A Song of Steadfast Love

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1 Your love, God, is my song, and I'll sing it! I'm forever telling everyone how faithful you are. 2 I'll never quit telling the story of your love - how you built the cosmos and guaranteed everything in it. Your love has always been our lives' foundation, your fidelity has been the roof over our world. 3 You once said, "I joined forces with my chosen leader, I pledged my word to my servant, David, saying, 4 'Everyone descending from you is guaranteed life; I'll make your rule as solid and lasting as rock.'" 19 A long time ago you spoke in a vision, you spoke to your faithful beloved: "I've crowned a hero, I chose the best I could find; 20 I found David, my servant, poured holy oil on his head, 21 And I'll keep my hand steadily on him, yes, I'll stick with him through thick and thin. 22 No enemy will get the best of him, no scoundrel will do him in. 23 I'll weed out all who oppose him, I'll clean out all who hate him. 24 I'm with him for good and I'll love him forever; I've set him on high - he's riding high! 25 I've put Ocean in his one hand, River in the other; 26 he'll call out, 'Oh, my Father - my God, my Rock of Salvation!' (Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26 The Message Bible)

A blessed and tremendous Thursday be yours dear Friend, is my prayer. I pray you are ready or almost ready for the Christmas weekend. If you're traveling, please stay alert, awake and alive! Be patient and compassionate; set the example for other drivers. If your family is coming, pray that the time spent together be a time of holy time with the table being sacred as you welcome the Lord to feast with you. Pray for one another. Pray for those who need our prayers; pray for the world to find peace and the joy of the Lord,

https://bit.ly/3RA7cmt It was many years ago, even in the days before our phones could record anything and everything in several formats, including high quality videos with premium sound, my firstborn daughter, Nellie Maria invited me to join her and a friend to sing the above song (link above) as performed by Delirious?. Nellie had lived in London and worshipped in the church where Delirious? was the worship band and she thought the three of us could make a joyful noise. Her friend was the guitarist and somehow, I got the courage to stand with these two youngsters and we sang that song. In real life, without a good voice, I really could sing, as the psalmist said, of God's love, for God's faithful is eternal. God's love echoes through generations and remains unwavering even in the face of darkness. As we examine this psalm we will find that its message is still relevant for our lives even today.

May I, and you, if you so wish, have the confidence of the psalmist when he makes this resounding declaration: "I'll sing about your steadfast love, LORD, forever. With my mouth I'll make your faithfulness known, through all generations." This is a powerful statement of faith, a commitment to sing of God's love not just in the present but as a legacy that will resonate for centuries to come.

The psalmist then reminds us of God's covenant with David, a promise of an eternal dynasty and unwavering protection. "I made a covenant with my chosen one, I swore to David my servant: I will establish your line forever, and your throne as long as the heavens endure." This covenant reminds us that God's love isn't fleeting or fickle; it's a binding promise, a rock of stability in our ever-changing world.

The passage then shifts from the image of a powerful king to a gentle shepherd: "I have bestowed strength on a warrior; I have raised up a young man from among the people. I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him. My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him." This shift reminds us that God's love manifests in diverse ways. He is both a mighty warrior protecting us and a loving shepherd guiding us through life's pastures.

Even in the face of challenges, the psalmist proclaims, "The enemy will not get the better of him; the wicked will not oppress him. I will strike down his foes before him, and defeat those who hate him." This speaks of God's unwavering presence in our lives. He may not shield us from all hardship, but He promises to be with us, fight for us, and ultimately bring victory.

PRAYER: Awesome God, thank you for your steadfast love that echoes through generations. We praise you for your covenant of faithfulness and your promise of protection. Fill our hearts with the joy of your presence and strengthen us to be faithful witnesses of your love in this world. May we sing your praises, not just for a season, but for generations to come, so that all may know the unwavering love of the One who is our Shepherd, our Warrior, and our King. For it's in the name of Jesus Christ that we pray, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Go forth today with the melody of God's love ringing in your heart, sharing its beauty and strength with all you encounter.

Receive my love and thankfulness to God. I love you and thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Relaxing at Home, Build a Home

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1 Before long, the king made himself at home and God gave him peace from all his enemies. 2 Then one day King David said to Nathan the prophet, "Look at this: Here I am, comfortable in a luxurious house of cedar, and the Chest of God sits in a plain tent." 3 Nathan told the king, "Whatever is on your heart, go and do it. God is with you." 4 But that night, the word of God came to Nathan saying, 5 "Go and tell my servant David: This is God's word on the matter: You're going to build a 'house' for me to live in? 6 Why, I haven't lived in a 'house' from the time I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt till now. All that time I've moved about with nothing but a tent. 7 And in all my travels with Israel, did I ever say to any of the leaders I commanded to shepherd Israel, 'Why haven't you built me a house of cedar?' 8 "So here is what you are to tell my servant David: The God-of-the-Angel-Armies has this word for you: I took you from the pasture, tagging along after sheep, and made you prince over my people Israel. 9 I was with you everywhere you went and mowed your enemies down before you. Now I'm making you famous, to be ranked with the great names on earth. 10 And I'm going to set aside a place for my people Israel and plant them there so they'll have their own home and not be knocked around any more. Nor will evil men afflict you as they always have, 11 even during the days I set judges over my people Israel. Finally, I'm going to give you peace from all your enemies. 16 Your family and your kingdom are permanently secured. I'm keeping my eye on them! And your royal throne will always be there, rock solid." (2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 The Message Bible)

A most wonderful of Wednesdays to you, dear Reader. May the peace of Christ reign in your heart, and may the grace of God rein in your faith. Please pray for one another, remember those who have asked prayers from us. Pray for the world and its needs. Pray that those who do not yet know Jesus would come to know Him.

We come to a passage where King David has found a time for rest after God gave him peace from his enemies. It is during this downtime that David reflects on his blessings, such as this new wooden home that he has and thinks that he should build a new home for God. He was concerned that the Ark of the Lord was in a tent. And David's desire is to make it be a cedar home, just like his palace.

God responds through the prophet Nathan and it is a surprising response, :"Is it for me you're building this elaborate house? I've never lived in a fancy house, not even for a day, since I brought Israel out of Egypt!" We can't but help imagining the prophet's eyes twinkling with the divine wisdom God imparted to him to correct the king's misunderstanding.

Instead of focusing on a literal house, God reminds David of his true dwelling place: the hearts of his people. He declares, "I've been with you wherever you've gone, helping you with everything you've done. And now, here's what I promise you, David, my anointed servant: I'm going to establish your dynasty forever. Your offspring will sit on the throne, generation after generation. I'll be their father, and they'll be my sons and daughters." (Think of a family tree, its branches stretching far into the future, symbolizing the enduring legacy of David's dynasty.)

Here's out takeaway for today: The priority of God: God cares more about our hearts than the elaborate houses we build for Him. God desires a genuine connection; a relationship fueled by love and obedience, not grand gestures.

God's Divine Presence: God is always with us, regardless of our circumstances. God walked with David through the wilderness and into the palace, and He walks with us through our triumphs and struggles alike.

Enduring Legacy: Lasting legacies are not built on brick and mortar, but onm the impact we have on the lives of others. David's legacy wasn't the temple he never built, but the dynasty he established and the people he faithfully served.

Eternal Covenant: The promises of God are eternal. Like the covenant He made with David, His promises of love, guidance, and provision hold true for us as well.

