Handcrafted gods

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God rules: there's something to shout over! On the double, mainlands and islands - celebrate! Bright clouds and storm clouds circle 'round him; Right and justice anchor his rule. Fire blazes out before him, Flaming high up the craggy mountains. His lightnings light up the world; Earth, wide-eyed, trembles in fear. The mountains take one look at God And melt, melt like wax before earth's Lord. The heavens announce that he'll set everything right, And everyone will see it happen - glorious! All who serve handcrafted gods will be sorry - And they were so proud of their ragamuffin gods! On your knees, all you gods - worship him! And Zion, you listen and take heart! Daughters of Zion, sing your hearts out: God has done it all, has set everything right. You, God, are High God of the cosmos, Far, far higher than any of the gods. God loves all who hate evil, And those who love him he keeps safe, Snatches them from the grip of the wicked. Light-seeds are planted in the souls of God's people, Joy-seeds are planted in good heart-soil. So, God's people, shout praise to God, Give thanks to our Holy God! (Psalm 97 The Message)

A joyous Wednesday be yours, dear Friend. May our time together be a time of blessing and joy. May we be blessed in connecting and being more deeply rooted in Christ Jesus. In your prayers, pray for one another and pray for yourselves. Please continue in prayer for the family of José Refugio Garcia, father of our son-in-law, Jorge Garcia, husband to our daughter, Nellie. Mr. Garcia was diabetic and just last week had a foot amputated. Pray for God's comfort to be with the family.

Handcrafted. Isn't that a unique word? What thoughts come to mind when you hear that word? I think of the two special pair of boots that I have from Refugio, Texas. Handcrafted for me. I think also of the national franchised coffee chain that for a time had handcrafted soft drinks. For us, it means special care and attention and the use of human hands to make the product extra special. For the people reading this psalm, it's a dig at what Isaiah 44 addresses; human efforts to build for themselves handcrafted gods from trees or metals. To God, it is the funniest thing; to abandon worshiping the Creator and to create our own idols and give them the rightful place of God in our lives. David, as the psalmist, knows that God is the only God in existence. We may try to make our own, but they can never take the place of our God. This psalm is designed to remind us of that. It is a psalm of worship and he describes all the awesome attributes of God so that we can understand more deeply that awesomeness of God.

"God rules: there's something to shout over!" The next command is to celebrate. Justice and right belong to God and God can share those with us. The announcement from Heaven is that God will set everything right. And all will see it happen in a glorious way. Who will be the sorry ones? The ones who serve handcrafted gods. They will see the foolishness of their ways; graven images can do nothing for us. Our job is to worship God. Songs and hymns should break out of our mouths in worship. God deserves it, for God is a God of love and disapproves of those who love evil. God protects those who love Him. God provides freedom from the grip of wickedness. This should prompt praise! We have "light-seeds planted" in our souls, and "joy-seeds" in our hearts. use them to praise Him!

PRAYER: Awesome God; may our actions today and all days be handcrafted works of service and praise to You. Lord, bring to life the light-seeds and joy-seeds. May we radiate light and joy to all of those around us, especially those who are still awed by the handcrafted gods. This I pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. Remember you have light-seeds and joy-seeds planted in you. Bring those to life!

Blessings of love,

Eradio Valverde

Prison Doors Will Fling Open!

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One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation." She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out that very hour. But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, "These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe." The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here." The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God. (Acts 16:16-34 NRSV)

A blessing of hope and joy be yours today, dear Friend. I write this devotional after receiving word that my dear friend, Mr. Doug Smith, passed from this life to life eternal. His death goes with the promise of this passage, and I will try to address that as I write. I ask continued prayers for his widow Autumn, children Sam, Owen, and Ainsley. May God's comfort be with them during these days. Also prayers for Ms. Glenna Reese who underwent surgery in New Braunfels. May her surgery have gone well and recovery be a speedy one. I also ask prayers for the family of Mr. José Refugio Garcia, father to our son-in-law Jorge Garcia, husband of our daughter Nellie. Mr. Garcia died today, May 28th in the evening.

By the way, I am writing this on Tuesday, May 28th, which is a special day for Nellie and me as our second baby arrived on this day some years ago. So, we wish Saraí Valverde Cortez a very Happy and Special Birthday, asking that God grant her many more. We had a joyous celebration yesterday here in our home, and tonight her daughter, Saraí Evangelina Cortez will be singing a solo at the end of year concert of West Ridge Middle School with the concert being at Westlake High School tonight. Prayers also for my bride, Nellie, as she is not feeling well and we may have to miss that concert tonight.

This passage is all about power. It is also about money, which is what gets the disciples into trouble. In the realm of the unseen, what we know as the spiritual world, there are good forces, these of God and His angels at work; and the forces of evil, those of Satan and his demons. We are introduced to a manifestation of evil in this slave-girl and her ability to foretell the future. The only purpose of this was to make her owners money. I may have shared with some of you that a former associate pastor of mine was appointed to a church where the church had amassed a $900 phone bill because the outgoing pastor had been calling a 900-number for psychics. He wanted to know where he was going to be appointed next! He could have simply awaited the phone call that announces that information with outgoing pastors. He felt he could not wait and worried about what was next. My friend had to assume the responsibility for the church to pay off that large phone debt. Whether the slave-girl had the power to tell one's fortune or not, we do know the spirit in her did know the presence of God's Spirit within the disciples. "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation." The irony is that this spirit knew the way of salvation but never had accepted it for him/herself. It may have also renounced it and gone the way of the devil. It was now condemned to an eternity of enslavement to evil. And it knew power, for when Paul ordered it out of the slave-girl, it left. The girl was now free from the power of this demon. That was good news for her. The bad news was for her owner, for now she did not have the ability to tell the future or fortune of anyone.

This leads to Paul and Silas to be arrested. The charge was disturbing the peace and charges of unlawful conduct of sharing customs not known to the Roman state. It was enough to order them severely flogged and then kept in prison "securely." They are placed in the innermost cell of that prison, and fastened to stocks for their feet. They were not going anywhere easily. Now, most of us would have started (or continued) complaining, but not Paul or Silas. Having the power and peace of the Holy Spirit in their hearts and spirits, they begin to sing hymns. What a joyous witness! They prayed out loud and probably sang loudly. The other prisoners were now hearing a Christian witness by hearing these prayers and songs. Imagine being in the next cell and hearing a hymn possibly like our "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," and the sweet, powerful words of that hymn? And also hearing prayers of thanksgiving to God for the ability to share His love to people, and for the freedom given to a slave-girl. These prayers and hymns were having an impact on their lives. There suddenly comes an earthquake and it was so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken. All the doors of the prison are now open and everyone's chains were unfastened. Many prisoners would have run for their freedom, but these prisoners, having been exposed to the Truth, simply sit and await whatever was next, for they sensed that God was at work. The jailer thought the worst, and was about to impale himself fearing the same from the government, but hears the voice of Paul say, "We are all here, Do not harm yourself." The jailer and his family present themselves for baptism and are received into the kingdom of God.

God still has power to open prison doors. My dear friend Doug suffered for too long in a prison of cancer. I truly and deeply believe that God opened the doors of that prison and set Doug free from that jail and into His loving arms. Doug, I believe, has rejoined those whom he loved who went before him into Glory. He spoke often of his grandpa who was a preacher and who shared God's love with him. I told him yesterday that not only would Jesus be the One calling him to Himself, his grandpa would be there to receive him as well. And I believe that has happened. The other prisons out there also can fall to the power of God. It could be a prison of drug abuse, alcohol abuse, an addiction to nicotine, pleasures and urges; no prison door here on earth is so powerful that God cannot fling those doors open. We have to but ask and it will be done. We know the power of salvation and we should know to accept it and live it!

