ And they said to him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’ They replied, ‘We are able.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.’ When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John.So Jesus called them and said to them, ‘You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’ (Mark 10:35-45)

Happy Monday dear Friend!  I pray you and yours are well.  At this writing, Seguin is cold and rainy!  I went outside with the intention of getting a run in, but it was raining; went to the gym and when I exited, it was coming down hard!  Please pray for those who have no shelter from the rain, and for those who have to work outside in such weather.  Prayers for Kathleen Bowman, who is recovering from hip surgery in Gonzales Hospital.  Prayers for each other; prayers for yourselves. I celebrate Children's Sabbath that we had in our church and the wonderful leadership the kids provided for our worship.  We had two ten year olds who had been wanting to preach and Pastor Matt and I interviewed them instead.  It was a blessing!  Thanks to Alison Davis, our Children's Director, who also spoke a word and organized the entire event!  We are blessed to have so many children in our church!

Speaking of children, you perhaps lived this or saw it on a tv show.  The siblings are arguing and one of them exclaims, "Mom always loved you best!"  This was probably made more famous by the Smothers Brothers, Dick and Tommy always argued about who Mom really like best.  The same scene is played out by two brothers that loved each other, but wanted a special privilege of power from Jesus.  James and John approach Jesus and ask that Jesus grant them whatever it was they were going to ask.  Jesus agreed to hear them out, and their request was to sit at His right and left hand sides when Jesus entered into His glory. Fast forward to the other ten disciples finding out and anger arises between them and these two.  Jesus' mission was to call all people back to God as God's servants.  Jesus asks the two if they were willing to drink the cup He was to drink, and to be baptized with the baptism He was to be baptized with; they both answered yes, perhaps thinking this would get them what they wanted.  Jesus answered they would indeed drink from the same cup, which was the suffering that Jesus would endure, and these two were not exempt from the suffering that came their way later.  And they were also baptized with the power of the Holy Spirit.  Yet, the important lesson these two and the other ten had to learn was about Jesus:  He "came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Yesterday I had the privilege of teaching our confirmation class.  It is a class where the parents are invited to sit in with their kids as they learn what it means to be a Christian within the United Methodist Church, and they are in the process of learning the Apostle's Creed.  It fell to me to teach them about Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection.  As we talked about death, many of the kids confessed they think about death probably more often than I did at that age. One young man feared not his own death but that of people he loves.  I shared how the Creed serves to remind us that we believe the things mentioned about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and most certainly the promises of Jesus regarding death.  Fear should be replaced with faith.  Anxiousness should be replaced with peace.  This was part of the lesson Jesus was trying to teach the Twelve, and it would be some time before they would finally understand and accept it.

As the week begins for us, take to heart that Jesus does indeed love you best!  Like He does me!  And all who call Him Lord and Savior.  Take to heart also, that your sins were paid for on the cross; we only have to confess them and receive pardon from the Lord.  As we live life, know that we are in good company; that of Jesus Himself, who seeks to guide and comfort us if we only ask.

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, as we pray, You know our needs.  I pray for this dear reader and whatever it is that is weighing heavily on his/her heart.  Bless them with calm and peace, and the assurance that we belong to You and you love us best.  May this also inspire us to serve others and You Yourself came to serve.  This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!  What can you do to serve Jesus today?

Eradio Valverde

In The Big Inning

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In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. (Genesis 1:1-5)

A glorious Friday to you, dear Friend!  I pray this find you and yours doing well.  This Friday we begin with a new study:  Bible Stories You Should Know, and we start on page one.  I have to confess that I cannot hear the word beginning, without hearing the big inning.  More so, and in honor of the MLB playoffs and my all time favorite team is in it, the Houston Astros, we will call this The Big Inning.  

Everything out of nothing.  The writer of this portion of Genesis begins with sharing that it was God who created everything, and He began with the heavens and the earth; meaning the sky and all that is under that sky.  The writer does not mention universes, or galaxies at this point, his concern is for us to know the One behind creation; the Creator was God.  God as Creator glorifies God as having all power to make everything out of nothing.  Note the writer says "the art was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters."  As the psalmist would later write in Psalm 24:1,2, the understanding in the ancient world was that God created an orderly world out of water and over the water.  The third verse says, "Then God said, 'Let there be light'' and there was light."  Creation was by the spoken word of God, such is the power of God.  Later, Paul would write the words of 2 Corinthians 4:6:  "For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."  This passage in Genesis helped Paul understand that God is not only Creator, HE is Lord.

