Celebrate Your Arrival!

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1 O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed. 6 O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice! 8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. 10 For forty years I loathed that generation and said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my ways." 11 Therefore in my anger I swore, "They shall not enter my rest." (Psalm 95 NRSV)

Good day, Friend. Yesterday, we looked at the trip that Papa Moses took in his huge station wagon with his many Israelite kids, and how unruly they were when they got thirsty. Well, they have "arrived" to their destination and this psalm gets written.

It is a call to celebration because they've arrived. Not just from a trip per se, but a point of reflection where one can finally say, "I've led a bad life and Jesus saved me, and I am thankful to be here." It's personal worship between a grateful individual and his/her God. We have been out of the presence of God, now we must enter His presence with thanksgiving, making all the holy racket we can as a way to let the world know how blessed we are. It's also a time to take stock of all we have done and seen. The psalmist makes a list for himself: God is a great God, and King above all other gods. God is the Creator of all things, from the mountains to the oceans; all belongs to God, along with us. He is worthy of our worship and praise. And we should not ever return back to that period in our lives where we acted like spoiled, thirsty children. We should know that God does not like for us to return back to those places where we found ourselves far from Him. Our having arrived means our need to stay close to God and never wander away.

Life provides many options, and many roads on which to travel. God offers us His loving guidance to help us reach His destinations not ours. C. S. Lewis said, "Hell is filled with people who said, 'My will be done;" while Heaven is filled with those who said and lived, "Thy will be done." It doesn't get much easier to say. We should live surrendered lives in which God can lovingly lead us. We all fit in the station wagon!

PRAYER: Loving Father, may Your grace be upon us as we live each day. We ask forgiveness for those times we've yelled a bit too loudly about our situation and location. Bless us with peace, patience, and the pace to walk closely with You. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. Be an encourager of praise!

Receive our blessings of peace and love,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

Listen to the continuing study of Paul's Letter to the Romans at www.pimplesandwrinkles.org.

Are We There Yet??

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1 From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 The people quarreled with Moses, and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?" 3 But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?" 4 So Moses cried out to the Lord, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me." 5 The Lord said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink." Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?" (Exodus 17:1-7 NRSV)

Hi Friend. Nellie and I have PhDs in Road Travel with Children. We have logged what has to be a little over a million miles in various vehicles of different sizes, colors, and shapes. The PhD stands for Please Help us Diosito! (which is Spanish for God!). Seriously, we loved every minute and mile of all the trips we have taken with our four wonderful daughters. Our girls were well-behaved, loving towards each other (most days), and open to the challenges of the open road. But we have seen movies and heard stories from others where parents have shared their horror stories that rival the behavior of the people of Israel like we just read. The comments of verse 2 sum up pretty much every road trip by a parent and thirsty kids. This one passage gives us an idea of what we can be capable of doing and saying, many times without us being aware or even if aware, we don't care as long as we get our point across. In fact, "We want water!" is second only to "Are we there yet?" These are cries of frustration and anger and maybe bewilderment. And one can only begin to imagine how Papa Moses felt at having to hear this so often. In fact, we don't have to imagine for long because in the next verse, Moses says, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?" Sigh.

The trip from Egypt to Canaan, the promised land, took forty years. It was mostly through desert-like conditions, and many hardships. The trip, had it been taken directly would not have taken forty years; but the purpose of God was to form a people. Several significant spiritual events took place along the journey including the giving of the Law to Moses. Not to mention the miracles of the opening of the Red Sea for them to cross on dry land, and then it filled in on the approaching armies of Pharaoh killing them. The people of God kept forgetting one thing; they were no longer slaves, they were now free men! They no longer had to make bricks in the hot Egyptian sun without straw; what they could not forget was the meals they had enjoyed back in slavery; meat, vegetables, etc. And as they traveled, they had to fully trust God because God provided as they traveled. Food was delivered to them in the morning and evenings; water was found along the way, and yes, there were patches where there was no water, and this was such a place. And again, God provided. Moses was told to strike the rock at Horeb, and water would flow out of it. And if anything in Israel is just as pretty as anything else, is water. There are some regions we saw where the water is plentiful and just awesome looking. As the photo above shows, the water flows just as God said it would, and is still flowing.

"Is the Lord among us or not?" is the name of the place now. What an appropriate name. It's a question kids ask when panicking about food, water, where to go to the restroom, etc. Parents ask that question just as often as kids. Preachers ask that question at the end of worship or at the end of the month; no matter who does the asking, God does the answering; I am here! And usually if it's not in words, it is in the saving actions God takes among us and for us. If you're feeling like that at this reading, this devotional is for you; God has heard your cries and pleas and is at work; God will answer you soon enough.

PRAYER: Loving and patient God, bless all who listen or read this devotional. You better than anyone know what we face and why we ask what we ask; answer us with Your grace and love and bless us. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Help those asking the tough questions!

Receive my blessings of love and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

Peace with God

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1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. 9 Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. 11 But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:1-11 NRSV).

Happy Tuesday, Friend! I pray this finds you well. I would add that on my website pimplesandwrinkles.org, I did a longer lesson on Romans 5. It is the latest episode called Jesus Justifies and you can click here to listen: https://www.pimplesandwrinkles.org/media.

For Paul and all believers in Jesus Christ, the word Justified is an important word. Justification is the complete word and it stands for being made right, as in a relationship. It means also complete acceptance. We saw an old movie in seminary (which makes it even older!) of a Mexican mission that took in orphans. It was run by a priest and the story is simple. A little boy, badly scarred and disfigured by a fire, has heard that this place welcomes all children, houses them and feeds them and he wants to see if they would welcome him in. I should add previous scenes have shown how hard life has been for this little boy, having lost his entire family and found himself now homeless. Doors closed on his face, he had to find food in the worse places and hearing the news of a possible place in which to finally be able to live, he knocks on the mission door. There is fear on his face as he awaits a response. The door finally opens and the fear grows. The look says will they accept me? Have I found a home? The priest, who opened the door, smiles at the little boy and invites him in. The boy steps in and he is hugged by the priest and the boy makes his way into the mission. At first the other children are a bit taken aback by the boy's face but soon all begin to smile back at the boy and greet him with touching his back and hugs. The boy finally smiles a big smile and knows he is home. The point of the movie was this was justification. The self-perceived unwanted are wanted, and I would add, welcomed. Paul knows this and thus his writing to the believers in Rome.

