Photo of Robert Elizondo from his FaceBook page!
As He taught, He said, ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.’ He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then He called His disciples and said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’ (Mark 12: 38-44)
Happy Monday, dear Friend! I pray you and yours had a wonderful weekend, as Nellie and I did. We were blessed to be invited to preach at First United Methodist Church of Goldthwaite, TX yesterday. We were hosted by The Rev. John Alsbrooks and his wife, Sharon, two dear, long-time friends of ours. As I sat down in church to check-in on FaceBook, the above photograph was the first thing I saw and it blessed my heart! The young man is Robert Elizondo, a long-time reader of ConCafe. I told him he blessed me with sharing this photo, wearing the ConCafe t-shirt! May the Lord bless him and you all who read this devotional! I encourage all of you to go and vote tomorrow, if you have not already done so. I will not tell you how to vote, but I do encourage you to be a participate in democracy; not voting is voting away your right to choose the candidate whom you believe will serve our country better. Voting came with a hard price for so many, especially those who came before us; let's honor them by voting!
Yesterday was Consecration/Stewardship Sunday in Goldthwaite and I shared the story of the widow from Luke's passage. I shared the little story of two men who found themselves on a deserted island. The first was running back and forth trying to find a way to let others know where they were. He wanted to start a fire so that aircraft searching for them would find them. The other man sat down with a book he had rescued and started reading. The first asked him, "Aren' you worried? We may never be found!" The second man just said, "I'm a tither. I give $100,000 a month to my church. My pastor will find me!"
In this passage, Jesus points out two different people; the first He lumps in a group, the scribes. These men truly had given their all to God (in their own way); they were not allowed to marry, for they were married to their work of studying and writing the scriptures. They worked long and difficult hours to do their work and they wore a distinct robe that identified them as scribes. They also took advantage of that position, for they loved the attention they received in public, and in worship, they enjoyed the "best seats." For Methodists, that would mean they sat in the back! (what?). At covered dishes, they were first in line! (What again?) They would take advantage of widows' houses, which meant those believed to have little to no protection or "covering" from a man, were taken advantage of, but these men, who were supposed to be men of God. The widow were among the lowest rung of society during those days, for they were no longer under the protection of their husbands, and depended on their families, if they had any, to care for them.
Jesus then sits by the treasury of the temple. It was a large, brass receptacle that would receive the coin (there were no paper currency at that time) offerings of the people. You can imagine the noise these coins would make hitting the brass and making its way into the depository. I believe many liked to make a lot of noise to draw attention to themselves and their offering. It was their own "Look at me! See how much I am giving to the church!" I've shared how my home church in Houston used to have a policy of sharing on the back cover of the bulletin a list of individuals' giving for the previous week. That to me seemed a bit embarrassing for some, and a bit showoff for others. If a pastor tried to do that today, one can only imagine the push-back they would receive from such a matter. But, here comes a widow. One of the group Jesus mentions that the scribes took advantage of, and she put in two small copper coins that together were worth a penny. Her name would be dead last on the list of givers for that week. Yet, Jesus tells His disciples, "This dear lady, has given more than all those have been making racket with their offerings. The others shared from the much they had; this lady has given her all to God. Everything she had was in that offering." Boom.
Which of these, dear friends, had the most faith in God? The ones giving from their wealth or the one who trusted God to give God her all. There was no promise of her next meal in having given her all. The utilities would come calling in whatever form they had that day. Christmas is just 50 days away at this writing! What gifts would she have given? (Of course, Christmas was not yet the holiday it is now, but you get the picture!) You know this lady has a seat of honor and glory in Heaven. You and I will get to know her name, her smile, and be blessed by her spirit when we see hear in Glory. We do ask, what seat and what honor will I have by what I've done so far? And of course, we either do what we do, or don't do what we should do, based on our faith. This is a wake-up call to many - Give your all to God. Your life, your heart, your mind, your body, your trust! Bless God and others will be blessed by your life.
PRAYER: Awesome Father, thank You for this dear woman's faith. May we be like her! Grant us an increase of faith that blesses You and Yours. We do this out of love, not out of show. We want to be a blessing because we have been blessed. You know our needs and our fears, and these we turn over to You. Be glorified in our lives. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be one who gives your all to God today!
Eradio Valverde
PS: Dear friends, I am putting a trip in September called Discover Greece: In the Footsteps of Paul the Apostle. The trip is from September 4 thru the 14 of 2019. We leave from Austin airport and cruise on a ship among some of the significant islands that blessed Paul, including Patmos where John experienced and recorded Revelation. Also, the Home where Mary spent her final days. Please email me your mailing address if you'd like a flyer with the entire tour outlined for you. Just reply to this email! Nellie and I would love to have you join us!