If we should find ourselves too relaxed with grand schemes for God, remember it's the loving and caring for one another that matter most to God. We shouldn't stop dreaming big for God, but in the meantime, we have lots of meaningful work to do right now with the ones with whom we interact day after day.

PRAYER: Loving God, forgive us for our tendency to get caught up in outward appearances and forget the importance of a genuine relationship with You. Help us to remember that You dwell within our hearts, not in the houses we build. Fill our hearts with Your love, Your presence, and Your truth. Guide us to leave a legacy of love and service, not of worldly accomplishments. Thank you for Your promises that never fail, for Your love that never fades, and for Your constant presence in our lives. It is in Jesus' strong name we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Carry the lessons of this passage into our daily living, focusing on cultivating a heart dedicated to God, and leaving a legacy of love and service in His name.

Receive my love for you and my thankfulness to God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

No More Mystery

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25 Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen. (Romans 16:25-27 NIV Bible)

A great Tuesday to you, dear << Test First Name >>! I pray the joy of the Lord is your strength today and all days. I pray the pressures of the holiday season do not hinder your commitment to the true purpose of these special days; Jesus is the reason for the season. And while the bumpersticker say, "Keep Christ in Christmas" I say we need to keep Christ in our hearts, our words, thoughts, and actions.

This passage for todays is closing out Paul's letter to the believers in Rome. It is a prayer and a blessing to those who follow Christ in the capital city of the known world, where many gods and other religions are competing with our faith. Paul's words can also serve as an affirmation of faith in the one true God. Let's look at the key affirmations that Paul has shared in these few verses.

Paul urges his followers to stand firm in their faith. His phrase "able to establish you" serves to say, as we face internal and external forces that could destablize our faith , God is able to keep us "established," or firm in our faith. Doubts, challenges, and the pull of the world may pull us in different directions. Yet, Paul knows and affirms that God is our solid foundation upon which we can build our lives. God will hold us steady even in the face of adversity to our faith.

Paul also lifts up the Gospel as our anchor. The gospel is all about the good news about God's love through Jesus Christ. It is, as Paul asserts, "the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ," a source of our faith's strength. The gospel is the anchor that holds us secure in the midst of turbulent oppositions. If we anchor ourselves to the truths of the gospel - Jesus' death for our sins, His resurrection, and His lordship - we find stablility and purpose.

In this passage, verse 25 to be exact, we read of a "mystery hidden for long ages past" that has now been revealed. This refers to the plan of salvation, the hidden truth about God's love for humanity made manifest through Jesus. As we understand this mystery, we can embrace the gift of Jesus Christ, the key to truly experiencing true and lasting establishment.

We are also called to universal obedience which Paul knows to be the ultimate purpose of the why God established work as stated in verse 26: "so that all nations might come to the obedience that comes from faith." We know that God desires all people, regardless of race or background, to experience the transformative power of faith and obedience. We, as followers of Christ, are called to participate in this mission, sharing the gospel message and inviting others to find their own establishment in God.

That's our Advent task; to share an invitation to others to come to know the Lord Jesus for the why He came. Let's get busy!

PRAYER: Loving God, Thank you for your unwavering ability to establish us in your truth. We confess our weaknesses and anxieties, but we place our trust in your unfailing love and power. Fill our hearts with the message of the gospel, and grant us the strength to anchor our lives to your promises. Help us to share the light of your love with others, leading them to the obedience that comes from faith. May your glory be forever proclaimed through every nation, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Go forth today, strengthened by the knowledge that God is able to establish you. Let the gospel be your anchor, and share its stabilizing power with those around you.

Receive my love and thankfulness to God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

He is Coming

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26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.” 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:26-38 NIV Bible)

There are only seven shopping days until Christmas, Friend! Not that that really matters to all people, right? It's not the main event for the believer, amen? I just watched A Charlie Brown Christmas for the umpteenth time and noticed something that perhaps I had forgotten or maybe never noticed like I did today. If you're familiar with the show, it is from 1965, and it first aired on CBS and in it, Charlie Brown is depressed about the whole holiday until he hears Linus read from the Gospel of Luke, the birth story of Jesus. His entire attitude changed upon hearing the words of the gospel about the why behind Christmas. It really touched me and more so because several of us are reading through the entire gospel of Luke, a chapter a day, until Christmas Eve, which will be the 24th (of course) of December and the 24th chapter of Luke.

It's awesome how words we hear or read over and over again, one day, for whatever reason hit and we are not the same. We finally hear what we had been longing to hear and God reveals to us that which we needed to hear. For our little ones, our children and grandchildren, when they hear the gospel and it becomes theirs, the old, old story becomes new again. Today's reading is just one example of that. Our story is a story of a visit. It happened in the quiet town of Nazareth to a young woman whose life was probably one of quiet routine and into that quiet life came news of a LOUD event about to unfold. The woman, Mary, heard the news of the story which has echoed through millennia, a story of unexpected grace unfolding in the least-expected places.

What Mary heard is called the annunciation. The news were this; she, a virgin, will bear the Son of God. Fear overcomes her as does shock, yet, the angel's reassuring words pierce through: "Do not be afriad, Mary, you have found favor with God."

These words hold immense power, for they remind us that God's grace often finds us in unexpected places, amidst our fears and doubts. God doesn't wait for us to have our lives in perfect order before He chooses us for something incredible. He looks at our hearts, sees our potential, and whispers, "Do not be afraid."

From that moment on, Mary's life would never be the same. What the angel shared with her brought societal scrutiny and whispers. Her youth director might have had a talk with her about her conduct, and in some churches she might have been shown the door. Yet, Mary's response is breathtaking: "I am the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled." In that moment, she surrenders completely to God's plan. She embraces the coming enormity of the task, and even the uncertainty it would bring.

What can we learn from Mary at this point? She has shown us that our complete surrender is necessary. When God calls us, He doesn't always provide a road map. God asks for our trust, and our willingness to step into the unknown, even when it seems scary and goes against our plans for our lives. But, just like Mary, we can choose to respond with "Yes, Lord," letting go of our anxieties and stepping into the adventure of faith. And what a journey that has been for me, and maybe for you, too!

The annunciation also reminds us of God's extraordinary power. Nothing is impossible for God. He can take a seemingly ordinary circumstance – a young woman in a small town – and weave it into the fabric of history, turning the impossible into "blessed is the mother of the Lord."

As we reflect on this passage, let us carry these lessons in our hearts: We can and should embrace God's unexpected grace: God finds us when we least expect it, whispering hope and possibility even in the midst of our ordinary lives. We also should surrender to His plan: Let go of control and say "Yes" to His call, even when it seems daunting. And, we should believe in the impossible: Nothing is beyond God's reach. He can turn our lives into extraordinary testimonies of His power.

PRAYER: Lord, open our hearts to the whispers of Your grace. Help us to recognize Your calling, even when it takes us to unexpected places. Grant us the courage to surrender to Your plan, the faith to believe in the impossible, and the strength to say "Yes" to whatever You ask of us. May our lives, like Mary's, become vessels of Your extraordinary love and a testament to the power of Your unexpected grace. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Go forth today; carry the spirit of Mary's surrender and embrace the possibility of God's unexpecting grace unfolding in your own life!

Receive my love for you, and my gratitude to God for your life!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

The Coming Harvest of Justice

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1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. 4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. 8 “For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed.” 10 I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations. (Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 NIV Bible)

A blessed and wonderful Wednesday to you, Friend. May the joy of the season bring you peace and hope. May this time together allow us to pray for one another, for those who have asked prayers from us, and for the needs of the world.

