Stand Firm In Whom You Believe!

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1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. 16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17 NIV)/

Welcome, Tuesday! Bring to this dear reader, the fullness of love and peace. And may it be contagious so it pours out onto others.

The Apostle Paul's message had to change as the days, months, and years crept by. His zeal and joy at the imminent coming of the Lord did not appear as he had preached. And so, Paul began to change his message as more and more new and seasoned believers began to ask, "Where is Jesus? You said He'd be here soon! How soon is soon?" And even today, people post on social media dates they believe is the return date for Jesus with one as recent as September 23, 2025. (Oh, that was the corrected date, as an earlier posted date did not come to pass either). All of this comes under the name of Rapture, a term not found in the Bible but used by some segments of Christianity as the name given to a series of events that will usher in the Second Coming of Jesus. But as Jesus Himself said, "No one knows the day nor the hour," and He included Himself in that statement. We do all believe in the Second Coming of Jesus, but when it will be, and in what form, we do not know. All I have stressed, as Jesus taught us, to be ready at any hour. Thus, Paul's statement to the believers in Thessalonica not to become easily unsettled or alarmed, that some talked about Jesus' return already having happened.

His message is clear: don't be easily shaken or alarmed by rumors, prophecies, or even letters supposedly from us. The day of the Lord hasn't come yet, and specific events must happen first. Paul reminds them that he already taught them these things when he was with them: "Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?" False teaching thrives when people forget what they've been taught. The antidote to spiritual confusion isn't necessarily new revelation but remembering and holding fast to truth we've already received. When we're shaken by alarming messages or spiritual panic, we need to return to the solid foundation of what we know to be true.

Paul then shifts from warning to encouragement: "But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth." After addressing their confusion, Paul grounds them in their identity—they are beloved, chosen, and saved. This isn't just theological truth to be believed; it's personal reality to be embraced. God chose them for salvation, the Spirit is sanctifying them, and they believed the truth. Their salvation isn't fragile or uncertain—it rests on God's sovereign choice, the Spirit's ongoing work, and their response of faith. When we're spiritually disoriented, remembering our secure identity in Christ stabilizes us. We don't have to panic about missing God's timing or being left behind because our salvation depends on God's faithful choice, not our perfect understanding of prophetic timelines.

Paul's instruction is both simple and profound: "Stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you." In times of confusion and false teaching, the call isn't to seek new revelation or chase after sensational claims. It's to stand firm—remain stable, don't be moved, keep your footing. And to hold fast—grip tightly, don't let go, maintain your grasp on truth. The "teachings" Paul refers to aren't complicated mysteries available only to spiritual elites; they're the foundational truths he already taught them through his preaching and letters. Spiritual stability comes not from constantly seeking the next new thing but from deeply knowing and firmly holding what God has already revealed. In our age of spiritual novelty and constant streams of new teachings, this is a countercultural call to be rooted rather than restless, anchored rather than drifting.

Paul concludes with a beautiful prayer that becomes a model for us: "May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word." Notice what Paul prays for—not just knowledge or understanding, but encouragement and strength. The Thessalonians need more than correct information; they need fortified hearts and empowered lives. And the source of this encouragement and strength is both God's past action (He loved us, gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace) and His ongoing presence (may He encourage and strengthen you now). We stand firm not through willpower alone but through the encouragement and strength that come from the God who has already loved us, saved us, and given us unshakeable hope. His comfort is eternal, His hope is good, and His grace sustains us in every word we speak and deed we do.

PRAYER: Loving God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, encourage our hearts and strengthen us to stand firm in truth, holding fast to what You've taught us and living confidently in the salvation You've secured for us—in Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Write down three foundational truths you've been taught about God and salvation, and when you feel shaken or confused, return to these truths instead of chasing after new or sensational teachings.

I love you and I thank God for you. You matter to God, and you matter to me. Your specialness in Christ makes you worth sharing your witness and testimony about the goodness of God.

