Cracked Pots

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1 God told Jeremiah, 2 "Up on your feet! Go to the potter's house. When you get there, I'll tell you what I have to say." 3 So I went to the potter's house, and sure enough, the potter was there, working away at his wheel. 4 Whenever the pot the potter was working on turned out badly, as sometimes happens when you are working with clay, the potter would simply start over and use the same clay to make another pot. 5 Then God's Message came to me: 6 "Can't I do just as this potter does, people of Israel?" God's Decree! "Watch this potter. In the same way that this potter works his clay, I work on you, people of Israel. 7 At any moment I may decide to pull up a people or a country by the roots and get rid of them. 8 But if they repent of their wicked lives, I will think twice and start over with them. 9 At another time I might decide to plant a people or country, 10 but if they don't cooperate and won't listen to me, I will think again and give up on the plans I had for them. 11 "So, tell the people of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem my Message: 'Danger! I'm shaping doom against you, laying plans against you. Turn back from your doomed way of life. Straighten out your lives.' (Jeremiah 18:1-11 The Message Bible_

Here's another sermon prop. Yes, it could be messy, but boy does it drive home the point! A sermon prop is a way to better illustrate a point that a preacher wants to make. (It beats the three points and a poem! IMO). For grins, I asked pastors on Facebook to share sermon props go bad. Interesting reading to say the least! One pastor shared: "A bowl of compost served up to unsuspecting members of the congregation who were invited to sit at a formal dinner setting. The idea was to create a sense experience of the disgusting nature of sin from God’s perspective, but it worked too well because the people became nauseous when they saw the maggots crawling on their plates. I didn’t know there were maggots until I saw them at the same time as the 'guests'."

In this case, God invites the prophet Jeremiah to make a trip to the local potter's house. So, the prophet obeys and finds himself there and sees the potter working away at his wheel and sees he's trying to make a pot and saw that it was going very bad, and he could stop and remake it as a new pot. Then God spoke to the prophet, "Can't I do just as this potter does, people of Israel?" God continues, "Watch this potter. In the same way that this potter works his clay, I work on you, people of Israel. At any moment I may decide to pull up a people or a country by the roots and get rid of them. But if they repent of their wicked lives, I will think twice and start over with them. At another time I might decide to plant a people or country, but if they don't cooperate and won't listen to me, I will think again and give up on the plans I have for them." The warning is that God is working against them.

Imagine being at the table in the above sermon prop. You are seated awaiting a delicious meal and you are served with a "disgusting nature of sin from God's perspective," and you begin to understand why God, as Potter, would reshape and reform the pot. Israel was a cracked pot and had a history of repeating the same disgusting acts of straying from God and joyfully wallowing in their sin. Their idea is that they are doing what they want, and are pleasing themselves, but the reality is that your plate is not of food, but of compost complete with maggots! You begin to understand why God would want to re-do His people. Friends, sin is ugly, no matter how we try to paint it or portray it. Sin leads to death and from what we know about sin, it is still infested with maggots and waste, and it leads not to life. God's plan was to lead us to life, even from the first pages, and somehow we take ahold of the markers and start messing up the clean pages with our ideas and wishes and we find ourselves alienated from God and life itself. In re-watching Jurassic Park, there is a scene where the park's founder and owner, John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) is reflecting on his "creation," namely the dinosaur DNA mutated with frog's DNA dinosaurs of his theme park, and the flaws in it speaks of the next time he creates the species, he wants it to be flawless, because the entire park and the renegade reaction of these "new" dinosaurs went so wrong. And I thought about the mind of God as God reflects on His people, the people of Israel and their never-ending disobedience against God. What would it take to bring all creation back to faithfulness? What would it take to bring you and me back into faithful servants of God?

PRAYER: Loving God, we have strayed often and far from You, yet still you welcome back those of us who repent and seek to be back in Thy grace. Grant to us a new opportunity to serve and to love; for we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Admit you're a cracked pot, if you are, and put yourself in the Potter's hands to remake you new.

Receive my blessings of love and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

One Letter. One Slave Owner.

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Hear the devotional here: https://bit.ly/3R0hDy9

1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, 2 to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God 5 because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ. 7 I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother. 8 For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, 9 yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love—and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus. 10 I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to me. 12 I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. 13 I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. 15 Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, 16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. 17 So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. (Philemon 1-21 New Revised Standard Version Bible)

Friends, be blessed today and enjoy the fullness of life. As we pray, let us pray for the family of Mr. Jaime Mariscal, who passed away today because of cancer. I've known Jaime since he was a child because his father was my pastor when I felt the call into ordained ministry in Houston. I know Rev. Arturo and his wife, Raquel, are devastated by the loss of their oldest son. May God's comfort be with this special family. Prayers for younger brother Jorge, and sister Loli. Earlier this evening I received word that The Rev. Delia Estrada died in Corpus Christi, TX, after a long battle with Dementia. Our prayers for her family as they mourn the loss of this delightful woman of God. I was blessed to be her friend, and to enjoy her wit and ministry for many years.

