Break Free!

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10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11 And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment." 13 When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. 14 But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day." 15 But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?" 17 When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing. (Luke 13:10-17 NRSV)

Eighteen years. Let that number settle in your heart for a moment. Eighteen years of looking down instead of up. Eighteen years of seeing feet instead of faces, dust instead of sky. This unnamed woman carried not just physical affliction, but the accumulated weight of social invisibility, religious exclusion, and daily humiliation.

Yet something remarkable happens in this passage: Jesus sees her. In a culture where women, especially disabled women, were often overlooked, Jesus notices. He doesn't wait for her to cry out, to push through crowds, or to prove her worthiness. He simply sees her need and acts.

But here's where the story gets uncomfortable for us. The religious leaders are indignant—not because a woman suffered for eighteen years, but because Jesus chose to heal her on the Sabbath. They had grown so attached to their interpretation of God's law that they couldn't celebrate God's mercy when it appeared right before them.

How often do we find ourselves in the same position? How often do our rigid expectations of how God should work blind us to how God is actually working? We can become so invested in our theological boxes, our denominational boundaries, our cultural preferences, that we miss the very presence of Christ moving among us.

Jesus calls the religious leaders "hypocrites," pointing out that they would untie their animals to give them water on the Sabbath, yet they begrudge freedom for a "daughter of Abraham" who has been bound for nearly two decades. The logic is devastating: if compassion for livestock is acceptable, how much more should we celebrate the liberation of a human being created in God's image?

This challenges us to examine our own hearts. What have we allowed to become more important than human dignity and freedom? What rules, traditions, or comfort zones have we elevated above love? Where might we be hindering rather than helping God's work of healing and restoration in the world?

The woman's immediate response to healing is profound—she stands up straight and praises God. There's something beautiful about the connection between physical healing and spiritual worship. When we experience God's liberating power in our lives, praise becomes as natural as breathing.

But notice that her healing doesn't just affect her—it affects the entire community. The religious leaders are put to shame, and "the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing" (v. 17). Freedom is contagious. When one person is liberated, it creates ripple effects that can transform entire communities.

We all have our bent places—areas where we've been curved inward by pain, fear, shame, or simply the weight of living in a broken world. Some of our ailments are visible, others hidden. Some we've carried for eighteen years, others for eighteen days. But the same Jesus who saw and healed this woman sees us too.

The question is: Are we willing to let him straighten what has been bent? Are we ready to stand tall and praise God, even if it makes others uncomfortable? And perhaps most challengingly, are we prepared to celebrate when others experience the same liberation we long for ourselves?

PRAYER: Gracious God, like the woman in this story, we come before you carrying the weight of our bent places—the areas where pain, fear, and brokenness have curved us inward and downward. Open our eyes to see your presence among us, even in unexpected moments and places. Give us the courage to stand straight when you call us to freedom, and help us celebrate liberation wherever we encounter it, even when it challenges our expectations. May we be people who see others as you see them—beloved children worthy of dignity, healing, and hope. Through Christ our liberator, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: This week, look for someone who has been "bent over"—perhaps by circumstances, systemic injustice, or simply the weight of daily struggles. Practice the ministry of seeing: notice them as Jesus noticed the woman in the synagogue. Then ask yourself: How might God be calling you to participate in their liberation? It might be through advocacy, practical help, a kind word, or simply the gift of being truly seen and valued. Let the healing of this ancient woman inspire contemporary acts of compassion and justice in your own community.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Restoration God

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1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth 2 before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us! 8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. 9 You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches; 11 it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River. 12 Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? 13 The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it. 14 Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, 15 the stock that your right hand planted. 16 They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance. 17 But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. 18 Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name.19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved. (Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19 NRSV)

Our God is a God of Life. Newness and Life. Compassion and Love. Fresh Starts and Second Chances. The Author of the unfinished book, but Who is still writing; each stroke brings something wonderful and unexpected. Our God is the God who calls and sends. Our God equips the saints willing to serve and some of the transformations are incredible. Our God has heard all the excuses in the world and counters those which need changing. The call may not be to lead a mega church or preach in arenas; but a call to love your neighbor is just as important if not more. The call to walk across the aisle in church to shake the hand of the brother or sister you've come to consider an enemy rather than a spiritual sibling; can and should be made. You may be called to spend time with your family and away from the phone. The psalmist is sharing his call to God, Who has been calling us all along.

