Good morning dear friends. Nellie and I thank you for your prayers for our time off. It was a most relaxing and restful time, thanks to God. I trust you continued with faithful study and devotional time with God.
Here is our Gospel text for today and the one recommended for this coming Sunday: Mark 3: 20 and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. 21 When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, "He has gone out of his mind." 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons." 23 And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. 27 But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered. 28 "Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"— 30 for they had said, "He has an unclean spirit." 31 Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you." 33 And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" 34 And looking at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother." (NRSV)
We are in that part of the Christian year called Pentecost. It is a time to celebrate and remember and share with others the continuing work of God as done through God's Holy Spirit. It is an awesome work simplified to say God's Comforter or Counselor is in our midst. And this passage shared above deals with Jesus' view of the importance and sacredness of God's work among us: No one should slander the work of God repeatedly for it is a serious sin, viewed even as unforgiveable, for such is the importance and centrality of God's work through the Holy Spirit. In this passage it was the Holy Spirit that moved Jesus to perform the miracles of healing and unexplainable signs. The Holy Spirit even led Jesus to the choosing of the twelve who would minister alongside Him and then have responsibility for the continuation of God's work after His death. The Holy Spirit also led Jesus to make a declaration of the power of the Holy Spirit that demons and devils could be driven out, for such was the importance of the work of God, that not even the negative forces of evil should be present where God and God's people are gathered. Such work and teachings led people to think that Jesus may have gone past the limits of sanity and word got back to his mother, brothers and sisters, and these came to take Jesus home to allow Him to rest and come back to Himself. Jesus asked an important question of truth, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" (v. 33) and He replied, "Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother." (v. 34). One version has Jesus saying, "Obedience is thicker than blood."
How is the Holy Spirit at work in your life? Are you listening and being guided by God through the Holy Spirit to do God's work in your life and in the realm of your influence? Can we ask the same about your church? Can faithfulness and fruitfulness be said to be characteristics of your church's ministry? I urged all of the churches in my district to find their comfort zone and to ask themselves, "What is it going to take on the part of God to get you to move beyond your comfort zone?" We exist not to care for our members, but to get our members to care for those who are not yet in a relationship with God. I urged churches (this means individual members as well!) to do three things: 1) Something uncomfortable. 2) Someting outrageous, and I would not define that for them, God would. 3) Something courageous. God's Holy Spirit is present and willing to help us do God's work in our midst.
PRAYER: Loving God, continue to work among us. May Your Holy Spirit make us uncomfortable and outrageous to do the things that we must do to win the lost. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
PRAYER UPDATE: Many of you have been praying for "Uncle Dan" who is battling cancer and here is his most recent update: THANK YOU, JESUS! Lita and I just returned from our meeting with the surgeon, Dr. Jon Wee. He told us that the PET scan I had earlier in the morning showed that the cancer had not spread to any other organs, and that the area at the base of the esophagus is remarkably clear, as well. As a result my surgery has been scheduled for Friday, June 22 at 7:30 a.m. Thank you so much for your prayers! Blood Counts Much Better. Nothing Is Hidden. As I was strapped down on the platform for the PET scan, I was thinking how the scanner was piercing my body with the purpose of detecting something that if left untreated would bring death to my body. As I thought about this I could not help but think about how God's word has that same effect. The writer to the Hebrews describes it this way: "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:12-13). This is exactly what a PET scan is doing: penetrating, judging the cells, uncovering and laying bare, nothing is hidden. Is it any wonder then when confronted with the challenge to spend time with the Lord in His word that the response might be ignorance is bliss? But nothing could be more harmful to our very lives than to ignore that which not only reveals those things that bring death but also provides the very treatment that brings life. His word brings life, spend time in it!
Our hearts are filled and overflowing with thanksgiving and praise to our wonderful God. Your continuous flow of prayers, emails, cards, phone calls, passages from God's word all come at just the right time. Lita and I continue to experience the Lord's incredible peace as we continue, one day at a time, on the journey before us. Thank you for walking with us.
AMEN!