Justification has brought peace to Paul's life. As it should to all believers. And this peace is important for our lives. Nowhere does Paul write that being Christian is without sufferings and so Paul addresses these too. I love the progression chart he outlines about suffering, and he wrote this from experience. He says there is no shame in suffering, in fact, he says he boasts about his sufferings "because suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." Then he adds, "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly...But God proves His love for us in that while we sill were sinners Christ died for us."

Paul sums up the Good News: God loved us enough to send Jesus. Jesus loves us enough to die for us, and through His blood and body paid the price for our sins. Our alienation from God is no more; the doors once perceived as closed to us, are wide open through which we are easily and eternally reconciled with God. We are saved and safe from all eternal harm and evil.

PRAYER: Awesome God, thank You for the wide open door of Your love for us. We pray for those who don't feel worthy of Your grace that they may know they too are welcome and loved in Your kingdom. Use us to share the news; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Share an invitation to justification today!

Receive my blessings of peace and love,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

Thirsty?

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5 So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon. 7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, "Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." 11 The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?" 13 Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water." 16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." 17 The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, "I have no husband'; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!" 19 The woman said to him, "Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem." 21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." 25 The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." 26 Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking to you." 27 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you want?" or, "Why are you speaking with her?" 28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 29 "Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?" 30 They left the city and were on their way to him. 31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, "Rabbi, eat something." 32 But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." 33 So the disciples said to one another, "Surely no one has brought him something to eat?" 34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. 35 Do you not say, "Four months more, then comes the harvest'? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. 36 The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, "One sows and another reaps.' 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor." 39 Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I have ever done." 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world." (John 4:5-42 NRSV)

Happy Monday dear Friend! While that may sound like an oxymoron, for believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, His presence and peace in our hearts helps us face whatever today, tomorrow and forever may hold, for He holds us! I ask prayers for this old man as this coming Sunday, the 15th of March, I will be preaching at the three worship services at First UMC of Bastrop, Texas, using this text. May God give me the words and the grace as I preach His holy word.

It was about two years ago during this time of year that Nellie and I were in the chapel over Jacob's Well. Tour groups from all over the world crowded in to see this famous well. It has been there thousands of years as it is attributed to Jacob (Genesis 33:18-20). Lines allowed those who wanted a chance to drink from common buckets that were lowered and raised up from the water. We could imagine that that ancient well even today, was holy because our Lord sat by it. There is much to be said about this entire passage. It is a long passage, but it contains an entire important story we must know. The first is that the history of the Jews and the Samaritans is tainted. During the times of Jesus, there was little to no interaction between the two racial groups. Though they shared a somewhat common faith, the racial and historical differences were enough for either group to cross the street in order to avoid the other. That is why we see her asking Jesus, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" Good question. Jesus had asked of her, as she approached to draw water, for a drink. That's another consideration; Jesus would have had to drink from her bucket, which was strictly forbidden by custom and Jewish law. But the interaction shows us that Jesus respected no boundaries or borders. His mission had been to save the world, which means all people. And Jesus' request was not so much for a drink of water as an opening for Him to offer this woman the gift He brought to the world. He says, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." Jesus further explains,"those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." God makes it easy for all to understand that life requires water and bread, and both are used as symbols of the life without end that Jesus offers. Here at this significant well, the Samaritan woman who came to seek water for his thirst encounters He who offers living water.

We soon find that this woman had been looking for the fullness of life in the wrong places. Jesus knew her and her weaknesses in her life. He simply asks her to go and call her husband and return back with him. She replied that she does not have a husband. Jesus counters that she is telling the truth in saying she has no husband, and that she has had five husbands, and the one she had at the present time was not her husband. Jesus gives her credit for telling the truth. The moment is awkward as she is like the proverbial deer in the headlights. She thinks,then changes the subject, and declares Jesus to be a prophet. And that the mountain on which they were standing had special significance to her ancestors, and reminds Jesus that for the Jews, Jerusalem was the place for worship. Jesus again counters with the truth and tells her that the hour was fast approaching when they would not worship the Father neither on the mountain or in Jerusalem. And further, "You worship what you do not know, "for salvation is from the Jews; and the hour is coming, is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

This was a harvest moment. Jesus, as I mentioned above, has crossed a very obvious border that forbade interaction between Jew and Samaritan, but He did it to share the Good News with her. She detects the spiritual nature of Jesus and when He shares her life's weakness she believes Him to be a prophet. Jesus shares the truth of the living water that He could share with her and she's willing to hear more. The disciples arrive, and she returns to her village to share with all there, that she had found a man who told her about all she had ever done. She even asks, "He cannot be the Messiah, can he?" The disciples realizing they may have taken a bit longer on their excursion to secure food for Jesus encourage Him to eat and He replies that His food is to do the will of God.

When the Samaritans arrive to where Jesus and the Twelve are, they listen to Him and invite Him to stay with them for two days. And during those two days many came to faith because of what Jesus shared with them about His mission and ministry. And they said, "We know that this is truly the Savior of the world."

While in the Holy Land, we were taken to a Samaritan village where their high priest lives and leads their worship. Sadly, the high priest was away but the assistant priest led us on a tour of their worship space. They have a temple where worship can take place inside, but outside the temple there was a huge pit with iron grills. We were told they still sacrifice animals like Old Testament days, fully cooking the meat as an offering to God, then eating the meat when worship is over. We were also told the total number of Samaritans around the world was only 118. What that number is today I don't know. What we do know is that Jesus had His impact on believers of the area at that time and we trust God to carry on His work on those whose lives impacted others through the ages.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, shine on us Your grace and love. May we see beyond divisions and borders of all kinds, to see opportunities to love as You love, to care as You care. May we truly be ambassadors of love and peace to all. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Share the living waters of Jesus with someone who is thirsty!

Receive my blessings of peace and love,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

BONUS: A young couple planning their wedding meet at a coffee shop to discuss their wedding cake. They had the perfect cake in mind except the bride wanted a Bible verse to top the cake. They searched the scriptures and settled on 1 John 4:18 that reads, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts off fear." The two were so overwhelmed by the beauty and power of this perfect verse they wept and used the napkin on which they had written it. They took it to the baker and told him to place that verse on the wedding cake. On their wedding day, the ceremony was perfect and beautiful and as they entered the reception the two mothers were crying by the wedding cake. The MOB (Mother of the Bride) yelled, "What were you two thinking? Look at this verse!" The couple walked over and read, "For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband." The poor baker did not see that their tears had erased the 1 from 1 John and so went directly to John 4:18. Happy Monday!!