The photo above was taken by yours truly in March, 2018 at the synagogue known as Jesus' synagogue where He on a Sabbath he took the scroll from the attendant, and read the above passages from verse 1 to 8. He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, sat at the Seat of Moses and declared the fulfillment of that had just taken place. Of course, that did not sit well with those in attendance, but in reality it had. The Messiah had read the passage talking about Him and His purpose. Boom!

We must take note of what Jesus read from Isaiah; number one that the Holy Spirit of God was upon Him. For many, that was enough to get the religious leaders upset; but the Spirit of the Lord upon the Anointed was for several reasons, all of which we must take note about. The Messias was to come and proclaim good news to the poor. The long overlooked, often ignored people of limited means, who today would be on street corners holding signs, God would share with them good news. And what were those good news? God loves them, and will even die for them. The prophet also said that the Messiah would bind up the brokenhearted. Those who were mourning, those were were grieving, those whose hearts truly ached with pain, would feel the bandages of God's love around that heart with the warmth and strength of God's presence and power. The Messiah would also proclaim freedom for the captives. Those who lived behind prison doors of their own-making; bad decisions, wrong actions, harmful words; all slammed shut with the force of never opening again; yet here is God's chosen one to say, "You're free to go! You're free to live your life once again!" Those living in darkness, blinded by the clouds of sin and mistakes, now see the Light of God breaking that darkness and see that on the other side of those once closed doors. The Anointed would also shout that this was the year of God's favor, and the day of God taking action against all who wronged us, and with Him would come comfort and peace for all who were mourning and grieving; on their heads would come the crowns of beauty not ashes; the anointing of oil of joy instead of more ashes of grief, and their sackcloths would be replaced by robes of worship and praise; off with the garments of despair. They would no longer would be seen as weeds of weakness, but now seen as mighty oaks of righteousness; God had planted them as a display for the world to see the splendor of God.

The places ruined by the wear and tear of years and by the ruthless actions of abuse and neglect, will be rebuilt by those who love God. The coming events are all part of a harvest of righteousness, a reward for faith and faithfulness towards the Lord. God loves those who love and live justice. God dislikes those who oppress others through robbery and wrongdoing; the reward from God will be for those who do right; and not only to them, but to their descendants as well. They will be known by many because of their faithfulness, and they will be known as the people of God. You and me can be the harvest of justice!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your promise of restoration and renewal. Help us to embrace the calling to proclaim Your good news, to bind up the brokenhearted, and to be instruments of Your healing and comfort in this world. Grant us the strength and wisdom to bring hope to the hurting and to be agents of transformation in our communities. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Live a life of justice now; bless the unblessed!

Receive my love and gratitude for God for having given me, you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

If He Said It, He WILL Do It!

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16 Be cheerful no matter what; 17 pray all the time; 18 thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. 19 Don't suppress the Spirit, 20 and don't stifle those who have a word from the Master. 21 On the other hand, don't be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what's good. 22 Throw out anything tainted with evil. 23 May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together - spirit, soul, and body - and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. 24 The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it! (1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 The Message Bible)

A wonderful Tuesday to you, dear Friend. I pray this brings an unexpected blessing to your life and walk with Jesus. I also pray this might bring words of encouragement and hope to whatever need or challenge you may be having in your life right now. I ask prayers for my pastor, The Rev. Dr. Matt Pennington who is under the weather with a stomach bug. May God make him well and strong; pray for all who also have had to struggle with that pesky bug!

Yesterday we talked about God's incredible plan that He has for us and a lot of times we don't understand His plans or purposes, and today I was the recipient of that. A dear friend and colleague in ministry emailed me letting me know that he had somehow come across an old podcast that I started back in 2020 and due to several reasons I could not continue it. He said he really liked it and wanted to find it again so he he could share it with his wife. I confessed I had lost track of it and that I might not be able to track it down, but I gave it a try and did find it. I have to confess the podcast was more for me than anyone else and I called it "Your Best Day Ever," and I had forgotten most of what I said. It was a spontaneous recording on my phone only and no editing; recorded it directly to then-Anchor.fm, now it is Spotify for Podcasters. I thought the change and demise of Anchor.fm, meant I had lost it forever, but I did find it and the few episodes that I recorded were still there. Oh, and in listening to one, I spoke of Covid and that was one of the major reasons I could not continue this endeavor. I will leave a link for you to hear one or more of the episodes in hopes that something I did say might bless you as it blessed me. And the podcast was influenced as was Paul as he wrote this encouraging passage to the believers in Thessalonia. Paul knew, as do I, and all of you, that Christians don't always have perfect or even good days. We, as humans, do have trying times and we encounter situations that don't bless us in ways that we'd like. Such was the life of the believer in Paul's time. If Paul had a podcast this would be a hit! Hear it as such!

Paul begins with a truth: No matter what, stay connected to God! A friend shared with me today that his life has become a nonstop prayer to God for his wife, for his family, for the work he does and the realization that without God, he is weak. I was blessed to hear that because you and me can identify with that, too; When we connect with God we get the extra strength we need to face life. Paul says, "Be cheerful no matter what." Yes, there are people who are just like that, hard as it might seem to us at times. I thank God for some incredible people I met during my ministry that lived that sort of life, including some in the last stages of life who lived in nursing homes. I confess that as an intern minister I feared going into nursing homes for not having been in any before having to; and believing that they were just awful places that I thought certainly had that effect on those forced to live in them. I was wrong. In spite of the atmosphere, God's grace was seen on their smiles and felt in their loving, kind words to me with just the words I needed at the right time!

Paul says we should pray all the time. Yes! And amen! And in our prayers we should be thanking God regardless of what might be happening to us or to loved ones. We belong to Jesus Christ and our lives should reflect that. Paul urges us to be led and fed by the Spirit, and to open to those who share words they've heard from "the Master (Think Sunday sermons and Sunday school lessons!). Yet, Paul, given the challenges of his time, and yes they do still compare to today, there were those who did not necessarily share God's word, so he says, "Don't be gullible, and check out everything, and keep only what's good." Yes, amen. Paul also says to rid our lives of all evil or things "tainted with evil." And our hope is that God will Himself, Who made everything holy and whole, will be able to make us holy and whole, and He will hold us together and make us whole in spirit, soul, and body, and He will keep us fit for the coming of the Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. And what makes us think we can bank on these words? Paul says because the One who called us is completely dependable. And the title of today's devotional comes from the last sentence of the last verse: If He said it, He'll do it! Amen!

PRAYER: LOVING GOD, we thank You for the wisdom found in Your Word. Help us embrace a spirit of joy, continuous prayer, and gratitude in our lives. May we not quench the work of Your Spirit but be open to His guidance. Strengthen us to live in accordance with Your will, knowing that You are faithful to fulfill Your promises. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Pray without ceasing!

Receive my love and thankfulness to you,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

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6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” 21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ” 24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” 28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. (John 1:6-8, 19-28 NIV Bible)

A blessed Monday for you, esteemed Reader. May the blessings of this week bring you peace and strength. May this time spent with God bring you healing, calm, and peace; that is my prayer for you.

