A MODEL MOM

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:Sunday: 1 Samuel 1, 2, 3Speaking of unsung heroes, as we did earlier with Samson’s parents, what qualities of strength do you see in Samuel’s mother, Hannah?
PRAYER THEME FOR THE WEEK: I will daily pray for these people in positions of prominence, that they will not be stumbled by their own sense of importance: I will pray daily for these in hidden places, that they love their calling: I will pray for myself, that I will know more of who I am, and be glad of it.See you in worship!
There is possibly nothing stronger in this world than a momma who prays! I am blessed in that I have seen it in four generations. I had a godly grandmother who prayed, a mom who prayed, a wife who prays and a daughter who prays! With those prayers comes strong faith. And with strong faith comes strong living. With strong living comes the model example all children need.
Hannah was a unique woman. First wife, second fiddle, so to speak. The second wife had children, the first wife did not. In those days usually your first wife was chosen for beauty and love, second wife for usefulness. Elkanah, the husband, was a man of faith, he worshiped in Shiloh at the place of the prophet where he shared with his family portions of the sacrifice, and saved a generous portion for Hannah. What made worship time unbearable was that the other wife would taunt her about how God had not given Hannah any children. On this particular trip she was so brokenhearted, her prayers of silence caused her lips to move and her expression fooled the old man prophet as he watched. He was convinced this woman was drunk and worshiping in the sanctuary! He scolds her but she explains who she is and Eli blesses her and her request.
Hannah was also a woman of her word. She had told God that if He gave her a son, she would give that son to Him for His service. And not just a "when he graduates from high school, I'll send him to a Christian university, then a Christian seminary so that he can become a servant of God" - no, this was a "as soon as he's weaned (think very, very young), he's yours!" Not many women would do that!
When it comes to your children or the children in your life, what do you hold back from God? If your child thought she or he was called to ministry, would you support that decision with your prayers and service? Or would you secretly pray that God have the wrong person in mind so that your child could do something more meaningful (read: more money)?
PRAYER: God of all good things, we thank You for the children in our lives. We dedicate them to You and Your service. Let me be a model for them with my prayers, presence, gifts and service to You. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

GOD AND LAWLESSNESS

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:
Thursday: Judges 17, 18, 19These chapters show the degree of lawlessness that had come to the land. Describe a period in a nation's or a region's history that might be compared to what you have read.
Every country needs a great leader. The leader by his or her leadership skills should be a person of compassion and faith. Ideally, a great leader should be a believer in God and live a life that reflects that faith. Please note I am talking about all countries and not just ours. In a very real sense the faith and direction the leader pursues, the country is more apt to follow. A strong leader will enact ways to enforce laws that should be based on a compassionate moral code to help people respect one another, respect life, and seek ways to provide a better life for all citizens. The readings today show, especially chapter 19, what can happen to a country where there is no strong central leader, and where devotion to God is lax, if existent at all.
The brutal acts of chapter 19 prove this point. Selfishness, lust, sexual sins, and more, were the order of the day. Respect of others, respect for persons was none existent.
Of course, one's moral bearings should not depend on our leaders, especially when not all leaders have good moral bearings themselves. What does that mean? We should vote in our hearts to be the people who try to hold ourselves, our families, and those whom we love, accountable to God and what God expects from us.
PRAYER: Loving God, we thank You for freedom. This weekend is a time to remember those who laid down their lives for our nation's freedom. We pray for peace and a quick end to violence in Iraq, and all corners of the world where there is an absence of peace. Help me to keep my bearings on You. Guide me and my loved ones to obedience. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day!
e.v.

A DATE WITH SAMSON

Good day dear friends.
PLEASE DON'T FORGET TONIGHT IS OUR PRAYER SERVICE AT 6 P.M. God has been blessing our ministry tremendously by way of those who gather faithfully to pray. We meet only for about thirty minutes and see the results and blessings God provides for us as we pray. Make time for God!
Here is our study guide for today:Wednesday: Judges 15, 16What three or four lessons, negative and positive, do you learn from Samson’s life?
The life of Samson was an interesting, but sad one. He is believed to have been the strongest man who ever lived. He was also perhaps one of the most careless judges of Israel. The first lesson one can learn from Samson, a negative one, is that one must control one's anger. At his wedding he lost his temper because he himself had given away a riddle that he used to taunt his bride and her kinsfolk. Lesson two is that he got so angry he killed people and destroyed property! Of course, in the context of Israelite and Philistinian relations, this was expected and honored, for the Israelites hated the "uncircumcised" Philistines, and any victory of death and/or destruction against them was a good thing in the Israelites' eyes.
Lesson three is that Samson had a weakness for the ladies. He lived a life that showed no moral restraint. Besides taking lives, he also took women, a prostitute then Delilah. All while still being obedient to the vow of not cutting his hair!
Samson's life can be compared to ours when we say, "Well, at least in this regard I am being faithful to God!" We may be the worse person out there, doing all sorts of sinful things, but we justify it because we go to church. "I spend one hour of my busy week in God's house!" Yet the other hours are spent doing things that take us away from God.
If we make a vow before the Lord that vow should be a daily reminder to stay with God. Our vow should include the prayers and devotion needed to keep us centered on the Lord.
PRAYER: Loving God, let my vow be to be a person of prayer and obedience to You. Speak to my heart and situation and let me become a person whose life models the true relationship one can have with You. I ask this in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