Surrounded? Think Again!

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1 I lift up my eyes to the hills— from where will my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. 4 He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. 8 The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore. (Psalm 121 NRSV)

Good day, dear Friend.

This is my second favorite psalm of all of the 150. I have several that are very close to this one, but this was my go-to psalm. As a young pastor, I would read this before prayer at almost all my hospital visits because of its powerful message. Later, as I studied this psalm it was made clear to me that David, to whom we attribute this psalm, more than likely wrote it when at war. David was a warrior king as much as he was a shepherd king. And the image in the first verse is a reference to the hills surrounding his camp being filled with enemy soldiers. That would explain the end of that first verse. To see his camp surrounded by enemy soldiers would make a person ask, "Where will my help come from?" It is a distressful thought. If one is surrounded by enemies, bills, hurts, insults, pain, worry, and the list goes on and on, one could ask oneself, "How will I ever get out of this jam?" Thankfully, David's faith answers it; "My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." The Creator of all things stands ready to defend the king, God stands ready to defend you. We are talking absolute power. God made all things out of nothing and just with His words; all of that power stands at your side as you face your enemies. "He will not let your foot be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep." Many a watchman has been known to doze off and may have been a common problem with many an army, but David says, God will never doze off nor start snoring, we can depend on Him.

David continues affirming his faith. "The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night." One, God keeps us. The Lord provides shade. If you've been to the Holy Land you're aware that it is important to have shade from a scorching sun that does strike daily and hard. The moon also provides bright light at certain times and in certain places; God's got you covered and protected! As David closes his psalm he says, "The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore." Such was the faith of the shepherd boy who killed a giant in battle. Strong was the faith of the boy shepherd as he protected his flock from bears and lions. David trusted in God and because of that trust wrote what he wrote: God will keep us from "all evil." God will keep our lives; and as far as our going out and our coming in? God's got us! Right now and forever.

This psalm has blessed many a person in need of such a strong word as it has blessed me, and I pray you as well. Again, we may be surrounded by many "enemies," but our God is stronger, wiser, bolder, and ready to save us from all evil, all harm, and all that may come against us.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, as we pray, we pray in faith, the same faith as the Shepherd King, David. We pray with thankful hearts for the faith of David who shared his faith in this beautiful psalm. I pray that those who needed to hear it have heard it and it has blessed their lives. Make us worthy of your blessings. Bless us we pray, in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a bearer of faith to those who lack it.

Receive my blessings of love and faith,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

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Get Up and Move! Would You??

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1 Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; (Genesis 12:1-4a NRSV)

Happy Wednesday, dear Friend. I pray this finds you well and blessed. I also pray this time together will bless you.

There are certain individuals who do not like to move. Stats show that in the USA, six out of ten people still live in their home state, with men leading women in being the ones who prefer staying in their home state. Being from Texas, we can understand not wanting to leave here. If the news is correct, a lot of people are moving into Texas. Can we blame them? However, the US Census says that the average American will move 11.7 times in their lifetime. Moving is not an easy thing, especially for children. As a United Methodist pastor, I cried for my girls when we had to move, because they would have to start over in a new school, making new friends, etc. It wasn't easier for Nellie, but move we did.

Our passage today shows the father of the faith, whom we talked about yesterday, Abram (before his name change) heard God in a vision telling him to move. In that command, God mentions the rough areas that would be especially difficult for the average person; country, family, and immediate family. And the move as God mentioned, did not specify where the move would be to. It was hard enough dealing with the "from." And that is usually really hard. A move involves going from the known to the unknown. As we visit from place to place, the thought enters my mind, could I live here? Is there an HEB? Is there a WalMart? Is there this type of restaurant or that? You know, besides a Dairy Queen... Then, where would we go to church? Are the people there friendly? Where would we live? An apartment or home? Well, you get the picture.

Abram probably didn't have as long a list, but he may have wondered, who will take care of my Dad and Mom? Is there an HEB in Canaan? Okay, he didn't ask that. But he did listen to God. God continued, "I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." So Abram went, as the Lord told him. You see, Abram knew and trusted God. Abram had a relationship with God, and within that relationship, Abram had found life and purpose, and to hear the God of the Universe invite him to be a blessing for all humanity, well, he was up to the task. Abram knew the importance of blessings and if he could bring blessings to others, he wanted to be counted in. His yes allowed him to be listed in God's word as the father of the faith.

Is God calling you to get up and go? Hear this well; you may not have to move halfway across the world to serve Him. It may be simply to walk across the aisle on Sunday to greet someone outside your comfort group. It may mean crossing the street from your church to meet the people who could be worshiping with you but have not yet been invited. You will not go alone, God will go with you and will bless you with the words and wisdom to serve Him. Say yes to God!

PRAYER: Awesome Father, if I can be a blessing to You or one of Yours, please call on me. Grant me strength to make the move away from comfort and into service. This I pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Take the first step in sharing Jesus!

Receive my blessings of peace and love,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

Of Faith and Flesh

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1 What then are we to say was gained by Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." 4 Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. 5 But to one who without works trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness. 13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. 16 For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, 17 as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations")—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. (Romans 4:1-5, 13-17 NRSV)

Happy Tuesday, dear Friend. I pray all is well with you and yours. May this time spent together in faith and prayer bless you even more than you could imagine.

Father Abraham. Father of the faith as the Jews called him. Why? Because he trusted God enough to obey Him and to do what God asked of him. Abraham was a man of faith, not flesh. What he did was spiritual in obedience and trust. His blessing as the father of faith was strictly because Abraham trusted enough to obey. It had nothing to do with flesh or works. We believers of the Protestant lineage believe we are justified (saved) by faith, not by our works. There is nothing we can do with our hands and feet that would match or better what God does by faith. Abraham was counted as a righteous man just because of his faith and nothing else that he did. Other Christian faith traditions tend to believe that their salvation depends on their works. This tends to make most work harder in hopes that that will earn them their salvation. We believe it is by faith that we are saved. It is a free gift, but not a cheap one. Jesus paid with His flesh and blood for that "free gift," which is really free for us, but cost Jesus His life. The Apostle Paul was encountering those who were arguing that we could not discount nor do away with the law. Paul knows the place of the law and that was to define sin and the division that could come because of our disobedience; what counted more for us, Paul says, is God's grace, an undeserved free gift of love and mercy, even though we deserved death.