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

The God of the Living

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27 Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. 28 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. 30 The second 31 and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. 32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” 34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37 But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” (Luke 20: 27-38 NIV)

There's a song that mentions this group of religious Jews who do not believe in resurrection and the line in the song says, "That's why they're always sad, you see?" Okay, it was funnier back in the day. But, they, during Jesus' time, were dead serious about there not being any life after death. You and I know Christians who also believe in that way. I did my college internship with a Jewish woman who did not believe in resurrection saying, "The only way you live on is in the hearts and minds of those who love you." But here in this passage, the serious and devious opponents of Jesus, seek to trap Him with a complex quiz based on Mosaic law. If a man's brother dies and leaves a wife with no children, the man must marry the widow and ruase up offspring for his brother. And the quiz asks, what happens if there are seven brothers and no children? And the big question, Whose wife will she be, since she was married to seven brothers? But their trap reveals more about their limited imagination than about the reality of resurrection. They're trying to fit eternal realities into earthly categories, assuming that resurrected life is simply this life extended forever with all its same structures and complications. Jesus responds by exposing the poverty of their imagination: "The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels." The Sadducees assume resurrection life is just this life with better health, but Jesus reveals it's an entirely different kind of existence. Marriage serves crucial purposes in this age—companionship, procreation, family continuation—but in the resurrection, these purposes are either fulfilled or transcended. People don't marry in resurrection life not because relationship becomes less important but because we enter into a kind of existence where earthly institutions designed for mortal life are no longer necessary. We'll be "like the angels"—not that we become angels, but that we share their deathless existence and direct relationship with God.

Jesus then addresses the deeper issue—not the mechanics of resurrection life but the reality of resurrection itself. He points to a passage the Sadducees claim to accept: when God spoke to Moses at the burning bush, He identified Himself as "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Jesus' logic is stunning: "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive." If God is still, in Moses' present tense, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob centuries after they died, then they must still be alive in some real sense. God doesn't form covenant relationships with people only to let death end them. He doesn't identify Himself by His relationship to corpses. The present-tense declaration "I am the God of Abraham" testifies that Abraham still exists in relationship with God. Death doesn't sever what God has joined.

This passage confronts our tendency to domesticate eternal realities by forcing them into familiar categories. We often think about heaven as "this life, but better"—same relationships, same pleasures, same structures, just perfected. But Jesus invites us to expand our imagination. Resurrection life isn't this life extended; it's a qualitatively different existence where death has no power, where our relationship with God defines everything, and where earthly categories give way to realities we can barely conceive. The comfort isn't that everything will be exactly as we know it now, only improved. The comfort is that God is the God of the living, that His covenant love is stronger than death, and that those who belong to Him are alive to Him even when they seem dead to us. Death is real, but it's not ultimate. Relationship with the living God transcends the grave. Our task isn't to figure out all the details of resurrection existence but to trust the character of the God who promises it—the God for whom all are alive.

PRAYER: Loving God of the living, expand our imagination beyond what we can see and help us trust that Your covenant love is stronger than death and that resurrection life with You will be better than anything we can currently conceive. Strength our relationship with You, with those whom we love and need, and with those whom we need to meet and love; in Christ Jesus' strong name we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Reflect on one relationship or aspect of this life you're tempted to absolutize, and ask God to help you hold it with open hands, trusting that resurrection life will fulfill and transcend earthly loves in ways you can't yet imagine.

I love you and I thank God for you. You matter to God and you matter to me; show others they matter to you. Remember your uniqueness is an asset to God's kingdom - make the most of it!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

God, Where Are You?