The first time Nellie, Caitlin, and I worshiped at Wesley's Chapel in London, we were given a tour of the church and of his home. The one thing that just made us gape in wonder was that the baptismal font in that chapel was made from the front steps of a plantation home owned by a man who while worshiping there heard a convicting word from The Rev. John Wesley and repented of his horrible sin of owning human beings as his personal property. He sailed home and set his slaves free, hiring them instead as his employees. As a gesture of his new life, he sent the first step of his home, with a bowl scooped in it, to Mr. Wesley, to serve as the baptismal font. It was truly as a gesture of "If my sins can be washed away by this sacrament by Jesus, so can yours!" This same font has been used for many years, and even the children of Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of England, were baptized there, using that font. The current altar railings were donated by the Thatchers. I would recommend, if you can find a copy of it, to watch the movie, Amazing Grace, which takes place around the same time as that conversion in London.

Today's passage is the (almost) entire letter from Paul to a man named Philemon. The verses omitted include one where Paul says for Philemon to prepare the guest room for him. As most letters from the Apostle, they are reminded that he is praying for them, and thanking God for them. He stresses that he knows them for their love, which is a key setup for what he is asking in this letter. He stresses that their love has encouraged him, as well as brought joy to him. Though he knows that through his position he could order this, as their "duty," he refrains from that and instead appeals to Philemon to receive back his runaway slave, Onesimus.

Recent stories from south of us have revealed there was a southern route of the Underground Railroad of slaves, that led them to freedom in Mexico that did not allow slavery. And this through a small United Methodist chapel that still stands, El Capote UMC, near the border, though the border wall has limited access to it. This chapel was founded by freed slaves named the Jackson Family. It is interesting to note that Paul is recommending Onesimus to go back, as the rightful thing to do, but wants for Philemon to receive him, not as a slave but as a "beloved brother." Paul begs him to receive him back and if he is owed anything, he, Paul, would pay it. And to top this powerful letter off, Paul wrote this letter himself! And he reminds Philemon of all he owes him, asking this be done to "Refresh my heart in Christ," and he knows of Philemon's obedience. And he ends this part of the passage with, "I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say." Boom.

What would you do? What did happen? Simple answer, when we get to Heaven we will know the complete answer. Interesting to read the theories out there. The truth is that this is a story of forgiveness. And Paul knows that Philemon, in having found Christ, found his forgiveness from Jesus, should be willing to forgive Onesimus for his running away, and even, as some scholars believe, for his having stolen some money from Philemon. If we continue to stress the theme from yesterday's passage, did Onesimus count the cost before doing what he did? More importantly, did Philemon realize the cost of Jesus' death for his sinfulness, and what was he going to do about it? Again, what are we doing to show that we love Jesus more than we love ourselves?

PRAYER: Awesome, loving Father, as we pray about where we find ourselves, help us to see what we need to be doing to bless others with awareness of You. Help us to forgive others because You have forgiven us; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Let your love runaway today in loving others!

Receive my love and blessings of peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

Count the Cost; Carry the Cross

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Hear the devotional here: https://bit.ly/3pXxtNP

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ 31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. (Luke 14:25-33 New International Version)

Happy Monday, Friend! May this be a wonderful day for you! May you share what God shared with you this weekend in your time of worship. Bless someone in a big way! May we continue to pray for Linda and George Barcus during this time of waiting; may the Lord drive the pain away and bring healing to this sweet woman of faith.

I've often wondered if I had lived during the time of Jesus if I would have been among those who would have followed Him? I would love to say YES, I would be one, but I don't know. As I think about how I came to faith, it made more sense, given my parents were people of faith and we were free to worship without fear of repraisals, for we live in a country where worship was once the basically the only thing to do on Sundays. I'm old enough to remember Texas' Blue Law, which meant that most businesses were closed and even Wednesdays were designated for church events. In Jesus' day, He was a traveling rabbi, whose message drew the ire and wrath of the religious leaders of His day. Yet, crowds began to follow Jesus; all for different reasons. The same is true for worship attendance, is it not? (Thus the need for preaching!). And Jesus begins to address the real reasons for following Him. Following Jesus will come at a cost, including the sacrifice of the love of parents and siblings, and even the sacrifice of self. Jesus was saying, "Put me first!" And Jesus stresses that each follower who would become a believer, just carry his or her own cross. Interesting that Jesus inserts that here. The Roman form of excecution was crucifixion, whose name is related to the method, death on a cross. In reallity, Jesus knew that the hatred against Him would grow to the point that even the religious people of His church would kill His believers. Jesus' point is to count the cost, commit, and be ready.

This holds true even today. One can go to church every Sunday or worship online, and not do anything else to further the work of Christ's Kingdom. Jesus compares this to building a tower; if you don't have the money, don't build it. If you start with a foundation and then run out of money, Jesus says that's an invitation for ridicule. Or, if you're a king and you're about to go to war against another king, sit down first and consider how prepared you are to win. If you find you're not ready, then consider making peace. In the same way, if we don't fully prepare for each day as a Christian to do and be our best, then it serves Christ very little. Ours is to build a life that towers over the others, for our foundation is Christ and He allows us to live lives that show Him alive and in our lives. And in the same way if we are to face battles during our day, we'd have better be prepared for all-out war to win. Anything less leads to our defeat.

We've been alive long enough to know that life does bring challenges and opportunites; all of which require our being ready and able to fight the good fight; anything less leads to defeat or loss. Some years ago, I went to pay our car insurance and my agent's yard guy was outside. He was always friendly and we always greeted each other and on that particular day I was led to say that what he was facing would be better faced if he went to church. The next few Sundays found him in church, and one day I got word he was in the hospital, dying. I went to see him and he thanked me for sharing Jesus with him, for he said he knew his time was soon coming to an end and he was ready. I count that as a victory, thanks to God. For we never know what word or hope we can share with someone who truly needs it, and that, dear one, could make an eternal difference in their lives.