Once light is created, God declares this first creation, "Good."  From what is left over from the darkness, God separates the two, making the light Day, and the darkness Night.  "And there was evening and there was morning, the first day."  BAM!  It is childlike faith and wonder that allows us to say, "Awesome!"  What an awesome God we have.  HE made day and light for us to enjoy.  Day is the opportunity to work and serve, Night is the realm to rest and recreate.  

PRAYER;  Heavenly Father, You are a mighty God and we stop to worship You!  We give you thanks for this creation and for the story that we read today.  May we enjoy both day and night as gifts from You.  Help us to make the best of both for You honor and glory.  Help us be the light of Jesus to shine on those who find more than their share of night.  This we pray in His might name, Jesus our Lord and Savior, amen.

Have a great and blessed day (& night) in the Lord!  Let your very being reflect the creative power of God for good in someone's life today!

Eradio Valverde

Prosper the Work of Our Hands!

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So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart. Turn, O Lord! How long?Have compassion on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be manifest to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands— O prosper the work of our hands! (Psalm 90:12-17)

Happy Thursday, dear Friend!  May the Lord make His face shine upon you today is my prayer! I begin with a CORRECTION from yesterday's devotional.  In the part where it reads:   Osteen: You're doing great!  Amos: You aren't doing what you should be!  I should have added some words to better explain what I was intending:  Osteen says to his audience:  "You're doing great!"  Amos says to his audience:  "You aren't doing what you should be!"  Some of you took it to mean I was telling Osteen he was doing great; and to Amos that he wasn't.  Joel Osteen does bless some people and that has its place, but Amos blessed God and made many uncomfortable.  I apologize for that misunderstanding, and for this devotional coming a bit later than usual.  Long story!  Pray for those still affected in many areas by weather; may God bless and protect all.  Pray for one another; pray for yourselves.

Most of us are familiar with the first words of this passage from Psalm 90:  "So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart."  A reminder to all of us to take each day as a precious gift in which we make the most of it we can, trusting that God will be blessed as will those around us.  The psalmist also asks the Lord to turn back to His people.  As is the case, we are the ones who turn away from God and yet we cry out asking God to turn back to us. And it's a daily thing; we should seek the Lord from the morning on, seeking that which satisfies God and we allow God's steadfast love to satisfy us, leading us to rejoice and be glad.  Our hearts should be full for the days we have lived, and even in spite of those days that we count among days of affliction and evil, God was with us.  In spite of this, we continue to move forward to do God's work and to be God's people. And may everything we touch and do for the Lord be a blessing to God and to God's people!

PRAYER:  Loving God, speak to us right now.  Make the words of the psalmist be our words as well.  We thank You for allowing us to wake up and take a breath and to be alive.  Guide us to faithfulness and fruitfulness.  Grant us strength to be active and busy for You; this we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen. 

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!  Be the person glad to be alive among those who are not.

Eradio Valverde

Find Life in God

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Seek the Lord and live, or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire, and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it. Ah, you that turn justice to wormwood, and bring righteousness to the ground! They hate the one who reproves in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks the truth. Therefore, because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. For I know how many are your transgressions, and how great are your sins—you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and push aside the needy in the gate. Therefore the prudent will keep silent in such a time; for it is an evil time. Seek good and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said. Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. (Amos 5:6-7, 10-15)

Happy Wednesday, dear Friend!  May today's time spent with the Lord be a blessing and an invitation to serve Him in wonderful ways.  As we pray, please pray for those in need, especially those in the wake of Hurricane Michael bearing down on Florida.  Our daughter and grandson flew back home from Florida yesterday as the skies were turning black and weather was getting scary.  I also ask for prayers for our former bishop, Jim Dorff, who underwent serious cancer surgery and is recovering well.  He was able to come home earlier than believed possible, and we continue to pray for his recovery and health. Pray for one another, pray for yourselves.

