1 Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. 2 Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. 3 Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand. 5 Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. 6 Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God. 7 We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God." 12 So then, each of us will be accountable to God. (Romans 14:1-12 NRSV)
A blessed and happy Tuesday to you, dear Friend. I pray you had a great Labor Day. Nellie and I enjoyed a Starbucks breakfast and then a long drive out towards the Hill Country and back. Then I enjoyed a nice nap. I ask for continued prayers for pastor Emerson Villegas of Skidmore UMC, who continues to struggle with the illness of Covid-19. Pray for his healing and breathing. Pray for those recovering from surgeries. Pray for one another, and pray for yourselves.
"Dear Church" should be the theme of Paul's life. As he traveled and preached and made new converts, and made churches, he would establish a church, tend to it for a bit, and then go on to the next place, always guided by the Holy Spirit. And as happens with human organizations that stray away from the Lord, trouble pops in and problems began. And with Paul being the founder of the church and with no organized system of governance beyond the local church, Paul becomes the go-to person and so they write letters with their problems and questions about the situation. The main problem in the capital city of the Roman government, was that throughout the city, statues of Caesar were everywhere, and emperor worship was expected of all residents of the city. To be in Rome and profess faith in Jesus was a violation of the law. And further, some Christians would not eat meat that had been first offered as a sacrifice to an idol (Caesar). As The Message version says it, some would rather be vegetarian rather than meat-eating idol people; to eat meat offered to an idol was too tainted to be pure for a believer. Paul believed that meat is meat and to eat it if you were hungry and were from Texas, like Paul, then go for it. When the lottery began here in Texas, many pastors asked the bishop about receiving a tithe from a church member who might win the lottery. The bishop at the time was a wise man and he replied, "You gladly take the money and say, 'Satan has had it long enough, now let God have a chance at it.'" And, you might be asking, how many United Methodists within this area have won the lottery? At last count, none. Or, we have some very silent winners in our midst. I loved telling church members that would tell me, "Just wait Pastor when I win the lottery, the church's money problems will all be over!" I'd laugh and say, "Honestly, if you win the lottery I will never see you again! You'll be the hardest person to find in all creation." And, Paul had the same idea about eating meat that had first been offered to idols. No thought would be given to Caesar as they enjoyed beef. Paul says, "Don't despise those who abstain, and if you're an abstainer, don't despise those who eat; because God welcomes all of them. We will all stand before God one day and give an account for what we did and didn't do, but more so for the judgments we passed on others.
Paul's simple and sincere advice is that we must give honor to God in all things; our worship, our daily life, our work, our play, and our private time; are we honoring God? Paul truly believed and preached "We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's." He then stresses, that is why Jesus came in the first place; to get us all right with God. We should be so about Jesus that we don't have time for the negative things we used to do, like judging one another, and despising one another. Our final judgment day says we will stand before the Lord so that we can give an account of how we lived our lives. Paul was motivated, as we should, by this belief,"As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God." Our call is to worship our Lord with our lives, our prayers, and we should lift up praises to God, but seeking always to lift Him high; for we will all be accountable to God.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, as we pray, we ask for a change in our lives where it is most needed. Forgive us those times we found it so easy to judge, and to condemn. May we start our days in sincere, powerful prayer, and may we be guided by the voice of Your Holy Spirit. Our aim, dear Father, is to glorify You; this we pray in Christ Jesus our Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show the opposite of judgment and condemnation by offering up uplifting praise and words.
Receive my blessings of love and joy,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
