Why Do You Ask?

Image from eastgatefellowship.net

24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. 27 “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” 28 “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. 31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him. 33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. 36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” (Mark 7:24-37 New International Version of The Bible)

A blessed and faith-filled Monday be yours, ConCafe Family! I send (to some of you) late greetings from The Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Nellie and I are in a borrowed home near the Gulf and for about three weeks I will be doing what I received my insurance license; enroll staff and teachers of a school district with health insurance. We drove down while listening to Pastor Matt's live sermon on Youtube and arrived here after 1 pm. Friend, may your faith be blessed by this time spent in God's holy word. Please pray for those in need, please pray for us while here doing something new; pray for one another, and for your needs.

Sometimes life hands us things we did not want, nor expect, and in our thinking, did not deserve. And many times it is in the lives of loved ones where these uninvited, unwelcomed "guests" arrive, and we feel the hit even harder. No parent or grandparent want any sort of afflction, illness, accident, or anything negative to happen to their children. Most parents would travel the globe to seek that which would deliver, or heal, correct, or remedy that ill. And some would even pray. And so, we encounter a mother who comes to Jesus because her little daughter was possessed with a demon. She had come because she had heard the reports of a traveling rabbi (Yes, a Jew; she was not one) who healed and made whole those with whom He had contact. So, when she heard the news that this man was coming to her region, she prepars to go and have a meeting with Him. Her faith was at that point; she would even ask a Jew for help. Jesus shocks her, and us, with what He says; "First let the children eat all they want, for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs." Ouch. Jesus' mission was, after all, to come and restore Israel, for they were, supposedly, of the faith. She was from the race of people who were displaced by the arrival of the Jews. Remember, God promised Abraham the land of Canaan? She was one. But, while we may think Jesus was referring to her as a wild, domesticated animal, the term Jesus used was for the household pet, who did eat off the master's table, after everyone else had eaten. While many of us still would not like such terms used with us, she was not going to be stopped in her quest; "Yes, you can call me what you like, and I understand that term, but I am here not for myself, but for my child," is what she may have thought. She was even blessed by a reply, "Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." That was enough. Jesus' "Why do you ask?" was met with a proper response, and tells her that the demon had left her daughter, and she was now healed. By the time she got home, the child was lying on the bed and demon-free.

Jesus leaves that area and they brought to Him a man who was deaf and mute. These people, also aware of Jesus' powers and so they ask for Jesus to place His hands on him, and Jesus does, but shocks us with the way He does it. Jesus places His fingers in the man's ears, and then Jesus spits and touches the man's tongue, and "with a deep sigh said to him, 'Ephphataha!' (which means "Be opened!"), and the man was healed. I don't know about you, but if I were the man with the great need, I would welcome whatever form of touch that Jesus would use to bring me to wholeness. I doubt anyone from that man's family, or mine, would have questioned Jesus to the point of yelling, "Wait, Jesus! Don't put your fingers in his ears! And, what? You're spitting? In public! And wait! YOU'RE TOUCHING MY DAD WITH THAT SPIT! NO WAY! I'D RATHER MY DAD STAY DEAF AND MUTE THAN BE DEFILED IN THAT WAY!" Didn't happen. The man was healed; and Jesus' ministry continued, even with His requests that this not be part of the town's news.

God doesn't need to ask, "Why do you ask?" but our hearts and minds should reflect in our prayers the why behind our prayers and actions. We should have in us the faith to ask, the hope of receiving, and the conviction to trust God no matter the outcome of our needs. Above all else, we should declare that God continues with us and that we continue with Him.

PRAYER: Loving Father, You who know all things, You know our hearts. We pray that even with the pain and hurt that You find in them, You would know that we love and glorify You. Grant us wisdom, grand us courage, to continue on; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be the hands and feet of Jesus today!

Receive my blessings of joy and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

PS. There will be no audio for the devotional for today, and possible this week. Thank you for your understanding.

God is Serious About Us Getting Along!

Image from biblia.com

Listen here to the devotional: https://bit.ly/3mIYBjv

1 My dear friends, don't let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith. 2 If a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him, 3 and you say to the man in the suit, "Sit here, sir; this is the best seat in the house!" and either ignore the street person or say, "Better sit here in the back row," 4 haven't you segregated God's children and proved that you are judges who can't be trusted? 5 Listen, dear friends. Isn't it clear by now that God operates quite differently? He chose the world's down-and-out as the kingdom's first citizens, with full rights and privileges. This kingdom is promised to anyone who loves God. 6 And here you are abusing these same citizens! Isn't it the high and mighty who exploit you, who use the courts to rob you blind? 7 Aren't they the ones who scorn the new name - "Christian" - used in your baptisms? 8 You do well when you complete the Royal Rule of the Scriptures: "Love others as you love yourself." 9 But if you play up to these so-called important people, you go against the Rule and stand convicted by it. 10 You can't pick and choose in these things, specializing in keeping one or two things in God's law and ignoring others. 11 The same God who said, "Don't commit adultery," also said, "Don't murder." If you don't commit adultery but go ahead and murder, do you think your non-adultery will cancel out your murder? No, you're a murderer, period. 12 Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free. 13 For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time. 14 Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? 15 For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved 16 and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup - where does that get you? 17 Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? (James 2:1-17 The Message Bible)

A blessed and tremendous Tuesday, dear ConCafe Family. May the joy of the Lord be your strength today, dear Friend! Please continue to lift up the Lester Family as they prepare for the funeral of Mr. Tom Lester, Jr. on Wednesday. May God's comfort, grace, and peace be with them, and our prayers for Pastor Matt Pennington, as he prepares to bring God's healing balm through the Word. Pray for any anywhere who mourn, and for those who are hurting and in need of healing. May your needs be met in the Lord as you pray for others.