Amos' sermons were a lot different from those of say, Joel Osteen.  You sit for an Osteen sermon and you come out feeling good and positive about yourself.  You stand for an Amos sermon and you begin to hear God's voice meddling in your most private of thoughts.  Osteen: You're doing great!  Amos: You aren't doing what you should be!  Amos preached to a remnant of those who should have remembered and been blessed by what God had done in their lives and in their history.  The warnings to stay away from false gods, the gods of their new neighbors, went mostly unheeded.  The reminder from the prophet Amos is for them to start looking again for God, so that real life might be theirs again.  The teachings about justice as a way of life; a compassionate, caring for everyone, under the false god led them to satisfy only their own greed, with no heed for anyone else.  Trampling on the poor was a common theme for the prophet, because he was witnessing an unbelievable life, of exploiting the poor and taking bread out of their hands to gobble it for themselves.  Their new homes and awesome vineyards would not be for them.  Their sin was choking them out of the abundant life God had intended for them.  The righteous among them served as their doormats; brides instead of blessings were lining their pockets, and those in need were run out of town.  It was an evil time indeed, and some would even say our time is not much different in many ways.  Yet, the call was to all to return to God.  "Seek good and not evil, that you may life; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, just as you have said.  Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph (those who were freed from slavery in Egypt).

Our call from the Lord is to not get comfortable in our relationship with Him and with others.  We should be examining ourselves as to how we are living and to ask, "What more can/should I be doing?"  And, am I being a good person, seeking righteousness?  Or, am I living life just to please myself?  Have I found life in God?  Or, am I still looking in all the wrong places?

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, truth hurts, but we need to hear it from You.  If we are not right before You, please let us know, especially those of us who already know, but seem to hide from the reality of truth.  Guide me to be one who refuses to be comfortable and numb; but rather awake and alive to Your leading.  I want to find You and receive from You life to the fullest; and I want to share that with those who do not yet have it.  This I pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen!

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!  Seek to share life with those who need a boost!

Eradio Valverde

REMINDER:  For our Gonzales area readers, today is our second Faith and Film event.  We will be showing a movie worth discussing.  It stars Steve Martin in a dramatic role; so take a leap of faith and join us!  It starts at 12 noon and goes until about 2 or a little after.  We may even have some pizza!  It'll bless your day!

My sermon on prayer as preached this past Sunday, 10/7/18 at First United Methodist Church in Corpus Christi, Texas: http://bit.ly/2A1yfjY

Offense or Defense, We Have the Weapon!

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Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.  Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4;12-16)

Lord, bless this Tuesday in the life of this dear Reader!  My prayers for a great day for you and yours as we start our day in prayer and devotion to the Lord.  Please pray for those in West Texas affected by the floods in Junction, Llano and those areas.  May God keep all safe.  One member of FUMC-San Angelo was missing.  Our own Bob Clark is safe.  Prayers for Dick Goss who is recovering from hand surgery.  I visited with him yesterday and he is optimistic about today's followup visit.  Pray for a great visit!  Pray for one another, pray for yourselves.  

I suppose most little boys and young men are fascinated by weapons, swords being high on most lists.  My grandsons have more than their share of plastic swords, and even light sabers made famous by the Star Wars movies.  My maternal grandfather had two Mexican walking canes. They were made of wood and had beautifully made decorations on them. One was hollow and filled with Mexican silver pesos.  It weighed a ton and was very much a weapon.  The other had a sword inside of it.  It was a weapon as well. I had no desire to possess those for I knew the harm and damage they could do.  My paternal grandfather at one point in his life decided he no longer wanted to be a Mason and gave to me a huge Masonic sword.  My uncles on my mom's side heard about it and came to claim the sword as theirs because they were still very active in the lodge.  I can't say that I was sad or sorry to see that weapon leave my possession either.  We do have, however a two-edged, or double-sided sword that we can use both for offense and defense, and it is our Bible.  The author of Hebrews says it is also alive and active, and more so when we actually pick it up and read it!  It can pierce "until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."  And that's all true.  Some have called the Bible a mirror where we can see ourselves from God's perspective.  We can see the flaws and stains on our very being, and it also shows us He who can remove those from us.  The more we read it, the more we learn, and the more we learn the more we can share with others who are in need.  That is the offense we have.  We can proceed to grow the Kingdom of God with advancing His word.  The Bible is also our defense against he who opposes God and would love nothing better than to see us suffer and confused.  And again, we must pick up the Bible and use it!