PRAYER: Loving God, grant to us Your wisdom and strength to prepare for each day in ways that count towards victory. Help us overcome doubt, despair, or sorrow, so that we can shine Your light brightly in all people. We want to make a difference in all those lives in which we can. Grant us the couarge to carry Your cross; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Be a tower of faith; win a battle for Jesus!

Receive my blessings of love and joy,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

Fresh Baked Anger

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1 A song to our strong God! a shout to the God of Jacob! 10 I'm God, your God, the very God who rescued you from doom in Egypt, Then fed you all you could eat, filled your hungry stomachs. 11 "But my people didn't listen, Israel paid no attention; 12 So I let go of the reins and told them, 'Run! Do it your own way!' 13 "Oh, dear people, will you listen to me now? Israel, will you follow my map? 14 I'll make short work of your enemies, give your foes the back of my hand. 15 I'll send the God-haters cringing like dogs, never to be heard from again. 16 You'll feast on my fresh-baked bread spread with butter and rock-pure honey." (Psalm 81:1, 10-16 The Message Bible)

Gratitude for food is my mantra. You can tell. If you feed me I will be grateful and thankful. I am thankful for my mother who fed me my first million meals, then my bride, who took over and has fed me about a million meals more. I will never forget either of them for their love and their careful feeding of me to keep me alive. I am forever thankful to Mrs. Tomie Lopez, who on that Friday my Dad was late, shared her last can of Spaghetti-Os with us so that we would not be hungry. I will also be forever grateful to The Rev. Bud Rousseo, who shared his last two eggs and two slices of whole wheat bread and crunchy peanut butter. That was a feast that I will always cherish. I can only imagine what my mother or wife would think of me if I were to say to them, "I've never liked your food, thanks for nothing!" And then I ran away!

That in a nutshell is the history of Israel and their relationship with God. As the prophet Jeremiah said yesterday, we forget too easily the good that God does for us and we wander off as ungrateful people. In all honesty, we miss out on so much that we might never catch up on. I just read a story about a man in Costa Rica who found a crocodile that had been shot in the head. The man took the huge croc home and nursed it back to health. It took several weeks until the man felt it was time to release it back to the wild. He carried it to the river where he had found it and released it. The man felt sad that his temporary friend was now on its own. But the next morning he was surprised to see that the croc had returned to the man's porch and spent the night there. He tried again, and again it returned and the man decided it might be best to keep this croc where it wanted to be. Photos showed that the man could take naps on the belly of the huge reptile, which never harmed the man; such was its gratitude towards the man who healed him and fed him. I know many of the human species who might learn a lesson from this story; and a nation whose story we just read that would also have been blessed had they showed this kind of love and devotion to God for all God had done.

The imagery of God's rich blessings as used in this version should make us desire to truly seek and find God; "You'll feast on my fresh-baked bread with butter and rock-pure honey." The offer of God's fresh-baked bread beats our human fresh-baked hate, which is what we show when we are ungrateful and walk away from God. The good news is that God's front door is always open, and all of God's kitchen windows are also open. The aroma of fresh-baked bread is the aroma of love. Don't only breathe it! Enjoy it by eating it!

PRAYER: Loving God, We are thankful You are forgiving, especially the times we have not thanked You for the wonderful blessings You have shared with us. Let us not walk away without thanking You and being grateful to You. Grant us a new opportunity to serve You; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord Jesus. YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Show fresh-baked love to those who are hungry for it.

Receive my blessings of love and joy,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

How Easily We Forget, No?

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Hear the devotional here: https://bit.ly/3T5eheu

4 Hear God's Message, House of Jacob! Yes, you - House of Israel! 5 God's Message: "What did your ancestors find fault with in me that they drifted so far from me, Took up with Sir Windbag and turned into windbags themselves? 6 It never occurred to them to say, 'Where's God, the God who got us out of Egypt, Who took care of us through thick and thin, those rough-and-tumble wilderness years of parched deserts and death valleys, A land that no one who enters comes out of, a cruel, inhospitable land?' 7 "I brought you to a garden land where you could eat lush fruit. But you barged in and polluted my land, trashed and defiled my dear land. 8 The priests never thought to ask, 'Where's God?' The religion experts knew nothing of me. The rulers defied me. The prophets preached god Baal And chased empty god-dreams and silly god-schemes. 9 Because of all this, I'm bringing charges against you" - God's Decree - "charging you and your children and your grandchildren. 10 Look around. Have you ever seen anything quite like this? Sail to the western islands and look. Travel to the Kedar wilderness and look. Look closely. Has this ever happened before, 11 That a nation has traded in its gods for gods that aren't even close to gods? But my people have traded my Glory for empty god-dreams and silly god-schemes. 12 "Stand in shock, heavens, at what you see! Throw up your hands in disbelief - this can't be!" God's Decree. 13 "My people have committed a compound sin: they've walked out on me, the fountain Of fresh flowing waters, and then dug cisterns - cisterns that leak, cisterns that are no better than sieves. (Jeremiah 2:4-13 The Message Bible)

We in this area were reminded of how precious water is to our area. Since about June, most of us have not had a decent rain to speak of, and these last two days reminded us that God is still in command and can shower us with blessings, both of the rain-kind, and the kind that bless our hearts and spirits. Nellie and I traveled through some heavy rain this past weekend traveling to Houston for our grandson Eli's second birthday celebration and God saw us safely to and from there. And last night's rain made our trip to Duncanville seem like it might not be a good idea, but I braved the rain to go to my office in San Antonio for an annual test to be re-certified to sell Medicare Advantage Plans, and yes, thank You, Lord, I passed! Then we braved the long highway to here, getting only some drizzle on the way.