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1 The problem as God gave Habakkuk to see it: 2 God, how long do I have to cry out for help before you listen? How many times do I have to yell, "Help! Murder! Police!" before you come to the rescue? 3 Why do you force me to look at evil, stare trouble in the face day after day? Anarchy and violence break out, quarrels and fights all over the place. 4 Law and order fall to pieces. Justice is a joke. The wicked have the righteous hamstrung and stand justice on its head. God Says, "Look!" 1 What's God going to say to my questions? I'm braced for the worst. I'll climb to the lookout tower and scan the horizon. I'll wait to see what God says, how he'll answer my complaint. 2 And then God answered: "Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. 3 This vision-message is a witness pointing to what's coming. It aches for the coming - it can hardly wait! And it doesn't lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It's on its way. It will come right on time. 4 "Look at that man, bloated by self-importance - full of himself but soul-empty. But the person in right standing before God through loyal and steady believing is fully alive, really alive. (Habbakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4 The Message Bible)

It was on what was the front porch of La Trinidad UMC here in Seguin, Texas, when I was still in high school that I sat with other high school MYFers as we sat in a class taught by The Rev. Rudolfo Barrera, then a young pastor of The Rio Grande Conference. Rudolfo was to teach us an introduction to this book of the prophet Habakkuk. Rev. Barrera said he always thought of Coca-Cola when he thought of this prophet's name because he thought Habakkuk sounded too close to "Have a Coke." It would seem that the Coca-Cola company's massive advertising budget had paid off. At one time Coke prided itself in saying that you could not walk more than 5 miles in any direction without coming to a Coke product. The company prided itself on the amount of money they spend every year to keep the top spot in the soft drink world.

Habakkuk is the last of the minor prophets; known more for his conversations with God than any interaction with the people; though their history during this tenure speaks of an unfaithful lot, seeking new and innovative ways to drift away from Yahweh. The prophet hurts in his heart and finds it more pressing to speak to God about possible solutions, for his frustration is evident in his comments, "God, how long do I have to cry out for help before you listen?" The prophet feels like we do at times, that God takes too long to respond to our needs and prayers. Our need is on par with what the prophet is saying that the people of God face: "Help! Murder! Police!" Are not these things of the most urgent level? Habakkuk was already facing evil in the face, and not just once a day, but several times a day, day after day. The people were already involved in anarchy and violence; fights breaking out; law and order were just words once upon a time; and Justice had packed up and left town years ago. The wicked had the run of the place and their desire was to get God out of their business and enjoy what they were free to do.

But as we know all too well, God has the last word in all things. And His last word to the prophet is that God was still in charge; strongly rooted in the rock solid foundation of truth and righteousness. Evil has no desire for visions of the good available for those who seek it; though it may seem slow in coming, it is on its way, and will arrive right on time. The self-important people full of themselves are empty in their souls; theirs will be lost for their desire is not of God and fullness of life. God will make them come fully alive.

Faith isn't pretending everything is fine. It's choosing to believe that God is working even when we can't see it. It's climbing our own watchtowers, positioning our hearts to hear, and trusting that the vision will come to pass in its appointed time. Where do you find yourself in this story? Are you seeking self-fulfillment and avoiding God? Now is the time to right your direction and head home towards God.

PRAYER: God, give us the courage to wait with expectation rather than walk away in frustration, trusting that Your vision for our lives will unfold in Your perfect timing. In Jesus' strong name we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Today, identify one area where you're waiting for God's answer. Write it down, place it somewhere visible, and commit to "watch and wait" with active faith rather than anxious striving.

I love you and I thank God for you! You matter to God and you matter to me. There is no one like you in tihis entire world. Make an impact on others!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Wee, Wicked Man Was He...Just Like Me?

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1 Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. 2 There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. 3 He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way - he was a short man and couldn't see over the crowd. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by. 5 When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home." 6 Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him. 7 Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, "What business does he have getting cozy with this crook?" 8 Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, "Master, I give away half my income to the poor - and if I'm caught cheating, I pay four times the damages." 9 Jesus said, "Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! 10 For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost." (Luke 19:1-10 The Message Bible)

Good Monday to you, Friend! Make the most of this day that you can for the honor and glory of God! As we pray, please lift up in prayer these persons who have requested prayer: Ms. Sylvia Gaytan, facing medical issues in Dallas, Texas; Mr. Joe Britt Hindman having knee replacement surgery on Wednesday in Gonzales; and Ms. Cicely Jackson of Smiley, also may have knee surgery soon. May God bring them comfort and peace and healing.