PRAYER: Loving God, May Your loving comfort be with those who are mourning here and everywhere. May Your healing be with those who are hurting and ill. Our prayers of peace and freedom for those enslaved or imprisoned in jails whose doors You can open. Break the chains of addiction and set all prisoners free to enjoy the fullness of life. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! You're carrying the key that can set so many free! Use it!

Blessings of love,

Eradio Valverde

We Have to Do Laundry in Heaven?

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"See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone's work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. "It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star." The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let everyone who hears say, "Come." And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift. The one who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen. (Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21)

I pray you are enjoying a tremendous Tuesday, dear Friend! I had the special opportunity to anoint Doug Smith with oil and to pray for him. He had asked that I anoint his head with oil in accordance with James 5. As I drove and prayed on the way there, the Lord gave me words about how the baptismal waters covered him at his baptism as a mark of his belonging to Jesus, and when Doug received Him as Lord and Savior, Doug was covered in the Blood of Jesus as a mark of washed sins taken away. The oil symbolizes the fact that ultimate healing belongs to God and God's will for Doug. I ask you please continue to pray for him. We ask that God's will be done, and that His merciful love be with him, Autumn, Sam, Owen, and Ainsley. Pray for one another, and pray for yourselves.

In 1971 I was dropped off at Lon Morris College. I had been well instructed by my Mom as to the ins and outs of laundry. I knew that I was not to wash my whites with the colors. I had seen plenty of pink undershirts on friends and knew that was the result of trying to save money by washing all clothes together. I lived on the second floor just down the hall from the dorm laundry room. I quickly learned that a favorite prank in this all-male dorm was to load the dryer with the recycled aluminum cans at about 1:30 or 2 a.m., put in the quarter and run. The sound was terrible and woke up all the second floor residents. Some of the guys chose to drive to a full-service laundromat. The guy who invited me to go with him said it was easiest to leave the laundry with the girls who worked there, as they would wash, dry, and fold the laundry. I have to admit that I felt like Kevin McAllister in Home Alone 2 and was reluctant to let anyone, especially unknown girls to see my laundry! So, the verse that jumped out at me as I read the text for today was that verse, "Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates."

Now before you go to the store to load up on heavenly detergent, here's the truth behind that verse. Jesus is coming back, and no one knows exactly when; "soon" is what most biblical texts written by Paul in his earlier works, and other epistle writers, including John, who wrote this, believe. When He comes, He is bringing with Him the reward with which He will pay us according to our lives and our life's work. He reminds us that He is the beginning and the end of all things. In Him we will find eternal life and love. The "washing" of our robes means have we loved Jesus enough to keep His commandments? If we do, our forgiveness is the washing of our robes. All filth, sin, doubt, trespass, etc. is washed away by the Lord. That's the extent of laundry we'll have to do. And as the Lord says, with clean robes, we will have access to the tree of life (eternal life) and we will be allowed entry into the city through the front gates.

In Christ Jesus we have our the life and source of our lives. In Christ we also have our lives after this life. He is "the bright morning star," who invites us to the fullness of life in Heaven. The invitation includes the promise of finding the satisfaction of our thirst, and life in God's realm forever. And John heard the one who testifies on Jesus' behalf say, "Surely I am coming soon." John responds as we should as well, "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!" God's grace is with all who believe and give witness to that faith.

PRAYER: Lord, we say it every time we take Communion. Jesus will come again. Come now into our hearts and fill us with your love. Grant us hope and joy. Bless those for whom we are praying. Let our lives bring honor, glory and witness to You and Your promises to us. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Live a life that washes your robe.

Blessings of love,

Eradio Valverde

Unified and Together?

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I'm praying not only for them But also for those who will believe in me Because of them and their witness about me. The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind - Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, So they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me. The same glory you gave me, I gave them, So they'll be as unified and together as we are - I in them and you in me. Then they'll be mature in this oneness, And give the godless world evidence That you've sent me and loved them In the same way you've loved me. Father, I want those you gave me To be with me, right where I am, So they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me, Having loved me Long before there ever was a world. Righteous Father, the world has never known you, But I have known you, and these disciples know That you sent me on this mission. I have made your very being known to them - Who you are and what you do - And continue to make it known, So that your love for me Might be in them Exactly as I am in them. (John 17: 20-26 The Message)

May this be a blessed Memorial Day for you and yours, dear Friend, is my prayer. We remember the great sacrifice countless men and women made for our freedom, and we pray God's comfort be with those whose hearts still ache from those losses. As we pray, I ask prayers for Mr. Doug Smith, who took a turn for the worse. He has been valiantly battling cancer for some time now, and now hospice believes he has about 48 hours left. He has asked that I anoint his head with oil which I will do later this. morning. Prayers for his wife, Autumn, and their children. Please pray for one another and for yourselves.

This passage is known as The Prayer of Jesus. Not to be confused with the Lord's Prayer, this prayer is Jesus talking to God the Father about His ministry and His disciples. It is a very personal prayer and this passage is a desire Jesus has for the believers to be unified and together. Jesus begins this section with a prayer for present believers and for future believers (that's us!). His desire is for all of us to be of "one heart and mind," much like the Father and Jesus are one; and if we are one together as believers, we will be one in the Father and Son. It is our unity that gives a positive witness to the world. Jesus gave His glory to the disciples, and with that glory came the unity between all that Jesus desired. Jesus wants a maturity to come with that glory and unity. "The godless world" needs this evidence of love and acceptance that they can find in faith in God.

Today being Memorial Day allows me to try and explain this passage in this way, which I pray and hope helps rather than hurts. We are a country of 50 states. We have been in several wars, two major world wars, a civil war, a major undeclared war in SE Asia, a war with terrorists that has taken us to Iraq and Afghanistan, a war on drugs, and countless conflicts. Politically, we are divided, and as we approach the 2020 elections, we are drifting away from where we need to be. I ask, has there been a time when we were completely united and together? That's the same as asking if we have been a perfect country made up of perfect citizens. The answer is no. Yet, we are still Americans. We can share that attitude and conviction in our hearts and minds regardless of any exterior circumstances. In the same way, the Church, given its history of major splits into two major divisions early in our history as a Western and Eastern Church that led to the Roman Catholic Church, and the Greek Orthodox Church, the Protestant Reformation, the Counter Reformation and all that came with that. What unites us and keeps us together, in my opinion, is the conviction that without God we are nothing. Without our salvation, we are a doomed people; our right relationship with God, we are a hopeless people. The reality, Christ in His prayer, desires us to stay within the fold and to not drift towards the camp of the enemy. Or worse, to drift into despair and disbelief.

Christ has invited us to be in relationship with Him. In Him we find peace, strength, comfort, and hope. To be distracted is the weapon of our enemy and Christ has prayed for us and we need to claim that covering of His prayer for our lives. We pray that we would be among those who make God more real to others by the faith we have. We live in Christ and Christ lives in us.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, may the prayer of Jesus be our prayer as well. We want to remain one in You and we pray that we might show Your glory in a way that brings others to You. May Your peace and mercy be with Doug, Autumn, and their kids. Bless all who battle cancer and bring healing. This we pray in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Shine the glory of the Lord with your smile and joy today!

Blessings of love,

Eradio Valverde

SeaBNB*; Whale of a Deal!