Some of the Old Testament station stops sound the same. It's God's lament about us and the way we so easily forget the good that God does for us and we are prone, as the astute hymn writer say, "to wander." The real name for the Old Testament should be Where Are We This Week, O People of God? It seems, like us, that they could not sit still or set their minds and hearts on God long enough to bless Him or themselves. I guess if we all behaved we wouldn't have half of the songs written throughout history, about somebody done somebody wrong, and in this case, it's Israel that did the wrong against God. It's the theme of a madly in love guy takes his best gal to the dance and she goes home with someone else! Great song to write, but not live, huh. In the case against God's people, they couldn't enjoy the garden long enough to stay in it for longer than a visit to the apple tree. They were free to eat "lush fruit," but they chose to eat the forbidden fruit instead and they were shown the door.

The prophet sums up God's words in the photo chosen for the written devotional. The people of God chose to walk away from the living waters God provides to dig cisterns, and these that leak and serve no purpose other than to leak water. The spiritual reality is that is exactly what happens when we leave the blessings of God to pursue our own passions and lusts. No wonder the prophet says, "Stand in shock, heavens, at what you see! Throw up your hands in disbelief - this can't be!" Indeed. God deserves better. And we can do better, too.

Why don't we?

PRAYER: Loving God, help us be better. You shown us the better way to live and we've shut our eyes in thinking we can see better than You, even with eyes shut. Forgive us and free us for joyful obedience; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Drink deep from the living and loving waters of God in ways that bless others!

Receive my blessings of peace and joy!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Jesus Never Changes!

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Hear the devotional here: https://bit.ly/3pCYmqw

1 Let mutual love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured. 4 Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." 6 So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?" 7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 15 Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 New Revised Standard Version Bible)

Love is a powerful, wonderful force. Newborn babies feel it and need it. Newlyweds feel it and blame it for having them walk down the aisle! Not like a video I saw where the husband was talking to the screen, "Hey brother, run! It's not too late!" The wife dressing in front of the dresser asks, "Is that a horror movie you're watching?" And walks to the screen and then shoves the husband as she exclaims, "That's our wedding video!" Humor is a part of love. (Isn't it?). When I was a campus minister in the 1980s I taught a class called The Bible in Everyday Living, and as a part of the course I added Leo Buscaglia's Book, "Love." Dr. Buscaglia stated he felt the need to write the book because there was no book at that time on the subject love. The Bible is considered the love letter to us from God, and it is, but many do not see it as a text. Dr. B states that love is learned, and gives the example of the child at the turn of the 20th Century found living in the wild. Somehow the child had been abandoned and it walked on all fours, and lived in a hole in the ground. It had not learned how to be human and so learned to be an animal. Sadly, it had not learned love and so was denied the fullness of life. And if a church does not live love, then it has failed all reasons for existence, so this writer of Hebrews states, "Let mutual love continue," in other words, continue to love one another, as Jesus commanded, and let it always be what defines us. And the writer says, Always show love to strangers, because one never knows when you might be entertaining angels. Love those who are in prison, even as if you were in prison with them; love and pray for those who are being tortured, even as if you were being tortured with them. (This was a reality in those days for Christians to be arrested, thrown in prison, then tortured for their faith). The writer stresses that marriage should be held in honor (no relation to torture!), and to keep "the marriage bed undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers." Live a life of love, free from the love of money, remembering that God provides and helps us all. Pray for your leaders (pastors, teachers, others who mentor you in the faith), and always praise God for His goodness towards us.

The key verse we probably most all know is verse 8: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." A simple ten word verse that sums up the hope that all Christians should have; Jesus never changes. Jesus is One Whose word we can trust. Jesus is the source of love, Whose love will never fail us, and Whose love we should share. We can and should learn love from Jesus and live lives that teach others the true meaning of love. And the best way, as the writer continues, is "to do good and to share what (we) have," for those sacrifices are pleasing to God. Let's get started!

PRAYER: God of love and God of us all, pour out Your love generously on us all, so that we can bless You and Yours. Help us to do good and to share all You have shared with us. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Do good. Share with all!

Receive my love and blessings for a great day!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Where Shall I Sit?

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Hear the Devotional here: https://bit.ly/3KidG5d

1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” 12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:1, 7-14 New International Version Bible)

A gracious Good Morning to you, dear Friend (or afternoon, evening, night, whenever you read this!). I'm so glad you are joining us as we spend some time with God and His precious word. May the fullness of life boost your spirit and may that bless you in your service to others; we live in a world filled with need and many voids that only God can fill with God using us. Pray for one another, pray for the needs shared with you, and pray for the needs of the world, especially peace in those parts where there is conflict and war.

