BEEN ON A RETREAT LATELY?

Loving God of all things, as this dear reader begins the challenges of a busy day, bless and protect them; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Here is our text for today from Matthew 17: 1 Six days later, three of them saw that glory. Jesus took Peter and the brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain. 2 His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes. Sunlight poured from his face. His clothes were filled with light. 3 Then they realized that Moses and Elijah were also there in deep conversation with him. 4 Peter broke in, "Master, this is a great moment! What would you think if I built three memorials here on the mountain - one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah?" 5 While he was going on like this, babbling, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and sounding from deep in the cloud a voice: "This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to him." 6 When the disciples heard it, they fell flat on their faces, scared to death. 7 But Jesus came over and touched them. "Don't be afraid." 8 When they opened their eyes and looked around all they saw was Jesus, only Jesus. 9 Coming down the mountain, Jesus swore them to secrecy. "Don't breathe a word of what you've seen. After the Son of Man is raised from the dead, you are free to talk." (The Message)

The Christian Church encourages retreats; time spent away from the challenges and knocks of daily life to deepen one's walk with God. The model comes from Jesus and the times He spent away from the crowds and requests. Today's passage is such one retreat. Jesus wants to spend deep time in prayer and brings with Him, Peter, James and John; His inner circle from the disciples. Once on this mountain they saw in Jesus what previously they had only heard: Mentions of glory and the sacredness and awesomeness of God. It was such a profound moment even today we cannot fully understand that moment and still label it as a transfiguration. "Sunlight poured from his face. His clothes were filled with light," are attempts to remember the profoundness of that encounter with God through Jesus that these three had. And what totally blew them away was that they saw and were able to recognize Moses and Elijah as being present with Jesus. It was truly a spiritual event. And if that was not enough they heard from Heaven, a voice that again marks Jesus as God's Son.

What would you have taken away from that time with God? I have a list! 1) God is real. 2) Jesus is the Son of God. 3) Jesus revealed the awesome power of God and God's glory. 4) The dead do live again. 5) Retreats are essential. While you may add more to your list, let me encourage you to take a mini-retreat during this week. It doesn't require mountains or location for that matter, just shut out for a time, the noises and buzzes of daily life. Close your eyes and listen for God. The experience will be a blessing.

PRAYER; Loving God, bless me with wisdom to manage my time so that today or one day this week I may retreat into You. I seek to hear You and to be blessed by You. When I complete my retreat, allow me to charge forward with hope and faith to that which awaits me and my life. I ask this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.

Eradio Valverde

KNOWING WHERE YOU ARE

God of all seasons, bless and make the season this dear reader is going through, the best of their life; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Our text is taken from Psalm 131: 1 God, I'm not trying to rule the roost, I don't want to be king of the mountain. I haven't meddled where I have no business or fantasized grandiose plans. 2 I've kept my feet on the ground, I've cultivated a quiet heart. Like a baby content in its mother's arms, my soul is a baby content. 3 Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always! (The Message)

It is a good thing to know where you are. In all things. Your location. Your direction. Your health. Your emotional state. Your financial state. The most important is your spiritual state. The Psalmist today writes about just where he is and where he believes Israel needs to be. In his personal relationship with God he is good. He knows God to be God and himself not to be. He's also content to know where he is in his personal life. He's not had to go and get into someone else's business or tried to make some huge plan about where he would like to be. He's keep his feet on the ground with a quiet, content heart. His illustration about a content baby ("weaned" baby in the NRSV) speaks to the heart of those parents and grandparents around babies. Believe me, there's nothing like a content baby! And for Israel, theirs is to wait with hope for God.

What about you? Are you in a content place, or has uneasiness mixed in with unhappiness to put you in a confused state? In God we have the answers. In God's word we can find solutions. Today's lesson was a great example; know who and Whose you are and that goes a long way to quiet you down. Don't let the loftiness of your goals carry you off the ground; in other words keep doing what needs to be done. And above all, let your life be one of hope and not fear. Ours is a faith that never gives up hope.

PRAYER: Loving God, speak to my life with Your love and hope. Let me know exactly where it is that I should be. Let my life radiate hope to all so that hope, not fear, rule our world. In Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name I pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

LIGHT FOR THE WORLD?