This passage is pretty self-explanatory as we have heard countless stories where the principles being taught are lived out and acted out each and every day in churches around the world. Some humans have a tendency to cater to the better dressed and better looking and the writer of this letter addresses this as not being a part of who we are called to be and that is Christians. I've seen it in numerous churches and it's the littlest and silliest things that can cause division and friction between believers. If we act in this way, Satan laughs and applauds, and we are none the wiser. Interesting how this modern version shares the word segregation, which is not an acceptable word in any holy setting. Our example is God, and God does not segregate. If ever we hope to see an inclusive setting, Heaven will be that place, where people of all hues, statuses, races, languages, et al, will be welcomed and sat at the banquet table to enjoy the finest meal of love and peace, comfort and joy. God has shown a special place in His heart for the marginalized and the downtrodden; and as this version calls it, the "Royal Rule of the Scriptures is "Love others as you love yourself." To go against this Rule is to stand convicted of having broken it. God's word is not a Reader's Digest of selected verses, meaning our favorite self-pleasing passages; no, it is about what God has shared with us which we are to take seriously.

The writer continues; do you think by keeping one commandment and flagrantly violating another, one is canceled out and made alright in God's eyes? In no way! God's law is meant to be followed. "Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free." He means for us to act with kindness and acceptance to all people. And it's not enough to quote scriptures while ignoring them and not living them. To encounter an old friend who is dressed in rags and half-starving and greet them with "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit" does not fill his stomach or meet his needs of being cold and needing a jacket. And the wonderful final verse, "Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?" Indeed! And amen!

PRAYER: Loving Father, we confess we have been guilty of many violations of hospitality and charity; forgive us we pray, and grant us new opportunities in which to shine Your light to glorify You; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Seek ways to live out your compassion and include all people!

Receive my blessings of joy and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

Having Dinner with God

Image from jesuswalk.com

Listen to the devotional right here: https://bit.ly/3Dgh6S5

1 God, who gets invited to dinner at your place? How do we get on your guest list? 2 "Walk straight, act right, tell the truth. 3 "Don't hurt your friend, don't blame your neighbor; 4 despise the despicable. "Keep your word even when it costs you, 5 make an honest living, never take a bribe. "You'll never get blacklisted if you live like this." (Psalm 15 The Message Bible)

A happy and tremendously terrific Thursday be yours, ConCafe Family! May this day provide you, dear Reader, joy and opportunity to witness to your faith in God. Begin by being in prayer for one another. Please continue prayers for Jay and Janie Munoz. Janie received an infusion treatment but her oxygen levels went down and she joins Jay in the ER as no beds are available yet. Jay was supposed to get the infusion later today if all works out. And this is being written on Wednesday. Please pray for all who are fighting Covid; pray harder for those who have not sought help in fighting this virus. Pray for yourselves.

When I was nine years old and gainfully employed at Chapa's grocery store, one of the unexpected treats that I was surprised with was to have lunch with Mrs. Chapa and my co-worker, Charito, who was Mrs. Chapa's nephew. Mr. & Mrs. Chapa never had children of their own, and this was a special treat as much as for her as it was for Charro and me. One of the treats was to sit at a fancy set table with cloth napkins, forks, knives, and spoons. The meal was served on special plates and the meal ended with something I did not know existed, and that was dessert! And her favorite dessert was tapioca. I had no idea what that was, but boy did I love it! I went home that night and talked nonstop about that. I hoped it was enough of a hint that maybe the idea of a dessert cold make its way into the Valverde household. And strange as it may seem, at the same time I had a stronger longing to be in God's house for worship all the time. This modern version brings the conversation to a new level while the ancient one was about being in the temple with fellow believers. As written in this modern version, the emphasis is on dinner and fellowship; while the two are not all that different I would argue. The first verse of this modern paraphrased version of the Psalm speaks of getting invited to have dinner with God. I cannot begin to imagine what that would even be like. I don't even know if I could close my mouth enough to chew, let alone, eat, in the presence of God! Yet, is the idea so bad to think of a properly set table, with cloth napkins, linen tablecloths, finest cutlery, crystal cups and fine china? The psalmist wrote about being allowed into God's tent, but even then the idea of having fellowship with God in God's dwelling, be it a tent or a temple, is an incredibly awesome idea. And the notion that one could actually get on God's guest list is also a sombering thought. So he asks the question and God responds; "Walk straight, act right, tell the truth. Don't hurt your friend, don't blame your neighbor; despise the despicable." Let's unpack that right now before heading to the others of this list.

If we are at all familiar with the Ten Commandments, these three items are in there. The commandments serve to help us know how to live before God, live among our fellow humans. THe next are obvious get-along rules of not hurting our friend, lying aginst our neighbor, and despising the despicable; also Ten Commandment content. It's part of the week's theme; live right before God, invite God into your life, and you will be invited into God's home not only for a meal but for all eternity. And we should reflect on Jesus' hope and belief that one day, He will preside at a table where He and we will celebrate the awesomeness of that last supper; but this supper will last forever.

Do you get to thinking about worship on Thursday? Or Friday or even Saturday night? We should actually. Our longing should be like the psalmist whose week was incomplete without having an audience with God in spirit and truth; where we bare our souls and open our hearts to hear from the One who created us and desires a true relationship with us. Have you checked your mail? Your invitation may be there, you know!

PRAYER: Lord of the Banquet, Host of the Feast, speak to our needs in joyful ways, and feed us with bread from heaven, and living water, all so that we might enjoy it so much we want others to join us and rejoice with us all that God has done for us. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be someone who invites someone to feast with the King!

Receive my blessings of joy and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

It's a Local Call!

Image from ebay.com

Listen to the devotional here: https://bit.ly/3zh1LhO

1 "And now, O Israel, give heed to the statutes and the ordinances which I teach you, and do them; that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, gives you. 2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it; that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. 6 Keep them and do them; for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' 7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8 And what great nation is there, that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I set before you this day? 9 "Only take heed, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children's children-- (Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-9 Revised Standard Version of the Bible)

A happy and blessed Wednesday to you ConCafe Family! And may this day see you, Friend, spring into action doing the will of God! May we continue to exercise our spiritual disciplines especially prayer as we pray for one another, for our needs, the needs of the world, our neighbors, our enemies, and our dear ones!