The passage also gets intimate and says no one is hidden from God.  We are all spiritually naked before God and one day we will bear an account before Him.  But today is the day when we can get cleansed by God.  Our stains and flaws can be removed through prayer and through Bible study.  Jesus paid the price of our sins, but we must claim it.  And we must call on He who is our defense attorney, Jesus Christ.  He loves and understands our situations.  He has gone through all things, but is perfect and free from sin; we're not.  So, as the passage also says, "Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."  Hint:  pray constantly and boldly.  Learn to trust God to stand with us during our difficult times.  God is faithful and just, and ready to forgive.  

PRAYER:  Loving Father, stand with me right now.  You know me and know my flaws and stains.  Remove them from me and replace them with faith and boldness.  Let me not be timid when it comes time to share faith with those in doubt.  Let me not be afraid to share love with those who feel alone and unloved.  Let me not be afraid to speak hope when with those who have little to no hope.  Glorify Yourself in me, this I pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!  Show the strength of God in sharing Him with someone today!

Eradio Valverde

Want to know more about Hebrews?  I recommend this book:  https://amzn.to/2OgJRZ6

Do You "Have It All" Save for One Thing?

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As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.” ’ He said to him, ‘Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.’ Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ They were greatly astounded and said to one another,‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.’ Peter began to say to him, ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.’  (Mark 10:17-31)

Happy Monday dear Friend!  I pray that God has richly blessed you during this weekend and that this finds you blessed enough to bless others.  May our time in study and prayer bless us to be a blessing to the Lord and His people.  Nellie and I were blessed to have been in Corpus Christi late Saturday and early Sunday.  We miss CC and we were welcomed warmly at First United Methodist Church where I was honored to have preached on prayer yesterday at their two traditional services.  We thank God we went through some very heavy and scary rain heading to and from CC, safely and securely!  God is good!

Some call him the rich young ruler, but here's what we know:  He was young (he could run and kneel!  Okay, I'm poking fun at men my age!), and we know that he had a lot of possessions.  Yet, he was wise enough to know that Jesus had something that he wanted; the gift of eternal life.  The man may have inherited his money, for he asks about inheriting eternal life.  Jesus begins by correcting the record about being called "Good."  God is good.  That was Jesus' response, but he also said, "You know the commandments," and lists those listed in the above verse.  The young man responds by saying he has kept these, and Jesus then says, "Go sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; then come, follow me."  Ouch!  Jesus knew the young man was all about money and asks of him something very difficult for that was the young man's response.  "You can keep your eternal life; I'll struggle through here with what I have," may have been his thought.  In fairness, some believe this was Joseph of Arimathea, who purchased the tomb for Jesus, indicating that he may have still followed Jesus but kept some of his money.  The reality of which Jesus is speaking is this; if your possessions possess you, then you are not at all rich.  If you can be generous and giving, and if your life is not defined by what you have in your bank account or in the car you drive, or the home that you own, then you are on the right track.  It is not a sin to be rich.  It is a sin to give up righteousness and to pursue money and possessions. It is a sin to be oppressive and rich. And as I have shared before, Rev. Rick Warren says, "It is a sin to die rich."  Jesus stresses that whatever we give up for the sake of His work, will be repaid us in manifold ways.  Houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, and yes, persecutions; we will receive these, but in the end, eternal life.  Give up wanting to be first place, for the "first will be last, and the last will be first."

I have a colleague who gave away millions of dollars, in fact, his entire inheritance from his father, to become a servant of God.  He is more content when we can preach, visit the sick, pray with people, and do good for the community than when he had all that money at his disposal.  He is grateful to be alive, and to be active in the work of God.  What about you?  The Message version at one point in the above passage has Jesus saying, "Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who 'have it all' to enter God's kingdom?"  Dear one, the truly rich things in our life many times have nothing to do with money or possessions; don't let those kind of things obstruct your vision of God's plan and purpose for your life.

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, count us among the very rich, for knowing You and Your love for us.  Count us wealthy for the joy of loved ones that surround us or bless us with hugs, kisses, notes, emails, and texts.  Precious are moments even on FaceTime with family and friends.  We do thank You for the "daily bread" of which we pray like Your Son taught us; and may Your will be done in my life today and all days.  Make me faithful and fruitful.  In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!  Bless someone today with a rich smile and a generous hug!

Eradio Valverde