Amazing God of grace and compassion, pour out Your love and power on the needs of this dear reader; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Our text for today comes from the Old Testament book of Isaiah 49: 6 He says, "But that's not a big enough job for my servant - just to recover the tribes of Jacob, merely to round up the strays of Israel. I'm setting you up as a light for the nations so that my salvation becomes global!" 7 God, Redeemer of Israel, The Holy of Israel, says to the despised one, kicked around by the nations, slave labor to the ruling class: "Kings will see, get to their feet - the princes, too - and then fall on their faces in homage Because of God, who has faithfully kept his word, The Holy of Israel, who has chosen you." 8 God also says: "When the time's ripe, I answer you. When victory's due, I help you. I form you and use you to reconnect the people with me, To put the land in order, to resettle families on the ruined properties. 9 I tell prisoners, 'Come on out. You're free!' and those huddled in fear, 'It's all right. It's safe now.' There'll be foodstands along all the roads, picnics on all the hills - 10 Nobody hungry, nobody thirsty, shade from the sun, shelter from the wind, For the Compassionate One guides them, takes them to the best springs. 11 I'll make all my mountains into roads, turn them into a superhighway. 12 Look: These coming from far countries, and those, out of the north, These streaming in from the west, and those from all the way down the Nile!" 13 Heavens, raise the roof! Earth, wake the dead! Mountains, send up cheers! God has comforted his people. He has tenderly nursed his beaten-up, beaten-down people. 14 But Zion said, "I don't get it. God has left me. My Master has forgotten I even exist." 15 "Can a mother forget the infant at her breast, walk away from the baby she bore? But even if mothers forget, I'd never forget you - never. 16 Look, I've written your names on the backs of my hands. (The Message)

My three grandchildren have a fascination with flashlights. Something about holding those and waving them wildly on the ceiling, the floor at the walls, in semi-darkness, makes them laugh and smile. One even has the Fisher-Price one we bought for his mom. Light defeating darkness always intrigues us. Some of us have been in caverns where the trip involves getting into a part of the cave where the lights are extinguished and the guide will say a few word and invite us to hold our hands before our eyes to see if we can see anything. The answer is always no. The darkness is always so intense. Then the guide will light a match and that small match pierces the darkness in a grand way. So do our lives when we reflect the light of Christ as we live as Christians. Our acts of charity, compassion, concern pierce the darkness found in the world. This is the point of this passage. The prophet Isaiah is telling them what God has shared with him, live a life that shows the world the way of the true God. We should live a life that invites others to come and see the fullness of life found in Christ Jesus. The love of God for all people is compared to the love of a nursing mother to her child AND God has written our nems on the back of His hands.

Are you piercing the darkness? Have you allowed Jesus to pierce the darkness in your life? Live today in a positive, uplifting way that will show the world a better way to live.

PRAYER: Loving God, thank You for allowing Jesus to shine brightly in my life when I needed You most. May that light continue in a way that shows others what is available to them. I pray this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.

Eradio Valverde

GUIDE OR GUARD?

God of strength during the journey; refresh and renew this dear reader in all they face today; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Our text for today comes from 1 Corinthians 4: 1 Don't imagine us leaders to be something we aren't. We are servants of Christ, not his masters. We are guides into God's most sublime secrets, not security guards posted to protect them. 2 The requirements for a good guide are reliability and accurate knowledge. 3 It matters very little to me what you think of me, even less where I rank in popular opinion. I don't even rank myself. Comparisons in these matters are pointless. 4 I'm not aware of anything that would disqualify me from being a good guide for you, but that doesn't mean much. The Master makes that judgment. 5 So don't get ahead of the Master and jump to conclusions with your judgments before all the evidence is in. When he comes, he will bring out in the open and place in evidence all kinds of things we never even dreamed of - inner motives and purposes and prayers. Only then will any one of us get to hear the "Well done!" of God. (The Message)

My church in Houston, El Buen Pastor (The Good Shepherd) United Methodist Church, was started by the youngest daughter of an important man in Texas history, Jose Policarpo "Polly" Rodriguez. In my high school estimation, she was "ancient" when I met her, but I'll never forget her taking our delegation to annual conference in Kerrville, to her childhood home near Privilege Creek. The church that her dad built by hand is still standing and in great shape. It is made of Hill Country stone and yes, the roof has been replaced several times. The ruins of her home were what caught my attention. I was, like I said, a high school student and she was telling me of the times they were attacked by Indians and she showed us how her daddy had fired from inside the house to protect them. The walls of the house were thick and the windows were fan-shaped to allow the rifle to swing from side to side as needed. After his death in 1914 neighbors burned down the house believing a fortuen could be found in the walls.

