Good day dear friends.
Please keep Doris Tillman in your prayers as she is fighting a serious temporal artery infection that has caused the loss of vision in her left eye and doctors are fighting to keep vision in the right one. She is in CTMC and needs our prayers.
Here is our morning devotional (Classic ConCafe):
Matthew 16: 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, heasked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" 14 Theyreplied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and stillothers, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 "But what about you?" heasked. "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are theChrist, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "Blessed areyou, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, butby my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and onthis rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will notovercome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven;whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever youloose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20 Then he warned hisdisciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
Having just returned from a wonderful Walk to Emmaus I am reminded ofmy first impressions of this retreat. A dear friend, Rev. JohnReynolds was the first person I knew to have attended this walk. Beinga friend I received an invitation to write him a letter. "Boy, is hegoing to be gone that long?" I wondered. And then I thought about Mt.Wesley. As a boy my summer was not complete without our weeklong RioGrande Conference youth assembly on those hallowed grounds. I rememberthe LONG walks from the patio area, past the girls' dormitory, to thetop of the cross. As a boy, those walks were fun. As a man, Ithought, that was not so much a walk as an ordeal! So, the first thingI asked John on his return, "How much walking did you do on that Walk?"John smiled and replied that there was no walking involved and theevent was beautiful. He told me it was filled with surprises and thatwas all he could tell me. Oh, he did tell me that I needed to go.Another dear friend, Rev. Bill Henderson also attended that Walk and hecalled to tell me the same thing. After postponing and rescheduling asmuch as I could get away with, I finally attended. I went kicking andscreaming. To make a very long story short, I almost screamed thewhole way over as I flew from Weslaco, TX, to Kerrville! I kepttelling Bill and John, who sat in the seats in front of me in thissix-seater plane, "It's the Flight to Egypt and the Walk to Emmaus!Haven't you read the subtitles in the Bible??" So, needless to say, myspiritual experience began on the way to the Walk. After I returned Icouldn't share with Nellie all that I had experienced. I didn't wantto spoil the surprises. I showed her my multicolored cross and toldher she needed to go. The Walk is a three-dayreligious retreat. It is meant to draw us nearer to Christ. It is not for everyone, but some do undergo some wonderful,lasting changes in their spirits. Ultimately it becomes a matter of"What do you say this experience is all about?" I would encouragethose of you who have pre-formed opinions of this retreat to go on one.Then see if your opinions remain the same.
Jesus experienced that too. He and his disciples went around Palestinepreaching the love of God and God's coming Kingdom. He said and didsome incredible things. People began to talk and to judge this man andhis followers. The disciples heard things and tried to understand justwhat it all meant. Finally, Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do peoplesay I am?" He knew. The disciples replied with the most commonanswers: Some believe you to be John the Baptist. A dead man, killedfor his convictions back from the dead to preach the same message.Others say you are Elijah. He was the prophet who never died. He rodeinto Heaven on a chariot of fire. He could just as easily come back inthe same way! Malachi closes out the Old Testament with that verypromise, that Moses and Elijah would return. Other people believedJesus to be Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, who loved Israel and God somuch that he cried because of the failed relationship between the two.Others say that Jesus was one of the prophets. Legendary men, ofextraordinary messages who died for God who might just as easily cometo life again for God too. The real question, Jesus said, is in ouranswering. Who do we say that Jesus is? Peter replies, "You are theChrist, the Son of the living God!" A true declaration and a blessing!Peter knew Jesus for who he was. Jesus replies to Peter that he isthe Rock and upon his faith he was to build his church. And thischurch would not be overcome by the powers of hell. Peter would begiven the keys to the kingdom of heaven, thus all the stories and jokesof Peter being the gatekeeper to heaven. Jesus gives Peter awesomepower both on earth and heaven.
The lesson to be learned is this. We will hear things about God and wewill believe we know some things about the Lord. But ultimately, thequestion remains, Who do we know the Lord to be? If we know Jesus tobe real, then he will be real not only in our heart but also in ourlives and in our relationships with others. If he isn't real and heremains a part of an "out there" experience or the experience ofsomeone else, then he'll never be real for us. Our own John Wesley wasable to go from the scared preacher on board a storm-tossed ship whoproclaimed that he knew Jesus to be the savior of the "world," to theperson who said, "I knew then that Jesus had died for my sins." Whereare you? I heard a wonderful thing this week that I'll share with you.You may have been separated from God for a long time and taken manysteps away from Him, but it only takes one step back to be back in theright relationship. Are you willing to take that step?
Prayer: Lord, let me take the first step back to be in your lovingarms. And may all steps after this one, be steps that are besidesyours as I make my way toward being with you forever. I pray in Jesus'Name, Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.