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Then they grilled him: "Confess. Why this disaster? What is your work? Where do you come from? What country? What family?" He told them, "I'm a Hebrew. I worship God, the God of heaven who made sea and land." At that, the men were frightened, really frightened, and said, "What on earth have you done!" As Jonah talked, the sailors realized that he was running away from God. They said to him, "What are we going to do with you - to get rid of this storm?" By this time the sea was wild, totally out of control. Jonah said, "Throw me overboard, into the sea. Then the storm will stop. It's all my fault. I'm the cause of the storm. Get rid of me and you'll get rid of the storm." But no. The men tried rowing back to shore. They made no headway. The storm only got worse and worse, wild and raging. Then they prayed to God, "O God! Don't let us drown because of this man's life, and don't blame us for his death. You are God. Do what you think is best." They took Jonah and threw him overboard. Immediately the sea was quieted down. The sailors were impressed, no longer terrified by the sea, but in awe of God. They worshiped God, offered a sacrifice, and made vows. Then God assigned a huge fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was in the fish's belly three days and nights. (John 1: 8-17 The Message)

Have I got a deal for you, Friend! Three free nights and days in a restful, tranquil setting. If you like the ocean, and who doesn't? And if you like seafood, this deal is too good to pass up! Okay, I have to be honest. Staying in this place is like the 90 minute seminar that allows this deal to be free. No, it's worse.

Happy Friday! This being the start of the long Memorial Day weekend I thought you'd enjoy this offer. Actually, it's the story you probably already know. It's about God and a man chosen to do God's will. God told him, head this way; the man headed in the opposite direction. Some have compared the city to which this man, Jonah, was assigned, to modern-day Las Vegas, but that may not be fair to L.V. Nineveh was a magnificent city in terms of its history and architecture, and as a result it was a prideful city. And a prideful city can become a lenient city with a motto of "anything goes." Its behavior had caused God to foretell its destruction to the prophet Jonah and thus sends him to them. Jonah, fearful of several things, including his ability to do a God-thing, decides to go the other way.

It is almost comical to imagine running away from God, but people do it all the time. It is hilarious to try and hide from God, and again, people do it all the time. It's the same as kids do when they close their eyes thinking that no one can see them. We'll give Jonah credit for at least trying to run away from God. "If God wants me in Nineveh, I will head to Tarshish (note: This was The Apostle Paul's home town!). And nothing says relax from the stress of life than a cruise and so Jonah books a Carnival cruise to Tarshish. This quickly becomes the cruise from you-know-where as the winds pick up, thunder and lightning light up the skies, and the food starts to go bad. Not to mention the on-board entertainment was probably really bad. The crew realizes that something or someone really bad is onboard and they draw straws to see who it might be. And guess who draws the short straw? Yes, our friend Jonah. The questions as we see in the first verse above show the real fear the crew was feeling from having such a man onboard. "Confess. Why this disaster? What is your work? Where do you come from? What country? What family?" Jonah is honest with them and even volunteers to be thrown overboard. To their credit, the crew decides to row back to shore, and it is useless. The storm got worse and worse; the onboard band could only play "Rock the boat, baby," and that in the worse off-key noise they could make. And that was enough to allow them to do what Jonah had offered in the first place, to be thrown overboard, which they do.

As soon as the splash from his entry into the water is over, the sea is calm. The sailors are impressed, and no longer afraid of the storm. The band now plays a round they can all sing, "Row, row, row your boat." Everyone is happy. Except poor Jonah. Fearing death by drowning, he soon finds that a great fish has come along to swallow him whole, and for three days and three nights, he's in the seabnb*.

One might think, there's no better place to hide from God than in the belly of a big fish at the bottom of the sea. Surely God cannot be there too. But, like I said, this whole story is funny; for like other stories where humans have tried to outsmart God, they soon find that you can't fool God, and you can't hide from God. The deeper truth is that there is really no need to hide from God. God has seen and heard it all before; including the famous, "I'm not worthy or good enough," or the "please send someone else, not me!" God knows perfectly well how to send and why. Our doubt and weaknesses soon disappear as we take the first steps of obedience towards where God has sent us.

My life's journey included time in a bnb* of sorts, well, several of them. The excuses above? I wrote those! And I tried to hide behind them. I also ran from seminary and tried to hide in the belly of a huge corporation, like AT&T, where surely God did not tread; but He did, and does. And even in the day where there were no other phone companies to choose from! God found me and loved me. And God prepared me, and used me. And the same is true for you. Has God asked something of you? Have you tried to hide from God all these years? Did you think God didn't really walk the dirt roads of Gonzales County (fill in the blank with your county or situation)? He does. And He loves you enough to still use you. Just say, "Okay, God, You win. I surrender. Here I am, use me." And He will!

PRAYER: Awesome God. You are everywhere, even places where we don't invite You. And You, better than we ourselves, know our thoughts and abilities. You say yes, and we immediately say no. You say you can; we say we can't. You say go; we say no. Hear those, loving God, who might say right now, "I give up. Use me." And bless them beyond their wildest dreams. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Time in the whale is over! Hit the beach!

Blessings of love,

Eradio Valverde

*bed and breakfast

Thank and Enjoy God!

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God, mark us with grace and blessing! Smile! The whole country will see how you work, all the godless nations see how you save. God! Let people thank and enjoy you. Let all people thank and enjoy you. Let all far-flung people become happy and shout their happiness because You judge them fair and square, you tend the far-flung peoples. God! Let people thank and enjoy you. Let all people thank and enjoy you. Earth, display your exuberance! You mark us with blessing, O God, our God. You mark us with blessing, O God. Earth's four corners - honor him! (Psalm 67 The Message)

Happy Thursday, dear Friend! I pray the rich and tremendous blessings of the Lord be with you and yours all this day and all days. Please pray for one another and pray for yourselves as you read this and enjoy the day.

The other night I was watching a talk show that takes place in a barber shop. Famous athletes, entertainers, hip hop artists, etc. participate in the talk while one or two of them get haircuts. A thing one of them said struck me, for I had had the same experience. The gentleman said he had never heard of or understood, a pantry. Prior to that, he said, everything related to food was on top of the refrigerator; bread, chips, cookies, etc., all rested on the fridge. The idea of a separate area or room for food was unheard of. I struggle to remember when I first heard of or even had a pantry. I do remember hosting a sleepover of some of our daughters' friends and the following morning they found their way into our pantry, which was a full room dedicated to groceries, and one of the girls yelled, "They have their own grocery store in here!" We smiled and we thought about how blessed we are.

Whether or not you have a pantry, you still are blessed. A pantry may be one way to count your blessings, but one's attitude should help you understand the psalmist's desire; Thank and Enjoy God! Prior to our having a pantry, we knew we were blessed. The things we count as blessings are special gifts bestowed to us by the loving God in Whom we believe. David knew how God works, and all of this psalm is directed to Him. Those with eyes of faith see and understand how God works, and how much God desires our salvation. It falls on the saved and the blessed to thank God and enjoy Him. And three times David says, "Let all people thank and enjoy You." Indeed.

From those days when others may have said I was poor, I have enjoyed and thanked God for all that I had. It came as a surprise to me later on when I heard that I was poor; but I was not poor in spirit, nor in the way that I enjoyed God. Since that Sunday morning that I invited Jesus into my heart, it has been my joy to be in God's presence and God's service. It got to the point where I told my parents that I would rather attend a Monday through Friday Sunday school and would be perfectly happy attending a one day school school. They laughed and should have realized that I would be where I am, after serving my entire career in His service. I thank God every day that I can, and make it a part of my prayer time. I spend time in adoration of God, confessing my sins, thanking God, and time in supplication; praying for others and their needs. That's the A.C.T.S. model of prayer that sets the pace for my prayer time. And as a cherry on top, I enjoy God. How about you?

