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44 Then he said to them, "These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled." 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high." 50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51 While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple blessing God. (Luke 24:44-53 RSV)
Happy Thursday, dear Friend! My prayer is that the calming presence of Jesus be real in your life right this moment. May the "big picture" of His grace and plan for your life overshadow the outstretched fingers of fear, worry, anxiety, and doubt. Please know that the strong embrace of Jesus is stronger than anything or anyone that can come against you. As we pray today, please remember our sister Mrs. Laurel Bradford and her eye surgery today in San Angelo. Please be in prayer for one another; pray for yourselves
I have a nice shirt in my closet that I bought some years ago with the hope that one day it would fit me. I've come close a number of times, but never could I say that I wore it comfortably and in public. I haven't. I was close when I bought it and thought with a little effort I would be successful. And I know some think buying a shirt or dress that is smaller than we wear makes as much sense as throwing that money into a trash can. And you may wonder why the shirt is still in the closet. And you may also be wondering why I'm talking about this. I want to talk about clothing and what that means in this passage.
Jesus is talking to the two grief-stricken believers on their way back from Jerusalem and He asks why they were the way they were. He saw beyond the sadness and tried to lift their spirits by teaching them about Himself as found in the scriptures. And Jesus also stresses again that He needs witnesses. And these witnesses will be "clothed with power from on high" once the promise of the Father falls upon Jerusalem. I like the imagery of Jesus' words. We know the power of the right clothing. If you're a beekeeper, there's nothing better than the suit one wears to be protected by it as you go about tending your bees. If you ever played football, the right feel of the helmet and the shoulder pads, cleats, and pads made you think you were indestructible. It might have been the dress you wore for First Communion, or the first time you wore a suit and you looked just like your dad; Imagine the clothing from the Holy Spirit upon you to be a witness! It wasn't that many years ago that in our denomination we added to the vows we took upon becoming full members of the church. We vowed to support the ministry of the Lord with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and the new one (duh!) our witness. There is nothing that say more about who we are, and Whose we are, than by the way we act; what we speak, and how we live our lives! I take it to mean that with the clothing given to us by God, we are to stand out, to be bold, courageous, and not afraid. We are to smack the devil in the face with the truth of God's love. And we are to do all we can to rescue as many we can from the clutches of sin and death. That's the power of our witness!
Are you clothed to be the best witness you can be for Jesus?
PRAYER: Loving God, we praise and thank You for the honor of sharing You and Your love for all people. We sometimes feel we are not worthy, but we pray You clothe us with power on high so that we have all we need to rescue just one more from sin and death. Make us worthy; make us strong. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Pray for that which you need to be a tremendous witness for the Lord Jesus!
Receive my blessings of peace and joy,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
