Lord of life and love, love on this person today like never before! In Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.
Yesterday's message was about a special healing that took place outside the Temple; Peter and John, in the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, asked God to heal this man who had not walked since birth. Instead of receiving a coin or two for a morsal of bread, this man received a gift of a lifetime, the ability to walk. Not much is known of how this man lived out his years. What we do know, sadly, is that Peter and John received flak about what they did. They were called in and questioned and Peter used it as an opportunity to witness and preach about Jesus. The council, angered that the Temple was being used in this way, ordered them to stop. Peter and John said, Hmm, interesting dilemma; do we listen to you or to God?
When the two returned home they used the events of the day to witness and preach again, and God's Holy Spirit was poured out upon them and they all received boldness to witness to their faith. We're starting our second day of the Southwest Texas Annual Conference here in Corpus Christi, Texas. The first day is filled with lay and clergy meetings and the day closes with a Memorial and Communion service. Bishop Raul Garcia de Ochoa blew us all away with his powerful sermon based on 1 Peter 2:9-10 and basically said that if a church is to be a church, the lay people should turn over the leadership to the pastor, and the pastor should turn over the ministry to the people. He jokingly said a church in Houston in a workshop taught them that; "That was the $4,000 secret! So, save $4,000 and write that down and learn it!" If we, as a church, pray for the Holy Spirit to come down and give us boldness like He did in Acts, we, too, will be an Acts church. Ours will be the joy to go out and comfort, counsel, and cure the ills of our neighbors.
PRAYER: Loving God, pour out Your Holy Spirit on me. Give me boldness to be Your witness, to do Your work. We ask You continue to bless the work of this annual conference; be with our Bishop Jim Dorff, the district superintendents, the pastors, their spouses and families, the lay members and their families; let us all be about You and reaching Yours. I ask this in Jesus' Name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
---------------------1 Peter 2:9-10: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