A GOD-CENTERED PARENT

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:
Tuesday: Judges 12, 13, 14Have you ever wondered about Samson’s parents and what they were like? They would qualify for being relatively unknown heroes behind the scenes.
Raising children is a hero's job. It is a difficult but rewarding task. Imagine having the chore of raising a child who was to be known for his strength, as in being the strongest man in the world. We know from the reading that they were both God-fearing people. Both of them were persons of prayer. Both trusted God for all things including the need for a child. Samson's birth was an answered prayer. To raise him as God instructed showed that both parents were obedient to the Lord God. Samson could not cut his hair and if you know the rest of the story you know that his strength came from his obedience to God in this manner.
The Bible does not say much about his childhood, we can only imagine. We do get a picture of a stubborn, self-centered child, who demanded and got, his way. In today's reading we see that when it came to marriage he made his own decision and was not open to his parents' advice; he was set on the woman he had seen and that's whom he married.
To raise a child today, one needs to be like Samson's parents in the positive ways of prayer, trust, and obedience to God. And through prayer and obedience to God we should find how to lovingly discipline our children for them to become the adults that would please and serve God. This would apply even to helping your grown children raise their children. A God-centered child becomes a God-centered adult. And a God-centered adult receives and is, a blessing to all.
PRAYER: Loving Father, thank you for all You share. I pray a blessing on my children and the children of my children. Help me to be obedient and trusting of You so that I can share all I can with them. I pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

A TUMBLEWEED KING

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:Monday: Judges 9, 10, 11How would you apply Jotham's parable (Judges 9:7-15) to a comtemporary political scene?
Most people will automatically say that Saul was the first king of Israel. Saul was the first true king of Israel, but there was a pretender king in the person of Abilmelech, born to Jerub-Baal and his maid-servant. As this versions says he hires some "riff-raff" to be his army and he sets himself up as king over Israel. Thus we find the parable in Judges 9:7-15: The trees want a king over them. They approach first the olive tree, who balks at such a suggestion saying that what it did in providing olives was more important than just "waving over trees." The trees then approached the fig tree and it said the same thing. As did the vine. Finally the trees asked the tumbleweed if it would consider being the king. Note what the tumbleweed says, "If you're serious about making me your king, Come and find shelter in my shade. But if not, let fire shoot from Tumbleweed and burn down the cedars of Lebanon!"
If you've ever traveled much through the panhandle and West Texas, you're familiar with the tumbleweed. When our oldest was a toddler, Nellie Maria had her own sound for a tumbleweed, a sort of a yell whistle combination. As we traveled in West Texas or New Mexico, whenever we saw one we would tell her and she would make her sound. It isn't made to give shade and certainly has little with which to wave. The parable is clear: Abimelech wasn't meant to be king; he set himself up with no direction or connection with God. He ruled over Israel (or part of it) for three years, fought another series of battles and found himself dying from a wound received from a millstone dropped on his head by a woman. He was still concious enough to ask one of his soldiers to kill him because he did not want it to be at the hand of a woman by which he died.
What is it God has given you to do right now? Are you doing the best you can in that? When God wants you and guides you to bigger responsibilities and roles, you will propser and be blessed. But if you seek your own selfish desires without the prodding of God, you will soon realize God was not involved or guiding you. If Abimelech is your hero in this story, please think again. His quest was not to serve God and God's people, it was to seek power and to abuse that power for personal gain. God will raise us up if we seek to be God's servant leaders.
PRAYERS: Loving God, guide me to faithfulness. Let me serve You and Yours the best way I can where I am. As I am guided, let me see Your hand upon me to let me still be Your servant. I ask this in Christ Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