Abraham could never take credit for anything credited to him because he knew it was all God. And this, Paul says, is because this is not an Abraham-story, it is a God-story. All Abraham received as well as all of his descendants was not because of what any of them did, rather it was what God did. They were wise enough to enter into what God was doing rather than thinking they were in any way responsible for anything.

The same is true for us, dear reader. We cannot, and should not, take any credit for the awesome blessings that have come into our lives. Like Abraham, we can be wise in saying that we simply walked into what God was doing and were blessed as a result of that decision. Our is also a God-story, still being written and perfected by God for us; to take credit is a foolish decision. We simply point upward and say, "This is all God, not me!" And that takes our being rooted in the faith, trusting the Spirit rather than the flesh.

Paul's entire life was a spiritual one, guided and blessed by God. Paul took no credit for anything he said or wrote or experienced. He always pointed upward and knew that with God on his side, he was on the right path, as should we. Remember, your story and my story, are still being written. Some pages are a little harder on us than others, but we know how the story ends - God wins! And so do we!

PRAYER: Loving God, as You write my pages, please allow us to point upward to You and give You full credit for all things. You're a great writer, a loving Father, and awesome protector. It's in Christ Jesus that we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Let go of God's pen and let God write your story!

Receive my blessings of love and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

Nick at Nite; Hear This: For God so Loved the World...

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1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God." 3 Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." 4 Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" 5 Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, "You must be born from above.' 8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." 9 Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" 10 Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 11 "Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:1-17 NRSV)

If you're of a certain age, you have probably heard of a TV network that had programming for kids that aired at night by the name of Nick at Nite. The major network was Nickelodeon. For some kids, the arrival of Nick at Nite was a dreaded time because it meant bedtime. I'm not an expert at Nick at Nite, but some of the programs were a little more "grown up" than the stuff offered during the day. Shows like Mary Tyler Moore, Donna Reed, Taxi, MASH, and others were on Nick at Night.

Night time is the right time for those who don't want to be seen doing what they're doing. Take for example, this "leader of the Jews," named Nicodemus, whom we'll call Nick. There was something about him that made him want to know more about Jesus. Notice his opening remark to Jesus, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God. Wow. Nick could not have said this in broad daylight within the hearing distance of other religious leaders. This gives Jesus the opening for some of the greatest truths the world has ever heard.

Hear the first one. Jesus says that no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are "born from above." One cannot understand spiritual things if one stays only in the physical world. The things of God are supernatural as we should be too. Supernatural things mean nothing to natural men and women. Oldest versions of this passage gave us, "You must be born again." (This is very popular with the Baptists!). it means the same thing, but seems clearer in the version we read above. Either way, Nick misses the point. "How can anyone be born after having grown old?" And he exaggerates it by asking if a man can enter his mother's womb to be born again (He really missed the point!). Jesus explains it further, "No one can enter the kingdom of God without being both of water and the Spirit." Here's the truth,"What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit."

Hear the second one. This one the Baptists really love! As should we! Drum roll please. This is powerful by the way.... "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life." This is the Good News in one sentence. It is the most powerful declaration of God's love and purpose we can find in the Scripture. It comes after this interesting conversation between a pre-believer/religious leader and the Savior of the world. To his credit, after Jesus' death we see Nick again, this time helping Joseph of Arimathea with Jesus' burial. Many believe that Nick did come to faith as a believer. He heard the message. God loves the world. That means you and me. A dear friend, now in Glory, once spoke at a retreat where he said that the verse became real when he changed the word world to his first name. "For God so loved Skip, that He gave His only Son, so that Skip may believe in Him and may not perish but may have eternal life." Powerful. And true.

Dear Baptist readers, please know I've been picking on you in love and respect. How I wish all believers would focus on the saving message of Jesus like you; your commitment to providing settings and opportunities to bring people to Christ is world class and a model for all Christian churches.

Dear friends, this is the most powerful passage you can hear today; that God loved you so much that He sent Jesus on your behalf. It serves no purpose, though, if you don't do something about it. Just like Nick. He had a wonderful story to share with whoever would listen, but as he thought about all Jesus told him, he realized that he would gain everything if he would allow God's Spirit to allow him to be reborn from above, in a spiritual way, so that he could better understand the supernatural world, and he did. So should you. Do not let this eternal life changing opportunity pass you by.

PRAYER: Father God, for Your love, I am thankful. I pray that Jesus would indeed be my Savior. I invite Him into my heart and life. I confess that I am a sinner and repent of my sins and ask that Jesus would guide and bless my life from this point on. This I pray in His strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Serve the Lord Jesus today!

Receive my blessings of peace and love,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

A Clean Slate!

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1 Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be - you get a fresh start, your slate's wiped clean. 2 Count yourself lucky - God holds nothing against you and you're holding nothing back from him. 3 When I kept it all inside, my bones turned to powder, my words became daylong groans. 4 The pressure never let up; all the juices of my life dried up. 5 Then I let it all out; I said, "I'll make a clean breast of my failures to God." Suddenly the pressure was gone - my guilt dissolved, my sin disappeared. 6 These things add up. Every one of us needs to pray; when all hell breaks loose and the dam bursts we'll be on high ground, untouched. 7 God's my island hideaway, keeps danger far from the shore, throws garlands of hosannas around my neck. 8 Let me give you some good advice; I'm looking you in the eye and giving it to you straight: 9 "Don't be ornery like a horse or mule that needs bit and bridle to stay on track." 10 God-defiers are always in trouble; God-affirmers find themselves loved every time they turn around. 11 Celebrate God. Sing together - everyone! All you honest hearts, raise the roof! (Psalm 32 The Message)

I'm old enough, and I guess was poor enough, to remember the days when bill collectors roamed our streets knocking on doors. Merchants would hire these guys to come and knock on the doors of those who owed money and demand payment. I also remember sharing stories with friends about proper procedures for those dreaded knocks on the door. At the time, and I guess till now, they made us laugh. Shhh! and a finger to the mouth, would warn the smaller children that to give away our location would mean the bill collector would not easily go away. Those were rough days for our parents and neighbors. Debt was a constant and one not easily removed. Just like sin.