Among his many accomplishments, Polly was a guide for many years, having been named Head Guide of the US Army by General P. Smith. In 1877, he became a guide like the one Paul mentions, as he was ordained a Methodist pastor, building the chapel that bears his name in 1822. What a life! And ours can be the same if we truly know that we are guides, not guards. We know the amazing truth of God's love and we're called to share it with others. We can guide people from darkness to light; from death into life.

PRAYER: Amazing God, help me to take seriously the call to guide people from an existence to a life lived abundantly. Forgive me the days I have guarded my faith or worse, when I guarded my sins. Thank You for Your love; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

THE MESSAGE BEYOND THE BILLBOARDS

Loving God of life, comfort those who mourn this day, and may the needs of this dear reader be met in You; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Our text for today is from Matthew 6: 24 "You can't worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you'll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can't worship God and Money both. 25 "If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. 26 Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds. 27 "Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? 28 All this time and money wasted on fashion - do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, 29 but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. 30 "If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers - most of which are never even seen - don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? 31 What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. 32 People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. 33 Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. 34 "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. (The Message)

The state of Texas, like probably the other forty-nine, provides billboards that tempt so many. As you're driving and thinking about things, you glance up and think of the things you could have if that message on the billboard were truly for you. I'm referring to the lottery billboards and their constant reminder of how rich you could be if you won. Jesus says, you're looking at the wrong billboards! See the flowers growing under the billboard? How about the birds sitting on the lottery billboard? Yes, those are God-billboards reminding you of the divine economy. God provides at His initiative exactly what flowers and birds need. And Jesus says in this passage, God will do the same for you. Jesus also asks what we gain by worrying or being anxious about what we are to wear or what we are to eat. Jesus knew that stress kills and so His message is one of comfort, peace, and hope, if we "steep (our) life in God-reality, God-initiative, (and) God provisions." The reality is that God knows our situation and God will take the initiative, at His time, to provide exactly what we need.

There's more beauty and truth around and beyond the billboards and the message found there is from God. Look in the right places!

PRAYER: Loving God, help me today see the message I need to see in Your creation. I turn over to You the things that were causing me to worry and be anxious and I pray that Your Spirit will bring calm to my life; in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name I pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

138

Men of a certain age know their number. It's a number they will never forget. Mine was 138. For men born October 25, 1952 in a lottery held for the Selective Service (Draft)in 1971, our number was 138. The military called everyone with numbers 1-125. I missed being drafted by lucky 13. Now, the purpose of this devotional is not to get into a debate about selective service for it is a biblical issue. Re-read the story of Samuel when the people of Israel wanted a king and God said to the folks, If I give you a king one of the first things he will do is to draft your sons and daughters into service for the nation. Of course, the daughters were not necessarily called into military service, yes, Deborah was a fierce and well-respected military fighter and leader, so its roots are biblical. What has impressed me all these years is how men remember their "number."

What other numbers are important to you? 203 was my boyhood home address. 2909 was the number of my second boyhood home. 4115 is the number of my parents' home during my high school years, and I remember a certain phone number even to this day and "she" still marvels that I do! ;) How about 316? You might better remember it in this fashion: 3:16 and usually with the name "John" right in front of it. For those who know the Bible you'll know immediately that it is a reference to one of the greatest messages in history: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish , but have everlasting life." Of all the numbers in your history, never forget 3:16. 10:10 is another one of my absolute favorites and it also comes from John: "The thief cometh not, but for to steal , and to kill , and to destroy : I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." In that verse is all the theology we need to know the great grace of God, we have two to choose from, the one who takes away and destroys completely our lives or the One who came that we might have life and life in abundance.