GIDEON

Good Lord's Day everyone.
Here is our study guide for today:
Sunday: Judges 6, 7, 8What is the strength of Gideon’s character that made him an effective leader, and what weakness finally caused his downfall?
PRAYER THEME FOR THE WEEK: I will pray daily for these persons who don’t know their potential for leadership.
See you in worship!
Gideon's character strength was that he trusted God, but it was a cautious trust. When called to lead the armies of the Lord, he wanted proof from first, the angel, then later from God himself. "Setting a fleece before the Lord" comes from these readings. In it, Gideon wants the Lord to show him that he's doing what God wanted by asking first that the fleece of a lamb set outside would in the morning be filled with dew and that the ground around it be dry. That was the way he found the fleece, he filled a bowl with the dew on it. Gideon then asked for the reverse to be true: that the fleece be dry and the ground around it be wet. And so it was.
His weakness of character was that he was easily seduced by other gods after his victories for God. He took all the jewelry that his men gave him and made an idol out of it and even he and his family "were seduced by it" meaning they began to worship it instead of God.
Gideon was never fully committed to God; he responded to God when called, and carried out what God asked of him, but when he had finished his duty before God, he forgot all about God.
Our commitment to God should be a lifelong love affair and love relationship. We shouldn't just serve the Lord when we feel that it's the right thing to do and when we reach a certain age or point say, "that's it, I've done my part!" and quit. Serving the Lord involves our loving God enough to follow and serve Him every day.
PRAYER: Loving God, help me to love and serve You each day. Let me seek Your loving face in all that I do. I ask this in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

SOMETIMES IT TAKES A WOMAN!

Good day dear friends.
Sorry for the delay in sending today's ConCafe. Nellie, the girls and I traveled to Houston to visit my dad, we got home rather late and early in the morning I went over to visit Chris Coleman who suffered a heart attack yesterday and is awaiting a heart cath on Monday. He's in ICU at CTMC. Chris is married to Angie Coleman, one of our MDO teachers. Please keep them in your prayers.
Here is our study guide for today:
Saturday: Judges 4, 5What sense do you get of regard for Deborah’s leadership in the exchange between Deborah and Barak?
It is fairly obvious, sometimes, it takes a woman to get the job done right! In this case, God chose Deborah to be the Judge over Israel. She proved herself to be wise and caring, but more importantly she proved herself to be a woman of God. Her strength and wisdom came from God and Barak knew that. When she orders him to attack a feared enemy general, Barak will only agree if she will go with him. Deborah replies she will go with him but he would not get all the glory himself because of her presence and he doesn't mind. But Barak knew if Deborah went, so would God and where God is present with His chosen, nothing will befall those who trust in God. And so it was, Deborah and Barak won the battle against the one Israel feared the most.
There are some times we do our best if we go with someone to do the work of the Lord. Sometimes we do have to go alone, other times, like the Lord Jesus knew, one serves best by sending out two by two. What makes this story even more interesting is the fact that another woman killed the enemy general while he slept.
What's your excuse in not doing what God has asked of you? Afraid to go alone? Find someone, better yet, ask God to send someone to go with you!
PRAYER: Loving God, give me the strength and wisdom of Deborah. Let me be a person that trusts You and uses those Whom you send to be with us to do Your work. I ask this in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

GOD-KNOWLEDGE

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:
Friday: Judges 1, 2, 3What seems to indicate a predictable time line in the apostasy of the nation following the death of Joshua? (Judges 2:6-10)?
The loss of God-knowledge spells the ruin of any person, family, church, or nation. It's simple and harsh, but once the loss and love of God occurs, the loss of faith and even fullness of life follows. And the results after that are not good.
Such was what happened to the generations after Joshua. Joshua tried to encourage the people of Israel to follow God and to not abandon their faith, but as can happen, all it takes is for one father or mother to consider the knowledge and love of God as something not important, and the results are terrible. So it continues today. And to make matters worse this is a time when books attacking faith are gaining prominence. Why do you suppose this is?
It's a personal matter, dear friend; do you consider the knowledge of God important for you and yours? Are you trying to encourage faith in the lives and spirits of those who are important to you or have you become one of those whose faith is an afterthought? You can turn that around with God's help if you so want.
PRAYER: Loving God, let not my faith die. Help me today to seek You and to encourage those important to me to do the same. I pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