When God has a plan, it is a marvelous plan. It is all according to His will, not ours. God's plan also follows God's timing, not ours. The trouble with modern society understanding the things of God is that many of us have been conditioned by many things, including our attention spans, our ability to reason out things, or to wait patiently for God's things. The Bible, especially the New Testament speaks of things from above, and things from here or "of the flesh," or "carnal" things. And Hollywood's themes and plots from popular stories make us believe that anything based on our expectations are not only possible, but demandable. We want, no, we demand a wonderful, orderly plot from Point A to Point Z in a logical, easy-to-understand manner. And the ending should be a happy one, with little to no pain involved, and all things going as per our wishes.

So, come with me as we explore God's plan in the life of a certain man named John. John was not a family name, and though he came from a priestly, almost royal family, his garb was far from Jerusalem chic; it was more Wilderness Outfitters, who specialized in making statements. And his meals, far from being catered, were not for the squeamish. "Grasshoppers anyone? No, they're not covered in chocolate, but we do have a honey glaze that will go just yummy with them. Local honey? No, this is straight from no-man's land!" His education was not from any formal institute of recognition. No Ivy League school here, maybe poison ivy school. And manners and etiquette? How about a heaping helping of boldness and frankness? Yet, he was sent from God. Need I say more?

John came as light into a world of darkness. He came fully loaded with God's truth that would defeat darkness, and his purpose was to all would come to faith. Now, John was an honest man, who never claimed anything of specialness about himself but certainly all about God. He came as the messenger for the One Israel had awaited for many years. His message began with him saying, quite freely, "I am not the Messiah, but I do know who He is!" He was asked, "Are you the Prophet?" Hmm, no. "Who are you then? We must have an answer for those who sent us. What can you say about yourself?" And John simply quoted Isaiah with a passage from him, "I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.'" Now the religious people were a bit adamant in asking about what he had been up to, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" John answered honestly, "I baptize with water, but among you stand one you do know know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." And all of this took place at Bethany near the Jordan River, where John was baptizing people. This annoyed them because the ritual of baptism was reserved for the Gentiles, the nonJews, who desired to become Jews. This passage does not share what the other gospel said about the lines of people who presented themselves for baptism, nor does it mention the anger this caused among the same religious leaders who were quizzing John. But it does share how what John was doing was meeting a need. People felt the hurt of sin, and carried the guilt of sin, and eagerly gave that sin over to God for the relief and the blessing that comes with giving up sin and its burden to God. This was light breaking the darkness.

This is the season to turn the darkness over to God. Enough! cries our soul. And it should be enough that we turn it over to God and we let God do with it whatever He needs to, so that we can be free! What are the burdens you carry? What's still bringing darkness to your life? Many worry that what is under the Christmas tree is not enough; and we forget the greatest gifts are those who are still around the tree with us! We worry that that special someone will not appreciate the gift we presented to them, when in reality the gracious receiver knows the hands that shared the gift matter more, for those hands are attached to the heart that shares abundant love to them unlike the love others. Many worry that the monthly check may not cover the expenses of the gifts; troubling that we want the price tag to be high thinking that makes the impression better. I thank God I married a woman who one year received a candy cane as her gift and that was one of the most treasured and memorable gifts of her life. I looked more forward to the bags of candy, nuts, and fruit that my church in Kingsville gave to all who came to the Christmas service and program. Lord, lift our eyes and minds away from worry to worship! God is in charge and God is the Chief Gift Giver and His gift of Jesus matters more than anything that any department store or car dealership or mail order house can provide!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, we thank You for the example of John the Baptist, who humbly pointed others to Christ. Help us to embrace our roles in Your Kingdom with humility and dedication. May our lives reflect the light of Christ, and may we faithfully bear witness to His truth and love. Guide our steps as we seek to glorify You in all we do. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Be light to others.

Receive my love and thankfulness to God for you! Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Good New's a Coming!

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1 God, you smiled on your good earth! You brought good times back to Jacob! 2 You lifted the cloud of guilt from your people, you put their sins far out of sight. 8 I can't wait to hear what he'll say. God's about to pronounce his people well, The holy people he loves so much, so they'll never again live like fools. 9 See how close his salvation is to those who fear him? Our country is home base for Glory! 10 Love and Truth meet in the street, Right Living and Whole Living embrace and kiss! 11 Truth sprouts green from the ground, Right Living pours down from the skies! 12 Oh yes! God gives Goodness and Beauty; our land responds with Bounty and Blessing. 13 Right Living strides out before him, and clears a path for his passage. (Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13 The Message Bible)

Happy and blessed Thursday, dear Friend! I pray this blesses you as we spend time in prayer and devotion to God. Pray for the world to slow down enough to realize the beauty and power of Christmas; and may it begin with me! And you!

I saw an incredible social media post. A mother and father boarded a plane with their son. The son had just completed a medical visit to this city and the captain and flight crew were in on an awesome surprise for the boy. The captain took to the microphone to welcome everyone on board, and to recognize the presence of this family. He then gave a signal to those sitting behind the family. As he explained the suffering of this boy through many treatments he invited the boy to stand and greet the passengers of that flight. The designated passengers seated behind him held up signs that said You. Are. Now. Cancer. Free! The parents and the teen burst into happy tears. Good news had come to this young man!

The psalmist is holding a sign, too. His sign says, You. Are. Now. Sin. Free! God had shared with him this prophetic message. The frowns could now be erased from sin-guilt evidence of the soul. The smile of God was now upon His people of Israel. The bad times were over. The cloud of guilt lifted from among the people. And their sin? It was gone! The spiritual prognosis? They're well! The days of living like fools is over. Salvation was now coming near, as Israel was going to be the "home base for Glory!" And this, as summarized in modern, poetic terms, "Love and Truth meet in the street, Right Living and Whole Living embrace and kiss! Truth sprouts green from the ground, Right Living pours down from the skies!" And the end products include, "Goodness and Beauty;" and "Bounty and Blessing."

What an awesome word from such an awesome psalm. In our journey of faith, let us hold onto the promise of God's salvation. Let us seek His presence and embrace His love, living in righteousness and truth. May we, like the psalmist, look forward with hope, knowing that God's faithfulness will ultimately bring about restoration and renewal in our lives. This is Good News for Advent! Embrace it and live it!

PRAYER: Gracious God, we thank You for Your love and mercy that continually surround us. Help us to embrace Your truth and righteousness, to live justly, and to love wholeheartedly. May we find comfort and hope in Your promise of restoration and salvation. Guide us in our journey of faith, and may Your presence be our constant assurance. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Live a life of assurance in God's plan for you!

Receive my love and thankfulness to God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Comfort and Consolation

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1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. 3 A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD ; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” 6 A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” 9 You who bring good news to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good news to Jerusalem,lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, “Here is your God!” 10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. (Isaiah 40:1-11 NIV Bible)

Welcome to Wednesday, dear Friend! May this middle of the week devotional bless you as you prepare for the rest of the work week, and for your Sabbath rest and worship.

Do you like comfort food? Did you know that the term comfort food is from as recent as the 1960s when a newspaper article that made the connection between food and emotional well-being. However, its essence stretches further into history, tracing back to ancient times when certain foods were associated with healing and soothing properties. Throughout centuries, traditional dishes prepared by family members, often with simple, familiar ingredients, became synonymous with comfort. The definition of comfort food is personal and culturally diverse. Common comfort foods include dishes like macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, chicken soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, chocolate, ice cream, and various baked goods. These foods often carry sentimental value, reminiscent of childhood memories or moments spent with loved ones. The warmth and familiarity of these dishes evoke a sense of security and emotional well-being. Rooted in nostalgia and emotion, it brings solace during moments of distress, homesickness, or weariness. Understanding the concept of comfort food involves delving into its historical origins, its psychological effects, and the array of dishes that evoke feelings of comfort.

