Loving God of life and its fullness, bring rich, wonderful, unexplainable blessings to this dear reader at this start of the work week. In Jesus' Name, amen.
The third gift from God at Advent is the gift of faith. The passage for the sermon came from John 1:6-8, 19-28 and we centered on the faith of John the Baptist, his probable upbringing in faith and the personal courage that comes from faith that allows all of us to take that first step of obedience to going where God would have us be. I mentioned the testimony of the late Rev. E. V. Hill of the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church of Los Angeles, California. E. V. was born in, of all places, Seguin to a impoverished family with a mom of deep faith who told E. V. he was to go to college and make something of his life. E. V. obediently took those steps of faith to get in a long line of students awaiting to register at Wiley College, a UM college in Marshall, Texas. He noticed all the students were dressed nicely and they all seemed to have envelopes with cash and checks and he realized they were paying for their registration. E. V. had only faith, but he still began to sweat as the line moved ever so slowly to the table where the students were leaving their money. Just as he's one person away from having to embarrass himself, as E. V. described it, a nicely dressed gentleman in a suit exited from the building walked right up to him and asked, "Are you E. V. Hill?" E. V. meekly replied he was, and the gentleman, who it turns out is the president of Wiley said, "You've already been taken care of! Come with me." It turns out that his momma's faith had provided for E. V. to receive a scholarship to pay for his college education.
We find that same faith in a passage from Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 that reads (see text below) of the prophetic word uttered, in faith, by the prophet Isaiah concerning the coming of He who is faith and in whom we place our faith. Isaiah heard God speaks of just what Jesus would do for us in bringing good news, release, restoration, etc. Your need is found in that list. Do you have the faith to claim it? Do you have the faith it takes to stand in line to claim what God has given you, even if you don't dress as nicely or have the envelope of financial resources?
PRAYER: God of short lines, we thank You for the gift of faith. I ask that I be given that faith that I need to receive for my ministry exactly what I need. May I receive it in faith, may I use it in faith, to honor and serve You! I ask this in the Name of He who brought the reason for this special season, Jesus the Christ, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