PRAYER: Loving God, thank You for knowing my name. I am more than a number to You and You have called me to love You and I am blessed by Your love for me. As I face this day let me do so with that great blessing of joy and peace so that I might be faithful to You. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

YOU FOLLOWING THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD?

Loving God of life and light, shine brightly the fullness of life into the needs of this dear reader; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Our text for today comes from Psalm 119:1 You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. 2 You're blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him. 3 That's right - you don't go off on your own; you walk straight along the road he set. 4 You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. 5 Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; 6 Then I'd never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel. 7 I thank you for speaking straight from your heart; I learn the pattern of your righteous ways. 8 I'm going to do what you tell me to do; don't ever walk off and leave me. (The Message)

This past week, Nellie and I returned to the place where we honeymooned some 33 years ago. On the 25th it will be exactly 33 years that we went to Disney World for our honeymoon. This time, three of our daughters, two sons-in-law, and two grandchildren came with us, so it was a very special time. One of the stops was the movie tour at Hollywood Studios which takes you to the set of many of the great movies of all time, including one I finally saw in color, The Wizard of Oz. If you've never seen it, here's a spoiler alert: It starts in black and white and then at a certain part it's in full color. Unless you're poor and it stays in black and white, which it did for many years in our house. I'm not complaining, just relating. The part that stayed with me was the instruction for finding the Emerald City; "Follow the yellow brick road!" And on the tour you see the yellow brick road and how it winds away from the Munchkin village. L. Frank Baum, the author of the book was a Methodist and whether the book has any religious significance or not, the message from today's psalm is certainly a worthy one: God provides the path, if we seek it and if we follow it, it is a path of blessings and life. We're free to wander on our own and those of us who have know it usually doesn't lead anywhere worthwhile; we're better off seeking God and sticking close to Him.

What path are you following today? Are you seeking and being guided by God or following your own way?

PRAYER: Loving God, help me seek You today. Let Your path be the steps I follow today. I seek to be obedient and to be trusting of what you do. I ask this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

THE DESERTS OF YESTERDAY ARE BEST LEFT THERE

Loving God of all mercy, grant that this dear reader may know of Your love and care for her/him in ways that are uplifting; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Our text for today comes from Deuteronomy 30: 15 Look at what I've done for you today: I've placed in front of you Life and Good Death and Evil. 16 And I command you today: Love God, your God. Walk in his ways. Keep his commandments, regulations, and rules so that you will live, really live, live exuberantly, blessed by God, your God, in the land you are about to enter and possess. 17 But I warn you: If you have a change of heart, refuse to listen obediently, and willfully go off to serve and worship other gods, 18 you will most certainly die. You won't last long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you today: I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you and your children will live. 20 And love God, your God, listening obediently to him, firmly embracing him. Oh yes, he is life itself, a long life settled on the soil that God, your God, promised to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (The Message)

What an assembly occurred on that day. The Exodus from Egypt was at its forty year end. The original leader, Moses, was dead, and the youthful, new leader, Joshua, probably with much fear and excitement, shares these words, inspired by God, to those who were about to cross into the Promised Land. "Friends, we have a choice; after 40 years of wandering in the desert we find ourselves at this wonderful and critical point. God has been trying to form us as His people and it's up to us to decide: Do we want to live? And not just live, but live fully and abundantly with God and with each other? Then, choose that which God has been trying to share with us, and we, you and I, will be blessed. If you choose the other option, you will die. Our choice is simple, Life or Death, Blessing or Curse? Which will you choose? Hint, I'm choosing life through God." The same can be said for us when we come to the point where we decide to become believers and we commit our lives to God. We don't look back to what we've left behind, it's all desert, desolate and a place to which, like yesterday, we cannot return even if we wanted, but who would want to do such a foolish thing? The point where we are is a point of life and blessing with God, choose to walk forward!

And forward we walk, dear friends, trusting God, believing what God's promises are for us at this point of our lives. The best is yet to come!

PRAYER: Loving God, take my hand and lead me on, upward and onward, to the place of life and blessing. Let me leave behind the deserts of yesterday, those places where it was difficult to find life. I ask this in Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.

Eradio Valverde

IS IT ALL ABOUT ME?