THE GOD OF OUR JOURNEYS

Good day dear friends.
Please keep in prayer Viola Kinsey, Dianne Kimmel's mother, who is under hospice care and may not have long to live. Please pray for Viola's comfort and that of the family during this difficult time.
Please remember that this Sunday we're having a sending off lasagna luncheon for Sherry DeMarcay immediately after the ll o'clock worship service. Everyone is welcome and invited.
Here is our study guide for today:Thursday: Joshua 22, 23, 24Why did Joshua have so much easier a time than Moses in leading Israel?
The end of a destination is always easier than the start or middle of one. If you've ever taken a long vacation by car, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Nellie and I took several trips by car with our tribe from the Valley to Orlando, Florida. The start of the journey was fun, the excitement of knowing we were going someplace was great. It was towards the end of the first day that one of the four would inevitably ask, "Are we there yet?" Most times we would spend the night in Houston with grandma and grandpa. The next morning the girls were not so sure they wanted to leave the grandparents' house so soon, but as we explained where we were going they were fine with leaving. It was towards the end of Louisana or the start of Mississippi that the questions again came, "Are we there yet?" Moses had to put up with those questions as well but on a grander 40 year scale. It's a question of what was harder, the walking and forming of a nation or finally getting to the destination and receiving what had been promised. Both were difficult, yet when the end was in sight with its reward of their new home, I think for that reason Joshua had a little bit easier time.
What are you seeing on your life's journey? Is it easier for you today than it was five years ago? Or have it become more difficult for you to journey on this trip called life? If you're walking with Christ and seeing His presence with you at every turn and challenge, then the journey is not that difficult. If you love Jesus and see His loving face, then you know the rewards are already with you and the end will be wonderful.
PRAYER: Loving God of all journeys, walk with me today. Let me hold on to You in all things. Help me see Christ and He walking lovingly beside me as we face all that may come our way. I pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

A GREAT HIDING PLACE

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:
Wednesday: Joshua 19, 20, 21What would be our closest legal equivalent to the cities of refuge?
In this version of The Bible (The Message), the "cities of refuge" are known as "asylum-cities." This was a place of safety until trial. In other eras of our heritage as Christians, the church building was known as a place of sanctuary. In fact, many still call the actual worship area, the sanctuary. The understanding was that a person seeking protection from either a false accusation from the law or from someone seeking to harm them, could ask for sanctuary in the church building and the priest or minister could tell the authorities that the church had become a sanctuary and that they could not enter into it to seek this person. In recent months, a church in Chicago hid a woman who was set to be deported for being in this country without permission, and she was going to have to leave her seven-year-old son behind. She sought sanctuary in a UM church and for many months she and her son were safely housed there. While the authorities claimed there is no such thing as sanctuary, they nonetheless respected the church's stance and left the woman alone for some time.
It is interesting to note that God knows there exists injustice in our world and God made sure to provide a place in which those seeking justice could hide. In this biblical case, the person fleeing could present his/her case immediately to the leaders of that city and justice would be deteremined right then and there. In our system it does not happen so quickly.
The Psalmist, as we'll see soon, also knew of a spiritual place of refuge as we see in Psalm 91. We can hide in the Lord when we feel we need a place in which to rest and recover. That place still exists to this day; it is just a matter of us seeking to find it and rest in it.
Have you sought refuge in that place recently? Do you know God provides such a place for you?
PRAYER: Loving God, hide me in You when I face those things I can't face alone. After a day or week or many weeks of being battered and tossed, be Thou my refuge. As the Psalmist found in You refuge, so let me. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

UNCASHED CHECKS

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:
Tuesday: Joshua 16, 17, 18How do you explain the reluctance of Israel to finish settling in the new land?
In this reading, the people seemed lazy. It appears there were no self-starters and they were waiting, and this sounds church-y, for someone else to do something. Joshua had to order them to finish surveying the land and to get off "sitting on (their) hands." (18:3) Incredible riches were at their disposal and they were just sitting around wondering what to do. It's like carrying around a check in your purse or wallet, made out to you, but you don't know if you should cash it or not, and in the meantime you're hungry or you don't have a place to stay!
How often have we done that with what God has shared with us? Fear or laziness or doubt sets in, and the "check" goes uncashed. A world of blessings awaits us and all we have to do is pray and read the scriptures to receive it, and we don't. What are you missing out in your life because you've yet to start doing what God expects?
PRAYER: Loving God, we celebrate Your wonderful gifts to us. Come and share with us joy and peace. Let me become a self-starter when it comes to Your things. Forgive me the times I've sat around and done nothing. I pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

FREE TO DO WHAT GOD WANTS?