Some of you kids may not be old enough to remember long distance calls. Minutes on a call outside of your city limits were precious and pricey. I remember working with "the phone company" back when Ma Bell ran all the phone lines and in one of my marketing classes we studied long distance. It was an interesting setup back then, who could call where and for free, and other parts for mucho dinero. And the joke from the instructor was that our system was changing, especially as upstart competitors to A.T.T. were moving in, he said that in Clear Lake, there was a two-story building where if the downstairs wanted to call the upstairs, it was a long-distance telephone call! And the old story about God coming down and (depending on your denomination or faith) the joke was that if you wanted to call God, the Mormons would joke that in Salt Lake City it was a local call. The Baptists said the same thing about Waco, and so on. Well, this passage says all calls to God are local calls! Meaning they're free! Re-read verse 7: "For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon Him?" Indeed! God is as close as our heart, if we are walking with Him daily, and keeping the commandments and teachings, so we can call out to Him and He will answer!

This passage was part of Moses' instrtuction to the people of Israel as they prepared to enter Canaan. Remember the forty years in the wilderness were the time of formation for the people to become a new people. As they made their way out of Egypt and through their journey, they picked up people that were not Hebrews like them; and they were welcomed and they journeyed and learned along with God's people to become a true nation rooted and formed in God and God's teachings. This was a people in process. Think of the old bumper sticker: "Please be patient with me, God's not finished with me yet!" And as happens in some churches, confirmation is a process that prepares a youth to become a full member of the church, but honestly, it continues as a lifelong process of growing and maturing in the Lord, always seeking to be better today than yesterday. As I stress, John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement stressed that we can be made perfect in love in this lifetime, if we seek to be better each day than then previous one. When Nellie and I married, I was rough around the edges, to put it nicely; there was lots about me that I needed to improve or to rid myself off, so that I could be a better husband. After several years of living alone it was now a new experience to have a spouse. It was wonderful and I still love her presence (more so even more each day!) but the parts of me that needed to improve got in the way! Can you imagine that? I thank God that while I'm still far from perfect, I try more to listen, thinik, pray, reflect, and respond in love to all in which she and I are partners in. The rash, reactive immature guy is no longer around as much as he was back then. That guy was trying to control all things is no longer the prima donna that he once was. And now apply that the throng of new arrivals to Canaan from Egypt. The words of God apply to us, but more so to any emerging relationships or faith development. "Give heed" is strong; pay attention, learn from and listen to "the statutes and the ordinances which (God) has taught us, and live them; so that we may truly live (Think of life in abundance or to the fullest).

The challenge is for the people of God to truly love and embrace God in all ways. Our souls should have Him in them, our minds should have His words on them, and hands and feet should be leading us in His direction, and our spirits should be praising and glorifying Him. And all these together become part of our witness to those, especially our children, about how to best live life. And a wonderful driving force is knowing that God is closer than any phone! And it is a local call!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, draw us near to You, for we know You are near to us. We pray that we might truly heed Your word and Your example so that we can be examples to others. May we be a blessing to all people, and this we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Call on the Lord today in ways that bless those around you!

Receive my blessings of peace and love,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

Do What the Word Says!

Image from livingwordmontrose.com

Listen to what the devotional says here: https://bit.ly/3ybykwm

17 Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures. 19 You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for your anger does not produce God's righteousness. 21 Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness, and welcome with meekness the implanted word that has the power to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. 23 For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; 24 for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. 25 But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing. 26 If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1:17-27 NRSV)

A happy and blessed Tuesday be yours, ConCafe Family! And may this day be filled with wonderful, unexplained, awesome, blessings from God and that you, Friend respond in kind. We continue to pray for those for whom we have been asked to pray. I add that prayers have been blessing Jay and Janie; she was able to eat something last night (Sunday), and today, Monday, Jay had some jello. They are also going to be eligible to receive an infusion from a hospital and we pray that blesses them with the healing they need. Please continue to pray for them and others. Pray for one another, and prayers for your needs as well.

This letter is believed to have been written by the brother of Jesus, who also was believed to have been one of the Twelve. Some ancient sources dispute those claims, and even genuine knowledge of who the true author was gets only to the point that it was a Greek-influenced Christian (Hellenistic believer). It is also held that the letter is more of a sermon than a true epistle. There are, in this version of the letter, one hundred and eight verses, with an emphasis on works more than just belief. His approach is to encourage believers to live like believers. His idea, as he states almost immediately, is that if we try hard enough, we could indeed just be the "first fruits of His creatures," meaning we actually believe and live what we have learned from our Savior. The writer outlines some helpful areas and ideas that would work. For example, we could become better listeners, who in turn, reflect and pray before speaking, and as a result take time to ponder how we are to respond to what we hear. James says, honestly enough, that there are already enough hotheads in the world. And hotheaded angry people seldom get anything except black eyes, busted lips, or jail time. I recently saw a video about a self-defense instructor tell his students the true story of a bar fight where they did go outside to settle their dispute and a slug to one of the antagonizers sent the other straight to the pavement, where he hit his head and died, thus the arrest and long jail term of the other person. And instead of teaching moves and blocks and hits, this man spoke of how to respond to antagonistic challenges. "What are you looking at" is a question that some can easily take as a challenge and this man said, "I'm looking at your shirt! I used to have one like that, and it brought back some fond memories of when I wore that shirt." Oh. Or, "Are you staring at my girl?" "Yes, is her name Michelle? I used to go to school with a Michelle in fifth grade and she helped me so much I've wanted to see her again and thank her for the prositive things she shared with me!" Different response.huh? "What's your problem buddy?" "My dad. He just died." Oh. Sorry to hear that. I believe that is a radical way of responding rather than reacting. "Anger does not produce God's righteousness.