God of the ages, bless and protect the life of this dear reader in all they may face today; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Our text for today comes from 1 Corinthians 3: 1 But for right now, friends, I'm completely frustrated by your unspiritual dealings with each other and with God. You're acting like infants in relation to Christ, 2 capable of nothing much more than nursing at the breast. Well, then, I'll nurse you since you don't seem capable of anything more. 3 As long as you grab for what makes you feel good or makes you look important, are you really much different than a babe at the breast, content only when everything's going your way? 4 When one of you says, "I'm on Paul's side," and another says, "I'm for Apollos," aren't you being totally infantile? 5 Who do you think Paul is, anyway? Or Apollos, for that matter? Servants, both of us - servants who waited on you as you gradually learned to entrust your lives to our mutual Master. We each carried out our servant assignment. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. 7 It's not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. 8 Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. 9 What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God's field in which we are working. (The Message)

Ah, the joys of having things our way! There's nothing like it, is there? I can't think of anything more selfish actually. And this was exactly what Paul was dealing with in his churches. As he had started these churches he did so in proclaiming the love of God through Jesus Christ and urging them to be right with God so when the end came, they would all be taken up to Heaven. And for a while, the model of everyone getting along and everyone caring for each other worked well, then came an issue or a disagreement about something. It may have been the worship hour and some thought "church" was too early and some thought church was too late. Or it may have been the covered dish and some felt that some were serving themselves "seconds" their first time through. Okay, it may not have been that way, but what Paul is stressing is to keep the main thing the main thing. We all have a job to do and we all need to serve God, everything else is just details.

What's the main thing distracting you today in serving God? Put all things aside and put God first. Make your life spiritual and it will show!

PRAYER: Loving God, I confess that sometimes I put myself before even You and I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I confess that sometimes I put myself before others and I allow small things to become big things of worry and I'm sorry. Let me begin today by putting You first. Let me put the needs and cares of others before me so that they may know that I belong to You. I pray this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

He (Jesus) said to him, " "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' May this set the tone for the love we celebrate everyday. Happy Valentine's Day!

Loving God, bless this dear reader with Your love; may they sense that they are not alone nor not loved; I pray this in Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.

Our text for today comes from Matthew 5:21 "You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.' 22 I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother 'idiot!' and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell 'stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill. 23 "This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, 24 abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God. 25 "Or say you're out on the street and an old enemy accosts you. Don't lose a minute. Make the first move; make things right with him. After all, if you leave the first move to him, knowing his track record, you're likely to end up in court, maybe even jail. 26 If that happens, you won't get out without a stiff fine. 27 "You know the next commandment pretty well, too: 'Don't go to bed with another's spouse.' 28 But don't think you've preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices - they also corrupt. 29 "Let's not pretend this is easier than it really is. If you want to live a morally pure life, here's what you have to do: You have to blind your right eye the moment you catch it in a lustful leer. You have to choose to live one-eyed or else be dumped on a moral trash pile. 30 And you have to chop off your right hand the moment you notice it raised threateningly. Better a bloody stump than your entire being discarded for good in the dump. 31 "Remember the Scripture that says, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him do it legally, giving her divorce papers and her legal rights'? 32 Too many of you are using that as a cover for selfishness and whim, pretending to be righteous just because you are 'legal.' Please, no more pretending. If you divorce your wife, you're responsible for making her an adulteress (unless she has already made herself that by sexual promiscuity). And if you marry such a divorced adulteress, you're automatically an adulterer yourself. You can't use legal cover to mask a moral failure. 33 "And don't say anything you don't mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. 34 You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, 'I'll pray for you,' and never doing it, or saying, 'God be with you,' and not meaning it. You don't make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. 35 36 37 Just say 'yes' and 'no.' When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus readdresses the basic points of human relationships. Jesus stressed our need to get right with God, our need to get right with others, and our need to get right with ourselves. In this passage, Jesus is sharing what He had heard in his language, people telling others off in anger, sometimes not knowing or not caring that words can harm or kill. I heard a pastor recently preach something I had experienced and shared in some of my sermons that some of the deepest scars and wounds we carry are not visible because they are deep within our soul and spirit. Things someone said without thinking or with deep malicious intent. Things that sometimes parents do without thinking, not realizing that we have left a deep wound inside someone's life. The rest of the passage are instructions for dealing with others before we can say that we're right with God. Get control of your life, Jesus is saying, including your thoughts, and all will be well.