Good day dear friends. Happy Belated Mother's Day to all the mommies out there. We're on track to finish the Bible in now less than 52 weeks. Yesterday's sermon was on the farewell of Moses and the welcome of Joshua, and the sermon was on what their mothers might have said to them to make them the men they became.
Here is our study guide for today:Monday: Joshua 13, 14, 15What significance do you see in the fact that the Levites owned no land and had no inheritance?
We find in this no inheritance the basis for the itinerant system; that of being able to move from place to place to do the work of God. Our United Methodist Church clergy are all itinerant pastors (well most of them!). We can be called in the middle of the night by our bishop who may instruct us to leave one place to go serve in another. Some clergy may actually stay awake praying for that call to come! But the significance according to today's reading for those of the tribe of Levi is that God, the God of Israel, would be their inheritance as chapter 13 closes out. What greater inheritance could one want? The Levites were the men of God called to serve God and God being a God of all places and all people wanted them to be free to move around to do the work of the Lord in whatever place they might be called.
It is easy to fall in love with one place and not want to leave there. That's only human. And there are clergy today who do just that and will do anything not to have to move. And in the same way it is easy to not fall in love with certain places and to do anything to be kept from being sent to those. That is not the itinerant system, that is selfishness. God calls us UMs as He did the Levites to be obedient to God's leading and to serve where God calls. I used to belong to the Rio Grande Conference, a Spanish-language conference more than a geographic one. I could have been moved from Edinburg, Texas to Albuquerque, New Mexico with one phone call. At one time I wished for that, but the call never came. In the same way I could have been sent to El Paso or Beaumont.
How free are you to be obedient to God? The right answer should be that you're completely free (I can hear that credit card song playing even now in my head, "I'm free...to do what I want.") to do what you want, and more importantly, you're free to do what God wants. But do you want to? Are places, homes, things more important than what God wants. Our Sunday school class yesterday spoke of having a God-given vision but our human rebelliousness keeps us from being obedient and saying yes to God when we should. Don't let your selfishness limit your vision, for we serve a world-wide God!
PRAYER: Thank you dear Father for the inheritance that is ours when we trust and love You. For now help us see that which You want for and from us. Let me be free to do what You want. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

ARE YOU GOD-LED?

Good day dear friends.
We thank the Lord for Luci True Tomlinson's birthday! Happy 1st birthday to True! And we thank the Lord for Carli Ilsa Valverde's graduation from Texas Lutheran University today! May Carli and all graduates be blessed!
Here is our study guide for today:Saturday: Joshua 7, 8, 9What insight about the communal nature of life do you gain from the Achan story? How is this different from our more independent way of approaching life?
This is a time of war in our readings. The people of God are being led by God. Joshua as general, has to listen to God and follow His instruction. At one point God may say, "Take no plunder," and then another God will say, "Take all you want." It's a form of discipline and discipleship: Do as God says, not as you want. In this Achan, violated the commandment from God which was take no plunder. He saw a robe and some silver that he liked and thought, and this is typical shoplifter, petty thief stuff, no one will be the wiser if I just sneak this out. How wrong he was! God knew. And God found him out. Joshua knew exactly who was guilty and called him out. Achan's actions cost the lives of 36 men, for God was angry and not blessing and protecting the Israelites like before. This loss was a devastating loss for Joshua and all the people. Joshua even asks God why, and doesn't this sound like the people before?, did you have to make us cross the Jordan? It was the sin of one man who cost the lives of thirty-six other men.
We seem to approach life differently today, thinking our actions hurt on one else and as long as that happens no one is the wiser for it, but God always knows. And our actions can and do break God's heart. If we were truly God-led, we would be doing only those things that please and honor God. Our actions when not God-led, may break not only God's heart, but the hearts of others in our homes, our churches, our workplaces, our friends, etc.
Is God leading your actions? Are you seeking to please God in all things?
PRAYER: Come, loving God and make me be Yours in all ways, especially as I think out my decisions and actions for today. Speak lovingly to my heart and mind that I may be Yours. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

WORSHIP POINTS

Good morning dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:
Friday: Joshua 4, 5, 6What do you think is the meaning of Joshua’s encounter with the angelic commander of the Lord’s army?
These three chapters are important reading, so don't skim over them! The entire relationship between God and God's people is always supernatural, a connection between that what is normally and what is not usually seen but experienced. So it was that during this time of entrance into the promised land that Joshua gets a visit from an angelic commander of the Lord's army. This visit served to remind Joshua of that special relationship he had with God. Joshua had just counted forty thousand armed men in his army and he may have wondered if he had enough men to do what God expected of them as they entered to fight for their land. This commander appears and shows that Joshua was not alone, but note the answer of the commander to Joshua's question. Joshua, not sure of who this armed, sword drawn man is, asks, "Whose side are you on? Ours or theirs." The commander answers, "None." The only thing the commander tells Joshua to do is to remove his sandals for he was on holy ground. This rest stop served as a worship point in the day and an act of remembrance of what God had and was going to do.
How many worship points have you had in your life? I'm talking about those times away from Sunday morning worship, which is central and important to our worship life, but those moments when you have to bow your head and silently just thank and praise God. Do you have worship points? It's just a moment of holiness and you don't have to do anything other than to say, "Thank you, God." Don't wait for angelic, armed, sword drawn commanders of God's Holy Army to show up, just make time when you realize how blessed you are!
PRAYER: Make me aware, loving God of having worship points in my busy day. Make me mindful of Your presence, Your sacredness, Your involvement in my life. Let me make time to worship You not just on Sundays but everyday. I ask it in Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