We've learned from babies that their uneasiness with whatever triggered their cries are soothed by food. And, if we're not careful that carries over to being children, adolescents, and adults who seek comfort in food or other remedies, leading to harmful effects on our bodies. Life, on its own, bring stress enough, but imagine the stresses of historical events that led to your people being captured and placed under the dominion of foreigners, as was the case with the people of God? Imagine the stress of years-long sin because of your departure from God's grace, and God's presence? The need is great for comfort, and so here comes the prophet Isaiah with this powerful Advent passage. It is one of great comfort and consolation. And the prophet is only speaking from God's mouth. The message is clear: The time of your suffering is over; time served is all the time you need to serve, and another voice is to come, with a message of another who is to come, Who will make all things right; Who will make straight the path from humans to God, Who brings the Good News. And on top of all that, He will be the shepherd who lovingly and tenderly cares for His flock, now and forever. The Lord's compassion knows no end. His guidance is also eternal; He leads compassion and care. He also doesn't just lead, He carries and comforts those who are in need. And His coming will not be one of overwhelming power, but of gentle guidance and loving care.

PRAYER: Gracious Father, we find comfort in Your unchanging promises and enduring Word. As we navigate life’s transient nature, help us lean on Your unfailing love. Prepare our hearts to welcome Your presence and to receive Your comforting embrace. May we find solace in Your gentle guidance and strength in Your tender care. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Make ready your heart for Jesus.

Receive my love for you, and my thankfulness to Him for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Spotless, Blameless, and At Peace

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8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation. (2 Peter 3:8-15 RSV Bible)

A most wonderful of Tuesdays to you, dear Reader! May it be an awesome day filled with grace and joy! As we pray could we pray for the family of Mr. Trini Garza of Dallas, Texas. Mr. Garza was a good friend of my father's and an active layperson in the Rio Grande Conference of The United Methodist Church for many years. Mr. Garza was born in Stockdale, educated at Texas A&M, and was elected a school board member in Dallas, Texas, where at the age of 93, he died in his sleep. Mr. Garza recently celebrated 40 years as an owner of many food stands at The State Fair of Texas, being the first to introduce fajitas at his kiosk forty years ago.

My friend and one of my dear mentors in ministry, The Rev. Francisco Gaytan, was the first man I knew to own a digital watch. That may sound like it comes from the Middle Ages, and I guess 1977 qualifies for many, as a sort of antiquity; but Pancho's family surprised him on his birthday with a digital watch. The watch was metal and hat a tiny screen towards the bottom of the face and a button on the watch would light up and the time would be displayed in red digits. No longer was it necessary for one to see where the big hand and the little hand were to make it possible to know the correct time. It wasn't too long ago I took time (pun not intended, but it works!) to teach my grandson how to tell time wth a big hand and a little hand. Not only are our little ones not able to use analog clocks, they no longer know how to write cursive and worse, not knowing how to read cursive! But, regardless of hands or digits, time is the same for all people, but not so with God. Peter reminds us of that when he says that "WIth the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." And more over, he says that God is not slow in keeping His promises; this more so as loved ones of those murdered in the purge of Christians in those days wondered when the Lord was coming back? The sooner His return, the quicker the reunion between loved ones here with those in glory. Peter uses this opportunity to remind us of God's patience with us.

Peter’s words invite us into a deeper understanding of God’s sense of time. He explains that God's perception of time is beyond our human comprehension; a single day for God could span a thousand years for us, and vice versa. This perspective assures us that God's timing is not bound by our limitations. After all, God is infinite.

Peter reassures believers then, and us here and now, that God's apparent delay in fulfilling His promises is not due to negligence or forgetfulness. Rather, it's an extension of His mercy and patience, providing ample opportunity for repentance and salvation. God desires that all should come to know Him, and He patiently extends His invitation to every soul. Again, we have work to do. We have souls to reach for God's sake. We have many opportunities to further the work of Jesus.

I know that at times, we may feel rushed and it even seems that things that could wait are upon us almost immediately, and Peter's words call to us to be patient. God's timing is perfect and purposeful, aligning with His divine plan for salvation and renewal. As we wait for the fulfillment of His promises, let us live with urgency, diligently pursuing lives of holiness and godliness.

Our waiting is not passive; it's an active anticipation marked by zeal for righteousness. It's an invitation to examine our lives, striving to live without spot or blemish before God. It’s a call to live in peace and to recognize that God's patience is an avenue for our salvation.

PRAYER: Gracious Father, in moments of waiting and uncertainty, grant us patience and wisdom to understand Your timing. Help us live with holy anticipation, eagerly awaiting the fulfillment of Your promises. May Your patience in waiting for us to turn to You inspire us to live lives devoted to Your will. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Be patient with God, yourself, and others.

Receive my love for you. I love you and thank God for you,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Prepare the Way

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1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way” — 3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ ” 4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 1:1-8 NIV Bible)

Happy Monday, dear Friend! I trust this finds you well. May it be the start of a great week. We're in Advent, meaning a time of preparation for the coming of the Baby Jesus, and the preparation of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus.

I want us to remember that in the Bible, only two Gospels have birth stories. As you can see, Mark is one that does not. Neither is John. The two with Nativity stories are Luke and Matthew. Two of the writers felt led to tell THEE story, and two did not. Of course, there are other reasons, but we'll focus on what we have before us. Mark is said to have been the first writer to sit down and write his gospel. It is believed his concern to bring as many Jews to the faith as he could. There is an urgency to his message and his having been a disciple, he wrote from what he saw and experienced. He was there when John the Baptist was explained to him by Jesus. And Jesus' words helped shape this passage before us.

Mark writes that the coming of the Chosen One will be according to their prophecies. I love how he includes geography into his description, this voice will be "one calling in the wilderness," and its message is one of preparation; "Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him." And bam, there comes John the Baptist. He appears, where? In the wilderness, just as the prophets had said. Everyone in that area at that time knew the wilderness for what it was and what it represented: The barren, desolate landscape of need, much like the hearts and souls of humanity at that time, And here he comes, the cousin of the Lord, but more importantly, the messenger coming to herald the message: "Repent and be forgiven of your sins!" Many probably thought, "Who told?" "How did he know?" "What makes him speak right to me?" And I can relate because in one of my churches after a sermon a church member was waitng until the receiving line after church died down and she angrily asked how I knew her life and what she had been up (or down?) to? I laughed and calmed her down; the Holy Spirit was working. And so as John the Baptist makes his invitation many responded. "The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River." Awesome. And it is something still needed. By me, and by you.

Here was the herald of God, with a great sense of urgency, such is God's desire for me and you to get right with Him, and we notice that this awesome messenger of God, royalty in every sense of the word, is dressed humbly, like an Old Testament prophet, inviting people to turn away from their olf ways and into the ways of God. He invites us into a new life and away from the path we were on leading us to certain death.

In our lives, there are moments of preparation, seasons where we, too, must make room for the coming of Christ. John's call for repentance should remind us of the importance of examining our hearts, confessing our shortcomings, and making straight paths for the Lord to enter our lives anew.