What is it that is ruining your life, spiritual or otherwise, that you need to control?

PRAYER: Loving God, I thank You for Jesus and His great example. May the words He shared with us in this passage speak to my heart in a helpful, uplifting way; and may my words today be those that build and encourage, heal and strengthen. Forgive me for the times I have maimed or killed someone with my words. I ask this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

P.S. Thank you for your prayers and understanding for my time away. I'm still out of the office now doing work. Nellie and I had a great time with family and an early celebration of our anniversary which comes up on the 25th.

Happy Post-Super Bowl Monday!

Dear friends,

For the next couple of weeks I will be on the road so I will not be sharing ConCare. I will still do my devotional time but not in written form.

Please continue a devotional time with Scripture, prayer, and application to what you read and what you hear God is asking of you.

Please keep Nellie and I in your prayers.

Blessings!

Eradio Valverde

HAVING A RIGHT HEART BEFORE GOD AND OTHERS

God of all weather, bless and protect those who have no shelter from the cold; bless the elderly who live alone, and use us in any and all ways You can so that we might be a part of their blessings; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Our text for today comes from Psalm 112: 1 Hallelujah! Blessed man, blessed woman, who fear God, Who cherish and relish his commandments, 2 Their children robust on the earth, And the homes of the upright - how blessed! 3 Their houses brim with wealth And a generosity that never runs dry. 4 Sunrise breaks through the darkness for good people - God's grace and mercy and justice! 5 The good person is generous and lends lavishly; 6 No shuffling or stumbling around for this one, But a sterling and solid and lasting reputation. 7 Unfazed by rumor and gossip, Heart ready, trusting in God, 8 Spirit firm, unperturbed, Ever blessed, relaxed among enemies, 9 They lavish gifts on the poor - A generosity that goes on, and on, and on. An honored life! A beautiful life! 10 Someone wicked takes one look and rages, Blusters away but ends up speechless. There's nothing to the dreams of the wicked. Nothing. (The Message)

The theme for this week's passages has been having a right heart before God and others. In today's Psalm, the Psalmist is declaring what he knew to be true in his life; those who lovingly trust (fear) God and who live in faithful obedience to God's presence in their lives are blessed in many ways. Not all believers receive the same blessing, but to enjoy a life where one knows that God loves and cares for us should suffice as one of life's greatest blessings. And even in spite of the economic challenges of today, the theme of generosity runs through the scriptures we've read this week. As God gives to us, so should we give and share with others. Giving creates a wonderful feeling to those who give knowing that we are being blessed as much as the one who receives our blessing. It does lead to having a firm spirit content with the presence of God in our lives.

(Make this YOUR )PRAYER: Awesome God, I seek to be one who has a right heart before You and others. I confess it is not always easy, but with Your presence in my life it can be. Let me know how to best share generously with others. I ask this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

ARE YOUR PRAYERS GETTING OFF THE GROUND?

Loving God of all creation, You have made this child in Your image; may they reflect it in such a way even they are blessed by it! In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Here is our text for today from Isaiah 58: 1 "Shout! A full-throated shout! Hold nothing back - a trumpet-blast shout! Tell my people what's wrong with their lives, face my family Jacob with their sins! 2 They're busy, busy, busy at worship, and love studying all about me. To all appearances they're a nation of right-living people - law-abiding, God-honoring. They ask me, 'What's the right thing to do?' and love having me on their side. 3 But they also complain, 'Why do we fast and you don't look our way? Why do we humble ourselves and you don't even notice?' "Well, here's why: "The bottom line on your 'fast days' is profit. You drive your employees much too hard. 4 You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight. You fast, but you swing a mean fist. The kind of fasting you do won't get your prayers off the ground. 5 Do you think this is the kind of fast day I'm after: a day to show off humility? To put on a pious long face and parade around solemnly in black? Do you call that fasting, a fast day that I, God, would like? 6 "This is the kind of fast day I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. 7 What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. 8 Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage. 9 Then when you pray, God will answer. You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.' A Full Life in the Emptiest of Places "If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people's sins, 10 If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight. 11 I will always show you where to go. I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places - firm muscles, strong bones. You'll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry. 12 You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You'll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again. (The Message)