CROSSING THE THRESHOLD

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:Thursday: Joshua 1, 2, 3What connection do you see between the miracle of crossing the Jordan River and the crossing, a generation earlier, at the Red Sea?
I don't know how similar this is to the question today, but I clearly remember the joy of being finally alone with my wife on our wedding day. We checked into our hotel and made our way to the honeymoon suite. In those days, the old hotel in McAllen had two twin towers, each a three-floor honey suite; the first floor was the entrance area, a spiral staircase led to the bedroom, and up to a sitting room on the third floor. I picked Nellie up and carried her up the spiral staircase to our bedroom. I did that again when we first moved into our apartment in Dallas, and then at each subsequent parsonage. It's a reminder that we're in this together.
God reminds the people of Israel of this by working an identical miracle over water. As God led them out of Egypt he dried up the Red Sea to allow them to escape and now forty years later as God leads them into the promised land, he dries up a part of the Jordan River to allow them to cross into Canaan. It's a reminder, we're in this together. God saying, "I'm carrying you just as I have for these past forty years." It was a renewal of sorts for those who had not seen the miracle at the Red Sea; God has power over all things even nature, to make possible all things, including our taking over this land.
When has God NOT carried you? Do you remember times in your life where God stopped something or did something that just shouted to you: "I'm with you, don't be afraid!"? I pray we never forget even the small things that God does that reminds us of just how wonderful He is with us and for us. May we never cease to marvel at God's love present and active in our lives.
PRAYER: Loving God of major and minor miracles, thank you. Help me to always see Your strong and loving hand at work in my life. Part the waters of difficulty or stress that I may face today, so that through whatever it is that I have to face I will see clearly that which is Yours for me. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

HAPPY WHERE YOU ARE?

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:Wednesday: Deuteronomy 33, 34Why would Moses bless the tribes individually instead of simply blessing the nation as a whole?
I don't know why but the thought of my graduation from seminary came to mind. Why in the world would commencement exercises be on my mind? Oh, I don't know --- could it be that Carli graduates from Texas Lutheran University this weekend??
I graduated from Southern Methodist University's Perkins School of Theology. Our commencement began in Moody Coliseum with all the undergraduates and graduates from the different schools present in one place. It was quite an impressive sight. SMU is a huge school! At that one big commencement, we saw we were all part of one school. We dismissed and then each school made its way to a designated place where the degrees would be conferred. The seminary made its way to the chapel. Hmmm. There we were called by name and received our degrees, most of us The Master of Theology degree.
That made the graduation more personal and involved. I suspect Moses had the same in mind. I cannot help but think that Moses also kept a bit of history in mind as he conferred the blessing, for they don't all sound like wonderful blessings, but they were personalized towards the character of the tribe. Each tribe was known for its character and ability to serve and each was different from the rest, but they were all part of the one big family of Israel.
What is your family known for? If you come from a big family, does your family or do you as an individual stick out by character and ability? Is it a character and ability to be proud of or do you need to improve your standing in the family? The good news for all who believe in God is that God won't leave you where you're at if you're not happy there. Ask God to change you for the better!
PRAYER: God of strength and might, I pray for my standing with You and Yours to be better today than it has ever been. Let me be the person You want me to be. Help me to leave behind those things that have hurt and harmed me. Help me to overcome the things that kill, steal or destroy, and place me on the path to the fullness of life. I pray in the Name of He who can, Jesus my Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

DAILY CHOICES: GOD AND LIFE OR DEATH AND CURSES?

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:Tuesday: Deuteronomy 30, 31, 32Moses said that the commandment he was giving was not difficult or out of reach. How would you summarize this challenge, as found in Deuteronomy 30:11-20?
It's your choice! That's how I would summarize this commandment given to Moses. It's always our choice. We have the freedom of will, to choose what we want for ourselves. God tries to explain it in a way that is easy to understand and as God Himself said, reachable. It doesn't require mountain climbers or sailors to attain it; it's as close as our heart and mouth. It requires our wanting to have it.
The choice is this: God and God's goodness for our lives or Death and the destruction that comes with choosing anything or anyone but God. To choose God means to choose life and all the blessings that come with life. To choose away from God means to choose to live a life filled with the consequences of what we've chosen.
Does that still hold true today? Of course. We daily have the choice of how and for Whom we'll live our day. We have before us, like the people of God in that day, God and blessing or Death and curses. It seems simple enough, but you know sometimes it's not. Sometimes the line that we hope is always clear is a bit blurred or not as straight or clearly defined as we would like, and so sometimes we choose wrong. Only through prayer and listening for God through the reading of His Holy Word can that line be clearer for us.
PRAYER: Loving God, let me know just what I need to choose today. Speak to me words of life and the fullness of life so that I might live a light that brings others to You. I pray this in Christ Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

CHOOSING TO BE AWAY FROM GOD?

