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Hear the devotional here: https://bit.ly/3w6hnnf
1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. (1 Corinthians 15:1-11 NIV)
A blessed and tremendous Tuesday be yours, ConCafe Family; and may you, Friend, seek new ways to affirm your faith in the risen Jesus! I have an update on one of my cousins from Chicago, the Rivera sisters; Bobbie's sedation and oxygen levels had to go up a bit. Her temp is normal, and her stressors have been cut down quite a bit; the family is hopeful and thankful, and I invite more prayers for her and her sister. Thank you for your prayers, and may God bless all who need His healing touch. Pray for one another; pray for yourselves.
This is the witness of one who witnessed the Risen Christ some time after the actual event. It changed his life forever, even to the point of his personal death for the sake of Jesus. I'm referring to the Apostle Paul who preached the gospel of Jesus Christ without compromise, without holding back, and without the fear that holds many back. For Paul, as he states in this first verse, that he has shared faithfully, and he knows that those who read this letter are standing firm to the word that he preached; anything else is vanity. What Paul shared is what Jesus shared with him, "that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas (Peter), and then to the Twelve. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then He appeared to James, believed to be Jesus' brother, then to all the apostles, and last of all He appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God."
Paul was convinced by Jesus, of Who He was; Jesus was not an unseen, far-away Savior, Jesus was the Savior who knew Paul by name, and called him by name into ministry. Paul had had an encounter with Him, told of all things that were to come and be, and still lived his life in obedience to that call. He knew that death, because of his faith, would be the way he would exit this world, and that did not deter his enthusiasm nor his determination. Would you be this strong? Paul never wavered in his faith, at least it was not shared in his writings. And the same life that God gave to Jesus to rise from the dead, God gave to Paul to be present in Glory with Jesus. And it is the same life God will share with us if we believe, live, and die with Him as our Lord and Savior. Easter is about eternal hope and life everlasting. Easter is the newness of life that come to those who surrender their sins to Him, Who removes those from us. And like Paul, may we accept God's grace to be just exactly who God would have us be; to serve as God would have us serve, and to help grow the Kingdom of God just as God would have us grow it. And may we even "work harder" than all others out of the love we have for God and that we know that God has for us!
PRAYER: God of Easter love and Easter life, bless us in our days leading to this coming Sunday; may we bless all whom we meet; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Serve the Lord with gladness today; work twice as hard as before.
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