When our oldest grandson was about six or so years old, any invitation that was offered to him which might involve his leaving his room, was met with "I'd rather stay in my home, and eat chicken." I may not voice it out loud but there have been plenty of occasions where I have felt the same way, mostly due to my shyness and my need to not be out and about. Yet, I am thankful that during my career as a minister I had many opportunities to dine in some elegant places where I was amazed and delighted to have been invited! I confess I had never sat at a table with more than one fork until invited to special events, and I thank God for gracious, understanding tablemates, who guided me and blessed me with the do's and don'ts. It is important to note that some of Jesus' most powerful teachings and blessings came at the table. In this occasion, Jesus had been invited to the home of a prominent Pharisee, and was being carefully watched by all; both His followers and His opponents. As Jesus enters the dining room, He watches the way guests chose the places where they would sit, with the places of honor being the most desired places, and so Jesus shares this parable; When you get invited to a wedding feast, do not assume yours is the place of honor, because someone more distinguished than you may be invited and he or she will get the place of honor. Jesus says, "There is nothing more embarrassing that the host to come to you and say, 'Give this seat to this person.' For that will humiliate you and you still have to move to the least important place. Jesus said, 'It's better to be in the lowest place and allow the host to come and move you to to the seat of honor; then you will be honored in front of those there.' And then Jesus speaks to all people there, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Jesus always seeks to elevate our sphere of thinking. The mode of I invite you, then you invite me, is an ancient one, and one that we have accepted and adopted here in our country. We know that soon we have our own built-in circle of friends and relatives that we invite, expecting they invite us back, and they usually do. Jesus knew that those within the sound of His voice needed to hear this new thing. Who would naturally think to invite those outside the sphere or circle of friends? And who would have thought to invite those on Jesus' list? The poor? Those without jobs, or homes? In my house? The crippled? My home is not ADA compatible. The lame? Who will carry them into my house? The blind? Will my insurance cover any accident they might have? We could continue the discussion, but we need to listen to Jesus. He says that these people on His list will not be able to repay us, we will be repaid by God, on that special day when the righteous are resurrected. This is next world teaching from the Lord of the Universe. The truth is that when that day comes, all of the righteous will be invited to sit at the banquet table and enjoy the meal prepared for all by the Lord Himself. No one, who is righteous, will be excluded. The ones who might be excluded are those who here on earth did the excluding. The poor, the lame, the crippled, and the blind, by earthly standards, are seen as the unacceptable and uninvitable by some, and this is unacceptable to God; for God looks beyond what others look to limit contact or involvement with those not in our circles; Jesus says, "See them. Invite them. Learn to love them, for they matter to God, just as we matter to God.

PRAYER: Loving Father, help us look beyond what we have been taught either by well-meaning loved ones, or self-taught out of fear, and lead us to Your thinking of loving and accepting all. May our efforts here now prepare us for the world yet to come. May Your kingdom truly be the one that helps us understand and accept those who need our love; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Grow your heart and mind to include others, especially those who seem "outside" our realms.

Receive my love and thanks for reading and/or listening to ConCafe.

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Speak for God

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4 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." 6 Then I said, "Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy." 7 But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, "I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord." 9 Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." (Jeremiah 1:4-10 NRSV)

Jeremiah shares his call and commission story in this passage. As we discussed, different people have different call stories that we can, but shouldn't compare. We remember Paul having his knocked off his high horse story in Acts 9, Moses had his burning bush encounter with God; what's yours, dear Friend? I had my calling when I was about 8 years old, when I heard what the preacher was saying about having a relationship with Jesus, and I prayed the prayer of faith, inviting Jesus into my heart and life. And my life was changed for the better from that moment on. It was later that I felt God calling me into ordained ministry when I was in eleventh grade and I fought that call, listing all the reasons I could think of to keep me from having to say yes to God. But we hear just what an awesome God we have in what we read in verse 4, where God says to Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Now you and me may not be called in quite the same lofty manner as Jeremiah, but God knew us before we were formed in the womb, and some calling to serve Him was part of our consecration. Now to hear that God may have a task as huge as Jeremiah might make us reply to God in saying, "Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a _________ (in his case, boy fills the blank). But God replied back that he could not hide behind such an excuse because God was with him and would lead him to places he never expected to be, and saying what he never thought he would say; such is the awesomeness of God.

Among the things that God shared with Jeremiah is that he had been touched by God to do the work God wanted him to do. The touch on the mouth meant God placed in Jeremiah the words he needed as he preached on God's behalf. God also shares a partial list of what God expected; "to pluck up and to pull down," meaning that he was to uproot and pull down the things that shouldn't even be there among the nations and the kingdoms. Part of the assignment also meant "to destroy and to overthrow;" meaning that God's work for the prophet was not easy for the nations and kingdoms. And once the cleaning was complete, God would have the prophet "build and to plant." Not all of the work we may be assigned will be easy; in fact, it may be difficult and seemingly impossible; but still the work must be done.

Jeremiah was a man of faith. He trusted God. He walked with God. He prayed with God, and he listened to God. And when the day came for God to visit him and call him into ministry, it was a logical next step. I'm sure there was some hesitancy and some doubt, perhaps, but onward this young man went, for he was called by God. He was prepared, and he was ready. God had given him the sermons, God has given him the pulpit, and the anthem would be sung soon enough, and he would preach on God's behalf.