Yet, hear the words of the psalmist in this psalm. So awesome to hear words like "fresh start," "your slate's wiped clean." And even better, "God hold nothing against you, and you're holding nothing back from Him." And hear again, "Suddenly the pressure was gone - my guilt dissolved, my sin disappeared." And his admonition, "God-defilers are always in trouble; God-affirmers find themselves loved every time they turn around." All of this is true and all of this is possible. And this is part of the Lenten journey. We can make amends with God and with ourselves. Our sin, like our debt, when paid, is removed. Then let us all, "Celebrate God. Sing together - everyone! All your honest hearts, raise the roof!" Indeed!

PRAYER: Loving God, for the memories of the past, we are blessed, but more so by the way our debts and our sins were removed. We thank You for Jesus, Who removed our sin. As we journey with Him may our sins be taken away and make us move closer to You. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Share hope with someone today!

Receive my blessings of peace and love,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

Sandpaper Underwear!

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15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die." 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, "You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3 but God said, "You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.' " 4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die; 5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. (Genesis 2: 15-17; 3:1-7 NRSV)

Hi Friend. It was a positive command. It's in verse 16, read it again. God said, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat of you shall die." Notice how our enemy changes everything around! In verse 1 of chapter 3, he says, "Did God say, "You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman, to her credit says, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, "You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die." That's how arguments start! One person remembers one thing, the other another, and the devil still another (and he's quite the liar!) and bam! You're fighting; you go to be mad, next thing you know you're thinking and or doing things you shouldn't be!

Let's rewind. The man and the woman, later known as Adam and Eve, had been to see the tree. Just like their kids would do later and as yours and mine have since; they were precisely where they knew they shouldn't be. The tree was in the middle of the garden no less, and regardless of what others may have said, we don't know what kind of fruit that it was, we've come to associate the apple with the tree. For some it is the most tempting of fruits. It could have been a tomato and the story doesn't quite sell as well. A famous comedian says that if the apple were covered in caramel that would have been a different story and he might have been tempted to eat it himself. But, as the story is told, the woman saw that the fruit was good for food, and "a delight to the eyes," and could make one wise, she bit it. And she handed it to the man who also bit it. The Bible says their eyes were opened and they knew that they were naked. Up to this point, their nakedness was not a big problem. They weren't "wise." They were innocent and trusting, like children. No big deal. But now with the fruit, they were wise and they could judge between good and evil and the very first judgment they make is that God's good creation of humans, naked and all, was good, was now judged as evil. I will never forget the eyes of Dean Virgil Matthew, my religion professor at Lon Morris College, who opened my eyes to scripture, as he told the story. First, excitement flashed in them, then extreme sadness, that God's own handmade creatures, had judged God's wonderful work as bad.

My home church in Houston, El Buen Pastor Methodist Church has a huge fig tree in the back yard. It produced good figs and huge fig leaves and it taught me that to make underwear from fig leaves is much like making underwear from sandpaper. My dad having been a painter in those years had plenty of sandpaper for me to use and as I felt the other side of the fig leaf I realized how sad and comical this drama was. No one in their right mind would make sandpaper underwear.

Humans, for all their wisdom, chose disobedience over obedience and as a result ended up wearing itchy, scratchy BVDs. Okay, Fruit of the Loom, as it were. One or both of the humans could have easily said, "We're in a world of trouble..." And indeed they were. They chose to fall from God's grace and as Paul Harvey would have said, "Now for the rest of the story... they were forced out of the paradise garden by God."

PRAYER: Lord, even now I ask forgiveness for my part in choosing disobedience in my own life over obedience. I know how sin was introduced by this drama and I ask that Jesus move quickly again in me to remove my sin. I pray in His name, amen!

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Share the good news with someone, that we don't have to stay in disobedience!

Receive my blessings of love and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

THANK YOU ALL who emailed Nellie and myself your congratulations for our 42nd Anniversary! We had a marvelous day!

Highly Contagious!

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12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— 13 sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. 14 Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man's trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. 16 And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. 17 If, because of the one man's trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. 19 For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:12-19 NRSV)

There is a long line for face masks in South Korea where fears of the dreaded coronavirus are high. Italy has more than its share of affected people with the disease. Fears of travel have a lot of usually filled planes are empty. My daughter who travels from Austin to Dallas often last week had an empty plane on Southwest and all passengers were told they could have a row to themselves if they wanted. Cruise passengers have found themselves quarantined for days and the number of infected passengers who died from the disease was alarmingly high. Friend, all it takes is one person to bring the disease here. And, if we look at the passage above again, that's all it took for sin to gain the hold it has on our sins. The first Adam introduced sin to the world, and with it the full consequences of sin, death. Through the second Adam, Jesus, we were introduced to life and the grace of God. Are we as afraid of sin as we are of the coronavirus? Many think that illness it "over there," and "not here." But sin and death are right here, right now. What are we doing about it?

Lent is the proper time to help us realize the contagiousness of sin and its consequences. As I have been preaching in the past few weeks, God acted in the fullness of time by sending Jesus to share hope from sin and despair. Instead of the darkness of the realities of life, Christ offered light and hope. And He came so that the Church would also engage in that offering, not follow the example of the religious leaders whose sole purpose of existence seemed to be to "feather their nests," and protect their self-interests. And that means that all who are baptized have to share in that responsibility; that God is love and God cares enough to have sent Jesus to live out His life, share His teachings, and suffer much for our sins and then die for us. As we fast may it be for our strength and energy so that we can be the hands and feet of Jesus as the world hungers to hear there is hope.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, fill us with Your grace and shower us with Your hope. May we reach the world for Jesus on His behalf and with His joy. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a beacon of hope today.

Receive my blessings of peace and love,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

PERSONAL PRIVILEGE: Dear friends, today is the 25th day of February and it was on this day, 42 years ago that the most beautiful bride in history walked down the aisle of El Mesias United Methodist Church in Mission, Texas. It was the most wonderful day of my life knowing that God had richly blessed my life with this outstanding woman of prayer and faith as my wife. It seems like only yesterday that his blessed event took place and I cherish all days because of my partner in love, Maria Nellie Valverde. Happy Anniversary to you my dear! May God grant us many more! I love you!

How Strong Would You Be?

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1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." 4 But he answered, "It is written, "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, "He will command his angels concerning you,' and "On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.' " 7 Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' " 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9 and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." 10 Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.' " 11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. (Matthew 4:1-11 NRSV)

This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the traditional start of Lent, the forty days of spiritual preparation that leads us into a deeper understanding of Jesus' passion and resurrection. Your church will certainly be planning a celebration of that special day and the blessings of attending such are awesome.

