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Hear the devotional here: https://bit.ly/35W96qN
24 "But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then they will see "the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory. 27 Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 28 "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 32 "But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35 Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, 36 or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake." (Mark 13:24-37 NRSV)
A Blessed and Happy Monday to you dear ConCafe Family; and may God's rich blessings of opportunities and challenges be with you, dear Friend, and make you shine for the Lord! As we pray, I ask for continued prayers for Norma Ehrig and her family on the loss of her husband, Larry, this weekend. May the Lord's comfort be with them all during this difficult time. This update from my cousin regarding Gina Zapata: "Today was a good day for her, she had occupational therapy and she responded to all commends. She even got to tough her shaved right side of her head and moved her head no, it’s done. It will grow back soon. She gets a fever almost every day and the nurses place ice bags to help. Not out of the woods yet so let’s keep on praying. Amen." We will continue to pray.
As children in Kingsville, we looked forward to the coming of our Aunt Nina, who was the sister of our grandmother, whom we called Momo, and who lived in McAllen, Once a year she would board a Greyhound bus and make her way to visit her sister, her nephew, and us. She always sat behind the driver and always bought a huge bag of Fritos on which to snack on, and to give to us. I came to realize she only ate maybe a handful, because we found more than enough to share among us; but the real joy was seeing her. From the moment we knew she was coming we felt the excitement of her visit. She was special to us and we were blessed to have her and Momo hug, cry, and visit. From the time of her notice until her arrival was for us, an advent; a time of preparation and excitement.
We start the special season of the Christian Year called Advent. Many automatically think of that time prior to Christmas, and that is partially right; but Advent is the time of preparation before the Lord's coming. In some ways, the Church prepares to celebrate Christ's first coming as a baby in Bethlehem, but also refers to His return. At the time of this sharing, Jesus was here and He announces when He would return again. The disciples never gave up asking Him, "Lord, when will this be?" At the beginning of this chapter, the 12 were playing the tourists of the temple, marveling at the majesty of that ancient building and all it represented. The temple still to this day holds a special place in the hearts of devout Jews. And their hope is that the Messiah will one day reclaim it for their worship. And Jesus gives what we can classify as general hints of when He will return. What we can learn from this sharing is that the entire created world will be a part of that return. The light of day, and the light of night, the sun and the moon, will not shine like they usually do. And the stars will fall from heaven (the sky), and the powers in the heavens will be shaken," meaning that all the energy that is found in the skies will no longer hold the power they once had. And at that precise moment, the power will shift to the One (Jesus) "coming in the clouds with great power and glory." The shift of power will be from nature to Creator, and this will be topped with the sending of angels, and the gathering of all who love Jesus from the four corners of the world; the beginning of a glorious reunion!
Jesus points to nature again as a lesson; the fig tree one can know that summer is near, as one will know of Jesus' return from the culmination of these signs. "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." Jesus asserting that with Him in control, we need not fear anything. Yet, the truth remains; "But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." It will be a surprise. Ours is to "keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come." And, like last week's lesson, Jesus gives an illustration of a man going on a journey, and his slaves are left in charge and the doorkeeper is on watch; so "Keep awake" for His arrival could be at any hour; but do not let Him find you asleep, and again Jesus says, "Keep awake."
There was no way I was going to sleep through the day of my aunt's arrival, nor of her visit, nor her departure (though it was always very tearful); nor would any believer and lover of the Lord Jesus to fall asleep in knowing of His arrival, and since we do not know the day nor the hour it makes sense for us to be ever vigilant of living and doing what He would have us do, so that we are not only not asleep nor found not worthy of spending the rest of eternity with Him.
PRAYER: Loving Father, may we bless You by staying awake and at work doing Your will. Help us to contagiously share Your Good News with those who have not yet heard, or have said no repeatedly in the past. May we truly grow Your Kingdom we pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Help keep someone "awake" today with the Good News of Jesus.
Receive my blessings of grace and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
