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11 God's readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation's available for everyone! 12 We're being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, 13 and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. 14 He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness. (Titus 2:11-14 The Message)
Happy Tuesday ConCafe Family! And a special day of peace and calm be yours, dear Friend! If you're needing to count the days until Christmas, well, you need that peace and calm! It's hard to believe it is almost Christmas! And the New Year is just around the corner, and many are saying to 2020, Good Riddance! Wow! What a year it has been; not at all what we expected, but what it has brought may that make us stronger for what's left of this year, and for the days, weeks, and maybe months that may look just like 2020 as we start 2021. The assaults of this year have been primarily on our bodies; but those can damage our souls and spirits, but we pray we know enough about God to ask Him to lift us as we struggle with the remnants of this pandemic.
So, let us hear the Good News! I can think of no better news than to share that God stands ready, all the time, to give and forgive. And, as the writer of this short letter tells us; that ain't no secret! God's great gift of Jesus is still alive and giving; and salvation is the result of that gift. Salvation is being saved from certain death and into the arms of He who provides life and that in abundance! I know I will now sound old and maybe even curmudgeonly, but I remember some things a bit different than today. I was taught, as were many of you "of a certain age," that the song went, "If you're saved and you know it, clap your hands." And the song went on and on about the different ways we could show others that we were indeed saved. Now, try finding that version on YouTube to play to your grandchildren. Good luck! You might find a song dedicated to happiness, as in, "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!" I can understand that kids in public schools cannot acknowledge salvation. But I can't understand why salvation has become an off-topic for the church? Salvation is being in a right relationship with God; we need to affirm that life has come from God, as does that which prevents us from dying a death with no end. And this right relationship is exactly what Jesus spoke of when He talked of life in abundance, or life to the fullest. (John 10:10). It is realizing that there is more to life than just existing; it is truly coming alive with joy and awe with the awareness that there is a great design, plan, and purpose behind life. It is, as the next verse says, "We're shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life." Probably one of the saddest interviews I saw was an elderly actress who had received many awards and accolades for her acting, and as the interviewer quizzes her about it, she says all of that was meaningless; that there was much to life that she had sadly not found. And the same is true for so many; who have found "success" by worldly standards that the writer of this small book calls "a godless, indulgent life" which is full of things, but short on that which really matters. Take God out of any life, or worse, fail to add God to your life, and you will all too quickly know what that is about. And this during a point where many have almost given up on Church because of the many factors that are real and deadly; but when these pass, our job becomes more urgent to once again draw people to life and the God who lovingly gives it.
To receive a life such as the writer mentions is to whet our appetite for the glorious return of Jesus once again; after all, Jesus offered Himself as the ultimate sacrifice which was desperately needed "to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness." Hmm. To live an energetic life fueled and geared to doing good is an awesome, seldom seen thing. This morning driving along the underpass that is found under Interstate 35 in downtown San Antonio, I saw a tent city of homeless people. And in the center of this tent city was a Christmas tree, adorned with ornaments and tinsel; a symbol of hope and remembrance. The symbol that serves to remind believers of that night sky when the Christmas star appeared and guided the wise men to Bethlehem, which appeared last night in our skies, still serves as a beacon to others to come to faith and claim for themselves the "could be" even in the midst of "why this."
PRAYER: Loving God, speak to us as we seek that which will fuel us. Ignite in us a spark that will get the fire going of energetic goodness and draw us out of ourselves and our self-centered wants, to that which blesses those who also need to find You. Indeed, may be we led by You back to You in ways that honor You. Let us also honor You by giving of ourselves to helping those who have lost all honor. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a beacon of hope among the hopeless in ways that inspire goodness.
Receive my blessing of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
