Image from slideplayer.com
Hear the devotional narrated here: https://bit.ly/3aG59Zp
7 My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. 8 The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love - so you can't know him if you don't love. 9 This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. 10 This is the kind of love we are talking about - not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they've done to our relationship with God. 11 My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. 12 No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us - perfect love! 13 This is how we know we're living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He's given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. 14 Also, we've seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. 15 Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God's Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. 16 We know it so well, we've embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God. 17 This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day - our standing in the world is identical with Christ's. 18 There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life - fear of death, fear of judgment - is one not yet fully formed in love. 19 We, though, are going to love - love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first. 20 If anyone boasts, "I love God," and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won't love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can't see? 21 The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You've got to love both. (1 John 4:7-21 The Message Bible)
Happy Tuesday, ConCafe Family! I admitted to a friend that about 30 years ago I gave up coffee. It was a difficult decision and an even more difficult ordeal to put up with headaches and withdrawal pains from the strong caffeine supply I was ingesting daily. I felt an obligation to drink a whole pot of coffee once I started serving churches with secretaries that would make it for me. And pretty soon I realized that much coffee wasn't doing me much good. So, this friend said, so you're changing the name of ConCafe? Nope. Although, I said, ConTé gives it a different meaning. Those who know Español know that conté, means counted. But, let's leave well enough alone, for now! May God's blessings be yours today, dear Friend, to enjoy and to share! Please remember to pray for those on your heart, mind, or spirit; for one another, and say a prayer for yourself and your needs.
Before the pandemic, most people were not used to receiving many packages; in fact, it was somewhat of a treat to find a box by the door, or in your mailbox. We live in a neighborhood where we get our mail at a certain location in a box, and if a package larger than the letter box is required, we get a key with the letter that corresponds to the bigger box. Once we were asked to be home-bound, that all changed. We had seen curbside delivery of groceries and laughed about needing that; soon we were griping about the difficult hour choices given to us. We even went as far as Luling, Texas, to shop at the HEB there that offered more decent hours for curbside pickup. And sometimes we did go past 10:30 pm to pick up needed provisions. It seemed that most of us would go anywhere and do just about whatever it took, to get things to eat, to clean, and to entertain us. I'm old enough to remember our family doctor coming to the house to see us (and usually to give us a shot!); the milkman would bring us milk, butter, cheese and ice cream; the small grocery store where I worked would even deliver groceries if you requested such. And there weren't many in those days who wanted such. But guess what comes right to you? Love from God! Look at verse 7 again; "My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God." Yes! And it comes ready to share! Notice the description of those who share love, in that same verse; "Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God." Amen! Notice the next verse, though; "The person who refuses to love doesn't know the first thing about God, because God is love - so you can't know Him if you don't love." I would add an exclamation point to that verse! In one of my churches we would do reception into the church membership in a way that is different from more churches. We would mug our visitors with a new coffee cup (mug) from the church and then invite them to a once-a-month Coffee with the Pastor. There, I would introduce myself and my staff and we would tell a brief history of our church, the ministries we were involved in; staff would share their work, and then I would offer an invitation to join the church right then and there (after a 5 minute break for the couples who needed to talk about it); then in our chapel, we would have the ritual of church membership; take a photo of the new members and show it on the screens the following Sunday. We started to receive a significant amount of new members because many said, "Pastor, I am so glad we had this option because I'm a shy person who would not normally walk down during the singing of the last hymn to join - so I would not have joined!" Well, as usually happens, a few people were upset about this "new" arrangement and a special council meeting was called to discuss this. And among the most ironic comments came from a woman not known for her loving or kind ways, and she said, "We don't get to see the new members in person! How will I know who to be nice to if we don't present them in the usual way?" This caused some laughter and snickers among those present. (Think about her comment!). We have just read that we should be people of love (and kindness) to all people! Not to select people; or new people.
God demonstrated His love in this way, the apostle writes; by sending His only Son into the world so we might live through Him. (Remember yesterday's "abide in me" passage?). John writes that Jesus came to break the blockages, such as sin, that prevented us from loving all people as we should. In fact, he writes, "My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other." To have God living in us, He will fill us with perfect love, the kind others see and helps them see God! He has given us from His life that extra blessing that fulfills John 10:10 "abundant life, or life to the fullest." And this makes accepting Jesus as the Savior of the world easier; and allows us to enjoy an intimate relationship with God. I love how this version says, "This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day - our standing in the world is identical with Christ's. Verse 18 is beautiful and powerful. The story goes that a couple planning their wedding wanted a Bible verse to use on their wedding cake. They chose this one: There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear." (Please check your favorite version to get a fuller meaning). Well, tears flowed and some of them got on the napkin where they had written the verse; but they showed it to Mother, who also cried and her tears further imprinted the verse; and on the day of the wedding, the baker, thinking they had written John 4:18 wrote on the cake, "You've had five husbands, and the man you're living with now isn't even your husband." Oops! You can't blame the baker! But focus on the correct verse; if we have perfect love in us, there is no room for fear or dread; the crippling effects of imperfect love have no room to survive. We love because God first loved us. God showed us how to love; no one can boast "I love God," and continue to live a life that demonstrates nothing about love. The apostle asks, "If we won't love the person we see, how can we love God we can't see?" And this passage concludes, "The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You've got to love both."
Indeed!
PRAYER: Awesome God of love, fill us 'til we want no more, with Your precious love; may love overflow into us and out of us to those who desperately need love, so that You can be seen in us and the things we show and do for You and Yours. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show love to all people today in dear ways.
Receive my blessings of joy, peace, and love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