Ask any honest preacher why she is a preacher and she will tell you a story of transformation. Ask any honest lay leader, Sunday school teacher, youth counselor, etc., and you will hear the tales of God's involvement in lives, many unsuspecting, and how God brought those changes and the blessings began flowing.

The psalmist cries out to the Shepherd of Israel—the One who led His people like a flock and planted them like a choice vine. God had tenderly uprooted His people from Egypt, clearing the land and allowing them to take root and flourish. But now, the vineyard lies vulnerable, its walls broken, its branches ravaged by enemies.

This passage forces us to wrestle with two truths:

God is both the loving planter who delights in His vineyard and the righteous Judge who allows it to experience the consequences of neglecting Him.

Restoration is possible, but it requires honest repentance and a turning back to Him.

The refrain “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved” is more than a poetic cry—it’s a declaration of dependence. It says, “We cannot fix this on our own. We need Your presence, Your mercy, Your power.”

Our lives, too, can be like that vineyard—once flourishing under God’s care, but vulnerable when we let down the walls of prayer, compromise our obedience, or pursue self-reliance. The good news is that the same God who plants and prunes is also the One who restores and revives. But He calls us to return, not halfway, but fully—our hearts, our wills, our lives.

PRAYER: Lord, You are my Shepherd and the Gardener of our souls. We confess the places where we have allowed the walls to crumble and the weeds to grow. Shine Your face on us again. Uproot what is harmful, strengthen what is weak, and cause us to bear fruit that lasts. Restore our joy, renew our faith, and make our lives a vineyard that honors You. In Jesus’ strong name we pray, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Identify one “broken wall” in your walk with God this week. Bring it before Him in prayer and invite His restoring work to begin there.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

The Song of the Vineyard

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1 I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. 3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? 5 Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.” 7 The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. (Isaiah 5:1-7 NIV)

Friends, as we pray, please pray for the family of Mr. Hector Cruz, beloved neighbor and friend, who died Sunday of a cardiac arrest. May God's comfort be with his wife, Terri, and their beautiful family. Hector will be laid to rest in his beloved Colorado.

My father found time to plant and grow trees and shrubs and plants of all kinds in our yard in Kingsville, Texas. One time it was a China Apple tree, or so we called it; tiny, semi-sweet apples would come forth and soon were gone. Hmm, I wonder why? We had a huge pomegranate shrub that yielded very sweet pomegranates that we enjoyed thoroughly consuming. We had carnation plants that brought forth nice flowers that my Mom and grandma loved on Mother's and Father's Day. I once planted watermelon seeds and had a nice watermelon that was slightly bigger than a football and very sweet. There's something to be said about the earth bringing forth new life, more especially edible life or life that can fill the air with awesome aromas. And for Israel, nothing said more about its own life than that of a vineyard, which were common to them. In 1962, a Yale School of Divinity professor, Dr. B. Davie Napier, wrote a book with that name, Song of The Vineyard, as an introduction to the theology of the Old Testament. The author went on to become president of Pacific School of Religion; and it sets out a way for people to more fully understand God's work among the people called Israelites. God is the owner and planter of the vineyard. He loves it. And later in scripture we meet God's Son, Jesus, Who says He is the true vine. The writer of this passage has him singing to God a love song about this vineyard. It sits on a fertile hillside and it has been cleaned up and made ready for its purpose. A watchtower is set in it as are winepresses; the only thing missing is a crop of good grapes. The poor vineyard could only bring forth bad fruit, aka sour grapes. I pause to mention this is the right season in our grocery store for the most sweet and delicious white grapes, which I personally prefer; but the days leading to the perfect crop some days bring not-so-good, not so sweet grapes.

