Loving God in spite of the uncertainty of these times, Your faithfulness upon this child of Yours who is reading this devotional, remains steadfast. Thank You! In Jesus' name, amen.
My being away for a couple of days made it impossible to send out ConCafe as I would have liked. We stayed in some cabins where we could not get internet access.
Our theme this week has been on that part of Advent that says, Christ is coming again. It's reflected in our creeds, and in our orders of worship, especially those related to Communion; in fact, part of celebrating the Lord's Supper is that which says one day we who love the Lord will all sit together in that Heavenly Banquet.
As we read in 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 we find Paul saying,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, 5 for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind-- 6 just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you-- 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Paul was reminding the church in Corinth that they had God's grace working in them. This was evident in the work they were doing. The more they did for the Lord, the more the Lord blessed them. "You have been enriched in him," Paul writes, "in speech and knowledge of every kind -- just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you." He reminds them also that they are rich in all spiritual gifts as they were waiting for the "revealing" (return) of Jesus. Paul's promise is that they, and we, will be made stronger until the end, and we will be blameless on that day. It is all a part of the fellowship of God's Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
We don't think much about Jesus' return do we? How can we, some may ask? We're too busy just trying to live this life that we don't have time to think about a "next life!" The reality is that that day comes regardless of whether we want it to or not. Two days ago I learned of the death of a colleague in ministry, The Rev. Kathleen Baskin-Ball of Allen, Texas. Kathleen was a wonderful pastor and more recently had been elected to chair her conference's Board of Ordained Ministry. As a result of her election, and mine, we were trained together this past August, in Nashville, Tennessee. She was an extraordinary person. She had learned Spanish so she could minister in a West Dallas church that she started. She served there for seven years before being convinced to leave to help young churches. Her present appointment was this church in Allen that grew from 396 to 1,600 members. The last Sunday she was able, she preached all three services and welcomed in six new members and baptized 35 children. Because of her illness (cancer), Jesus came for Kathleen when her body gave out. All that Paul mentions in the above passage, Kathleen lived out. As should we. We work for the Lord because we love the Lord. And when our work here is done, the Lord who loves us, will return for us.
Prayer: Lord of life, we know You have received your daughter Kathleen, into Your eternal rest. We thank You for her life and ministry. Bring Your comfort and peace to her husband and her four-year-old son, Skylar. Be with us here as we seek to love You more. May our works give praise to You in the faith we have, that one day You will return for us. Help us be ready we ask, in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