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:Monday: Deuteronomy 27, 28, 29The curses listed here are probably just a sampling. Under what several headings would you group the ones that are given?
A WORD OF CAUTION: Today's readings that follow, or if you're using your own Bible to do them, are very harsh. We're entering into reading Moses' proclamation of God's wrath. The old man is reminding the people of God's great power to liberate and rescue and to curse and condemn. It is Moses telling this new generation, "Your moms and dads saw God's power come out in full force against Pharoah and his armies, why would you want to go back to Egypt and disobedience? It is as if you wanted to ask God to use His power to destroy you! So, as he speaks of the need to obey, he reminds them of what God is capable of doing to those who in their heart want to return back to a life alienated from God.
The curses mentioned in the last two chapters of today's three, could be grouped into a worship, human interaction, sexual sins, respect among neighbors, and whatever other category you wished to assign. Each of the curses will come, Moses says, because of disobedience in one of those I assigned above. You may decide to get either more general or more specific. The underlying question Moses is asking is why in the world would you want to live a life away from God? You've seen what good God has brought to us, why leave it? You know how much God loves you and wants a relationship with you, why choose a life led by no one and blessed by no one? Moses is saying, there is only one true, living God, and we've seen the powerlessness of the so-called other 'gods' in our new land, what good will it do us to join their side?
In our lives today we make similar choices everyday. Temptation may not come in the obvious form of another god, but it can still be the same. It may even fall into one of the above categories. For example in the worship category, one is so blessed being in worship every Sunday, yet as we drive to church we see so many who are already up, in their shorts and t-shirts washing their cars. If that is worship, who or what are they worshipping? It's easy. That car has taken God's place, so guess what is getting worshipped that day? Or it could be as so many say, "I worship in nature." What is that saying? Honestly, that God is not as important as nature, and that one's selfishness to choose to be away from God's house and God's people is more important than coporate worship. And the list goes on and on. What are you worshipping? What blessings from God are you giving up on because you know better?
PRAYER: Loving God, forgive us our choices that lead us away from You and Your love. May I be an example to others that need my direction to come and be the person You would have me be. I pray in Christ Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

PRINCE OF PEACE

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:Friday: Deuteronomy 18, 19, 20 What restraints that respect life do you see in the instructions for war in Deut. 20?
The restraints that we find in today's reading of Deut 20 are seldom found any more. The restraints favor life and the fullness thereof. Early in the chapter we read of those who haven't yet dedicated a house can return to dedicate it in case they die in battle and someone else dedicates it. Those who have a new vineyard and haven't yet enjoyed the grapes from it are encouraged to go home and enjoy that first harvest. The man who is engaged is encouraged to marry, enjoy his wife and then return to war.
Further reading shows that Israel should first offer peace to the city that is about to be attacked and if they accept, the people are not killed but are taken as prisoners of war. Those who do not accept and decide to fight run the risk of being killed, with the exception of women and children.
How do you feel about war? Do you believe there is ever a "justifiable" war? How do you feel about the current war in Iraq? What do you suppose God would have us do about it?
PRAYER: Merciful God, we pray for peace in every part of the world. We pray that violence and the threat of war come to an end and that peace would break out. We pray that random acts of kindness would come to every heart. We can pray this prayer only in the name of the Prince of Peace, Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

GOD OF SPECIAL DAYS

Good day dear friends.
I ask for your prayers for my wife, Nellie. She undergoes a needle biopsy tomorrow to confirm what doctors believe is a benign cyst. This has been unsettling to her and to me, and your prayers would be most welcome! Please also pray that we and others who suffer from this head cold junk going around might be finally healed!
TODAY IS NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER. THE CHURCH WILL BE OPEN FOR PRAYER STARTING AT 8:30 AM AND OPEN UNTIL 5 PM. PLEASE REMEMBER TO LIFT UP YOUR PRAYERS FOR OUR NATION AND ALL NATIONS.
Here is our study guide for today:
Thursday: Deuteronomy 15, 16, 17What significance, if any, do you find in the way a discussion of the holy days is intersperesed with various social and ceremonial laws?
The significance even for today is that no special day or holiday can be celebrated without thinking about God's involvement in what that day represents to the Christian. As many holidays as we have, we also have faith that God was present in it. As we approach the 4th of July, we cannot celebrate being the greatest nation in the world without thanking God for His blessings upon us on all that we have received. It's also true that we're not perfect and we don't always do "the right" (to quote from today's readings) to others, but we need to seek God's forgiveness and God's guidance to do and be the right. President's day is also a day to thank God for our form of government and for the way our nation continues to provide for those in need. Again, we're not perfect, but we need God involved in our lives.
What are the special days in your life? Do you remember to invite God in the planning of special celebrations of your life, say your birthday? Do you thank God for your life? Do you seek to grow in the Lord on that and all days? As you and your spouse celebrate another year of marriage, is God there?
PRAYER: God of all days, remind me of Your presence in the special days. Let me seek You all of my days, to be thankful, to return thanks, to help others, and to seek your guidance and blessings to be a better person. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

LIVE AND LET LIVE?