God, as He talks with those living in Jerusalem that He has done all He could yet the crops are not what God desires. The only thing left is to bring about destruction, headed towards a wasteland; an unpruned non-cultivated land that will soon share its fertile land with briers and thorns and clouds will only pass over that land. The reason? The nation gave up being a just land choosing instead to be a land of bloodshed. God looked for righteousness and only heard cries of those in trouble, hurting; giving up.

This isn’t just ancient poetry—it’s a sobering reminder of the deep relationship God longs to have with His people, and the disappointment when His care is met with rebellion or neglect. In the story, the vineyard is Israel, but today it could easily be us—our lives, churches, and communities. God has given us everything needed to bear the fruit of justice, mercy, and righteousness. What are we producing?

Bad fruit comes when we lose our focus on Him, when our priorities shift toward self-interest, or when we grow complacent. Good fruit grows when our roots sink deep into His Word, when we are attentive to His voice, and when we love as He loves.

Isaiah’s warning is clear: God expects His vineyard to yield fruit worthy of His care. The question is—what will He find when He comes to inspect the harvest in our lives? When will we begin to truly do what God wants from us? What will it take for us to become the desired vineyard of the Lord?

PRAYER: Lord, You have poured out Your love, care, and provision over our lives. Forgive us for the times we’ve allowed weeds of sin and self-interest to grow in our hearts. Tend the soil of our souls. Prune what is unfruitful. Help us to bear fruit that honors You—fruit of love, justice, mercy, and humility. May our lives be those vineyards that brings You joy. In Jesus’ strong name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Examine your “vineyard” this week. Ask God to show you one area where He desires more fruit—and be intentional in nurturing it through prayer, obedience, and love.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio.Valverde, Jr.

Run With Perserverance

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29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days. 31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. 32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 11:29-12:2 NRSV)

A tremendous Tuesday, Friend! Make it a day of prayer filled with power and passion for Jesus! Lift high His name with those who seek healing, new lives, new opportunities, new relationships, and new ministry venues. Make it a day you spend with Jesus so that others may come to know Him.

As a child I ran everywhere I could. I loved to run but I also loved to eat and thus my body never really reflected a discipline life of exercise. Oh well. I enjoyed running and riding my bike. And years later in Houston as I tried out for the school's football team I was told I needed to run a mile under seven minutes. Upon hearing it it scared me a bit, but as I thought about it and talked to others interested in the team as well, we decided that if we could keep a certain pace we would make it. The pace we determined would be one, two, three, four, and repeat, one, two, three, four. I started to have faith in myself, that with God's help, I could make the team. And I did.

The writer of Hebrews continues with his masterpiece on faith. It's an encouraging who'w who and what's up of what things faith made possible in the Old Testament. The people of Israel walked through the Red Sea on dry land; the Egyptians were not so lucky. Faith saw impenetrable walls fall; and women of questionable morals had her life turned around to be included in the lineage of Jesus! And on and on reads the list of what could happen, happen because of faith. Even to the prophets who endured suffering—each story testifies that faith is not passive. It moves forward, even when the path is costly.

By the time we reach chapter 12, the imagery shifts to a race. We are surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses”—those who have already finished their course. Their example is meant to inspire, but not to distract. The focus is clear: fix your eyes on Jesus, and run the race at God's pace.

The race of faith requires both endurance and shedding. Each of us can and should run that race. Endurance is needed because the road is long and often uphill. And as we run, we need to shed those uncessary burdens be they sins, fears, or distractions because they will weigh us down and will slow us down if we cling to them. The call is to travel light, unentangled, and wholly focused on Christ.

Jesus is not only the one who begins our faith (“pioneer”) but also the one who brings it to completion (“perfecter”). He ran His own race with joy, even when it meant the agony of the cross, because He knew what lay beyond—the redemption of His people and the glory of God.

The challenge for us is to run with that same focus. The invitation is to remember that we do not run alone. The witnesses cheer us on, Christ runs before us, and His Spirit strengthens us every step of the way.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You are the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. Thank You for the cloud of witnesses whose lives inspire us to endure. Help us to lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely. Strengthen our hearts to run with perseverance, eyes fixed on You, no matter the cost. May our lives bring glory to the Father as we follow Your path. Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Run your race with endurance—eyes fixed on Jesus, heart free from all that would hold you back.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Jesus: The Fire in Your Life

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49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” 54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time? (Luke 12:49-56 NIV)

Dear Friend, As we pray today, please add to your prayers, Mr. Clay Pace has asked "Please pray for a friend of mine Pete Jauer. He's 84 years old and has become weaker to the point of his Dr's hinting to him that he's just winding down. He called me yesterday and told me he will live or die and he's alright with either as he a man of strong faith." May God's will be done in Brother Jauer's life. Pray for one another; pray for your needs.

Just yesterday I heard the story of the most insignificant, but most influential man in Christian history. It concerned a revival being held by the Evangelist Mordecai Ham who had filled his tent with interested people from North Carolina In November, 1934. Two fourteen year old boys were walking by intrigued by what they were hearing, but when they peeked inside the tent they determined there wasn't any room for them and so continued walking away. An usher saw the boys and ran after them and said, "Boys, I can find you two seats near the front!" The two stayed and followed the man to their seats. As they heard the bold proclamation of God's love, they both walked to the front and surrendered their lives to the Lord Jesus. The two boys were Grady Wilson and Billy Graham. Billy, as you well know, became an evangelist who preached the gospel to almost a billion people around the world. Grady became a key associate in The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The person sharing the story asked what would have become if that one usher did not take it as his job to bring the boys back? The fire in the usher's heart for his job is precisely what Jesus is talking about in this passage. The usher's fire brought about the first in Billy's heart that led him to preach the word that reached the world. My bride shared how when she knew that Billy was going to be on TV she would not miss a broadcast of Mr. Graham's sermons.

Slave-trader John Newton is another figure in history, whose life was changed for the better when he realized the importance and power of God in his life. It led to his conversion and his rejection of humans owning other humans, and eventually he gave up his job as a ship's captain and led him to writing the famous hymn many of us love, Amazing Grace, a personal reflection on God's power to transform.

These words of Jesus are jarring. We often picture Him as the gentle Shepherd, the Prince of Peace. Yet here, He speaks of fire, division, and urgency. This is not the soothing language of comfort—it is the sharp call of confrontation.

The “fire” Jesus speaks of is both purifying and refining. Fire reveals what is true, burning away what is false. When Christ comes into a life, things cannot stay the same. His presence forces a choice: Will we align with His truth, or resist it?

Jesus knew that His mission would divide even the closest of relationships. The peace He offers is not the shallow peace of avoiding conflict, but the deep peace that comes through surrender to God—sometimes at great cost. Following Him will mean parting ways with values, priorities, and sometimes even people who pull us away from obedience.

The crowd listening to Jesus could predict tomorrow’s weather but failed to recognize the spiritual moment right before them. The challenge remains for us: Do we see what God is doing in our time, or are we distracted by everything else?

This passage is both invitation and warning. Jesus is inviting us to be part of His refining work, to let His fire consume our self-reliance, our compromise, and our comfortable faith. But He warns that ignoring the urgency of His call is dangerous. The time to choose is now.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You are the refining fire our souls need. Forgive us for wanting a comfortable faith instead of a courageous one. Burn away everything in us that resists Your will. Give us discernment to see what You are doing in our time, and the courage to follow wherever You lead—even when it costs us. Kindle Your fire in us, and let it spread. In Your powerful name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Don’t settle for a lukewarm faith. Let Christ’s fire refine you, awaken you, and set you wholly apart for Him.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Come Now, Let Us Reason Together

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1 The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 10 Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 11 What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. 12 When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more; 13 bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation— I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. 14 Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. 16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17 learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. 18 Come now, let us argue it out, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; 20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 NRSV)

Happy Wednesday! May this be your day, dear Friend! Make it a day of prayer, enrichment, discernment, and decision; decide to follow Jesus because you're in love with Him!

How were your raised? With a list of do's and don'ts? Or were you given free reign to do and act as you wanted? I know that different ages meant different eras of beliefs and ideas about how to raise your children. I was from the strictness of parents, teaching respect towards others and our failings were met with a spanking. Maybe yours was the time-out phase of child-rearing? Or something different. You can leave you comments on different formats or you can email me at eradiovalverde@yahoo.com to share your thoughts and experiences. I remember the strictest place for us was church. My parents took worship and participation in church activities very seriously. The worst spanking of my life came when I expressed my anger to my mother in a major category, I believe the ranking about be a 7. That was thanks to my grandfather Popó, my Dad's dad. He thought it would be cute and fun to make me trilingual; Spanish, English, and Maldiciones, not an island controlled by Great Britain. Though I was still a baby, the memory of that spanking will follow me to eternity! I was being a baby and walking up and down the pew enjoying the smiles I was bringing to those who should have been listening to the sermon, which in the canonical books of childrearing, Portatebienotemato, that was a strict no-no. So, Mom pinched me and I believe she added a twist or twirl, which was meant to drive home the point. I, without malice or much thought responded with a "Me duele, Ch-----". Immediately upon arriving home I was taken to the bathroom and given a severe spanking with a brush. Did that rid me of saying such things? In church, mostly yes.

What this passage is talking about is the internal and eternal change that should occur in us inside. If our inside is right with God so will our outside be. God is a bit upset and I know He so wants to pinch and twirl the soft part of the upper arm of those to whom this passage is directed, but He won't. But God is expressing His displeasure with the outward expressions of repentance and obedience, but God knows full well, that inside nothing has happened. Think of televangelists who say they need a fifth jet to spread the gospel, while boasting of living in the largest home in the state, and later claiming that Jesus' Second Coming has been delayed because people (viewers) are not giving as they should. Hmm. God said all that is for show and means nothing to Him and even less to us. "Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the oprhan, plead for the widow. Then HIs famous invitation, "Come now, let us argue (reason) it out, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall become like wool."

Isaiah’s opening oracle is a sobering summons. It’s a wake-up call to a people who had kept the rituals of religion but lost the heart of it. The Lord’s words through Isaiah cut deep: offerings without obedience, prayers without justice, worship without repentance—it was all noise in God’s ears. The people of Judah, though going through the motions of faith, were spiritually adrift.

Yet within this stern rebuke, there’s a staggering invitation: “Come now, let us reason together.” The Holy One of Israel, the righteous Judge, extends a hand not to condemn, but to reconcile. He doesn’t cast us away in our guilt—He calls us to reason with Him. He invites us into a conversation that leads to transformation.

God doesn’t want religious performance; He desires surrendered hearts. The call to “cease to do evil, learn to do good” is not moralism—it’s covenantal living. It’s a call to realign with God’s heart for justice, mercy, and humility.

And here lies the challenge: true faith isn’t just expressed in temple courts or church pews. It must show up in the streets, in the way we treat others, especially the vulnerable—orphans, widows, and the voiceless. Isaiah reminds us that faith devoid of justice is hollow. But God offers grace that is never hollow. It cleanses. It changes scarlet-stained souls into garments of white.

The promise remains: If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. Will we come to God with open hearts? Will we let His grace confront and cleanse us?

PRAYER: Righteous and merciful God, we confess that we have often clung to form without faith, ritual without repentance. We have heard Your call to justice and turned away too quickly. Forgive us. Cleanse us. Teach us to do good, to seek justice, to defend the oppressed. Thank You for the grace that meets us even when our sins are scarlet. Help us not just to hear Your Word but to respond to it with obedience, humility, and faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Open your heart to God's reasoning. Step away from empty rituals and step into a living, active faith that reflects His justice and mercy.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Let Go and Let God

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

The South Indian Monkey Trap is a story of villagers in South India who will take hollowed out coconuts and fill them with cooked rice. These are placed where monkeys are and a monkey will come, put its hand in the coconut and will grab a handful of rice. Once it has the rice in its hand it will not let go thus making it easy for the villagers to catch the monkey. This story sounds a lot like what happens in Walmart's toy section every day! A child, more specifically, a grandchild, will grab a hold of a toy that that child really needs and will not let go and any attempt to pry it away from said child will result in high decibel screaming or crying or both, and thus Walmart stock goes up every day. This story can be repeated in a car or boat dealership or a jewelry store.

The gospel is all about letting go of precisely those things that can completely separate us from the things that really matter, and Jesus addresses it in this passage. In this chapter Jesus has been talking to people who were truly worried about staying alive; having food to eat, clothes to wear; mostly what we in this part of the world take for granted. If we're hungry we go to the store to buy food to cook or we drive to a restaurant or fast food joint and get something to eat. And thanks to Covid, we can use DoorDash and order same fast food delivered right to our door for incredibly high markups. Jesus speaks a comforting word about believers getting access to God's kingdom while we do what others might not do or expect anyone to do like selling our possessions and giving them the profits to the poor. The treasures that truly matter namely treasure in heaven, and the awesome truth of the statement that He shared, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Our clothing should reflect our willingness and readiness to serve, and we should be prepared at all times. Even today, Pope Leo was attacked by a Fellow from Oxford for the Pope having said, ""Even today there are many contexts in which the Christian faith is considered an absurd thing, for weak and unintelligent people; contexts in which other securities are preferred to it, such as technology, money, success, power, pleasure." The Fellow said, 'How dare the Pope suggest that the gods of tech, wealth, fame, clout, and pleasure are counterfeit securities? How dare the pope critique those, in this scholar's words, “whose values or priorities differ from our own.” For this Oxford Fellow, the real scandal is that the Pope fails to realize that “Not all who seek truth answer in the same way.” Rev. Leonard Sweet, a professor and author said, "Welcome to your world, church, a world where . .Truth is a choose-your-own adventure. Jesus is a lifestyle brand. Faith is optional equipment. When the Gospel offends, it’s often doing its job."

Jesus speaks these words with tenderness and assurance. He knows that we live in a world full of uncertainty, where fear often takes hold—fear of not having enough, of missing out, of what lies ahead. But here, He calls us His little flock, cared for by a good and generous Shepherd who gives us not scraps, but the kingdom.

What does it mean to live like that’s true? Jesus invites us to loosen our grip on possessions, to trade anxious hoarding for generous living: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

This isn’t just about money—it’s about trust. If our treasure is in God’s hands, our hearts will follow. If our eyes are on His kingdom, we’ll live with a readiness that runs deeper than fear.

Jesus urges us to be watchful and alert, like servants waiting for their master’s return. The point isn’t fear of being caught off guard, but joy in being prepared to meet Him—eyes open, hearts expectant, lives shaped by grace.

Whether you’re deeply rooted in faith or simply searching, the message is clear: You are not forgotten. The kingdom is near. Let go of fear, and live ready.

PRAYER: Gracious Father, thank You for giving us the kingdom—a gift we could never earn but freely receive. Help us loosen our grip on fear and trust You with our heart, our plans, and our future. Make us ready, not by our own strength, but by Your Spirit alive in us. Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Today, choose one way to trade fear for trust—whether through an act of generosity, a moment of prayer, or simply by speaking hope into someone’s day. Let that be your step toward living ready.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.