If you read carefully the passage above in today's language that is The Message version of the Bible, you noticed several things that either make you excited or scared. And so it is with the things of God. We sometimes don't fully understand them all, but still we press on. It was Isaiah's job to get the people back to God, as is the job of all who would profess to speak for God, and in this passage he states to the people of God, us included, that it's not enough to act holy and do holy things - ours is a life that brings all realms of it into full glory and reflection of God. The people were complaining that it seemed that their prayers were not being answered or that their lives were not being blessed yet here they were in church all the time, singing in the choir or teaching Sunday school. Isaiah replies that it goes beyond living or pretending to live a holy life, to that of truly being holy and loving towards God and others. The list of sins against the people then made me go, "ouch!" It hits close to home! Look at this meddler and how involved he's getting into our "business!"

We pray and fast for what WE can get out of it (that's what he means by "profit.").

We push others harder than we would allow ourselves to be, and that includes those who work for us.

We're in worship and doing all the right things of church, yet we bicker and fight with each other.

We act like we're not aware of injustices around us and sometimes are even the causes of those.

AND LOOK WHAT HE EXPECTS!

Feed the hungry.

Invite the homeless into our homes.

Clothe those who are shivering (it's cold in these parts isn't it?).

AND "Be available to your own family." Ouch, ouch!

Quit gossiping.

Give of ourselves.

As you've heard or as you've said, believing in God and calling ourselves Christian is not easy nor was it ever intended to be; ours is a job of love and compassion to all.

(Make this YOUR PRAYER:) Loving God, I confess that sometimes I worship and pray for the wrong reason. I have a tendency to want the best for myself and my family, and I don't do what blesses others especially the ones who do not yet know you. I saw the list and I want You to help me with it. And let me do it and live it not grudgingly, but with excitement and gratefulness for what You have done for me. I pray this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

GOT WISDOM?

Glorious God, may Your glory shine brightly on the steps of this dear reader; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Our text for today comes from 1 Corinthians 2: 1 You'll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God's master stroke, I didn't try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. 2 I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did - Jesus crucified. 3 I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate - I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it - 4 and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God's Spirit and God's power did it, 5 which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God's power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else. 6 We, of course, have plenty of wisdom to pass on to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground, but it's not popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom of high-priced experts that will be out-of-date in a year or so. 7 God's wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don't find it lying around on the surface. It's not the latest message, but more like the oldest - what God determined as the way to bring out his best in us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. 8 The experts of our day haven't a clue about what this eternal plan is. If they had, they wouldn't have killed the Master of the God-designed life on a cross. 9 That's why we have this Scripture text: No one's ever seen or heard anything like this, Never so much as imagined anything quite like it - What God has arranged for those who love him. 10 But you've seen and heard it because God by his Spirit has brought it all out into the open before you. 11 Who ever knows what you're thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God - except that he not only knows what he's thinking, 12 but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. 13 We don't have to rely on the world's guesses and opinions. We didn't learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we're passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way. 14 The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can't receive the gifts of God's Spirit. There's no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit - God's Spirit and our spirits in open communion. 15 Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God's Spirit is doing, and can't be judged by unspiritual critics. 16 Isaiah's question, "Is there anyone around who knows God's Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?" has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ's Spirit. (The Message)

It's like Paul knows that we need a reminder! And we do. We sometimes get easily overwhelmed by the demands of life and our minds go into overdrive and our thoughts wander off and become doubts. Paul reminds us that God knows what He is doing and if we keep our eyes and spirits open to God, we will know what God is doing. And what God is doing is our eternal plan. If we allow our spirits to seek God through devotional time, worship in private and public settings, through scripture reading, through prayer; God will speak to us. Isaiah had asked many years before Paul wrote this, "Is there anyone around who knows God's Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?" And Paul says now we do. The question remains, though, what will we do about it?

PRAYER: Loving God, speak to my spirit. Let me not only know but to live what is Your plan for my life. Help me to share that plan with others. I am blessed by it and I want to share that life with others. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.

Eradio Valverde

PS I'm thanking God that 31 years ago, God blessed Nellie and I with our firstborn baby, Nellie Maria! Happy Birthday to her!