Sunday brings us the first Sunday of this period. The scripture is the one above and it deals with the temptation of Jesus. It is a well known passage but the more we study it the more we learn. You ready, Friend?

Fasting is a key component of this forty day preparation period. Fasting means giving up a physical nourishment and replacing it with a spiritual practice or discipline. For example, instead of having a Coke or Pepsi, one drinks water and while drinking it reads a passage or two from the Bible. The trusting in God and Heavenly things makes one stronger spiritually. Jesus observed a very strict fast, where He did not eat nor drink anything for forty days and nights. The entire forty day and night period was spent in prayer and reflection and the nourishment that came from heaven. Others have followed that example, including Gandhi and Cesar Chavez. The latter suffered to the point where his health declined and he died shortly after his last 40 day fast. The greatest need in Jesus' life when He finished His fast was hunger. Nellie and I had the privilege of walking in the same wilderness where Jesus fasted and water is plentiful there but there is no food source other than stones whose shapes are similar to breads of the time. So, naturally, the tempter chooses the obvious. "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." Feed yourself by using your superpowers! Prove that You are indeed the Son of God. But not so, Jesus replies, "It is written, "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" The devil knows Scripture.

The second perceived weakness is to place the Son of God at the highest point of the Temple and to tempt His trust in His Father. "Throw Yourself down because "He will command His angels concerning You; nothing shall harm You." Jesus replies, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."

The third point is to tempt the Son of God as to Who really rules the world. "All of these I will give You, if you fall down and worship me." Jesus replies, "Worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him." Temptation over. Jesus 1. Devil 0. Angels come down and wait on Jesus.

Our Lord always wins. Jesus sets the model for us in all that He did while on the earth. He began His earthly ministry with prayer and fasting. Our Lenten journey should include our deep commitment to prayer and fasting, as well as a deep trust in God. The more we know God's word the more we know about God and what God can do for us. Jesus modeled that. His trust came from His knowledge of God. Lent will provide that time for us.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, as we approach the start of this special time, help us prepare in all ways for a closer walk with You. Strengthen our weak spots and make bright the parts that are weak. We seek to know You better by knowing what Your Son did for us during His passion. We pray in His name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. Lent is not so much about what we give up as it is what we take up that will bless us spiritually.

Receive my blessings of love and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

God Rules!

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1 God rules. On your toes, everybody! He rules from his angel throne - take notice! 2 God looms majestic in Zion, He towers in splendor over all the big names. 3 Great and terrible your beauty: let everyone praise you! Holy. Yes, holy. 4 Strong King, lover of justice, You laid things out fair and square; You set down the foundations in Jacob, Foundation stones of just and right ways. 5 Honor God, our God; worship his rule! Holy. Yes, holy. 6 Moses and Aaron were his priests, Samuel among those who prayed to him. They prayed to God and he answered them; 7 He spoke from the pillar of cloud. And they did what he said; they kept the law he gave them. 8 And then God, our God, answered them (But you were never soft on their sins). 9 Lift high God, our God; worship at his holy mountain. Holy. Yes, holy is God our God. (Psalm 99 The Message)

Happy Friday, dear Friend! To say, "God Rules!" is to say a lot. Given what most of us have experienced, it's to stop, step back, and give God His due place. God rules! That statement says God is in charge, not you terrible colds, coughs, fevers, aches or pains. God rules! Not you disease nor death! Not you heart attacks, or helicopter rides to San Antonio; it's God! God rules and God has the last word on all things. God rules! Not you anxiety, worries, or despair! It's God. This has been quite the week as many of you know for folks you know and love. The cold references have been for me and this fun cold that I have had. A dear friend, Mr. Daniel Soliz, who's battling cancer found himself in the hospital with pneumonia. Thank God today he was doing better. Our brother, Jimmy Borrer, is awaiting God's will on his health and life, with family having difficult decisions to make. Another brother, Mr. Bob Clark found himself having a heart attack and was airlifted from Gonzales Hospital to San Antonio, where he's doing much better after heart procedure. And whatever it may have been you have faced, affirm, God rules!

All the scriptures from this week have affirmed our faith. God is in charge. The God of Moses who shared His law is the God of the Transfiguration who shared His love to His Son and to us. The families of faith link us all together, from Moses and Aaron, Samuel, Deborah, Anna, Mary, Martha, Peter, Andrew, James, and John; you and me, family united in Christ Jesus. Our joy should come from worshiping God in thankful ways and dedicating ourselves away from sin and into righteousness. Praise God's Holy Name.

Friends, let us close in prayer: Father, You rule! You have spoken lovingly and powerfully against all we have faced. We have not been left alone, for in all things You have been standing by our side. Lord, we pray for those whom we have mentioned above in name and need. Be the final word in all things. We pray for comfort, healing, strength, and peace. Lord, thank You for forgiving our sins and for granting us Your peace. We pray that in all things we might praise You; in Thy Son's name, Jesus our Lord, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Please share with someone that God rules!

For those who have asked, yes, ConCafe will be narrated starting Monday if my voice cooperates!

Receive my blessings of peace and love,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

There's Just Something About Mountains!

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12 The Lord said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction." 13 So Moses set out with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. 14 To the elders he had said, "Wait here for us, until we come to you again; for Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a dispute may go to them." 15 Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. 16 The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the cloud. 17 Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. 18 Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights. (Exodus 24:12-18 NRSV)

It's a classic ice-breaker question, Friend; Are you a mountains person, or a beach person? I'm a person who likes both, but if I had to choose I might choose mountains. I've shared how growing up I never saw a mountain until we vacationed in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico; but it was a short trip and I was very young and I remember the mountains being more like clouds in the horizon, so I looked forward to summer camp in Kerrville in the Texas Hill Country, where I believed the hills were more like mountains in my opinion. And later in the year I spent in Denver, I once again experienced the beauty and majesty of the mountains. Don't get me wrong, in the Bible both the ocean and the mountains played key roles in the story of the geography of the Messianic Event. Yet, in key events in the Old and New Testaments, it is on the mountains where God reveals Himself. Moses' story is rooted in the mountain; the Law was given to Him while there as we read above, and this is tied to the gospel lesson of this week, where Jesus is transfigured. It makes sense that the expression "mountain top experience" has its roots in this passage. You may have used it after a wonderful spiritual experience at a retreat or church meeting, and my weeks at Mt. Wesley each summer were mountain top experiences for me. It would take about two weeks for the spiritual high that I felt to wear off. And later as a preacher at those same youth events I would hear from my own youth group kids, "Why isn't the experience at our church like camp?" Great question. At the camp we would have rock quality bands play, and the setting for the sermon allowed for props and antics that most traditional congregations would not necessarily tolerate, but I would emphasize that the the blessings from a mountain top service or an every week service both serve the same purpose.