Good day dear friends.
Here is our study guide for today:Wednesday: Deuteronomy 12, 13, 14How do we maintain integrity of faith in a pluralistic culture?
In the second letter to Timothy, Paul writes, "But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me." In the same way, our integrity of faith begins when we affirm and stand on who we are in faith. We respect the right of others to their faith, and we expect the same respect from others towards ours. As we learn about other's faiths we should learn more and live ours more. This is the day when others are stepping boldly out in their faith and not hiding the fact they're proud of being who they are. We have Hollywood actors stating their belief in Scientology, a "religion" started by a science fiction writer. We have Wiccans, an "earth-based" faith, demanding their symbol on US soldiers' tombstones who have marked that as their faith. We hear more and more about the Muslim faith, PBS recently ran a mini-series on the Mormons, etc., etc., etc.
Do you know in Whom you have believed? Is your faith in Jesus Christ strong enough to withstand questions of personal doubt or wonder about other faiths? The passages from today were in a different cultural climate and God knew the temptations that would come as a result. The faiths of those who inhabited the promised land before Israel came in to claim it, were based on fertility rites and promoted sex heavily as a part of their worship. God knew this might be too attractive to the Israelites and warns them against these practices. God's idea of tolerance then was to remove the temptation all together from their land. While we may not accept or understand that, God's commands made sense in that time and place.
What do you do to protect yourself, your family, and others important in your life? What are you doing to strengthen your faith? What actions, thoughts and words reinforce to others in your immediate circle of loved ones and friends that show you are a person of deep Christian faith?
PRAYER: Loving God, let me truly know in Whom I believe. Make my faith in Jesus Christ more real today than ever. Let me be able to share my faith in my actions. May the love you've placed in my heart reflect a love I have for everyone. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.

COUNTING YOUR BLESSINGS?

Good day dear friends.
Please keep Eric Cortez in your prayers today. Eric graduated on Friday from the Austin Police Academy and today begins his career with that department. Pray for his protection as well as the protection of all law enforcement officers. Eric will be working day shift for this first month with APD, and a Field Training Officer for three months.
Here is our study guide for today:Tuesday: Deuteronomy 9, 10, 11Deut. 10:12-22 gives us a coming-together of personal religion, grace, and social religion. List the elements of faith you find in these moving verses.
The Message version of the Bible is written in the form of a novel. Early versions of this new version were written without chapters and verses. It makes for very easy reading, but we sometimes miss what was the original intent of each passage. For that reason here is the passage for today in The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV):
12 So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments of the Lord your God and his decrees that I am commanding you today, for your own well-being. 14 Although heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth with all that is in it, 15 yet the Lord set his heart in love on your ancestors alone and chose you, their descendants after them, out of all the peoples, as it is today. 16 Circumcise, then, the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn any longer. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, 18 who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. 19 You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 20 You shall fear the Lord your God; him alone you shall worship; to him you shall hold fast, and by his name you shall swear. 21 He is your praise; he is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things that your own eyes have seen. 22 Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy persons; and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in heaven.
In my reading of the passage here is a list of ten things that we should be doing as we seek a loving and living relationship with God:
1. Respect with Love, your God.2. Walk with the Lord.3. Love the Lord.4. Serve the Lord with all your heart, and your soul.5. Keep the Commandments6. Know that God provides for you.7. Love the strangers (foreigners) in your midst8. Worship the Lord.9. Remember in your praise and worship all that God has done for you.10. God has multiplied our number.
I believe you can find the basic elements of faith in the above list. Faith is believing in God because of your love and trust in Him, as well as knowing that God has provided for you and for all that you have from God you are thankful.
As we end each day, wouldn't we be more faithful persons if we made a list of all that God shared with us during the day? And be thankful of all things! We should begin with 1) God gave me a new day of life today. 2) God gave me breath today. 3) God gave me the sun to brighten my day. 4) God gave me clothing to wear. 5) God gave me food to eat. 6) God gave me a job/pension to provide for my needs. 7) God walked with me today. 8) God gave me wisdom to make some important decisions today 9) God gave me the words I needed in dealing with coworkers and supervisors. 10) God gave me the gift of family. 11) God gave me His love 12) I was able to share that love with others, etc. etc. etc.
What has God done for you so far today? Are you keeping a list? More importantly, are you living a thankful life because of it?
PRAYER: God of all good things, let me thank you again and again for all You do. Let me list in my heart the many things You give and share with me. Let me be a person whose life shouts out praise for what You have done. I pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.