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32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. (Acts 4:32-35 NIV Bible)
Happy Easter Wednesday, dear Friend. I pray this finds you well. May God bless you in all your endeavors today. Make it a Christ-centered day with the intent to share Jesus with as many as you can. God will lead you.
I was there against my will, but two very loving and generous friends made it possible to be there. I was blessed in that way, but felt that I did not need yet another retreat. A dear departed mentor in ministry from so many years ago used to joke, "Why do we always retreat? If we're truly the army of God, we must charge every once in a while!" And he was right, but retreats are necessary. But not for me, or so I thought. But as the moments progressed I was having a hard time with the water well behind my eyes. I saw posters signed by people from every corner of the world that were praying for us by name! Wait. What? People in Austrailia were lifting Eradio Valverde in their funny accent? Would God understand them? (Yes, of course, but I'm being silly!). People in Africa had also sent poster boards with messages of love and prayers. And friends, I weighed 98 lbs when I started that retreat on Thursday night and by the time Sunday rolled around, so did I! There were more homemade cookies than should be legal to be on serving platters! We're talking chunky chocolate chips cookies of all shapes and sizes, and darn cookies they all knew my name and could say it quite loudly as I walked by! I felt a true sense of unity and generosity during this retreat.
Had the believers of First Jerusalem made cookies, they might have matched those served ot the pilgrims of that Walk to Emmaus back in 1985 at Mount Wesley in Kerrville, Texas. That first verse always gets to me. "All believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had." Wow. The change Jesus had made in their hearts, minds, and spirits changed them. They went from "This is mine," to "I don't mind sharing with you." What wonderful things our hearts and minds can be when we let the touch of Jesus control them. Hearts can truly pump out love and minds can truly think positive and loving thoughts towards others! What a concept! To be able to say to others, "This is no longer mine, it's yours!" that dear friends, is miraculous. And to add to this, the passage says that the apostles were empowered by this and by the Holy Spirit to share their faith in the message about Jesus' resurrection. And the grace of God was at work in all who listened and worshiped with them, so much so that there were no needy people among them; all their needs were being met. All were fed and fully clothed. All bills were being paid. And to make it even more a God-thing; "From time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need." Boom!
This past weekend, a long-time church building that served in both the Rio Grande Conference and the Southwest Texas Conference was sold. It was no longer a viable church. The building had fallen into massive disrepair and the church was no longer attracting people to its worship services and other programming was no longer effective. This particular building, in my opinion, was a white elephant. The previous SWT congregation had bought land in another part of San Antonio, and so they decided to sell it to a RGC congregation. In my opinion, the loving thing would have been to sell this old building for a dollar, but it was not. No unity and no generosity.
We have a choice dear ones of how we can live. The apostles reported this miraculous event at the first church during the first century. We can re-write our history in loving and positive ways, of showing the world that we can rise above the norm or expected into the divine way of God's expectation. This would add a dimension to Easter the world would love to see and experience.
PRAYER: Loving and awesome God, plant in us the love and power of Your grace so that we can live in unity and generosity with all. Help us set the examples of going beyond the expected. This we ask in Christ Jesus powerful and strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Share and love.
I love you and I thank God for you!
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