It may have been the first song you and I learned in Sunday school days, way back in the day. Someone, wanting to make Zacchaeus famous, wrote the song that emphasized that Zee was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he. If Zee had been around he might have said, "I'm good. I really don't need a song about me!" And under his breath may have said, "Especially emphasizing how 'wee' I may have been." I looked it up and the average stature of a man during Jesus' time was 5'5", so he might have been a bit shorter than that; short enough that he could not see the parade from where he stood, so he needed to climb a tree. What do we know about Zee? Well, the Bible says that he was an important tax man and quite rich. The popular understanding about tax collectors was that most were dishonest and took advantage of their position to take advantage of their countrymen. They would know the amount due Rome and they could tack on a bit more for themselves. My brother was a tax collector, well, a tax enforcement officer and the tales he told of dishonest modern day tax collectors and even wannabe tax collectors. He worked in the Southern Florida area and one woman, went so far as to go to a local church that served mainly Haitians and identified herself as an IRS agent needing to open a field office. She had the glass door of the office she rented from the church painted with IRS logo and she began to prey on fellow Haitians. "According to my records, you owe the US government $2,000 but if you bring me $800 we can call it even." And so, unsuspecting church members quietly complied and this went on until my brother went in to arrest her. And there's no telling how much money this lady made from people who trusted her. And the same could be said about Zee and his "business."

Yet something compelled this rich, important man to do something undignified: climb a tree like a child just to catch a glimpse of Jesus. His curiosity overcame his pride. His spiritual hunger overcame his concern for reputation. Whatever it took to see Jesus, Zacchaeus was willing to do it.

This invites us to examine our own hearts: How hungry are we to encounter Jesus? Are we willing to look foolish, to do what's undignified, to go beyond our comfort zones just to see Him? Sometimes the first step toward transformation is being willing to climb a tree when everyone's watching.

Imagine Zacchaeus perched in that sycamore tree, probably thinking he'd found the perfect hiding spot—close enough to see Jesus but safely above the hostile crowd. Then Jesus does something shocking: He stops, looks up, calls Zacchaeus by name, and invites Himself to dinner.

"I must stay at your house today." Not "I might" or "perhaps we could" but "I must." Jesus makes Zacchaeus' home His priority destination, communicating something profound: You're not just someone I'm willing to associate with—you're someone I'm choosing to honor with My presence.

This is the scandal of grace: Jesus doesn't wait for Zacchaeus to clean up his act, make restitution, or prove he's changed. He offers relationship first, knowing that genuine transformation happens in the context of acceptance, not as a prerequisite for it. Jesus meets you where you are, not where you should be.

The crowd's reaction reveals their fundamental misunderstanding of Jesus' mission. They thought He came to affirm the righteous; He came to rescue the lost. They expected Him to reward those who had it together; He prioritized those who were falling apart.

Their muttering represents the voice of religious disapproval that still exists today—the judgment that asks, "Why would God use that person? Why would Jesus choose them?" This voice forgets that none of us deserved to be chosen, that we're all recipients of scandalous grace, that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.

If you've ever felt like the crowd's muttering was directed at you—if you've been told you're too messed up, too far gone, too sinful to be useful to God—this story is your invitation to ignore the critics and respond to Jesus' call. His opinion is the only one that matters.

"Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, 'Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.'" This isn't Zacchaeus trying to earn Jesus' approval—it's his response to having already received it.

Notice the specificity and the immediacy: "here and now." Not "I'll think about it" or "eventually I'll make some changes." Genuine encounter with Jesus produces immediate, concrete, costly transformation. Zacchaeus doesn't just feel bad about his past; he makes it right. He doesn't just promise to do better; he commits to radical generosity.

The transformation is both vertical (relationship with God) and horizontal (relationship with others). Real change always affects both dimensions. You can't truly be right with God while remaining wrong with people. Authentic spiritual transformation always produces ethical transformation.

"Today salvation has come to this house." Jesus doesn't say "will come someday" or "might come eventually." He says "today"—right now, in this moment, salvation has arrived. Zacchaeus doesn't have to wait for a better version of himself. He doesn't have to complete a program or prove his worthiness. Today—messy, imperfect, just-starting-to-change today—salvation comes.