PRAYER: Loving God, may this day be a day when I truly thank You and enjoy You. I am richly blessed and I am loved fully and honestly by You, so thank You loving Father. In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be part of the nations that thank God and enjoy Him! Let it show!

Blessings of love,

Eradio Valverde

"Come Help Us!"

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During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them. We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home." And she prevailed upon us. (Acts 16:9-15 NRSV)

God still speaks. As we pray, we speak and share, but when we say amen, we should be saying, "Okay God, it's Your turn, speak for we are listening." And so, dear Friend, listen to God because God listens to you. And sometimes God speaks in dreams and visions. Such is what we will study today in this awesome passage of scripture.

Paul the Apostle had a vision during the night. His vision had him seeing a man from Macedonia begging him to come over to his country and "help" them. And, the next morning, trusting God, Paul and his entourage set out for Macedonia. They knew that the Good News needed to be preached in all corners of the world, and this was their calling!

Those who love and who seek to serve the Lord, know that God has a plan and purpose for your life. It may not seem like a big thing to you, but whatever task or job it is, might just bring life to just one person; and friend, that is huge! Those who seek to serve, seek to please God in order to be faithful and fruitful. It takes prayer, planning and the execution of that plan. Paul does that. From Troas, Paul and his team take a straight course to Samothrace, then Neapolis, then Philippi; Philippi being "a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony." For several days they just "remained in the city." There was a purpose in that down time; time to pray, reflect, and listen. It wasn't until the Sabbath that they went outside to the gate by the river, looking for a place of prayer. They found some women who were gathered there and it was there their work began what God expected from them. Notice Paul didn't exclaim, "What? Where are the crowds? Are we to preach to a few women?" No, there they found a woman named Lydia, who was a worshiper of God, and it was she who was supposed to hear this special word from the Lord. She knew God as a Gentile, but did not yet know how God had used His Son Jesus to complete His work. And it turns out Lydia was from a significant city, Thyatira, and a dealer in purple cloth. Some have suggested that Lydia might not even be her real name since she is from an area once known as the Kingdom of Lydia. We do know she was a dealer in purple, and thus, a wealthy woman who had a home big enough to house Paul and all who were with him. And she was poised to become the first Christian convert in Europe! And she did, for as the passage says, "The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul." She accepted Jesus' offer to be her Lord and Savior. She urged her household to be baptized, and then urged Paul and team to stay at her home. She should also be noted for being a persuasive, if not forceful woman, for the last verse in the passage says, "And she prevailed upon us."

One morning several years ago, a couple of church members from my church in Mission, Texas, invited me to accompany them to a small Mexican village where they had been doing some missionary work. They had a Ford van and I sat in the passenger seat as Mr. Sabas Sandoval drove. His wife, Rosa, was in the back seat along with some gifts and supplies for the church with which they had been working. As we drove up the dirt road towards the home of the pastor, I saw that the pastor was sitting on a chair on his porch. He glanced up and seeing us begins to run towards us, waving his Bible. He comes to the passenger side and runs alongside us until we stopped. He opened my door and hugged me and said the most incredible thing, "I had just been praying for the Lord to send you to come and visit me!" God had answered this man's prayer and God obviously made it possible to come as soon as he finished his prayer.

Perhaps you have had similar experiences, where an urge or nudging takes you right out of your comfort zone and to a place where you can share from your faith or life experiences a word of hope and help. It further answers the question, "Why do we pray?" Because God answers prayers and sometimes the answer may be us!

God continues to work in, and through, and sometimes, in spite of us, to reach and transform the lives of many. We are called to be open and ready.

PRAYER: Awesome God, may we be open to Your leading. Grant us the words and courage to speak on Your behalf. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be an answered prayer for one of God's favorites today!

Blessings of love,

Eradio Valverde

A Land With No Church?

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And in the Spirit He carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. (Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5 NRSV)

A tremendous Tuesday to you dear Friend! I pray this finds you blessed and rejoicing! May our time spent with God be wonderful and a blessing. And, as I stressed on Sunday in worship, time spent with God should be sweet, for God's word is sweet with His love and grace for us all. Enjoy that and share it. A sad prayer update, we received word that Mr. Ronnie Baker died yesterday. Our prayers for Florence and family, and the dear friends whom Ronnie loved and loved him. Also, prayers for the family of Mr. Ruben Silva, a layperson from Mission, who did some great things for God during his life. Ruben was part of a ten man team I took to Puerto Rico to start the Walk to Emmaus in Spanish there, and then later in the Rio Grande Conference in Texas and New Mexico. Ruben also started a ministry of taking drinking water to a neighborhood where it was not readily available. Today, his family lays him to rest. Pray for his wife, Raquel, and those who loved him. Pray for one another and pray for yourselves.

Chief Patrick Dalager was an awesome man and a great chief of police for the City of Mission. He claimed to be Irish-Mexican and he loved all people. He also loved working alongside the clergy of Mission. He would say to me in a half-joking, half-sad tone, "Reverend, you and I will always have a job." Indeed. The church stands in each town as a sign of what could be and what should be, and a reminder that we are not there yet. A good police force also works alongside its citizens as a protector and a servant force, keeping the order and peace of the community. A police officer stands as a reminder that not all citizens have yet reached a level of responsibility and mature citizenship, and that there are some who will break the law who must be brought to justice. The thought of a city or town with no church is a scary one. The thought of a city, like the holy city Jerusalem with NO temple must have caught John's attention as the Spirit had led him there. Yet, John understood there is no need for a temple because the temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb! What a precious image. And, John also looks up and sees no sun or moon, and again realizes that the glory of God is its light, and the lamp is the Lamb. The light of God and Jesus will shine so brightly that there will be no darkness at all. Getting from one place to another is covered in light. The city gates are always open because there will be no night. Those entering the city will also bring into it the glory and honor of the nations. Yet, listen carefully, "But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." The Book of Life will contain the names of those whose names have been written in there by Jesus Christ Himself upon their surrendering themselves to Him and His grace. John continues with descriptions of things that are so awesome and so beyond our ability to understand. Can you imagine a river made of crystal flowing out from the throne of God? Can you imagine seeing the throne of God with God himself on it? On either side of the river are the trees of life with twelve kinds of fruit, each repressing the twelve tribes of Israel. The tree once forbidden is now present and accessible, the garden has been restored! Can you imagine that the leaves of this tree are for "the healing of the nations.?" The differences on earth that once ripped nations apart, internally and externally, will be healed! No more war! Welcome to the realm of eternal peace, life, love, and joy!

And John writes, "Nothing accursed will be found there any more. God will be worshiped in wonderful ways that are not possible now on earth. Worship will be face-to-face with God Himself, and His name will be on the forehead of those who have been invited. Remember those who have rejected God will have numbers on their foreheads. In other words, we want God's name on us, not the enemy's number! Now the celebration continues; no more night, the need for other things that radiate light will be gone, for the Lord God will be their light, and together with God, all who are blessed by the Lamb will reign forever and ever.

Randy Alcorn, in his marvelous book, Heaven, writes that we who enter Heaven will be assigned work and tasks, and reigning is among those. His vision of the reality of heaven also includes what the Bible stresses over and over again, that the earth will be made new. I have to confess that many of us for so long have had a concept of heaven being this lofty realm of clouds and angels, and we have overlooked that the scriptures speak of a New Earth along with a New Heaven. How we will travel between them is not explained. The old adage was "Don't worry about the temperature of Hell nor the furniture in Heaven; seek to be among those ready to enter the good place." Also, many ask, when and how is Jesus coming? Jesus Himself said He did not know because only the Father knows, but I add, just be ready now, while still serving the Lord with that which He has entrusted to us.

John has shared enough to give us the evidence he saw of a real place called Heaven. He also shared again the need for several things which I will recap here; That we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior. That by surrendering to Him, He has written our name in the Book of Life. Also we must not practice things that we know to be abominations or falsehoods before the Lord. Only the pure will enter into the pure area of life eternal.

PRAYER: Loving God, may the peace and the joy of knowing You as our Lord comfort and keep us. May we continue to seek to serve You in ways that bring others to You. May we seek to avoid that which may blemish us. Make us carriers of life and hope. May our hearts be truly Yours. Let me be one who works willingly alongside others who want earth a little like Heaven above now. And this prayer of faith I lift up in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Live in such a way that people can see Heaven here on earth in you!

Blessings of love,

Eradio Valverde

Randy Alcorn's book, Heaven, can be ordered by clicking here: https://amzn.to/2VU9935

The Promise: Never Alone!

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Jesus answered him, "Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. "I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, "I am going away, and I am coming to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way. (John 14:23-29 NRSV)

Happy Monday, dear Friend! May the blessings of the Lord be with you on this first day of the work week is my prayer for you. Please spend time in prayer this day, and pray for one another, and pray for yourselves.

At precisely two p.m. every day, during my childhood, my Mom would turn on the local Kingsville radio station. "Ave Maria" would play and a somber voice would begin to share the names of those who had died the previous day and earlier that morning. Also, around that time, men on both sides of the street would deliver what were called, in Spanish, esqueletas, or death notices. It was like an invitation to a funeral. Such is the scene in which this passage takes place. Jesus has just announced to the disciples that He was to be killed. That death notice did not sit well with the 12, especially Peter. This chapter is Jesus' loving response to their grief and wonder. The overall is the title of today's passage; A Promise: Never Alone. The main fear of many parents before dying is the fear that their children may feel alone, and likewise the children on hearing of a parents' terminal illness, fear of the days when Mom or Dad would be no more. Jesus' promise is the coming of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, "Who will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you." And at the end of it comes the promise of peace, the kind of peace that is unmatched by anything the world could possibly offer. What stays with me is that promise that we are never alone. It is interesting to note that Jesus speaks of the coming of "the ruler of this world," but who has "no power over me." And yes, it is Satan and Satan never sleeps and will not sleep until he thinks he has us where he wants us. If we honestly reflect on where we have come and how we are, for lack of a better word, progressing, Jesus was not wrong. His command? Stay faithful and close. And do not worry about a thing. We know how this all ends. Stay in love with the Father!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, let us claim the promise that we are never alone, for there are times when it does seem that way or awfully close, but Lord sustain us and hold us up when we feel faint. For those whose parents are ill, bring comfort and peace; if it be Your will, bring healing and life. But we remember that death is sometimes the ultimate healing that could come to us or our loved ones. Lord, be gloried in us. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen!

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be the Church today that shows the love for God and all of God's people!

Blessings of Love,

Eradio Valverde

How Easily Do You Give In?

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They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! You, O king, have made a decree, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, shall fall down and worship the golden statue, and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire. There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These pay no heed to you, O king. They do not serve your gods and they do not worship the golden statue that you have set up.” Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought in; so they brought those men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods and you do not worship the golden statue that I have set up? Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble to fall down and worship the statue that I have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire, and who is the god that will deliver you out of my hands?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter. If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.” Then Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was distorted. He ordered the furnace heated up seven times more than was customary, and ordered some of the strongest guards in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. So the men were bound, still wearing their tunics, their trousers, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. Because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace was so overheated, the raging flames killed the men who lifted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But the three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire. (Daniel 7 various verses NRSV)

Good Friday, dear Friend! I pray this finds you and yours doing well, and enjoying the blessings of the Lord Jesus in all you do. May this time spent in prayer and scripture study bring rich and wonderful blessings to you; that is my prayer.

I remember reading that a new type of phone was coming. Utilizing cell towers around the country, this phone would allow for common people to have phones that would be wireless and free of being limited to a line or cord. We already had cordless phones that would allow teenagers to roam their homes in conversation without being tied to one certain spot, like a hallway, or a kitchen. What self-respecting teenager wants Mom to eavesdrop on the recent, juiciest gossip from school? No, this new phone would allow people to take their new phones, which would come to be known as "cell" phones because of their dependence on cell towers, in their cars and beyond. Soon, these were available to a select few, read the rich. I saw my first mobile phone while shopping for dresses for my girls in a department store and one of our neighbors had what seemed to be a second purse with a phone with a cord, and she was talking to her daughter and asking her if a certain dress she was describing would be good for her. I thought, that's a great reason to have a phone like that. I can ask what color or style might be best for my daughters. But, I had also read what that sort of phone would cost, and it was not in the budget of a pastor. Some time later, I had a meeting to attend in Alice, Texas. I rode with another pastor, and later that evening, after school, Nellie and the girls would drive up so that we could spend time together during that district conference. We had a room for us at the Holiday Inn and when the meeting for that day was over I went to await the arrival of my family. It was taking longer than usual and I wondered what was holding them from arriving at the time I had estimated they would be there. I heard from a friend that a horrific traffic wreck was holding up traffic. I asked what kind of vehicle it had been. They replied it was a Suburban. Our vehicle was a Suburban. Gulp. I had already been praying, but prayed all the harder. Soon I saw a Suburban that I thought was ours. But in the passenger seat I saw who I thought was a boy, and I thought, nope, the only boys in this family are me and the dog. The "boy" was wearing a baseball cap, then they got closer and I saw that it was my daughter wearing a cap I had said she should wear to help facilitate their time at the border checkpoint. My brother had been an instructor at a border patrol training center in Georgia and he had a cap given to him there, and wearing a cap like that, just got us waved through. There and then I told Nellie we have to get us one of those car phones! And we did.

That first phone was mounted on the car's floor and sat on a stand. The receiver sat on the mount with a long cord on it. A small microphone on my visor served for hands free calling, and a mounted speaker in the stand allowed for us to hear the caller.

Later, a dear older colleague and I were talking about car phones and the ever shrinking cell phones. "Why would I want a phone in my car?" he asked, "When I leave my office, I like to leave work behind! A cell phone or a car phone will only lengthen the chains to work." It made sense.

If you are reading this, you probably have a cell phone. If not, you're still connected in a way that you might not have dreamed about as recent as ten or so years ago. If you're under 21 years of age and reading this, can you imagine living life and attending school without a cell phone? You probably received a cell phone quite early in your life. To choose not to have a cell phone would require you to be unlike the rest of your peers. And you might be viewed as too different.

Imagine if having a cell phone and using it was required by your government; would your attitude be different? Such was the case for the friends of Daniel, the three known by their new captive names: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These Jewish men knew there is but one, true, living God. Yet, their captors decreed that among the foreign gods, a new golden statue would be among the pantheon of gods and this one would merit your bowing down to it whenever you heard any of the musical instruments that would serve as a call to worship for it. The law read that if you did not bow down, you "would be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire." To obey that meant eternal death from God, and these young men decided they would obey God rather than man. As had happened with Daniel, these three had their own detractors, and when these saw that they were not bowing down to the golden statue, they reported them to the king, reminding him of the law. Angered, the king ordered the first to be heated seven times more than normal. So hot in fact, that the men who threw them in were killed by the heat.

The king was able to peer into the furnace and he was shocked to see that there were four men inside, rather than the three originally thrown in. And they were alive! Not in pain, not screaming in agony, alive! The king calls them out and not even a hair of their head was singed. And what was even more incredible was that they did not even smell like barbecue!

This led to the king declaring, " Nebuchadnezzar said, 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that utters blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins; for there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.'"

God provides, and God protects. God's actions in this story are the direct result of the young men's obedience to the Lord. They could have easily said, "Everyone is doing it! What could be wrong if we join in as well?" I'll give us one thing, we are good at rationalizing and justifying our actions. We can use peer pressure, or mob hysteria, as reasons for us to join in on things we know that are not necessarily healthy for us. Sunday, I will be preaching a sermon called The 25,000 Mile Checkup and it will address our lives and how they can be impacted either by peers or by the power and peace of God. If you're in the area I invite you to join us for either our 8:30 am Traditional Service or our 10:45 am Contemporary Worship; everyone is welcome!

PRAYER: Loving God, bless us with the wisdom to choose wisely in all things. May our decisions reflect our commitment to You and Your plan for our lives. May we reflect wisely on things that others seem to just accept. And this we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a beacon for the blessed today!

Blessings of love,

Eradio Valverde

Please keep school children in your prayers this morning. We have some area schools near our home here in Seguin, Texas, where terrorist threats have been made, as well as in Mission, where our three youngest grandchildren live. Pray that God touch the hearts of those with evil intent and convict them of that wrong. Pray for the safety of all children, those adults who teach and work with them, support staff, and administration. May the Lord bring peace to this earth!

Praising the Lord!

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Hallelujah! Praise God from heaven, praise him from the mountaintops; Praise him, all you his angels, praise him, all you his warriors, Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, you morning stars; Praise him, high heaven, praise him, heavenly rain clouds; Praise, oh let them praise the name of God - he spoke the word, and there they were! He set them in place from all time to eternity; He gave his orders, and that's it! Praise God from earth, you sea dragons, you fathomless ocean deeps; Fire and hail, snow and ice, hurricanes obeying his orders; Mountains and all hills, apple orchards and cedar forests; Wild beasts and herds of cattle, snakes, and birds in flight; Earth's kings and all races, leaders and important people, Robust men and women in their prime, and yes, graybeards and little children. Let them praise the name of God - it's the only Name worth praising. His radiance exceeds anything in earth and sky; he's built a monument - his very own people! Praise from all who love God! Israel's children, intimate friends of God. Hallelujah! (Psalm 148 The Message)

How often do you praise God? I don't mean try to sing along with the praise team or the choir. I mean, get-down-I-want-to-dance-I'm-so-happy praise? Good day, dear Friend! A certain man I know wanted very much to marry the woman of his dreams. This man had gone to visit his grandmother, who from stories told was not everybody's favorite grandma or person for that matter. He never confessed it, but that first visit was probably one out of obligation. What he discovered on that first visit to see dear ole grandma, was that she had a gorgeous nurse. I wish I knew more of the story, but this man's interest escalated to love for the nurse, and they planned to date, and later to marry. There was. one huge roadblock in their relationship. She was a devout Roman Catholic, and he was an on-fire Methodist. She was the daughter of a staunch Catholic, he the son of a staunch Methodist mother, and a non-church going father. Once the father of the woman found out, he was strictly opposed to the relationship, for in those days Catholics were to have nothing to do with the "Alleluias," as Hispanic Protestants were known. But the woman loved the man, and the man loved the woman and he tried to ask for permission to marry the woman of his dreams. The tradition was that two "Padrinos" (Godfathers) had to go and ask the father for permission. The wanna-be groom could not be present at this request. The two padrinos were his father, and his former boss and owner of the little grocery store he had once worked at as a boy. The two men went in to chat with the man, and the father said no. His daughter would not marry an Alleluia. A second attempt was made, for the man was determined to make this woman his bride. A second no was given. Determined to be Mr. to his Mrs., a third attempt was made, and the father reluctantly said yes. That was the answer my Dad was waiting for. The condition of the father was that my mother and father would marry in the Catholic Church. My Dad agreed. I was not present and my Dad was not a dancer, but I think that night he got pretty darn close to dancing. He also may have yelled out that word which Catholics say that Protestants used to holler out; Alleluia! That awesome feeling of happiness is the key to understanding the psalmist's desire for all the world to praise God. It's that joyous I can't help but sing or shout or cry sweet tears of joy for God is so good. This passage convinces me that this is the type of praise that David believes God deserves from all creation, especially from you and me. If you have that joy in your heart, let God know! Let those around you know too!

Friends, we don't have those type of victories every day as mentioned above in my love struck Dad, and even some days we see days where victory has escaped us, but even in those times, the eternal joy in the Lord should lead us to praise Him like never before. It does not matter how young or old you are, we are called to praise God. As David wrote, "It's the only Name worth praising. His radiance exceeds anything on earth and sky; He's built a monument - His very own people ("that's you and me!). All who love God should praise Him. Those who are or want to be God's intimate friends, shout alleluia!

As we pray today, please remember those for whom we have been praying that God be with them and their loved ones. Please pray for me as I prepare to preach both services at First UMC in Gonzales. Pray for Pastor Matt as he defends his dissertation and graduates as (we pray) a Doctor of Ministry from Asbury Theological Seminary. That is worthy of our praise too!

PRAYER: Loving God, grant to us that joyous spirit that allows us to raise our voices in praise and thanksgiving to You! Speak to our hearts the truth of Your love and presence. This we pray in Christ Jesus' name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Let loose and praise Him!

Blessings of love,

Eradio Valverde

The new podcast is ready at www.pimplesandwrinkles.org under Media Section. It's entitled "Wanna Make God LOL?"

Our God is God of All People!

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Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.” (Acts 11:1-18 NRSV)

Happy Monday, dear Friend! As we pray today, I ask prayers for my neighbor, Hector Cruz, who will be undergoing open-heart surgery later this morning. As you can imagine, this is a scary thing for him and his family, and I ask that we lift our voices so that God may bless the surgeons, nurses, all who will be working on him, for Hector so that he may have peace, and for his family so they may know God is with them. Pray for one another, pray for yourselves.

There are those Sundays when Nellie and I visit a church that I reluctantly sit in the pew or the seat thinking that we may be in someone's "seat." Most people are too polite to say anything, but if they happen to displace someone from "their" seat, they may not be as polite. Yes, we have been there. As a pastor I would say at some services, if someone has displaced you for today, thank God that someone wanted to be with us and worshiped with us. Next Sunday come a little earlier and you won't lose your place! Well, in this passage, it was pretty close to that feeling as we read that the Jewish believers that included the apostles and the believers in Judea, hear that Gentiles, or non-Jews, had accepted the good news about Jesus Christ. One would expect great rejoicing would have erupted in Jerusalem because of that news, but nope. The old hatred comes out. "How could you, a Jew, Peter, go to the uncircumcised and eat with them?" Peter then relates the entire experience of how God revealed to him the importance of bringing all people into the kingdom. In his vision, Peter saw a sheet filled with all kinds of animals usually considered unclean for the Jew to be declared clean by God. God makes clear to Peter that this includes people. Historically, the Jews had been taught to treat Gentiles as unclean and not worthy of any time or attention or interaction. And the short answer Peter says, "Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life."

That answer silenced the believers. They loved Jesus, but their words and attitudes betrayed their true nature of not being truly open to all people being in the kingdom of God. I can only imagine if Peter had come with about 40 of the new believers with him, and those 40 sat in someone's pew! The message for them and us is simple, but powerful; our God is the God of all people. Whoever comes to faith in Jesus becomes a brother or sister to all who believe and love Jesus.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, may Your family grow each day, and may we be a part of the growth process. Forgive us the times we have shown territorialism or favoritism to those we already know; we want to know all who come as new brothers and sisters, and to love them and welcome them into Your kingdom. Grant us grace and love. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Grant us the peace and power of Your Spirit to be those who bring new people in!

Blessings of Love,

Eradio Valverde

Our God is a God of All People!

Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.” (Acts 11:1-18 NRSV)

Happy Monday, dear Friend ! As we pray today, I ask prayers for my neighbor, Hector Cruz, who will be undergoing open-heart surgery later this morning. As you can imagine, this is a scary thing for him and his family, and I ask that we lift our voices so that God may bless the surgeons, nurses, all who will be working on him, for Hector so that he may have peace, and for his family so they may know God is with them. Pray for one another, pray for yourselves.

There are those Sundays when Nellie and I visit a church that I reluctantly sit in the pew or the seat thinking that we may be in someone's "seat." Most people are too polite to say anything, but if they happen to displace someone from "their" seat, they may not be as polite. Yes, we have been there. As a pastor I would say at some services, if someone has displaced you for today, thank God that someone wanted to be with us and worshiped with us. Next Sunday come a little earlier and you won't lose your place! Well, in this passage, it was pretty close to that feeling as we read that the Jewish believers that included the apostles and the believers in Judea, hear that Gentiles, or non-Jews, had accepted the good news about Jesus Christ. One would expect great rejoicing would have erupted in Jerusalem because of that news, but nope. The old hatred comes out. "How could you, a Jew, Peter, go to the uncircumcised and eat with them?" Peter then relates the entire experience of how God revealed to him the importance of bringing all people into the kingdom. In his vision, Peter saw a sheet filled with all kinds of animals usually considered unclean for the Jew to be declared clean by God. God makes clear to Peter that this includes people. Historically, the Jews had been taught to treat Gentiles as unclean and not worthy of any time or attention or interaction. And the short answer Peter says, "Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life."

That answer silenced the believers. They loved Jesus, but their words and attitudes betrayed their true nature of not being truly open to all people being in the kingdom of God. I can only imagine if Peter had come with about 40 of the new believers with him, and those 40 sat in someone's pew! The message for them and us is simple, but powerful; our God is the God of all people. Whoever comes to faith in Jesus becomes a brother or sister to all who believe and love Jesus.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, may Your family grow each day, and may we be a part of the growth process. Forgive us the times we have shown territorialism or favoritism to those we already know; we want to know all who come as new brothers and sisters, and to love them and welcome them into Your kingdom. Grant us grace and love. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Grant us the peace and power of Your Spirit to be those who bring new people in!

Blessings of Love,

Eradio Valverde

Glimpse of Hope and Life!

Image from lectionarypondering.blogspot.com

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. (Revelation 21: 1-6a NRSV)

May this be a great day for you, dear Friend! As we pray this morning, please remember the family of Bob Fossier, brother of Mary Ckodre who died yesterday. Pray for comfort for that family. Also, prayers for Rosaline Neuse, mother of Edith Lucas, who was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer. May God's peace and healing be with Rosaline and those who love her and pray for her healing. Pray for one another and pray for yourselves.

I'm of a certain age when I can remember as a child the arrival in our mailbox of the Sears Christmas Catalog. In my mind, that publication weighed a ton and I admired the mailman for being strong enough to bring a copy to every house on our block. The book itself was the size of a small city's phone book (Kids, ask your parents what a phone book was...). But the best part, on most of those pages, printed in full color (Okay, I'm not that old that it would come in black and white!) were toys for boys and girls. It was our pleasure to lay on the floor, turning each page ever so slowly and playing what we call now, "I call it!" And whoever was first at landing his/her finger on the picture and saying those magical words, would go on and dream that perhaps Santa would indeed come somehow into our chimney-less home and deliver at least one of those toys. I truly still believe that that single catalog would bring with it a special Christmas blessing of the holiday season. Where else would we find garland, bells, silver decorations and Christmas trees, and gifts galore? Sears was a real place, wasn't it? We didn't have a physical Sears store in Kingsville, but why would a catalog with so much hope and joy be sent if such a place did not exist? It would be years later, driving into Dallas that on the right of the freeway was a huge complex of huge buildings all marked with that magical one word: Sears!

The excitement of that catalog begins to compare slightly to the excitement and joy we should feel in reading the above verses. Though our Bible does not come with pictures, its verses paint the images of our faith, for they were revealed by Jesus to John who wrote as he saw each scene unfolding of that which was to come. We start with the first verse of this passage and the awesomeness in that first verse; Heaven and earth will be made new, to replace the heaven and the earth that passed away. The last phrase of that first verse tells us volumes of how God works with our sin. I have shared in this devotional how in Micah 7:19, where it says "God casts our sins into the depth of the sea." And this one ends with "and the sea was no more." Every disgusting, foul smelling sin we have turned over to God, God has sent to the bottom of the sea where it belongs. I pray these are out of reach of the deep sea creatures who might bite on them and die from the foulness of such unwanted trash from our lives. But we fear not, because the closing book says the sea was no more.

Then the holy city descends, adorned for the wedding of Christ and His Church and with it the proclamation of hope and life: "See, the home of God is among mortals." God has always lived among us, but now this is permanent and eternal. The things that destroyed and divided us, death, mourning, crying, and pain, have been removed by God; the first things having passed away. The Lord from His throne declares, "See, I am making all things new." The proclamation: "It is done!" Christ declaring "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end." Alpha is the A of the alphabet, and Omega as our Z. The finiteness that we have known as mortals will be over. In God there will be no end.

It is sad to say, Sears is really no more. At least Sears is not like it was when it was mailing nonstop color catalogs to people all over the world. While there are still some stores and an online presence, Sears is not the giant retailer that it once was, and their catalog has been gone some years now, replaced by the Sunday inserts to stores who sell toys and the like. Not so with God and the word of God. Its pages reveal the glimpses of hope and life that matter. And it includes you and me if we believe.

PRAYER: As we pray, Loving God, we pray for the grace and strength to live into what is coming. Help us to rise above the petty distractions to see what is the glimpse of hope and life, and how we can share that with others. We pray for those who are mourning, and ask Your comfort and peace on them and all who mourn anywhere. We pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Let us be part of the glimpses that others may see in us, of life and hope.

Blessings of love,

Eradio Valverde

Do This One Thing: Love One Another!

Image from agnusday.org

When He had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify Him in Himself and will glorify Him at once.  Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, "Where I am going, you cannot come.'  I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:31-35 NRSV)

Good Monday to you dear Friend!  I pray this was a great weekend for you and that the start of the work week be a blessed one, with all the days in it blessed better, bigger, and stronger than the first!   A sad prayer update, Mrs. Benita Del Pozo passed away yesterday morning in San Antonio.  

In one of my churches I had a monthly Coffee with the Pastor immediately after the last worship service of that Sunday.  All my staff, the ones who had been "mugged" (given a free coffee mug of the church) were present to enjoy coffee, tea, and the introduction of the staff and ministries of our church.  I shared my faith testimony, the vision I had for the church, introduced each of my staff, and they shared briefly the duties and hopes of their particular position.  I then shared with them the vows of membership, along with those I had borrowed from a large church in the denomination.  These were to grow daily in their knowledge of God by being active in a Sunday school or a small study group which we offered.  They were to be present every Sunday they were in town unless they were sick.  They were to give one hour of their time to help the church's outreach work.  And the last, they were to give in proportion to their income, with the tithe being the goal.  We gave them a small break telling them if they decided to join, they could join the staff and me in our chapel, where we would have the reception into membership service.  If they stayed, after the service we took their picture and the next Sunday these pictures would be shown on our screen and we would applaud them and folks were free to welcome them after church. Our church grew and grew.  Many who attended the session told me that they would never had joined had they had to walk down the aisle to the front during the singing of the last song or hymn.  I discontinued the use of the Invitation to Discipleship in the manner most Methodists use; if you wanted to join the church, you had to come to a Coffee with the Pastor, or you could talk to me in private and we would do it that way.  Well, in spite of our growth, some members were unhappy.  And as most unhappy members do, they complained and complained.  We finally decided to have a church council meeting to "discuss" this.  The only funny thing in this heated meeting was one woman, not known for ever smiling or being nice to anyone said very loudly, "If we don't know who our new members are, how will I know who to be nice to?"  There was a pin drop silence and then the snickers and laughter of those who knew this lady well.

Jesus said, Love one another, just as I have loved you.  Interesting, He didn't say, "love the ones you know are new members or those whom you have known for years."  In fact, Jesus called this a commandment, as in You WILL do this; love one another.  Jesus didn't put exceptions on it either.  As far as the ancient text can be interpreted, it meant every one.  No stopping to hear if their accent is the same as ours, or if they dress like we do, or shop where we do, or live where we do.  Everyone must be loved.

Yesterday, we visited a new church with our grandson Liam.  It is a very affluent church near the Galleria shopping mall in Houston.  They had just received a new pastor and we happened to be worshiping at her first sermon.  We were welcomed and loved like we had been there every Sunday since they opened.  Liam, a dedicated donut hole expert, was asked by a lady if he wanted a donut or donut hole, and he asked what kind they had.  The woman thinking he would love chocolate, mentioned chocolate first.  Then glazed.  "Okay, I'll take a couple of glazed donuts."  She walked him over to the table and he came back with two.  The church gave all women in worship a carnation.  And after church every woman was given a gift of shower gel.  We had, as first time visitors, parked on the wrong side of the church and so we had to walk back through the narthex of the sanctuary where the table had been prepared and there were donut holes there again.  Liam asked if he could have some more, of course.  He then said, "The first ones were from HEB and those are not the best.  These last ones were from Shipley's and they're the best!"  Okay.

In the uncertainty of things, the certainty of love is best.  Jesus knew what He was talking about.  We are called to love all people, all the time; and this holds best in worship settings.  Nellie and remembered our years in a church where the tradition of recognizing mothers was horrible.  It made for very unpleasant Mother's Day services.  We recognized the oldest mom, and we had a woman who live to be a  102, so no contest there.  The tough one was to recognize the mother with the most children PRESENT in worship!  Oh man, don't get me started.  The youngest mother would get a corsage and on and on, until I said, no mas.  The church will give flowers to all women.  And we will focus on God.  We will love one another.

So, dear friend, start today if you haven't already started.  Be that person that people flock to because of your kind words, hugs, handshakes, smiles or whatever it is that God has gifted you with that shows love.  The Lord will be blessed, the people you share with, will be blessed, as will you!

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, forgive me for the times I have set conditions on my love.  Help me to be the one mentioned above, a loving and caring person seeking to bless You and Yours.  This I pray in Christ Jesus' strong name.  And Lord, bless those grieving, like the family of Mrs. Benita Del Pozo who died yesterday morning.  Bring comfort to her family.  In Christ Jesus we pray, amen!

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!  Be a love servant of the Most High God!

Blessings of love to you!

Eradio Valverde

You-Know-Who in the You-Know-Where!

Image from virtualpreacher.org

Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!” A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him. Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?” Daniel then said to the king, “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.” Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. The king gave a command, and those who had accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. Before they reached the bottom of the den the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces. Then King Darius wrote to all peoples and nations of every language throughout the whole world: “May you have abundant prosperity! I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: For he is the living God, enduring forever. His kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion has no end. He delivers and rescues, he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth; for he has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”(Daniel 6:10-28)

Just before I sat down to write this devotional, I read a very sad article from The Washington Post about the fate of tigers around the world. The sad reality is that there are more tigers living in cages than can be found in the wild. And those in cages, in some parts of the world tigers are bred only to be slaughtered, cut up and sold for meat, teeth, bone, and skin. The article was about a 70 year old man who is charging against all the governments in the world who decry the practice of tiger slaughtering, but turn a blind eye to enforcing the laws they have passed to save tigers. The entire article can be read by clicking the link below. The article set the stage for me as we get to today's Bible Story You Should Know!

Another type of big cat is the star animal character in this drama. Last Friday, we met Daniel and his diet, and today we study how he almost became the diet for lions for that overnight stay he enjoyed in their den. The young man Daniel had blessed the king of this enemy nation with interpreting dreams the king had had. The king showed his appreciation for Daniel by promoting him. The jealous countrymen of the king persuaded the king to pass an anti-prayer law. The law read that only prayers to the king would be allowed in the land. While that was fine and well for the nation, for a devoted believer in God it was not. Daniel continued to pray in the privacy of his own home. And these enemies of his knew this and sought to catch him in the act, which they did. The law read that anyone caught praying to another god would be thrown in a lion's den. Daniel was caught and into the den he went. It is interesting to note how the king held Daniel in high esteem and even fasted for the night in hopes that no harm would come to the young man.

The next morning, the king rushes to the den in hopes of finding Daniel alive. This was the answer Daniel gave from inside his overnight jail, "O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouth so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before Him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong." This tickled the king and Daniel was ordered taken out of the den. Those who had accused Daniel were thrown in the same lions' den along with their children and their wives. A graphic description of the lions' strength in "meeting" the accused is given. But a decree comes out from the king concerning Daniel and his God: "He is the living God, enduring forever. His kingdom shall never be destroyed, and His dominion has no end. He delivers and rescues, He works signs and wonders in Heaven and on Earth; for He has saved Daniel from the power of the lions." Bam.

Another recent article I read concerning the church shows that pastors who believe in the power of God to save, transform, and do miracles are the churches that are growing. And that makes sense, one would be scared to board a United jet airliner if one heard the pilot in the lounge declare that he didn't believe in flying! A pastor, and a congregation who believe in what the Persian king believed are those who are blessed with results and blessings in their lives. Our God does deliver. Our God does rescue. Our God works signs and wonders in Heaven and on Earth. God can save even you!

PRAYER: AWESOME Father, grant me a stronger faith to be one who blesses the work of God's church. I believe that God does work wonders and has worked in me. Grant me the excitement and joy that blesses others. It is in Jesus' strong name that I pray, amen!

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Don't let the lions scare you! You have angels watching over you! And it only took one angel to shut ALL the lions' mouths!

Blessings of love,

Eradio Valverde

The article on tigers: https://wapo.st/2YgzEfD