John's humility also speaks volumes. He recognizes his place in the grand narrative of God's plan and acknowledges the surpassing greatness of the One who is to come. His example prompts us to embrace humility, recognizing our need for a Savior who is greater than ourselves.

PRAYER: Gracious God, as we prepare our hearts for the advent of Your Son, help us to embrace repentance and humility. May we make room for Your presence in our lives, clearing the way for You to work mightily within us. Prepare us to welcome Jesus with open hearts and lives surrendered to Your will. In His name, we pray. Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Take time to examine yourself and make room for Jesus.

Receive my love and my thankfulness to God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

The Restoring Shepherd

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1 Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth 2 before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might; come and save us. 3 Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved. 4 How long, LORD God Almighty, will your anger smolder against the prayers of your people? 5 You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have made them drink tears by the bowlful. 6 You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors, and our enemies mock us. 7 Restore us, God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved. (Psalm 80:1-7 NIV Bible)

A happy and joyous Thursday to you, dear Friend! May this find you well as it leaves me. I pray the Lord bless you with many blessings.

In my senior year of high school, one of my classmates got a part time job at a service station doing car inspections. He did so well, he bought himself a brand-new Dodge Cuda. It was purple with white interior. Later reports told me that he dropped out of school to work fulltime. My guess is that it was difficult to maintain his car payments and upkeep. I do hope he finished his educatiounal goals. That Cuda along with the muscle cars of my era, are now what we call restored cars, which I love. The Big Four of the auto makers made many boys, and yes, girls, break the commandment of coveting their products. The Camaro, the Mustang, the Road Runner, the Barracuda, and so many others, were on most of the guy's drool list. There was for some years in the town of Hempstead, Texas, a warehouse owned by an auto dealer that featured a lot of these, and other cars, and the price tags led to some thinking that coveting was one thing, robbing banks to buy a restored car was quite another matter!

What I love more than restored cars are restored persons, the kind the psalmist speaks of. As a pastor I have come to love the changes that God can bring to us when we turn to Him and ask for the "make-over." As a brand-new pastor in my first and only student appointment in Waco, I visited a lot of the members of the church that were on the church's Rolodex. (Remember we were in the pre-computer days!). One of the stops Nellie and I made was to a young man who had done what other kids only threatened to do, run away and join the circus. This young man, we'll call him Johnny, actually ran away from home, joined the circus and came home. He was a bearded man, wearing what he must have worn during his circus days. He had married and had two young children, and I went and shared with him the word of God and he accepted the Lord Jesus as his Savior that very evening. We prayed, hugged, and I invited him to church for the following Sunday. That Sunday a small family walked into our church and when I greeted them I was shocked to learn the father was none other than Johnny, whose whole appearance had changed! Christ had re-made him into a new creature, as He has done with you and me.

As you and I may seek restoration, we have to acknowledge the weight of our tears, the anguish that has filled our cups. We need to recognize our reality—feeling scorned by our neighbors, laughed at by our enemies. We truly don't have anywhere to turn, except to God, and we can plead for His intervention and for His face to shine upon us, and asking taht God bring to us salvation and deliverance.

In seasons of despair, we, too, find ourselves crying out for God's restoring presence. We may feel overwhelmed by adversity, surrounded by challenges that seem insurmountable. It's in these moments that our hearts echo the psalmist's plea for restoration and salvation. And the good news? It's available to all who ask. What are you waiting for?

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Shepherd of our souls, we come before You, acknowledging our need for Your restoring presence in our lives. Shine Your face upon us, O God, and bring forth restoration where there is brokenness, hope where there is despair. Lead us in Your paths of righteousness, and grant us the strength to face our challenges. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Seek the Lord now.

Receive my love and thanks to God for you,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

We Are The Work of God's Hands

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1 Oh, that you would rip open the heavens and descend, make the mountains shudder at your presence - 2 As when a forest catches fire, as when fire makes a pot to boil - 3 To shock your enemies into facing you, make the nations shake in their boots! You did terrible things we never expected, descended and made the mountains shudder at your presence. 4 Since before time began no one has ever imagined, No ear heard, no eye seen, a God like you who works for those who wait for him. 5 You meet those who happily do what is right, who keep a good memory of the way you work. But how angry you've been with us! We've sinned and kept at it so long! Is there any hope for us? Can we be saved? 6 We're all sin-infected, sin-contaminated. Our best efforts are grease-stained rags. We dry up like autumn leaves - sin-dried, we're blown off by the wind. 7 No one prays to you or makes the effort to reach out to you Because you've turned away from us, left us to stew in our sins. 8 Still, God, you are our Father. We're the clay and you're our potter: All of us are what you made us. 9 Don't be too angry with us, O God. Don't keep a permanent account of wrongdoing. Keep in mind, please, we are your people - all of us. (Isaiah 64:1-9 The Message Bible)

A blessed and wonderful Wednesay to you, dear Reader. May the Lord reveal to us more of His love for us and may He impart wisdom to us to better understand His word for us. May it move us to a point of action and service, and may our hearts be filled with God's profound love that the world cannot understand!

I write this on Tuesday. Earlier today our daughter sent us a very clear 4D photo of grandchild number seven. Nellie and I are very blessed and we anxiously await the arrive of grandson number four. In the image, she placed her two older sons side by side and we are just blown away at what this little one looks like, and how much he looks like big brothers Liam and Eli. We both believe he looks more like Liam in some ways. What he will look like of course will not be revealed until he makes his arrival in March. How far we have come in science. I am old enough to remember not even knowing the sex of our children until their arrival and it didn't hamper my joy and excitement at their moment of joining the family. The prophet is expressing his desire to have God make His presence better known, even as in a face-to-face appearance. Many, through the ages, have said that things would be so much easier if only God would reveal His face. I think that would not make much of a difference, for there would still be those naysayers who would take issue with this or that, and still declare any appearance of God as not being real or relevant. Like Isaiah, we long for God to reveal Himself in extraordinary ways, to intervene in our lives and circumstances with awe-inspiring power. We yearn for a divine encounter that will shake the very foundations of our existence and bring us face-to-face with the Almighty.

We yearn for the divine intervention that will transform our lives and make the world aware of His sovereignty. We long for a revelation of God's greatness, a demonstration of His power that will leave us awestruck and trembling. Yet, In our longing for His presence, we're reminded of our imperfections and the sin that separates us from Him. We recognize our inadequacy, like dried leaves blown away by the wind, and we realize the desperate need for God's divine touch to renew and reshape us.

Yet, amidst our failings, we hold onto the hope that God, our Father, is the potter shaping our lives. We trust that even in our brokenness, He can mold us anew and bring forth something beautiful from the ashes. You and I can share countless stories of how God has, and will, continue to bless us in unexpected, and unexplainable ways. In my case, as an example, Nellie and I drove around the campus of my alma mater, Southwestern University earlier today. Nellie remarked that I was blessed to have received an education from such a prestigious institution such as Southwestern, and indeed I was. It was a dream held first by my Dad, who always told us we would attend and graduate from college, and that was echoed by my Mom; how it would come to be I would list under the blessings too awesome to explain. We need only point heavenward and shrug. I long believed that miracles were meant to bless us for our benefit and enjoyment, and no explanation is necessary. How about you?

We can conclude our study with saying that we indeed, are the work of God's hands. He is the potter and we are the clay. And guess what, the work is still in progress! Ask God to guide you to being that which God desires for you, and one day the finished result will blow you away!