What have you been called to? And how is that going for you? I always like to share a part of an old Christian movie from my campus ministry days called Kevin Can Wait. Yes, it came out shortly after the secular Heaven Can Wait starring Warren Beatty (1978). Kevin was a runner and one day as he's doing his daily run, he gets past by a guy who made him look like he was standing still. Kevin finishes his run after a failed attempt to catch the stranger. At the park, the stranger informs Kevin that he's an angel sent by God because God is needing Kevin to do something special. This sets Kevin's mind to thinking and he sees himself as a missionary in the jungles of Africa, then on the stage of a Tonight Show set with Kevin as the host; then he imagines himself in a huge coliseum that is his church, packed to the gils with people and he apologizing for the "small crowd" due to the weather. It turns out God wanted him to reach out to the auto mechanic who was visiting his Sunday school class and making him feel welcome. On that Sunday, one of the church girls had brought her boyfriend, the star university quarterback to visit the church. Of course the crowd was around the QB and not anyone else, and it's here that Kevin understands. In God's eye, to welcome the newcomer, the visitor, the one no one else can see, is as important and as "big," as hosting a popular Christian talk show, or pastoring a megachurch, or being a missionary in the unexplored parts of the world. So, never see your task as not being significant; to God it is, and it is part of God's plan to win the world for Him.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help us realize to what we are being called to do, and grant to us the courage, strength and boldness to carry it out. We want to be faithful and fruitful; We want to serve You. Help us overcome the self-imposed challenges and obstacles, so that we can do what we have been called to do; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Serve God!

Receive my blessings of love and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

Healing Amidst Griping!

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Hear the devotional here: https://bit.ly/3QpOlIS

10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. 14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” 15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” 17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing. (Luke 13:10-17 NIV Bible)

During my life I've had a series of self-prayers. You might have as well. I love and respect mjy father and miss him tremendously, and I thank God for him, but there was a time when I prayed, as a rebellious teen, "Lord, don't let me become my father!" Okay, I may be the only one. Some of you ladies might have had a similar prayer about becoming your mom; but I'm not asking for a show of hands. Later, I would pray as well as lecture myself, "Never say to your children, 'This isn't music!'" Okay, I'll admit that I have said that numerous times, much to the dismay and grimaces of my darling daughters. Yes, I heard that from my Dad about my choice of music (and we're talking Beatles!). And I prayed that I would be wise enough to recognize when I was being an obstacle to God's work in our midst. I prayed that I might be open to new things and new ways of doing ministry, and to love all people. As a pastor, several church members added to my praying, "Let me not ever be that person!" And, as a pastor in some years where I was not pastoring a church, I tried to be the most supportive, understanding, encouraging pastor that I could. And here we find, the Lord of the Universe, the Prince of Peace, the Son of God, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, doing what He was sent to do, and He was loving all people right where He found them. And it was on their holy day of the Sabbath, that Jesus, as He's teaching in one of the synagogues that a woman enters, bent over "crippled by a spirit for eighteen years." She could not straigthen up at all. Jesus notices her and calls her forward.

Let's pause for a moment to discuss worship attendance dynamics. It takes a lot to come to the front of a worship space for almost all people. I, as a pastor, tremble in fear, as I make my way to the front and more so when I speak the first words in any worship space. Years ago, when I was doing my internship, I threw up quite a bit before my first sermon for a grade in Mission. Thank God in the congregation that morning was a lovely woman who would be sentenced to life hearing my sermons for the rest of her life, and she says, even to this day, that she loved that first sermon and has been my most faithful and encouraging of my congregants. You may notice that most churches will almost always be packed at the rows closest to the entrance, and away from the front where the preaching and teaching takes place. And some people may worship in a church for years and not join because they fear making the walk down the center aisle to make their decision known. So, for Jesus to call this woman to the front was a courageous thing. This passage does not record any hesitancy on the part of the woman, but she may have realized that coming to the front of the church would mean her healing. For some people they would say the miracle was getting her to the front of the church!

"Woman," Jesus lovingly tells her, "You are set free from your infirmity." The words from the mouth of He Who was present at the creation of the world. He Who is the Son of God, Who called her forward, and who "put His hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God." Wow! A healing in a holy setting! And in a show of gratitude, she praises God right away, thanking God for her deliverance from this which held her captive for 18 years! You would think if this healing took place in your church, the place would explode with excitement. "What an incredible thing to witness, that dear sister who struggled to get anywhere, now free to walk upright and who has been healed! Hallelujah!" And most churches would have celebrated in a joyous way, praising God for His faithfulness in bringing healing to one in need. Yet.

(Insert your prayers here, i.e., "Lord, never let me be this person!"). The president of the synagogue steps forward and makes known his displeasure at what others are naturally thanking God for; "How dare this man do work on the Sabbath! Of the six days in which He could have healed this woman, He chose to defile the Sabbath by doing work!" If there had been mircophones in those days, this man would have run to the closest one and loudly voiced his objections to this good. To Jesus' credit, He does not hold back His disbelief and frustration at one who should have said, "Here in my church this has happened! Yes, sir, yes ma'am, right here in OUR church, we have a healing taking place, and you saw it for yourselves!" Jesus said, "You hypocrites! (There were more, not just the mic hogging guy) Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?" BOOM! Ask a 17 year-old how long 18 years is to wait to do something... Ask this lady, who can now walk without pain or discomfort, how long 18 years really is. Well, that response from Jesus silenced the opponents, but delighted the people there who were amazed and blessed by this miracle.