Please keep Doris Tillman in your prayers as she is fighting a serious temporal artery infection that has caused the loss of vision in her left eye and doctors are fighting to keep vision in the right one. She is in CTMC and needs our prayers.
Here is our morning devotional (Classic ConCafe):
Matthew 16: 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, heasked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" 14 Theyreplied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and stillothers, Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 "But what about you?" heasked. "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are theChrist, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "Blessed areyou, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, butby my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and onthis rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will notovercome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven;whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever youloose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20 Then he warned hisdisciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
Having just returned from a wonderful Walk to Emmaus I am reminded ofmy first impressions of this retreat. A dear friend, Rev. JohnReynolds was the first person I knew to have attended this walk. Beinga friend I received an invitation to write him a letter. "Boy, is hegoing to be gone that long?" I wondered. And then I thought about Mt.Wesley. As a boy my summer was not complete without our weeklong RioGrande Conference youth assembly on those hallowed grounds. I rememberthe LONG walks from the patio area, past the girls' dormitory, to thetop of the cross. As a boy, those walks were fun. As a man, Ithought, that was not so much a walk as an ordeal! So, the first thingI asked John on his return, "How much walking did you do on that Walk?"John smiled and replied that there was no walking involved and theevent was beautiful. He told me it was filled with surprises and thatwas all he could tell me. Oh, he did tell me that I needed to go.Another dear friend, Rev. Bill Henderson also attended that Walk and hecalled to tell me the same thing. After postponing and rescheduling asmuch as I could get away with, I finally attended. I went kicking andscreaming. To make a very long story short, I almost screamed thewhole way over as I flew from Weslaco, TX, to Kerrville! I kepttelling Bill and John, who sat in the seats in front of me in thissix-seater plane, "It's the Flight to Egypt and the Walk to Emmaus!Haven't you read the subtitles in the Bible??" So, needless to say, myspiritual experience began on the way to the Walk. After I returned Icouldn't share with Nellie all that I had experienced. I didn't wantto spoil the surprises. I showed her my multicolored cross and toldher she needed to go. The Walk is a three-dayreligious retreat. It is meant to draw us nearer to Christ. It is not for everyone, but some do undergo some wonderful,lasting changes in their spirits. Ultimately it becomes a matter of"What do you say this experience is all about?" I would encouragethose of you who have pre-formed opinions of this retreat to go on one.Then see if your opinions remain the same.
Jesus experienced that too. He and his disciples went around Palestinepreaching the love of God and God's coming Kingdom. He said and didsome incredible things. People began to talk and to judge this man andhis followers. The disciples heard things and tried to understand justwhat it all meant. Finally, Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do peoplesay I am?" He knew. The disciples replied with the most commonanswers: Some believe you to be John the Baptist. A dead man, killedfor his convictions back from the dead to preach the same message.Others say you are Elijah. He was the prophet who never died. He rodeinto Heaven on a chariot of fire. He could just as easily come back inthe same way! Malachi closes out the Old Testament with that verypromise, that Moses and Elijah would return. Other people believedJesus to be Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, who loved Israel and God somuch that he cried because of the failed relationship between the two.Others say that Jesus was one of the prophets. Legendary men, ofextraordinary messages who died for God who might just as easily cometo life again for God too. The real question, Jesus said, is in ouranswering. Who do we say that Jesus is? Peter replies, "You are theChrist, the Son of the living God!" A true declaration and a blessing!Peter knew Jesus for who he was. Jesus replies to Peter that he isthe Rock and upon his faith he was to build his church. And thischurch would not be overcome by the powers of hell. Peter would begiven the keys to the kingdom of heaven, thus all the stories and jokesof Peter being the gatekeeper to heaven. Jesus gives Peter awesomepower both on earth and heaven.
The lesson to be learned is this. We will hear things about God and wewill believe we know some things about the Lord. But ultimately, thequestion remains, Who do we know the Lord to be? If we know Jesus tobe real, then he will be real not only in our heart but also in ourlives and in our relationships with others. If he isn't real and heremains a part of an "out there" experience or the experience ofsomeone else, then he'll never be real for us. Our own John Wesley wasable to go from the scared preacher on board a storm-tossed ship whoproclaimed that he knew Jesus to be the savior of the "world," to theperson who said, "I knew then that Jesus had died for my sins." Whereare you? I heard a wonderful thing this week that I'll share with you.You may have been separated from God for a long time and taken manysteps away from Him, but it only takes one step back to be back in theright relationship. Are you willing to take that step?
Prayer: Lord, let me take the first step back to be in your lovingarms. And may all steps after this one, be steps that are besidesyours as I make my way toward being with you forever. I pray in Jesus'Name, Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
e.v.