From within, as the gospel passage from yesterday said, we should rid ourselves of the root things within us that cause the trouble and squabbles. "Sordidness" should have no space within us to grow. "Wickedness" seems better in a Broadway play about characters from the Wiard of Oz than being the rooted evil within our hearts. Instead of suspiciousness, why not try a welcoming spirit laced with meekness that comes from God's word being a part of us; for after all, it "has the power to save your souls." So, live like a true believer, instead of a bench or pew-warmer on Sundays. Those tend to fool only themselves. James' example is like us when we look in a mirror and almost immediately forget what we look like. I'm guilty of that. Many a Sunday in the past one could ask me what color tie I was wearing and more than likely I had already forgotten! If instead we would spend time looking into the teachings of the law, e.g. The Ten Commandments, the freedom of believers as set free by God that we read about in the Bible, and reading passages like from Paul where he never gave up, we will learn true ways in which to live and interact with others. We will become known as those who truly live like Jesus. It is way better to live as a believer than one who speaks about what a believer might look like; and a good measure of that is the words we use with others. A person who uses his or her tongue to cut down, belittle others, or to scare others; they have fooled only themselves about their fakeness. True religion, says James, is that of caring for orphans and widows while they are in dire need; while keeping yourself undefiled by the world. In other words, our job is to live a life that impacts, or untaints the world, instead of letting the world taint us.

PRAYER: Loving God, let it be that we will be the ones who make the impacts of life on the dreariness of the world with Your brightness and light. Free us truly for joyful obedience; and help us to save the world. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Live a life of hope among those who are hopeless!

Receive my blessings of hope and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

In or Out? Clean or Unclean?

Image from agnusday.org

Listen to devotional here: https://bit.ly/3Dc7mIm

1 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles. ) 5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” 6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” 14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” (Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 NIV)

A blessed and happy Monday to you all, ConCafe Family! May you bless the Lord today, dear Friend, in ways that God will show to you! We ask continued prayers for those suffering from Covid-19, and I urge prayers for our compadres, Jay and Janie Muñoz, who both have severe cases. Their daughter tried to get them an ambulance but with the hospitals in South Texas overcrowded, they could not pick them up. Please pray for their healing and comfort. Jay and Janie are our son-in-law Jesse's parents and they live in Ben Bolt, TX. Pray for the entire family they might be protected from this dreaded disease, and if any more are afflicted they might be healed. Pray for one another, pray for yourselves.

You might have had one of these sort of people in your life. Jesus certainly did. I had one in a supervisor at a mall at which I had a summer job as a security guard. This person just disliked me and my every move. At the time I was a struggling college student and my choice of shoes were cheap tennis shoes. I had only one pair of church shoes, or as my East Texas brothers and sisters would have called my Sunday-go-to-meeting shoes. As a security guard this person believed I should be wearing black shoes. I told him I did not own a pair. And I did not own a matching black belt. He made a fuss about my dress. Every day it was something different. I called my office and asked to be re-assigned and was sent to a dream assignment for an introvert as myself. I sat in an upstairs office of a two-story oil company building, with three monochrome monitors where I watched the entry door camera, and a camera on each floor. I had a list of employees and to enter they would buzz and I would ask their name and number, and if they were on my list I would buzz them in. So, imagine having the Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law, from the head office in Jerusalem keeping their wicked eyes on you and your every move. And since they could never really find anything on Jesus, they also eyeballed the Disciples. And the only thing they could find was the disciples did not wash their hands before eating. And this irked them. I realize that for some of you reading or listening to this, you might agree with them, and I can't say that you are wrong for that; but the emphasis was not really on the cleaniless issue as it was to holding to tradition. And this is precisely the issue they chose to attack. Jesus responds by quoting Isaiah, "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules." Jesus adds, "You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions."

Jesus makes a great case of His stance with the statement he makes about this dispute. "Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come -- sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person."

So, was Jesus right, or were the detractors correct? I'm going to side with Jesus. He knew what He was talking about, and the Pharisees had lost their way in tradition and forgot about grace and love from God. Tradition has its place in some situtations, but when it comes to how one lives ouf one's faith, it can become easy to see that disobeying a tradition does not trump faithfulness and holiness towards God. Someone could say, "But I have clean hands!" And all while knowing that his/her heart was evil and filthy. How do we justify clean hands with theft or murder, or any of the sins listed in this passage? We can't. Jesus was right, and we have to agree, and better than agree, we have to obey and ask Him to clean our hearts. Purity with the Lord is better than honoring human traditions.

PRAYER: Loving God, cleanse our minds and our hearts. We do sometimes worry about holding to, and keeping traditions, instead of seeking purity of heart. We want to please You and glorify You by how we live and interact with You and Yours. We want to please only You, and no one else. We pray this in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. Seek to please the Lord in a wonderful way today.

Receive my blessings of joy and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

God is Close to the Brokenhearted...

Image from bible.com

It is better to listen than to read... well, listen anyway! Right here: https://bit.ly/37UNLhz

15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry. 16 The face of the Lord is against evildoers, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. 18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all. 20 He keeps all their bones; not one of them will be broken. 21 Evil brings death to the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. (Psalm 34:15-22 NRSV)

ConCafe Famiily, welcome Thursday into your lives! And bless the Lord dear Friend with your life; may your words, thoughts, and actions glorify Him! May we also glorify God with our prayers; worship God, praise Him, and bless those who have asked prayers from us. May the healings, calm, comfort and peace sought by many be theirs, and may we listen intently to what God may say to us after our prayers and time of worship and study.