God continues to do great things in our midst; we just have to be aware of them. More importantly, we must not be obstacles in God's way, and we must lead the praises of thanks when they happen!

PRAYER: Loving God, Great is Your faithfulness to us especially when we are in need. Grant to those in our church who need healing to receive theirs, and let us rejoice when it comes. Forgive us those times we have stood in Your way, and grant us to be those who bless Thy work; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Your Call to Action: Speak positively of what God can and has done for you!

Receive my blessings of joy and peace!

Pastor Eradio Valverde

Are We Weeds or Grapes?

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Hear the devotional here: https://bit.ly/3dpbRY0

1 I'll sing a ballad to the one I love, a love ballad about his vineyard: The one I love had a vineyard, a fine, well-placed vineyard. 2 He hoed the soil and pulled the weeds, and planted the very best vines. He built a lookout, built a winepress, a vineyard to be proud of. He looked for a vintage yield of grapes, but for all his pains he got junk grapes. 3 "Now listen to what I'm telling you, you who live in Jerusalem and Judah. What do you think is going on between me and my vineyard? 4 Can you think of anything I could have done to my vineyard that I didn't do? When I expected good grapes, why did I get bitter grapes? 5 "Well now, let me tell you what I'll do to my vineyard: I'll tear down its fence and let it go to ruin. I'll knock down the gate and let it be trampled. 6 I'll turn it into a patch of weeds, untended, uncared for - thistles and thorns will take over. I'll give orders to the clouds: 'Don't rain on that vineyard, ever!'" 7 Do you get it? The vineyard of God-of-the-Angel-Armies is the country of Israel. All the men and women of Judah are the garden he was so proud of. He looked for a crop of justice and saw them murdering each other. He looked for a harvest of righteousness and heard only the moans of victims. You Who Call Evil Good and Good Evil. (Isaiah 5:1-7 The Message Bible)

A most blessed of Wednesdays to you, dear Friend; may the joys of the Lord be your strength today and all days is my prayer for you. I pray the Lord's blessing of protection and peace on you and on all whom you hold dear. Pray for one another. Pray for your needs. Pray for the needs of your community and for the world.

I have a brown thumb. And I mean that in the sense that it is not a green thumb as some people have. People with green thumbs are those known for being able to grow and help plants and all sorts of vegetation thrive. I have quite the opposite effect. I can't explain it; I just accept it. Nellie tired of giving me plants for my office during my active years of ministry, and bought me a cactus plant made of cloth, set in a tradition clay pot. The only thing I could do to help my cactus thrive was to dust it from time to time. You know the people I'm talking about; they can visit a parsonage and take a cutting of a nice bloom, take it home under the excuse that we're a connectional church thus helping themselves, and soon they have the same, identical plant blooming in a wonderful way. To my credit I once took some watermelon seeds and grew a watermelon not quite the size of a basketball. That was it, and that was when I was a child in Kingsville, Texas. If one plants a garden, we want a place filled with life, and blooms of flowers or fruits or vegetables. Imagine one who plants a vineyard wanting grapes to grow, only to find that all his or her efforts of planting, pruning, weeding, watering, etc., yields only junk grapes. What good do junk grapes serve? I mean, besides the annoying reminder of failure.

This was the prophetic word from the prophet Isaiah that came in the form of a ballad, a love ballad about a certain vineyard that, as described above, had produced a crop of junk grapes. What the vineyard owner desired was not received. The owner decides the best thing to do is to tear down the fence, remove the gate, and just let the ground be trambled by whomever desires to walk on it; the end will be a garden, to borrow the word, of weeds. A garden of untended, unwatered, uncared for, thistles, thorns, and stickers. And this garden, ladies and gentlemen, is the nation of Israel, and the owner is God, and God is disappointed in that with all the love, care, attention, and everything else He has shown them, they are weeds. The garden of justice and love that God desired, has become a place of murder, where people murder each other; the harvest of righteousness has become a concert of agony and pain. God sees that the people can be known as those who call evil good, and good evil. Such a sad state that begs the question, in our daily life, in our walk with the Lord, are we grapes, or weeds?

Among the many fruits that I personally enjoy, nothing beats a delicious grape! This is the time of year when if you can find a grape whose shape is elongated, those tend to be much sweeter than the perfectly round ones. Nothing frustrates me more than to buy a bag of nonsweet or even sour grapes. A nice, juicy, sweet grape is what God intended, anything less, well, let's just say it missed the mark. Like us. When God made you, what did God want from you? Your love and full focus on God, of course. Your service and compassion to others, and you can fill in the rest through prayer, worship, sharing and giving. And what does God have so far in you? And me? Sometimes not the sweetest of grapes, I'm afraid; a little less than sweet, a skin tougher than intended and instead of being sweet on the taste buds, we fall short and miss the mark. But it doesn't have to stay that way.

PRAYER: Loving Father, for the gift of life we are thankful. For the joy of living with the ups and lows, we are also thankful. Forgive us for the times we have been more like ragweed than juicy grapes; but we know that You are quicker to forgive than we are to change. Bless us to be a blessing; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Your call to action: Be the sweetest "grape" you can to those who seem dipped in vinegar today!

