Good day dear friends.
Some updates on some prayer requests: Lou Moloney did suffer a stroke and is in CTMC, Room 404, still in good spirits. There is no movement in his left side, but Lou says he has a good appetite and was asking for Fritos yesterday evening when I was visiting with him. Brenda Kyle's mom, Viola, is also at the hospital but insists she is feeling fine. Margilee Cooley is her roommate and she is doing better after being in the hospital a couple of days for what she suspects was a reaction to medicine. And Armando Contreras' dad, Theophilo Hernandez is battling cancer that has spread to his bones. Please continue to pray for these brothers and sisters. We also mentioned Beverly Nelms who has had to quit working because of her knees. This has been a very tough time for her and Morris, please keep them in your prayers.
We also said goodbye to our daughter, Nellie Maria Valverde, who worshiped with us and FUMC-Seguin during her four years in this area. Nellie leaves for McAllen today to prepare for a teaching job she has in the Valley teaching middle school English. I thank you all for your prayers especially to all the teachers who came by to congratulate her and wish her well. Pray for Mom and Dad who have enjoyed having her just down the road!
Yesterday we had sermon two on Top Myths about Christianity, examining the one that says "There is no evidence Jesus rose from the dead." Our study guide will examine that this week.
Monday: Please find and read in the OT, Ezekiel 37:1-10. This is a well known passage about life coming to something already dead. How could one apply what one reads here in the OT to the NT belief that Jesus rose from the dead? How does this passage speak to you?
Here is that passage from Ezekiel 37:1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign Lord, you alone know." 4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.'" 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army.
The debate for some is what can and what cannot God do? For some, God "created" and that was it. This view is that which says God is like a watch maker who made the watch, wound it up and is letting it run down. Others say God is involved and caring very much about His creation, so involved He sent Jesus. These are the same that would say God continues to create. In the above passage, Ezekiel is sharing a vision of this dry valley, where God wants His word shared. And while the vision is about God's renewing power even in the midst of the spiritually dead, it is still a message about God's unlimited power to work even in places where it seems no further work is possible. Such was the case at the burial of Jesus. We affirmed yesterday, in four things that we shared about "evidence," and this was number one: Jesus was really dead. He was publically executed and certified as dead by the centurion and the regional governor, Pilate. No further work possible here, may have been the thought of all who saw this painful death. Point two, after having placed Jesus in a new, never-before used tomb, it was found empty. His enemies sealed it and were protecting it. Matthew's Gospel says the guards, (28:4)" 4 For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men." Point three says that Jesus appeared to many witnesses during a period of forty days. These included, hardheaded fishermen, steadfast women, civil servants, and even "Doubting Thomas." And the last point, countless number of people have encountered Jesus and have had their lives transformed by He who was thought dead, now alive.
The question posed yesterday, what do you think? How are you living your life as you encounter challenges and situations that demand faith? Is the living Christ with you? Or do you think you're facing it alone? The Ezekiel passage says, as does the entire Bible, there is nothing God cannot do, even to bring life to those, myself included, when it seems that nothing else is even possible.
PRAYER: God of all life, come to me today and bring me that life that You promised through You son. Escort me into the abundance of life so that I can face, with full faith, all that may come my way. My hope, faith and trust is in You. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.