The glory of God is all around us. We will find and be blessed with mountain top experiences whenever we humble ourselves and surrender ourselves to God. God has a way and a desire for you; we just have to stop and realize it.

PRAYER: Loving God, speak to our hearts in ways that discern Your will for our lives. May I never been blinded of Your glory all around us; use us to bless others into knowing You. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a revealer of God's glory to others.

Receive my blessings of love and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

We Were There and We Heard It with Our Own Ears!

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16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." 18 We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, 21 because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (2 Peter 1:16-21 NRSV)

Good Wednesday, dear Friend. I apologize for not letting you know earlier about the crud visiting Nellie and our household. Thankfully, I am on the mend and I feel well enough to write a devotional. Thank you for your prayers. And as we pray, I respectfully ask for prayers for Mr. Jimmy Borrer, who continues in ICU in Kyle, TX. Prayers that a treatment he is receiving be that which he needs. Please pray for his wife and family. Also, Mr. Percy Pettus, longtime member of FUMC Gonzales passed away yesterday. I pray for his widow, Arlene. Pray for one another. Pray for yourselves.

This is a letter from the head disciple, Peter, to the Church about his faith and his purpose in sharing what He saw and heard. The mutterings from doubters and even among Christians who were beginning to doubt; "We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of His majesty." In other words, this is the real deal and we know this because we saw it and we heard it from God, Who said, "This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." Heaven called us! And we heard it! Just reading that again gives me chills. We were on that mountain top where Jesus and His inner circle of Peter, James, and John heard the voice. What a blessing to stand on that mountain where these fishermen from Galilee were blessed to hear the voice of the Almighty. Imagine having been one of those three. In your List of Top Three Things I Will Never Forget, hearing the voice of God declare Jesus as God's Son, and Beloved, would top that list. No one else in the whole world would ever have that same distinction. I think that Peter at this point in his life listed that above, "I betrayed Jesus three times..." Peter can assert that he along with two others, heard, understood, received, and believed the message that Jesus was Lord, Son of God, and the Messiah. This was the "lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star (Jesus) rises in your hearts." And all of this was from the Holy Spirit.

This epistle reading confirms the gospel lesson on the Transfiguration. It shows that the three disciples who witnessed that event received a blessing strong enough to keep moving forward in faith. They could say, "I was there and I heard it with my own ears!" And as loyal evangelists took it as their responsibility to share those news with all who would hear.

You and I have had our own personal experience with the Lord. Something has confirmed to us that Jesus is real, that He is alive, and that He still is that bright lamp shining for all who need it. For those living in despair, they need to hear everything about Jesus and what He offers to all in need. It falls on us to share with all who will listen.

PRAYER: Awesome God, shine Your light brightly on us and on those who need to know about Who You are and what You do for those in despair. Bless our faith, bless those for whom we are praying. We lift up Jimmy Borrer for Your healing touch to be with him and Your comfort with Kathleen and family. Bless our sister Arlene. In Christ Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Help us be light bearers.

Receive my blessings of peace and love.

Pastor Eradio Valverde

Transfiguration: Listen to Him!

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1 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. 3 Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!" 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, "Get up and do not be afraid." 8 And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, "Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead." (Matthew 17:1-9 NRSV)

Hi Friend. I pray your weekend was nice and that you made time to worship the Lord and fellowship with other believers. Nellie and I were blessed to be in our home church of First United Methodist Church of Gonzales; it was nice to see the hometown crowd again. I was very sorry to have missed dear saints who are injured and recovering from surgeries and procedures. I could feel their prayers but I missed their beautiful faces. I would ask for prayers for Mr. Jimmy Borrer who is in the ICU of Kyle Hospital. Latest word I heard was that he was a bit better and expecting more tests. A sweet young lady asked for prayers for a Ms. Lindemann, who is battling breast cancer. We heard in church that the original tumor has shrunk to half its size and I quipped that we hadn't even prayed yet! We trust God would heal that dear teacher. We were treated to lunch after church by a sweet couple and we thank them again for their kindness!

Peter, James, and John, were on the ride of their life. From the daily drudge of commercial fishing, now these gentlemen were with an itinerant rabbi who is saying and doing incredible, almost unbelievable things. Now they find themselves as the inner circle of this traveling rabbi and are now privy to incredible sights and experiences. Where once they were outside the established church, now they are inside the inner circle of the Son of God, also known as the Messiah. In today's passage they are taken by Jesus on to a very high mountain. Their prayer life had changed for the better and now on this mountain they are about to take part in a very unusual spiritual retreat. And it begins with Jesus transfigured right before their eyes. That means the outline of His body was evident as the inside shone like the sun; Jesus' clothing became dazzling white. We believe this was to show those disciples that Jesus was both in and of this world, but also in and of the spiritual realm, like Heaven. And it gets better! The disciples saw appear before their very eyes, Moses and Elijah, talking to Jesus. Because it is a spiritual retreat, the Holy Spirit opened their minds and spirits to truly understand that two key figures from their biblical history, who have been dead for centuries, are now alive and talking to Jesus. However spiritual the moment, human frailty was still present for we see Peter, though knowing who Moses and Elijah are, doesn't know what to think about how to relate to them, and so, he suggests that he build three dwellings there, one for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. This gets interrupted by the appearance of a cloud that speaks these words, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with Him I am well pleased; listen to Him!" The disciples fall to their feet in fear, but Jesus came and touched them with the words, "Get up and do not be afraid." The retreat is over. On the way down the mountain, Jesus orders them to keep quiet about this whole experience until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.

This passage shows us several things. The first is that when you walk with Jesus, anything can and will happen. Some things you will not be able to explain, but the point will be for you to enjoy them. The second is that you might begin to recognized God's word come alive. No, I'm not promising that figures from the Old or New Testament are going to visit you, but God's voice may tell you things you need to know, so listen. You may also get an idea of what you think is proper for a certain setting, like building dwelling places, but if you think about it, staying put may not be what is best for God's plan. God is a God of action. You will also find that Jesus is a man of touch. His touch says both I love you and do not be afraid. And just when we need to hear those the most. And the work before us gets done by the loving hand of the Lord.