Receive my love and blessings of joy,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Faith Best Defined is Faith Lived

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Hear the devotional here: https://bit.ly/3Slwgx2

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, "as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore." 13 All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth,14 for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 New Revised Standard Version Bible)

Since 1999, ConCafe has been an electronic message of Good News. First as a text only email, then later with the addition of an audio recording, our purpose has been to make Jesus real for the world, with the hope of winning the world for Him. The devotional is not for everyone, but those who find spiritual nourishment bless the work by telling others about the Good News they have heard in and through it. I ask for your support through your prayers and whatever other means you believe might bless this ministry. You can also forward any and all messages to those whom you believe would be blessed by hearing a positive word.

We come to the letter written to the people called Hebrews. It is a reminder to all who read it about the importnace of having and sharing faith. The very first verse is the classic definition of what the writer believes is crucial for receiving, understanding, and keeping faith. I remember first reading this verse and being amazed at how in a concise way the writer explains faith. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for; meaning in one's understanding of things we have heard about, in sermons, Sunday school lessons, or through reading books on the faith, that one receives hope of things that bless us and we stand on that hope and move forward in our faith, trusting that God indeed can make possible those things. And a step beyond assurance, we find conviction, a more deeply rooted stance of not only things hoped for, but things not seen. It is this definition that make the stories found on the pages of our scriptures that which inspire and encourage us to keep moving forward and upward in our daily walk with the Lord. For that reason the next verse states that by faith, our ancestors, both those on the pages of the Bible, and those who were heroes of our lives, received approval. These are what helped give the devotional for today the title; Faith Best Defined is Faith Lived. Our ancestors took the ideals of faith and made them real. Verse 3 lays a foundation for our understanding, and accepting "that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible." It warms our hearts to hear children, and young people affirm their faith and accept for themselves the gift of faith which blesses them for the rest of their lives.

An old, old story told long ago about a wealthy king who called in advisors from around the world and asked them, "What gift can I give my child about to be born?" The first advisor said, "The gift of gold is not easily forgotten and will open doors that may not seem open now. The second advisor said, "The gift of diamonds far exceed gold, for these are droplets of heavenly blessings and they will open doors and windows far into the future. The third advisor said, "Not to downplay the wisdom and sage advice of these colleagues, but there is one gift that will root the child into the present and way into the future, and more importantly is a gift that no one can take away, steal, or destroy; and that is the gift of faith." The king said that he wanted to be trained to share faith with his child.

The list that follows in the verses 8 and following, a list of faith heroes is shared. The Father of the Faith, "Father" Abraham became the father for he was the first to say yes to God and by faith obeyed God and went out to an unknown place. Then the names of Isaac and Jacob are listed, and Sarah; and in verses not read, the list continues.

The question comes, are you and I heroes of the faith in this present age? Will we say, think, and do things that bless others and help them come to faith? I pray that we all answer yes and share the good news that faith shares.

PRAYER: Loving God, bless us with a stronger gift of faith to be those who share and live the faith in ways that bring others to know and love You; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a hero of the faith today!

Receive my blessings of hope and conviction in the faith,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

God Will Give Us the Kingdom!

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Hear the Devotional: https://bit.ly/3OPHhDA

32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Luke 12:32-40 NIV Bible)

Good day, dear Friend, may this find you enjoying life as the richest person in your area! If not, may it get you on the way to realizing how truly rich you are! May we journey together and pray for the good needed in the world; healing for the sick, love for the heartbroken, light to those in darkness, and joy to the sorrowful. Pray for one another, pray for your needs, and pray for God's will to be done.

On Saturday, one man woke up to realize that he was now one of the richest people in his area. I'm talking about money for one person won one of the biggest lotteries in history, a figure above $1 Billion. Estimates are that the person would take home a lump sum of just over $600 million, then Uncle Sam would come and take his share, and then the man or woman would be free to use the money as s/he desired. I truly don't know how that man woke up, but I know that I woke up as one of the richest men in my area; not in terms of money, but in terms of what truly matters; love, health, joy, peace, and the knowledge that I belonged to God because Jesus is the Lord and Savior of my life. How about you?

This passage from Luke is all about what truly matters. Jesus says that God intends to give us the kingdom, and this kingdom is about what really matters to God. Money will have no place in it, for Jesus says, "Sell your possessions and give it to the poor." And what we should have are those things that will not wear out but will endure for eternity; our treasure should be in heaven, "that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys." Then the saying that is true, from Jesus, "For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also." If our heart is with God, we have everything, for in God we find true treasure. Ours is to be ready, for service, meaning reaching all we can for the kingdom, and it means being vigilant and strong to face whatever may come against us. Jesus' theme about the end times was to be ready, like "servants waiting for the master to return from a wedding banquet." Those found not ready would miss out.

So, dear friend, count your blessings and praise God for each and every one of them. Yes, some of us may be going through some rough or tough times, but don't despair, God is with us, and God will see us through. We are blessed, and with God's help we can be "more than conquerors through Him who loved us," and nothing will defeat us! Rejoice and take hope!

PRAYER: Awesome Father, into Thy hands we commend ourselves and the trials and woes we are facing, yet trusting You and Your love to see us through all things. Bless this dear reader/listener and see them through to the place where You would have us be; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show your hope to someone who seems to need it!

Receive my blessings of joy and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde