After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, "Peace to this house!' And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, "The kingdom of God has come near to you.' But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, "Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.' "Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me." The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." (Luke 10:1-11,16-20 NRSV)
Happy Monday (again!) to you dear Friend! It seems Mondays come so quickly! But not to worry, this is a short week for the working folks, as we have a national holiday coming up! I pray you had a great weekend and that your plans for this holiday are joyous and blessed. At last notice, Rev. Bruce Rogers was sitting up and eating pancakes! And this from a man who coded twice! Why do we pray? BECAUSE GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS! Amen! I heard that a distant relative of Nellie's, Mr. Leopoldo Garza of Mission, passed away this past week. His wife, Carmen Laura was very active in our church. Please pray for the family as they mourn this loss. Pray for one another. Pray for yourselves.
Churches that are growing do so because the entire church, not just the pastors, take seriously the task of making disciples and inviting people to worship with them. I get email after email from church growth specialists who all say the same thing: People you know, people you live near, or work with, are just waiting for an invitation from YOU to worship in your church. I have shared an incredible story that I read some years ago in the San Antonio Express News, of two men who retired on the same day after having worked side by side for 35 years. It was on that last day that they found out they were both United Methodists! Gasp! and Sigh! All those years and they had not mentioned church once. Do you know how simple a "Man, was I blessed in church yesterday" to a co-worker is, and the world that may open up to you because you cared enough to share. "My pastor said something that I had never really thought about before that struck me as true." Anything you say about church opens up opportunities for you to bring yet another lamb into the fold.
Jesus knew, and knows, the harvest is plentiful. We need laborers to go and reap that harvest. It begins with a word, and in Jesus' illustration, a word of peace. Your word could be the peace that brings peace to someone as you share your faith or what you received in worship. Live among the people. Eat with them. Concentrate on them and their needs, showing a genuine concern, and the fruits of your concern may just bring great celebration to Heaven.
If someone rejects you please remember it is not you personally they are rejecting, they are rejecting the Lord Jesus Himself. They may not know it as they reject you, but it may come to them later. Few want to intentionally reject Jesus, but many do anyway. The stories that you as the faithful may bring back to the church will be very similar to the ones the 72 disciples brought back to Jesus that in a way or another that says, "Lord, we saw life come to those who had none!" And Jesus' response was that He saw Satan's authority and power on this earth diminish. That is our goal. And it depends on us.
PRAYER: Loving God, use me to reach at least one person for You. Grant me faith, courage, strength, and the boldness to speak. You have said You would provide the words and You do! In Jesus' strong name I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Speak a word for Jesus today!
Blessings of love,
Eradio Valverde
BY THE WAY: ConCafe is now available on Spotify, Breaker, Google Podcasts, RadioPublic! Spread the word! Thanks!