PRAYER: God of grace and God of Glory, enlighten us on our journey with Your Son Jesus. We want to grow in our spiritual life. We want to touch more people for You and Your kingdom. Grant us Your vision to see things others may not, and to believe the things that will bless our walk with You. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a vision-caster and a vision-receiver!

Receive my blessings of peace and love,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

PRAYERS FOR THE OLD MAN AND HIS LADY! Right after our delicious meal with church friends I got into our vehicle and drove home and quite frankly, I was dead tired, weak and had trouble keeping my eyes open. I fell asleep as soon as we were home and I woke up with a bad cold. Yuck. Pray for Nellie's healing and mine. Blessings!

Follow

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1 You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. 2 You're blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. 3 That's right - you don't go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set. 4 You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. 5 Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; 6 Then I'd never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel. 7 I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways. 8 I'm going to do what you tell me to do; don't ever walk off and leave me. (Psalm 119:1-8 The Message)

Life is a journey. Life has more than one path anyone can choose for themselves. But a loving Savior said, "I am the way, the truth and the life," and lived, taught, preached, and demonstrated the narrow path until He paid for us with His life. His way, His path is the better way. Too many may neon-light other options, but in truth only one gets the job done. What makes it more inviting is that He says to us, "Come and follow me." Once we do we discover the many blessings that are ours for simply following Him and His way.

Dear friend, you want blessings in your life? Re-read verse 1 and what does it say? If you stay on course, you're blessed because you're walking hand in hand with God. How else are you blessed? By following God's directions. One travels best on God's highway, when we let God guide us. Then we can join the psalmist as we say, "God, you prescribed the right way to live' now you expect us to live it. Steady our steps Lord that they may adhere to the path. A life well-lived has little to no regrets, for God has spoken, we have listened and we're on the path that leads to life.

PRAYER: Lord, continue to guide our paths so that we may follow You. Grant us strenght and courage to be faithful; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Help someone on the path today!

Receive my love and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

Door Number One or Door Number Two?

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15 See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. (Deuteronomy 30:15-20 NRSV)

Happy Wednesday Friend! May the full blessings of God be with you on this special day.

Perhaps you remember the game show where the contestant had to choose between opening one door or another, and the host of the show would pressure the person by offering money instead of the door. The fun was being at home watching the poor contestants having to decide between doors and a surprise cash offer. Sometimes the door held behind it the ultimate prize and the contestant would be ecstatic if s/he opened that door. Othertimes, the door had a live goat behind it and well, that was the prize.

In today's passage, the host, as it were, was Moses, and he wasn't playing games. Moses says, "Here are your choices!" And Moses shared them frankly and openly: Life and prosperity or death and adversity. They seem very clearcut and most people would know to choose the first "door" of life and prosperity rather than "door" two of death and adversity." To be honest, it's like being in church on Sunday. You hear a rousing sermon and in the context of being with other believers, we leave content we will be faithful and fruitful. All it takes is the wrong word or gesture in the car, and an entire family forgets the sermon and begins a trek home that has destroyed the message and made a mess of all members of the family in the car.

Moses lays out the way to enjoy door number one. "Obey the commandments... by loving the Lord your God, walking in His ways, observing His commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess." Show God you Love Him by doing what He asks, and you will be alright.

The way of door two is the opposite. Moses says, "If your heart turns away (from God), and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in th eland that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings an curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and holding fast to Him; for that means life to you and length of days."

If you're one of the passengers in the car what transpired may not have started with you, but soon you were a part of it. Moses is sharing the word of God showing that sometimes, whether we know it or not, our hearts do turn away, and our ears may get distracted and closed to God and we don't hear what God wants us to hear. And before you know it, we have chosen door number two, and instead of the blessings of life and prosperity, we are receiving the adversities and junk of death. Not where we wanted to be. We have to take care and indeed following that which blesses us in our walk with Christ. And if we can, we should walk with other believers and seek to bless one another to that no one strays off the path to life.

PRAYER: God of Life and prosperity, we seek to follow You and the way that leads to life. We acknowledge that sometimes the path gets hazy and difficult; guide us to faithfulness and fruitfulness. Help us walk with others who know the path; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Seek the door that leads to life and help others find it!

Receive my blessings of peace and love,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

Of Milk or Meat?

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1 And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For as long as there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? 4 For when one says, "I belong to Paul," and another, "I belong to Apollos," are you not merely human? 5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. 9 For we are God's servants, working together; you are God's field, God's building. (1 Corinthians 3:1-9 NRSV)

Happy Tuesday, dear One. I don't know who taught me to give thanks for anything special done for me. And whoever it was said that done in my handwriting was a good thing. (They obviously did not know my penmanship!). For instance, this past Sunday after worship, our family drove to Moulton, a small town near Shiner that has a nice Sunday-after-church restaurant. Some Sundays they even have turkey and dressing! And when they don't, they have nice fried chicken. By family, it was Nellie, two of our girls, our granddaughter, and our son-in-law. We sat at a table and enjoyed a good meal. As it was nearing time for the check, a waitress that had not been ours, showed us the back of our bill that had written on it, "The Phantom strikes again!" I asked was this so-and-so? She said no and told me the name of the Phantom. Once I got home I wrote the Phantom and his spouse a thank you letter.

The Apostle Paul loved to write thank you, and what is wrong with you letters? The majority of the New Testament, in my opinion, is the latter. Or as I like to say it, "Behave!" letters from the Apostle. And this is one of those. The passage starts with an admonishment, "Why can't you be more spiritual?" I should get one of those at least once a week, to be honest. Paul is saying, you haven't shown much spiritual maturity; you're still babbling on like infants, and you're fighting and quarreling like jealous children. And you've been arguing about baptism! And if we think about it, the spiritually immature find it easy to argue and fight about almost anything. But Paul says, each of us that you mention who baptized him or her, that's all we did! We planted, and some watered, but it was God who gave the growth; we are just God's servants doing God's work, working together. And for the good of God's kingdom.

It's a call to maturity, spiritual maturity. We are to trust God and yearn to be like Him and then work all that we need to work to mature and begin to work with others for the good of God's work here on the earth.

PRAYER: Awesome God, we seek to mature in our spirits and in our hearts. Touch us with grace, joy, and peace that we may truly grow to be like You. Bless us to be a blessing. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show some maturity towards others; show them how easy it can be to ask and receive from God.

Receive my blessings of love and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde