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Ho, ho, ho! The real gift is in listening! https://bit.ly/3hTSgOf
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:3-14 New Kings James Version)
A blessed Tuesday to you ConCafe Family! And may God's blessings flow like a gentle stream into your life, dear reader, is my prayer. I ask your prayers for the family of The Rev. Carl Clark, who died yesterday after church in a terrible auto accident. His wife is in ICU. Carl was the pastor of Staples UMC, Staples, TX. He had recently retired and accepted Staples as his new assignment. He loved being a pastor, having a heart for all people. May he rest in peace and enjoy the rewards of his faithful ministry. May God's healing touch be with his wife and comfort for her and all of the family and the congregation of Staples and Driftwood (Oops! I said Carl was the pastor at Salt Lick! I know Carl laughed because that was the joke I would share with him every time I saw him, "The chaplain of Salt Lick!" because his church in Driftwood was very near the BBQ place. Please continue to hold those who have asked, in prayer; praying for one another, and for yourselves.
It was in 1933 that a summer camp came up with a novel idea; why wait until December to have Christmas? The camp director came up with the idea of bringing in fake snow made of cotton, the giving and receiving of gifts, a fully-decked out Christmas tree, and a fake Santa. The idea was a big hit with the campers and it was repeated again every summer. Seven years later, Hollywood came out with a movie by the same name, Christmas in July. The premise was a bit different, but soon retailers caught on (anything for sales!) with the idea of Christmas being celebrated in the heat of summer, and has caught on. Even now, some churches will have events or sermon series based on that premise. Sadly, the idea of Christmas is not so much with the powerful event of God sending His only Son to the world, but more on "what am I getting for myself as a gift?" Paul, in this letter to the church in Ephesus shares with us some additiona gifts that we see numberd out above in the graphic for today; blessed, chosen, adopted, accepted, redeemed, and forgiven. These are gifts that no one can share with us like God does. I cannot think of a better gift than being blessed by God.
In some cultures, a blessing by a parent or grandparent is a very desired act. To bless someone means to share a prayer of life with someone, asking that every aspect of fullness be present in that person's life; protection, health, abundance, wellbeing, joy, and peace. When someone asks to be married to someone, if the parent(s) accept, they not only grant permission, they also share a blessing. When you visit someone who's dear to you and when you leave, they share a blessing of you. Some may make the sign of the cross over you, or even on you, such as forming a cross on your forehead, with a whispered prayer or silent one, asking for the above things to come into your life. The exact opposite is to curse someone, which we should not even think about, much less do. To bless someone is to breathe life and its fullness into that other person's life; to curse is to try and take life away! Blessing one's children and all people, should be something we take up now! Can you bless someone later today?
Chosen. Painful are the memories some of us guys may have of the days of "picking teams." In the earlier days, it was the older guys who would decide to play a game, usually football on the street, or baseball on the street, and the two of them would offer themselves as captains and they would choose sides. They had the last word on who would be better on their team. To be chosen last was always an embarrassing thing; worse would be to be told to go home as no side believed one was worthy of being chosen or of playing. To be chosen as a friend is a great honor and to reject one of no longer being a friend is a terrible thing. To be a part of, to belong, is what being chosen is all about; and to be "chosen in Christ" by God, is a great honor is no small feat! It also comes with a huge responsibiliity as the verse continues, "to be holy and blameless before Him in love." And to be adopted by God to be God's child is to be chosen to be in the world's best family! The world's richest families pale in what they could possibly offer because all they have and own come with a huge word attached to them; Temporary. God's family, on the other hand, says Eternal.
To be accepted is a wonderful feeling. I liken it to the feeling one gets when visitng a new church, or starting a new job, or entering a new school; to be accepted in those settings is usually not immediate, but when it comes, it is a very good feeling. To be immedatiely rejected is the opposite; a feeling of disgust and rejection, for whatever reaons it may come. Nothing beats acceptance, especially into the love and family of God.
Redemption. It's a trade of sorts. Say you have need for cash, and you have a valued treasure from your life. You go into a pawn shop, get a fair price for your treasure with the promise that within a certain allotted time, you promise to bring back the money with interest. Once you have paid the price, your treasure is yours again. If your once clean and pure soul sins, there are stains and marks on it and until you do something to ird your soul of that sin, it can grow and eventually kill you. When you ask Jesus to remove the sin, which has come into your life as a result of sinning habits and practices, is removed and your once pure and clean soul is yours again, no longer belonging to the devil, but to you. That is redemption. Through the blood of Jesus, Paul writes, and from personal experience I should add, we are redeemed and made clean again.
Forgiven. The slate is cleaned and forgotten. My growing up years saw us in Kingsville buying all of our groceries from a store not unlike the one from the movie What's Eating Gilbert Grape (though the one in the movie seems a bit larger). The owner of the store kept a running tab of purchases made on credit. Mr. Chapa was not getting rich on us as he was blessing us with food, on credit, during those days we did not have any money. When the creamery closed and my Dad lost his job as a milkman, and suffered to find another job, he made it possible for our family to stay alive. We left Kingsville for Houston owing a huge sum of money, that thank God my Dad was able to return and pay with one payment. I saw how that worked, because when I was employed there I would be allowed to buy a snack, and as I chose one I would say, "Apuntalo" which means write it down, and Mr. Chapa would add it to a ledger where he kept record of all the purchases we had made; and in the same way we tend to say to God with every sin, Apuntalo, or write it down. Before too long the tab is long and in reality, no way we could ever pay for it except with our lives; we owe God everything for what we have done. And in the way that grocery debt said, "Paid in Full" so will our names being written in the Book of LIfe, all because Jesus paid the price in full!
So, here has been our Christmas in July! No better gifts could we have requested or received! We are blessed, chosen, adopted, accepted, redeemed, and forgiven! Live that!
PRAYER: Awesome God, we should celebrate Christmas every day, and we celebrate the awesome gifts that You constantly shower us with. Empower us to live in that way; we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Share your Christmas gifts with someone today!
Receive my blessings of peace and love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