This is the urgency and immediacy of the gospel. You don't have to wait for tomorrow to be made right with God. You don't have to clean up your life before coming to Jesus. Today—right now, in this moment, exactly as you are—salvation is available. The question isn't whether you're good enough but whether you're willing to come down from whatever tree you're hiding in and welcome Jesus gladly.

Jesus' words to Zacchaeus are His words to us: "Come down immediately." Come down from whatever perch you've climbed to observe Jesus from a safe distance. Come down from the tree of self-sufficiency, self-righteousness, or self-protection. Come down from hiding and step into relationship.

The invitation includes urgency—"immediately." Not when you feel ready, not when you're more worthy, not when your life is more together. Now. Today. This moment. Jesus doesn't wait for perfect conditions to enter your life; He enters while you're still up a tree, while the crowd is still muttering, while you're still trying to figure out how to make things right.

And the invitation promises presence—"I must stay at your house." Jesus doesn't just pass by and wave. He doesn't just acknowledge you from a distance. He comes to stay, to be present, to transform your space by His presence. When Jesus enters your life, He doesn't come as a brief visitor but as an abiding guest who makes your house His home.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for seeking us when we were lost, calling us by name when we were hiding, and offering relationship before we cleaned up our mess. Help us come down from whatever trees we've climbed to observe You from a safe distance and welcome You gladly into every area of our lives. Give us Zacchaeus' immediate responsiveness, his joyful reception, and his radical generosity. Transform us not through guilt and shame but through the scandalous grace of being chosen by You. May our lives demonstrate that salvation has come today, making us living testimonies of what happens when the lost are found and the found become generous. In Your strong name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: This week, identify one "tree" you've been hiding in—one area where you've been observing Jesus from a distance rather than welcoming Him fully—and respond to His invitation to "come down immediately" by taking one concrete step toward opening that area of your life to His transforming presence.

I love you and I thank God for you! You matter to God, you matter to me, and you matter to more people than you can imainge. Go out and make a difference!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

God does not just mend; He multiplies

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23 Children of Zion, celebrate! Be glad in your God. He's giving you a teacher to train you how to live right - Teaching, like rain out of heaven, showers of words to refresh and nourish your soul, just as he used to do. 24 And plenty of food for your body - silos full of grain, casks of wine and barrels of olive oil. 25 "I'll make up for the years of the locust, the great locust devastation - Locusts savage, locusts deadly, fierce locusts, locusts of doom, That great locust invasion I sent your way. 26 You'll eat your fill of good food. You'll be full of praises to your God, The God who has set you back on your heels in wonder. Never again will my people be despised. 27 You'll know without question that I'm in the thick of life with Israel, That I'm your God, yes, your God, the one and only real God. Never again will my people be despised. The Sun Turning Black and the Moon Blood-Red 28 "And that's just the beginning: After that - "I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people: Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters. Your old men will dream, your young men will see visions. 29 I'll even pour out my Spirit on the servants, men and women both. 30 I'll set wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below: Blood and fire and billowing smoke, 31 the sun turning black and the moon blood-red, Before the Judgment Day of God, the Day tremendous and awesome. 32 Whoever calls, 'Help, God!' gets help. On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be a great rescue - just as God said. Included in the survivors are those that God calls. (Joel 2:23-32 The Message)

Today is a special day as it marks what would have been my parents' 75th Wedding Anniversary. How I miss them! What makes it a special day is that I remember when I was a child I stared at the calendar and said, "Hmm, hey, wait a minute!" I went to my Dad and said, "Hey, you guys got married on the 22nd of October and then on the 25th, three days later, I was born!" My Dad laughed and said, "Yes, Mijito, but we were born two years before you were born!" Huh? Oh, okay! Then several years later, our oldest also stared at the calendar and asked the very thing. "Daddy, I was born February 1st and you guy got married on the 25th??" And I laughed and thought of my Dad, and say, "Yes, but we were married two years before you were born!" So, Happy Heavenly Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Last night right before I fell asleep Nellie said, "If you really think you can drive now, maybe you can try tomorrow when Carli gets home so she can go with you." That's all I needed to not sleep with excitement of my being able to drive after about three months of not driving. Would my house arrest finally be over? So, this morning after our breakfast I dressed and announced that I would go and try driving. "Do you want me to come with you?" sounding like she hoped not; "Yes! I'd love for you to come." So, long story short, I'm driving again and I'm excited! I praise the Lord that my initial excursions were successful. Thank You, Lord Jesus! So, watch out!