PRAYER: Loving Potter, our souls cry out for Your presence to descend and shake the mountains, but shake us as well. We acknowledge our sinfulness and shortcomings, yet we trust in Your power to renew and reshape us. Mold us according to Your will, O God, and reveal Your glory in our lives. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Let God shape you.

Receive my blessings of love and peace. I love you and thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Are You Biblically Literate?

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3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— 6 God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:3-9 NIV Bible)

A wonderfully blessed Tuesday be yours, dear Friend is my prayer. May this find you blessed, refreshed and renewed in the Lord. There's work to be done my friend, and Jesus is counting on you!

There was a time in our country, and certainly in those parts of the world where the Christian faith has had some years, that people were, for the most part, biblically literate. The Bible was read so often that the speech used in those places was rich and cultured. The characters of the Bible were known and some people even named their babies for them. The graphic for today shows what Americans knew in 2010: 63% of Americans knew that Genesis is the first book of the Bible. 72% knew that Moses led the Exodus. 60% knew that Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son's life for God. 39% knew that Job remained obedient to God despite extraordinary suffering. 71% knew that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. 45% knew that the four gospels are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These were from a multiple choice quiz of questions and done by the Pew Forum on Relgion and Public LIfe. A more recent survey shows: In 2022, 49% of Americans view the Bible as inspired by God, but not everything in it is to be taken literally. 29% say the Bible is a collection of fables, history and moral precepts recorded by man. And 20% of Americans say it is the actual word of God to be taken literally. I was blessed to have taught university-level Bible courses for university credit at then-Pan American University from 1980-1986. My predecessor was The Rev. Jose Luis Palos, who wisely told me, "I have learned that most, if not all, of the students who will take your classes who have never opened a Bible before. They will not know, like most of our United Methodist kids do, that if we say, 'Turn to John 3:16,' what that even means. I spend the first class explaining an overview of the Bible, including how to read such a location like John 3:16." And the American Bible Society reports, "In its 2022 State Of The Bible, the American Bible Society reported the largest decline in “Bible users” among American adults that the study has ever recorded—a 10 percent drop, from 49 to 39 percent. Yikes! What might this be saying about us? What might this be saying about our future?

The Apostle Paul knew his scripture, and as a result, he wrote most of the New Testament. The Hebrew Bible shaped him, but his love and walk with Jesus molded him into the disciple that he was. He became a grateful man, who freely and openly gave thanks and showed love to God, for the way that God worked in the lives of others, especially disciples of Jesus. Paul could see the impact Jesus was having on them saying they were enriched in every way; through their speech and with wisdom, for he could see that it was God confirming their witness about Jesus. And it was because of all that, that these believers did not lack any spiritual gifts as they made thir way forward awaiting the return of Jesus. Paul believed that it would be Jesus Who would keep them strong and steadfast until the very end so that they would be blameless on that day of Jesus Christ. Paul affirms what we should believe that God is faithful, and God has called us into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Though the world be shakey and scary, God is streadfast as should be our faith. God can and does hold us those of us who cry to Him for His help. God doesn't just offer a partial measure of grace but provides abundantly in every aspect. He equips us with spiritual gifts, knowledge, and the assurance of His presence as we eagerly await Christ's return.

Our hope and confidence lie not in our abilities but in the faithfulness of the One who called us into fellowship with His Son.

PRAYER: Loving God, we thank You for Your unending grace and peace that sustain us daily. We're grateful for the gifts and enrichment You provide for our spiritual journey. Help us rest in the assurance of Your faithfulness, knowing that You keep us secure until the day of Christ's return. Strengthen us to live blamelessly, honoring You in all we do. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Ask God to make us steadfast.

Receive my blessings of joy and peace. I love you and thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Christ Will Come Again

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24 "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 28 "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away before all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 32 "But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch; for you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35 Watch therefore--for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning-- 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Watch." (Mark 13:24-37 Revised Standard Version Bible)

A most marvelous of Mondays to you, dear Friend! May this first day of work, school, retirement, or whatever - after the holiday weekend be filled with joy and peace. I pray the blessings of being together with loved ones, family, friends, etc. enrich your life in immeasurable ways!

Welcome to the Advent Season! Advent is a time of preparation in hopes of the coming of Jesus. We, as believers, traditionally prepare for Christmas, but as this passage shows, we also prepare for the coming of the Lord again. Are you ready? Let's get ready!

I love the Christmas season, no matter when you decide it starts. Or ends. Nellie, our daughters, and I, have been blessed a number of times in being in the right place at the right time, for unexpected surprises of Christmas preparations and celebrations. When we lived in the Valley and we were returning home to the Valley from the Houston area after Thanksgiving, we happened to stop in Kingsville, Texas, at the right time their nighttime Christmas parade started. And some years later, when we lived in San Antonio, we happened to visit Fredericksburg, Texas, on the night of their Christmas parade. And guess what? We usually miss our local parades!

We do not want to miss out on what Jesus is talking about in this powerful passage. Jesus speaks of coming cosmic events, triggered by a time of tribulation, when the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give out its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and even the powers in the skies will be shaken. It is then, Jesus says, "That the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory." This is the beginning of what is to come. This is the Advent Season, a time to prepare for Christmas as well as the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus. The main command is to be ready. The promise of the Lord that even when all seems dire and scary, He is still in control and in command, and this, dear friends, is a message of hope and peace. There will be a process on that day, but no one knows when that day will be. Scholars have long debated when this day will be, and the least talked about is the one where some believe at the day of our death, that will be the day. Are you ready?

Many have made this a "game" for lack of a better word, and some televangelists have made a more than comfortable living proclaiming they know the day or at least the signs that will be. Our history books are filled with certain days in the past when people met on hilltops and countrysides to await the Lord for the signs were all aligned for Jesus to come back, only to find it was not yet the time. Jesus still says, "But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch; for you do not know when the time will come." He then compares it to a man preparing to take a trip, who leaves his servants in charge, and commands the doorkeeper to be on watch. Keep alert, Jesus stresses, for it could be in the evening, or at midnight, or at dawn, or the morning -- be alert because Jesus might find us sleeping. And the passage closes with the one word: Watch.

The world is filled with uncertainty. There are at least two wars going on right now. Threats of others seem to rise with each day. There are wars raging in many hearts; people fighting their own souls; spouses against spouses; neighbor against neighbor; where is peace? Advent is that time to say, "Lord, You Who are the Prince of Peace, come now and come quickly!" We can pray that and believe that, and Christ will bring it. Then, let us be ready for Him to come again.

PRAYER: Father, in this time we cry to You, come! Grant to us steadfast faith and that which keeps us vigilant as we await Your Son's return. May we not be troubled about the signs that could make us fear more; fill us with hope knowing that Your promises are faithful and true. Grant us wisdom and strength to remain faithful to You; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

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

Receive my love for you and thankfulness for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Look to the Almighty!

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1 I look to you, heaven-dwelling God, look up to you for help. 2 Like servants, alert to their master's commands, like a maiden attending her lady, We're watching and waiting, holding our breath, awaiting your word of mercy. 3 Mercy, God, mercy! We've been kicked around long enough, 4 Kicked in the teeth by complacent rich men, kicked when we're down by arrogant brutes. (Psalm 123 The Message Bible)

Dear Reader, welcome to Thursday! I pray this is a great day for you and may all your endeavors for God be fruitful and fulfilling!

"Never a dull moment" is something we have heard or said. And it's so true. Just when we think life is going great, along comes an obstacle or a challenge and we start wondering what we said, thought, or did that this interesting "thing" came along? At this writing I'm in our local Walmart. The music is faint and so far, no Christmas songs, but plenty of classics from days past have been played. I've heard a baby or two cry in Walmart frustration that leads me to think the little one really NEEDED that toy and mean old momma didn't buy it for them. Yes, you and I have needed things or so we thought, but we couldn't afford them or really realized that need was not a part of the equation.

Going with this week's theme of oh-oh, I messed up again, the psalmist chimes in with his prayer. It's a simple prayer asking for mercy. And it sounds like what you and I may have prayed in the past when we faced something unexpected, or highly daunting. It's an invitation to have God come in and help us. Again. And again. As our psalmist has discovered the best place to look, is upward, towards the heavens from whence cometh our help. I remember going through a severe period of insecurity and as a result I would walk with my head facing down. My mother would stand outside and watch me walk towards the bus stop in those years and I would ride the Houston city bus to my junior high. "Don't be looking down, son, look up!" she would yell. "There are no more nickels to be found on the street!" she would joke. And she was right, our help does come from above, not below.

As we pray, we need to focus on God's voice. The loudness of other voices can be so distracting and depressing; the sometimes soft voice of God guiding us is just what we need; other times God yells and we can't help but listen and do as God is directing. Just now, a big sister was helping Dad in the guiding of the shopping cart on their way out, and little brother had a piece of foam and yelling, "Get away!" And as he did, he stepped right into the path of the front wheels of the cart and he stops and begins his wail of cries. We do the same when we find ourselves run over by life. Our Father says we will be alright. The human one just said,, "Come on, let's keep going."

The psalmist pleads for divine intervention against those who seek to harm. This is not a cry for vengeance but a recognition that God's love has the power to transform hearts. The surprising and overwhelming nature of God's love can disarm even the most hardened adversaries. One "challenge" I had was a very serious woman on the morning shift at my cleaners. She never smiled nor spoke other than to ask what my phone number and she would hand me my receipt for pick up later that day. Last visit she was on the phone and I was in my truck. I picked up the heavy bag of laundry to drop off and the weight of the bag honked the truck's horn twice! Gulp. I got off the truck and apologized, though she was still on the phone. Today as I dropped off some clothing she came out and said, "Just don't honk at me because I was on the phone!" And laughed! I apologized and explained and again, she just laughed. Hmm. God is good.

As are you! Share your goodness with others today in a great way! Make people smile because they saw you and you blessed them with your charm. God's taking care of the "arrogant brutes" and others who may come against us. We just need to be still and let God handle this.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, in the midst of life's challenges, we lift our eyes to You. Our refuge and strength come from You alone. In moments of chaos, be our peace. Wrap us in Your loving embrace, that we may find security and solace in Your presence. Help us bless others; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Share kindness all around!

Receive my blessings of joy and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Meet Deborah!

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1 The People of Israel kept right on doing evil in God's sight. With Ehud dead, 2 God sold them off to Jabin king of Canaan who ruled from Hazor. Sisera, who lived in Harosheth Haggoyim, was the commander of his army. 3 The People of Israel cried out to God because he had cruelly oppressed them with his nine hundred iron chariots for twenty years. 4 Deborah was a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth. She was judge over Israel at that time. 5 She held court under Deborah's Palm between Ramah and Bethel in the hills of Ephraim. The People of Israel went to her in matters of justice. 6 She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, "It has become clear that God, the God of Israel, commands you: Go to Mount Tabor and prepare for battle. Take ten companies of soldiers from Naphtali and Zebulun. 7 I'll take care of getting Sisera, the leader of Jabin's army, to the Kishon River with all his chariots and troops. And I'll make sure you win the battle." (Judges 4:1-7 The Message Bible)

Good morning, Friend! I pray this finds you well! May our walk with the Lord bring us closer to Him and to His people. May this time in prayer, study, and reflection build you up for more service and outreach for Him, and towards Him. Pray for one another. Pray for those on your church's prayer list. Pray to reach the world for Jesus, and get busy!

We've talked about the prophetic cycle: Israel is blessed by God, so they're close to God. They mess up (sin) and they find themselves away from God. They cry out to God and God answers and they're close to God again. And this is precisely how this chapter of Judges begins; "The people of Israel kept right on doing evil in God's sight." Their wrongdoings led them as a nation to be sold to a foreign king, read welcome to slavery again! Their suffering was justified by their wrong decision-making. This time they faced 20 years of hard labor at the hands of their new king's army. Not much one can do when they're surrounded by an army of 900 chariots. And to face this type of oppression for twenty years!

Enter a female judge by the name of Deborah. She's a married woman and she was also a prophet of God. She was used by God to hold court, meaning to decide cases of her people. Her courtroom was under a palm tree that bore her name, Deborah's Palm. All who needed justice knew to go to her to seek it from her. Being a prophet, her connection to God gave her the wisdom needed for fair judgments. The word of the Lord came to her regarding their political situation, so she sends for Barak from Kedesh and tells him to go to Mount Tabor and ready himself and his army for war. He was to take ten companies of soldiers from Naphtali and Zebulon. Deborah says she would get the assistance of Sisera, the leader of Jabin's army, to go to the river Kishon with all his chariots and troops, and she shares God's promise of victory in the battle awaiting them.

What does this lesson teach us? There are several things we can benefit from reading this passage: First thing; God is still in charge. Though the people have gone astray, God is still where He needs to be; right alongside His people. Our God is an active, caring God, Who leads those who ask for His guidance. Secondly, God can use unexpected instruments. In Deborah's time, the role of a woman would not normally allow for a woman to be a judge nor a leader of men; those were roles of men, some would clamor! It's truly a lesson that says that God uses individuals that He selects regardless of what others may think or expect. May we be reminded that God's ways are not always going to align with human expectations. Thirdly, the response by Deborah and Barak show us what faithful obedience looks like. These two did not blink or wince at the thought of the challenges and risks ahead. These two trusted God and so are eager and ready to carry out His commands. It should serve to encourage us to trust God to lead us even when we face such daunting circumstances. Fourthly, this passage teaches us that collaboration and unity are important in doing God's work. A team effort usually beats out solo endeavors, if God so directs. If different individuals with diverse skills and roles can work together to accomplish God's plans, This emphasizes the value of cooperation and shared responsibility.

The fifth thing taught is the importance of God's word. The words of Deborah as judge were words of power because she was also God's mouthpiece, as prophet. As she spoke to Barack, it was really God speaking those words to him. This shows us that using God's word to direct and guide us is vital to all endeavors in God's work. We are to pay attention to God's word and follow His instructions. The sixth thing; this story sets the stage for God's intervention and deliverance. Even when up against a stronger army that may in all ways outnumber or outgun us, God assures us the victory. This reinforces the theme that ultimate success and deliverance come from God, not human strength. The final one is to remind us of the consequences of disobedience. As the passage mentions Jabin, the king of Canaan, who is oppressing the people of God, it is showing us a backdrop. It is implying that the people's disobedience and their turning away from God led to their being in challenging circumstances. There are consequences when people drift away from God.

PRAYER: Loving God, for all You do we are thankful. Guide us to faithfulness and trust. We thank You for the role model we find in Deborah. Open our horizons to better understand Your inmeasurable ways and see the potential in us when we are obedient and trustin in You; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Trust God more to use you more!

Receive my blessings of joy and hope,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.