We come again to the familiar story of a prophet speaking to a defeated, destroyed people. This time it was to hear good news from God. The bad days were over and now the horizon was filled with the promise of renewal and restoration. This may be your story as it has been mine at different times. Because we trust the Lord, the Lord comes through; usually in some awesome ways, make that, unexpected ways. To the people of Zion God says, "Celebrate! Be glad in your God. He's giving you a teacher to train you how to live right - Teaching, like rain out of heaven, showers of words to refresh and nourish your soul, just as He used to do." This is not mere encouragement—it is an invitation to expect restoration and participate in revival.

Joel reminds us that God is not limited by what was lost. The years consumed by destruction, regret, or rebellion are not beyond His reach. God does not just mend; He multiplies. The same God who allowed the land to be stripped is the God who promises overflowing harvests. The same God who calls us to repentance is the God ready to pour out His Spirit on all flesh.

God does not promise restoration so we can return to life as usual. He promises an outpouring of His Spirit so we can rise up in holy purpose. Sons and daughters will prophesy. Ordinary people will be filled with extraordinary power. Revival won’t be confined to pulpits or institutions—it will break out in living rooms, workplaces, farms, cities, and small towns.

But revival begins where repentance and expectation meet. When we humble ourselves, God releases His Spirit freely. When we turn back to Him, He turns devastation into destiny.

Joel proclaims a radical truth: Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. This includes the broken, the wandering, the spiritually dry, the young, the old, and the ones who thought their best days were behind them. It includes you.

God is gathering a people who will not sit on the sidelines of His promise but will step into the flow of His Spirit with boldness, believing that revival is not only coming—but is here.

Joel proclaims a radical truth: Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. This includes the broken, the wandering, the spiritually dry, the young, the old, and the ones who thought their best days were behind them. It includes you.

God is gathering a people who will not sit on the sidelines of His promise but will step into the flow of His Spirit with boldness, believing that revival is not only coming—but is here.

PRAYER: Lord God, we thank You for Your promise of restoration and Your outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We confess our need for You—we turn from complacency and call upon Your name. Send the rain of Your presence on our homes, churches, and communities. Revive our hearts and awaken our spirits to Your mission. Fill us with boldness to speak Your truth, love deeply, and live courageously in the power of Your Spirit. Let the promise of Joel be fulfilled in our time. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Ask God today to show you one specific step of obedience to prepare for His outpouring—and do it immediately.

I love you and I thank God for you! You matter to God and you matter to me. Make life better by how you share you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Finish The Race With Faith

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6 As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 16 At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 The Message Bible)

Happy Tuesday, Friend. I pray this second day of your work week is blessed and of a blessing to all.

A dear friend and colleague of mine retired from a significant time as the chaplain on death row in the prison system. His was the job of praying and accompanying death row inmates to their scheduled execution. He was there from the days of the electric chair until the lethal injection. My friend spoke little to nothing of those days, guarding the intimately privacy of one's last hours; a job most people might have turned down. In the same way, some years ago, my insurance agent had an older gentleman who did his lawn. We would always talk and I invited him to our church. He started to attend faithfully for about a month when I got word that he was in the hospital. I went to see him and he told me that the doctors did not give him long to live but he was alright because he had heard the gospel message through some of the sermons I shared. He said he felt peace and was happy to know he had a home waiting for him beyond this life. It was a touching moment. Today, we heard the words from the Apostle Paul as he unloads his heart to his spiritual son, Timothy.

There's no denial, no desperation, no panic. He's facing execution with the calm assurance of someone who's lived well and finished strong.

The phrase "my life an offering" captures how Paul views his impending martyrdom—not as tragedy but as worship, not as waste but as sacrifice that honors God. His death will be the final punctuation mark on a life poured out for the gospel. It's the last sentence in a story written well.

Most of us won't face martyrdom, but we all face the question: How will I finish? Will I coast to the end, fade into irrelevance, or cross the finish line with energy and purpose still intact? Paul shows us what it looks like to end well.

"This is the only race worth running. I've run hard right to the finish, believed all the way." Paul isn't bragging—he's testifying. He's not saying he was perfect but that he was faithful, not that he never fell but that he kept getting up and running.

Notice what Paul emphasizes: He fought the good fight (not every fight, just the ones worth fighting), finished the race (didn't quit halfway through), and kept the faith (maintained his grip on truth even when pressured to let go). This is what finishing strong looks like—staying engaged in what matters until the very end.

The contemporary Christian landscape is littered with people who started strong but didn't finish—leaders who fell morally, believers who drifted spiritually, workers who burned out emotionally. Paul reminds us that how you finish matters as much as how you start.

Paul looks forward to receiving "the crown of righteousness"—not because he earned it through perfect performance but because God rewards faithful endurance.

The phrase "everyone eager for his coming" describes people who live with heaven in view, who make decisions based on Christ's return, who invest in what lasts rather than what's temporary. Paul includes himself in this group—he's not claiming special status but inviting everyone into the same promise.

This isn't about being rewarded for being better than others. It's about God honoring those who honored Him, celebrating those who stayed faithful when it would have been easier to quit. God doesn't forget your labor of love, your persistent service, your quiet obedience that no one else noticed.

Paul reflects on how God has rescued him repeatedly throughout his ministry—from angry mobs, from shipwrecks, from assassination plots, from countless dangers.

But notice what Paul means by "rescue." He's not expecting God to keep him from execution—he's already said he's about to die. The rescue he's confident in is being brought "safely to his heavenly kingdom." Even death itself becomes part of God's rescue plan, not an interruption of it.

This reframes how we think about God's deliverance. Sometimes He rescues us from the lion's mouth. Sometimes He rescues us through the lion's mouth. But either way, we end up where He intends—safe in His presence, secure in His kingdom.

Paul's final words invite us to evaluate our own race. Are you still running or have you pulled off to the side? Are you fighting the good fights or wasting energy on battles that don't matter? Are you keeping the faith or letting it slip away in the face of cultural pressure?

Finishing well doesn't happen accidentally. It requires intentional endurance, persistent faithfulness, and the daily choice to keep believing and keep serving even when it's hard. It means surrounding yourself with people who will help you finish, not distract you from the race.

Most importantly, it means recognizing that when everyone else abandons you, the Master stands by you. His presence makes the difference between finishing strong and just finishing, between crossing the line with praise and limping across with regret.

PRAYER: Lord, help us run the race worth running with the same faithfulness Paul demonstrated, trusting that even when others abandon us You will stand by us, and that the crown You promise is worth every sacrifice we make along the way.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Honestly assess where you are in your race—are you running strong toward the finish or have you lost momentum?—and identify one specific area where you need to re-engage with the same faithfulness Paul modeled, trusting that God's presence is sufficient even when human support fails.

I love you and I thank God for you! You matter to me and you matter to God. Make life matter by how you live a positive witness of faith.

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

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Two Men. Two Prayers. Two Outcomes.

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9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14 NIV)

You and I may have searched high and low for the perfect church. And the real answer is that it might be easier searching for the perfect person. There is no such person and there is no such church. The church, like the family, is made up of imperfect persons, and as such will keep you from finding anyone or anything perfect. And that is why we have Jesus, the only perfect one, Who came to show us a better way. And we come to this story about two men, one, Jesus says this teaching was directed "To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else." Ouch. So, Jesus shared the parable. Two men went to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. Jesus knew both in real life. And maybe most in the crowd receiving this teaching did as well. Jesus says, "The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'" We can smell the prayer from here. Eew!

"I thank you that I am not like other people" means "I thank you for me." He's grateful not for God's mercy but for his own superiority. His prayer is essentially: "God, observe how awesome I am. Notice all the things I don't do that others do. See all the religious activities I perform that others don't."

The Pharisee's problem isn't that he fasts or tithes—these are good practices. His problem is that he's using his obedience as currency, as proof that he deserves God's approval. He's comparing himself to others and finding them lacking, which makes him feel secure in his standing with God. We have to remember that Jesus is not addressing the irreligious or the obvious sinners. He's speaking to people who have their spiritual lives together—or think they do. People who measure themselves against others and always come out ahead in their own estimation.

This makes the parable uncomfortable for those of us who consider ourselves serious about faith. We're not the tax collectors of our society—we're the temple-goers, the Bible-readers, the prayer-makers. We show up, we serve, we follow the rules. And that's exactly why this parable is for us.

The danger Jesus identifies isn't blatant rebellion against God but subtle reliance on our own goodness. It's the quiet confidence that our spiritual résumé makes us acceptable, that our religious performance earns us standing with God.

"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'" Everything about this man's posture screams unworthiness. He stands at a distance, as if not daring to come too close to holy ground. He won't even lift his eyes. He strikes his chest in grief over his sin.

His prayer contains no accomplishments, no comparisons, no justifications. Just nine words that acknowledge reality: "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." He doesn't minimize his sin or explain it away. He doesn't promise to do better tomorrow. He simply throws himself on God's mercy because he has nowhere else to turn.

The Greek phrase here is even more stark: "Be merciful to me, the sinner"—as if he sees himself as the worst of sinners, not just one among many. This isn't false humility; it's accurate self-assessment in the light of God's holiness.

"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God." Jesus' conclusion would have shocked His original audience. The religious leader who did everything right went home unjustified. The despised tax collector who could claim no merit went home justified—declared righteous, made right with God.

This is the scandal of grace: God justifies not those who justify themselves but those who recognize their need for justification. He accepts not those who offer Him their accomplishments but those who ask for His mercy. He welcomes not those who compare favorably to others but those who have no comparison to offer except their desperate need.

The Pharisee went to the temple with his righteousness and left with only his righteousness—impressive to people, worthless to God. The tax collector came with nothing but need and left with everything—God's mercy, acceptance, and righteousness credited to his account.

This parable is fundamentally an invitation to come to God with empty hands. Not empty of sin—we're all full of that—but empty of merit, empty of claims, empty of demands based on our performance. It's an invitation to stop bringing God our résumés and start bringing Him our desperation.

The tax collector shows us what gospel faith looks like: acknowledging you're a sinner, admitting you have no claim on God's favor, asking for mercy you don't deserve, and trusting that God will give it anyway. This isn't "easy believism"—it's actually harder to come empty-handed than to come with a list of your accomplishments.

Our pride wants to contribute something, to earn at least part of our acceptance, to prove we deserve God's love. The gospel says come with nothing, receive everything, and give God all the glory. This parable challenges us to examine our hearts honestly. Which prayer sounds more like yours? Do you approach God with a list of your spiritual accomplishments or with a cry for mercy? Do you compare yourself favorably to others or see yourself accurately in light of God's holiness?

PRAYER: Father, forgive us for the times we've approached You with lists of our accomplishments rather than cries for mercy. Help us see ourselves accurately—not in comparison to others but in light of Your holiness. Give us the humility of the tax collector, who knew he had nothing to offer but desperate need. Thank You that You justify not those who think they deserve it but those who know they don't. May we come to You always with empty hands and leave with the fullness of Your grace. In Jesus' strong name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Pay attention to moments when you're tempted to compare yourself favorably to others or to use your spiritual practices as evidence that you deserve God's favor, and in those moments, consciously pray the tax collector's prayer: "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

I love you and I thank God for you! You matter to me, and you matter to God! Make your life matter by giving some of it away today!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

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