Who has been the best teacher you've ever known? I'm talking about a person whose life radiates light and knowledge just by their presence and as soon as they begin to talk or share, you know you're in the presence of greatness. Did you have one of those in high school or college? Did you have one of those in church? Or graduate school? My vote would go to Dean Virgil Matthews, former dean of students at Lon Morris College, and my first Relgion teacher in a university setting. He was a kind and gentle man whose life radiated a deep knowledge, I might add, a personal knowledge of God and God's grace. His lectures were inspired and inspiring. He loved the subject matter and we could tell that he loved us even in spite of our being, for lack of a better word, rascals. Okay, the only rascal was me. I meant no disrespect but I loved to ask him questions, especially on days we were supposed to have exams. It was rumored, and shame on me for believing those rumors, that if we asked the right question or questions, the exam might get delayed. Mind you, our questions were sincere, and worthy of asking, and sometimes we did indeed receive an extra day or two by asking enough good questions to delay our having to answer exam questions. In spite of my behavior, he instilled in me a love for all things Bible and religion. It was always my pleasure to be in his presence, even if I had been called in for questionable behaviors. And I came to know that knowing God and seeking to serve God, would and could be an adventure.

Imagine having David the psalmist being your professor of faith. David was a man who did walk and talk with God, and even in spite of his shortcomings, still knew the love and grace of God and whose words radiated that love and grace from the one true God. He spoke to an audience of righteous and nonrighteous and to those in between or even those who had been righteous up until Friday or Saturday night, and then, well, let's just say un-righteous things might have occurred; and to sit in his class on a Sabbath day was the right place to be to hear words that both inspried, confirmed, or condemned you. Hear the first verse of this passage, God's eyes are on those who love and seek to serve God, and God gives attention to hearing the prayers and cries of those who seek to be right and faithful in their walk with Him. That opening would have caught my attention as it would yours. Your eyes may have winced at the next words, "God looks away from those who seem to do more evil than good; even to the point of not wanting to see them or hear them because of how they've lived. This is seen as more of a call and challenge for all to be better or try harder." This bears hope for me, and other rascals like me. For us to hear, "God is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit," is to hear the possibility that yes, we might still "make it." God is in the rescuing business and God just might rescue me; for He might know me well enough to understand and forgive my behaviors if I would confess and repent of them. We begin to understand that it is ourselves who bring evil on ourselves and God is not to blame; our decisions and our choices have led us down the wrong path; and we need to seek refuge in God and we will be free of condemnation.

Our adventure in walking with God continues dear friend; and it falls on us to seek to be among the righteous and not with the evildoers. Our lives should reflect the desire and the attempts on our part to find God and to follow Him away from the pit of despair to the narrow path of life and light. Whever it is that this finds us right now, it is not yet the end; we still can, and should, confess and seek He who can truly save us.

PRAYER: Loving Father, while we have breath and life, let our desires be for You; for we know that we can find in You that which saves us and brings us to life and life in abundance. Bless our steps to be a blessing to You; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Seek to bless God with actions that bless others today.

Receive my blessings of peace and wholeness,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

PS. Dear friends, Nellie and I are taking a couple of days off and headed towards the water so there may not be a Friday Faith Feeding through ConCafe this week. I thank you for understanding! Pray for our travels to and from; and we'll see each other on Monday right here on this channel!

Choose Sides!

Image from dustoffthebible.com

Listen to the devotional right here: https://bit.ly/3svfpv1

1 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. 3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac; 14 "Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." 16 Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; 17 for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; 18 and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God." 19 But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good." 21 And the people said to Joshua, "No, we will serve the Lord!" 22 Then Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him." And they said, "We are witnesses." 23 He said, "Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel." 24 The people said to Joshua, "The Lord our God we will serve, and him we will obey." 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem. (Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 NRSV)

A blessed and wonderful Wednesday to you, ConCafe Family. Friend, may God make clear your path of discipleship and service. Let me state the reason for ConCafe, and I should do this more often; to make God and His Word real and more readibly accessible to all people. I started ConCafe more for myself and my own need to stay connected with God. So, I say some things that speak to me and which I believe to what God would have me hear. I started the day I heard other campus minister confide to us that spiritually they were dead because they no longer read the Bible in preparation for sermons and so had lost connection to God. I swore that I did not want that to happen to me and so I started reading and writing my thoughts about each lession for the coming Sunday, and that was in 1999. I thank you for being a part of this group and I invite you to share this with others because our challenge still is to reach more people for God. And as we pray, please lift up this prayer request from Kate Amador of San Marcos, TX: "Would you please pray for my brother Mike's family - he passed away last Saturday from a massive stroke. Mike lived outside of Milwaukee as does his wife Linda. Prayers for me and my daughter also. Linda has her son there with her and her daughter comes in from further North in Wisconsin -not very far but she has two school age children who need Mommy because they don't quite understand about Grandpa. Mike was 77. He was riding his bike when the stroke hit."

Have you ever had to choose sides? I remember my first sermon after retirement. It was also my first sermon as the Minister of Discipleship & Nurture at First United Methodist Church of Gonzales, Texas. I asked for a show of hands of those present who loved Ford vehicles. Then Chevy. Then some others, but the major division was between Ford and Chevrolet. Then I asked about some sports teams, and made some people smile, others frowned. It's not easy to live in a divided world is it? Oh yes, the other of the first questions asked about the school in Austin and the school in College Station (I wonder why a divided house made me think about that?) Most of these divisions are usually based on fun and friendly rivalry; but there are some that are serious life and death issue-based. And it's in today's passage that we find one of the most serious of them all; in Whom do you truly and eternally believe?

Most of us were born into homes where we found a faith already chosen for us. In my home, it was the Christian faith and as our expression of that faith it was in the Methodist Church that we lived out the faith. Every Sunday, without fail, Mom would wake us up, dress us and we would all, Mom, Dad, and us five children, would drive to our church. Then one morning, I awoke on my own and made my way to my Dad, who was alone. I asked, "Where's Mommy?" He said, "She's with her father at their church." Wait. What? He explained that Mom was Catholic and they had an arrangement that the children would be rasied as Methodists but she could stay in her church as a Catholic. I, being ten years old, understood nothing about compromise or arrangments as serious as the one I was hearing. I knew enough I suppose, about the differences in the Catholic and Methodist Church to have my concerns. And I made it my mission to talk to my Mother about her decision. As far as I could tell, we were living in a divided home and there might come a day when all would not be right, at least in my limited-world thinking at the time. Some weeks later, Mom surprised us all by walking down the aisle to become a member at El Buen Pastor IMU.

The more serious challenge is to confront those who do not believe in God and sometimes, worse, believe in gods which we consider non-entities and false. Such was the case for Joshua, the new leader of the Exodus after Moses' death. He and God spoke on a regular basis, so the words we read in today's passage we hear the seriousness of the challenge. His call is to place their full faith in God and to revere Him and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness. The other gods were not worth the effort and went against the Commandments to have "other gods." "Choose this day Whom you will serve," goes the call from God, "whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord." And Joshual even offers an option, "If you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve." And the famous kitchen ornament quote, "As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." The people respond in kind, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt , out of the house of slavery, and who did great things in our sight. He protected us along all the way we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed....Therefore we will also serve the Lord for He is a holy God."

In very real ways, God has chosen us. And we must choose to follow Him. It's not enough to sit in a church for an hour every Sunday, return the next Sunday and sit again for an hour, and in between do nothing that shows that we truly do follow and have chosen God as our God. Our lives must reflect a deep change for the good in how we see ourselves, others, and those outside our circles. All that Jesus shared on His Father's behalf is truth, and we are, or should be, children of the truth. Anything else is a lie and a costly one at that.

PRAYER: Loving God, let us truly live in ways that do show that we believe in You, love You, and truly serve You. Help us overcome our shyness, our reluctance, our insecurities, and our ignorance at times, to truly bless You. We pray in His Name, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Choose this day the Lord and live like it.

Receive my blessing of joy and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

paypal.me/EradioValverde

Armed For Life's Battles!

Image from care.org.uk

Listen the devotional here: https://bit.ly/3xSwhgr

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 15 As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16 With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak. (Ephesians 6:10-20 NRSV)

A happy Tuesday to you, ConCafe Family. May God bless your life, dear Reader. with rich and wonderful blessings. Pray for one another and for yourselves.

The greatest example of the right equipment for battle is a comical one we studied not too long ago,when the chilld king-to-be David accepted the challenge from the giant Goliath. David, to his credit, was prepared to fight the giant without any armor, but King Saul insisted that it would be necessary, and to see the boy in the king's armor was funny. An XL helmet, breastplate, sword, etc. on at-best a Medium-sized boy. Saul's thinking was from his years of war experience. He knew and saw what an unarmed soldier would go through and that was usually a painful death. The developers of armor for the times it was invented knew what purpose each piece served; to protect and keep safe. Years later as the Apostle Paul sat under house arrest and under Roman guard, he noticed the armor and was inspired by God to use that as example for every Christian believer. Paul knew from personal experience the personal challenges that came his way, and as he traveled when he was free, from church to church, he heard about those diffiulties and obstacles the believer was facing. But Paul also knew the strength of the Lord and how he himself had been blessed with that strength. Then, Paul begins his analogy of the armor of his Roman guard and the strength the Lord offers to you and me.

First, the truth. Verse 12 is it; "For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." When we become believers, the alarm goes off in the dark places and alerts the enemy of our now being on God's team, and will stop at nothing to get us back. And, unless we are clothed right, the battle might already be over, and the scoreboard will say Devil 1, Chritian 0.

Paul says, "Let's arm ourselves with what God offers so we can defeat that old devil." And he outlines the armor that will not only protect us but defeat the enemy. His command is adament about believers standings firm, emphasis on standing. As believers we should take pride in our Lord and Savior, and we stand as an example to others. Paul begins with the belt of truth around your waist. The ancient version spoke of our loins being girded. And I should note the order of these items are in the order in which the soldier put them on. It was also the belt that held the other items in place. The older version speaks of the honesty and righteousness with which one approaches the most vulnerable areas of the body. Without going further into detail, think back again to David and his life and his error in regards to another man's wife.

The breastplate of righteousness is what protects the heart and other vital organs. Our emotions, our feelings; we are vulnverable creatures. Cover your heart and your breath with righteousness, meaning we seek to do what pleases God in al things.

For your shoes, wear that which allows you to share the gospel of peace. We take that to mean the kind of shoes that will take you wherever and whenever you need to be to share the gospel of peace, love, and hope with those who need to hear it.

The shield with which you can protect all of you from the "flaming arrows of the evil one," meaning that the shield should be faith, that which counters what the devil hits us with. If he says be down, faith says be up. If the flaming arrows says you're lost, faith says, no you're not; you're on the right path.

To protect your thoughts and mind, put on a helmet of salvation; that which says you belong to God. You are in the right relationship of your life and you should not deviate from it.

The sword is the word of God. This is the offensive weapon; the others serve as more defensive weapons, this one allows for our attack against the enemy. The word of God contains the truth and the life we need.

And we cover everything with prayer and supplication; prayers of protection and wisdom and the direction that we need to move forward towards God. Paul says we should also stay alert and never stop from being the ones who prays for the other believers. And Paul asks that the readers pray for him and the work he does. And for the end that Paul was aware would be his.

Nothing in life can defeat a person fully dressed in the armor of God, for they will have all they need to defeat the enemy and win others over for the kingdom.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, empower us with wisdom to seek and put on all that will bless us with Your armor. We want to be strong, wise and every vigilant for all we can do to win the wold for Jesus. We can indeed win the battles we face. And we pray in Christ Jesus' name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. Show the joy of hope that we have in Jesus with someone today.

Receive my blessings of joy and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

The Saddest Verse in the Bible?

Image from fpchackensack.org

Listen to the devotional here: https://bit.ly/2XjVOT1

56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. 60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” 61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.” 66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. 67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:56-69 NIV)

Happy Monday, dear ConCafe Famly! Friend, be a blessing of life and love to all whom you enounter today! Bless God and God's family. May we continue to hold Eva Boscamp in our prayers; she continues in the hospital and some in her family have Covid and cannot visit her as they want. Prayers for their healing and comfort. Please pray for one another, pray for your needs. I would like to ask we lift up prayers for our pastors; some have been very busy and find themselves in need of our prayers for strength, peace, and the pace that only God can give to them. We thank God for them and their efforts on our behalf.

There are many sad verses in the Bible. They are there because the Bible is an honest book. It hides nothing and reveals everything. And what's even more odd is that it is verse 6:66. It reads, "From this time many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him." Ouch. The verse right before it says that Jesus had known from the beginning that some would not believe and many who woulld betray Him. If you've ever been a part of an organization and you lost members, you know how it feels to lose members. Can you imagine Jesus' response? True, He knew ahead of time, but being fully human and fully God, it still must have hurt to know that those who had heard the words of life still chose to reject them, and to reject Jesus Himself. That makes it, in my opinion, one of the saddest verses in the Bible. People still reject Jesus, and His Church, and even Jesus' people. And yes, we press on. We have work to do because we have access to the truth about life, and life after life. In fact, it was a discussion about the truth that made the disciples ask about it.

Jesus begins this passage by again speaking about the heavenly food that lasts beyond this life; if one seeks to truly partake in Christ's ministry and body, they are assured their place in the heavenly reward. Jesus is the bread of life, come down from Heaven, so the world might find in Him eternal life. Jesus reminds those listening of their own death. Even if you're a descendant of those who ate manna in the desert, that counts for nothing! Your ancestors died, and so will those who have not eaten on this bread. And this while teaching in a synagogue in Capernaum; many of the mind like those even today who still say to pastors, "Don't use that passage it's not at all uplifting, and who wants to hear sad things in church?" Even some of His disciples asked Jesus, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" Jesus has to ask, "Does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before? The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you - they are full of the Spirit and life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe." And people voted with their feet, and away from Jesus they went. Sigh.

I will confess that as a pastor I went through many a season of wondering why I was still doing what I was going, and told God about it. I know many dear friends and colleagues who have also confessed that too. It's a common saying among some of us, "Ministry would be alright if it wasn't for the people..." And yes, that holds true for many a job/career; but being on the spiritual plane of the Church it becomes quite difficult at times for us to continue on. The idea of selling cars, or banking, or teaching, and yes, even undertaking (one friend said it was a breath of fresh air to go to working with people who don't talk back!). Thank God many of us never walked away from Jesus. Yes, we tried to hide and/or run from Him, but never abandon Him, for what the disciples told Jesus, "Lord, to Whom shall we go? YOU have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that You are the Holy One of God." Indeed, and amen.

Dear friend, I don't know where you are in your walk with Jesus, but dear one, I pray you're still on the path that leads to eternal life. Yes, the challenges get hard, and sometimes the way out seems a better way, but do not be fooled; Christ is the still the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. Anything or anyone else, is a liar. Stay with the Truth!

PRAYER: Loving God, Holy are You and Holy is Your Son, and Your Holy Spirit; in You we find the answers for our souls and so forgive us the times we have been tempted or lured away; help us hold fast to You and to life. Bless us to be a blessing to others; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great andd blessed day in the Lord! Share hope about life with someone today.

Receive my blessings of hope and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

Praise and Wisdom

Image from walmart.com

Listen to the devotional here: https://bit.ly/3yGS246

1 Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. 2 Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them. 3 Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever. 4 He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds; the Lord is gracious and merciful. 5 He provides food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant. 6 He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of the nations. 7 The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. 8 They are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. 9 He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name. 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever. (Psalm 111 New Revised Standard Version of The Bible)

Happy Thursday, ConCafe Family! May the joy of the Lord be with you dear Friend, and may it ignite a revival in your life of sharing that joy with others, especially those who need joy in their lives. Please be in prayer for those in need; pray for one another, and pray for yourselves.

This is an awesome psalm that begs for us to start with the last verse to fully understand the entire sentiment behind its having been written. So, verse 10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever." The writer is sharing his heart. If this is from the hand of Solomon, well we know his story and how he came to be known as the wisest king of all time. His wisdom came from God, and know knowing to ask Him for it, came from the fear, i.e., deep reverent respect for God, and so asked God to give him the discerning heart with which he could reign the people of God. The disciple James in 1:5 explains that if anyone is lacking wisdom, they should ask God, and it will be given to them. Some of the wisest people I ever met were people whose hearts belonged to God. And these were not people who sought the spotlight, but rather where they lived and worked, knew what needed to be done, and they did it. Usually it was a nugget of pure wisdom that blessed me as I heard it, sometimes even changed a situation or a meeting or gathering. It was God Himself present and speaking because in those people's hearts, God was there.

Do you possess the mind of Christ? Is your perspective on life one just like Jesus would have? Does your vision speak volumes of praise towards God towards God's creation? Can you see God's hand in all that was made and does that make your heart joyful? Is every breath you take one that blesses you and makes you glad that you're alive? Do you see your reflection in the mirror and does that remind you of God's grace and forgiveness that He gave to you? This psalm goes hand in hand with the other scriptures we have studied for this week. The idea of being set apart for God is confirmed in this psalmist's writing. For all God has done for us, what is the least we can do for Him? God sought to establish an eternal covenant with us, and our seeking to be like Christ in the world blesses Him and His work.

PRAYER: Loving God, fill us with You and thus increase our wisdom, for we desire to know You and share You with all whom we meet. Remove from us the things that tend to drag us down, instead lift us up, and this we pray in Christ Jesus' holy name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Seek to grow in wisdom! Ask God!

Receive my blessings of love and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

You Get Three Wishes...

Image from ignitermedia.com

Listen to the devotional here: https://bit.ly/3yCOgJ3

10 Then David slept with his ancestors, and was buried in the city of David. 11 The time that David reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12 So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established. 3 Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David; only, he sacrificed and offered incense at the high places. 4 The king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the principal high place; Solomon used to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, "Ask what I should give you." 6 And Solomon said, "You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant my father David, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you; and you have kept for him this great and steadfast love, and have given him a son to sit on his throne today. 7 And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And your servant is in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a great people, so numerous they cannot be numbered or counted. 9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?" 10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11 God said to him, "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 I now do according to your word. Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you. 13 I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you. 14 If you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life." (1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14 NRSV)

Happy Wednesday, ConCafe Famiy! This is a special day in which to give God glory, dear Friend, so make the most of it! As we pray, let us pray for this request from FUMC-Gonzales: "Please pray for Mr. Delaney Culak. He is severely anemic and receiving a blood transfusion at the ER. He also has COVID and low oxygen. Please pray for his healing." Please pray for one another, and for your own needs.

The soap opera, As the Palace Turns ends today. Our hero, King David died. And was buried in Jerusalem. When Nellie and I were in Jerusalem we toured the excavation that is unearthing The City of David. It was quite interesting including the fact that an indoor toilet was found in the palace. They didn't say if there was an ancient Upper Room magazine or Sears Catalog alongside it! But, the writer says that "David slept with his ancestors, and that he ruled as king of Israel for 40 years; 7 years in Hebron, and 33 in Jerusalem, and the heir to the throne was his son from his wife, Bathseba. this was their second son. The first one, conceived during their rooftop affair died, and Solomon was their child after the first one. We immediately see how this new king is set for the job. Verse 3 from chapter 3 says, "Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David," and adds that different was that Solomon sacrificed and offered incense at the high places; going to Gibeon to sacrifice there at the chief high place for that worship. His custom was to offer a thousand burnt offerings on that altar, and as a result God visits the new king at night in a dream, and asks Solomon the question so many kids dreamed about ever since they/we were introduced to the idea of getting three wishes from a genie or ONE wish from God. That was the game we loved to play with other friends. Three wishes! I can't honestly remember what were the wishes, beyond of course, the million dollars that we believed was a lot of money back in the day. It's still a lot of money, honestly! What would have been your wishes?

Notice the king's response. He begins with a prayer of gratitude! Solomon remembered all the good God had shown to his father, David. And he thanks God for the reign of his Dad, and for the honor of his being the new king, admitting he did "know how to go out or come in." And he praises the people over whom he reigns, and then asks for "an understanding mind" with which he could rule God's people. His desire was to be able to judge between good and evil. This pleased the Lord, because of all the things Solomon could have asked for, he asked for wisdom. God knows this and even outlines what he could have asked; "because you have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I know do according to your word." And God granted to the young kind "a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you and no one like you shall arise after you." And guess what? God gave to him, "both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you." And the Lord adds that Solomon should walk in God's way, keeping His statutes and commandments, like his father David, and God would lengthen his life."

Our prayer life may already reveal where our heart is. What three things top the list over which you pray? Does that share with others the kind of person you are? If you're not pleased with what that gives you away, you can change it all. You can ask the Lord for a caring, compassionate heart with which you can pray for the needs of others and how you can better serve Him in ways that bring Him honor and glory. Here's an idea, revisit the Lord's Prayer and see the structure of that prayer. It's short, simple, yet powerful. It honors God and places God at the top of our list, and nowhere in that prayer does it ask for personal honor, personal riches, or extravagent food, nor any kind of wealth or possessions. It does ask for forgiveness and for God to guide us away from temptation and towards God. That model should be our model as well.

PRAYER: God of all, owner of all that is, was, and is to come; bless us with You, and fill us with Your love and spirit so that we can be living witnesses of Your mercy and grace. Our only wish is to grow closer to You; and we pray in Christ Jesus' name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. Become someone's answered prayer today!

Receive my blessings of peace and calm,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

**To hear Sunday's sermon on Psalm 121 from First UMC in Gonzales, click this link: https://youtu.be/fiYl6mc5oYs

Live a Life Set Apart (Or Live Wisely!)

image from bible.com

Listen to the devotional here: https://bit.ly/2VHAXrU

15 So watch your step. Use your head. 16 Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times! 17 Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants. 18 Don't drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. 19 Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. 20 Sing praises over everything, any excuse for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:15-20 The Message Bible)

A tremendous Tuesday be yours, ConCafe Family! May this be your best day, Friend, in shining forth the light of Jesus to rid the world of the darkness that holds so many captive. Let us pray with the faith that we pray because God answers prayer!

"Use your head" was something that I heard countless times from my Dad. I now can say it was great advice, but back in the day I received it as happily as I did injections, bad-tasting medicine, and ill-fitting shoes. His was a call for me to have common sense. And for a teenager common sense is something that we come by usually by trail and error. For every no we received, our yes would usually lead us back to realizing that for our own good, the no was the best answer we could have secured. My Dad was a very wise man. When it came to making decisions about drinking and smoking, my father said I could drink or smoke, as I long as I did not do it in front of him. Yet, his life was a perfect example of one lived without those costly distractions. My father never smoked nor drank. He had seen first-hand what a life ruined by alcohol looked like, and sadly that was in the life of his father. I praise and thank God because years later, my Popo, as we called him, gave up drinking and became a fervant follower of Jesus. Even in his advanced age he mowed the church lawn and the lawn of the pastor's home at his own expense. He went to night school and learned how to read and write. He learned how to pray and pray he did!

Now to this passage. Paul knows that to live as a Christian is an awesome responsiblity. It is quite a thing to surrender to Christ and to assume his life as the model with which we can honor God. It reminds me of a difficult question asked of all who would be pastors for the Lord. The question is this; what does it mean to be set apart for God? It is asked because if one seeks ordination, one is asking to be set apart by God, by His Church to assume awesome responsiblities of officiating in baptisms, confirmations of new believers, marriage, the burial of the dead, the proclamation of God's word, and to live a life modeled after Jesus of love and compassion, of truly being Christ's ambassadors in the world. And it precisely this question that derailed a lot of people who felt the call from God to enter into ministry.

The times we live in are radically different from any other time in the history of the world. And, I don't even have to add that this Pandemic has been a huge negative factor as well. It has affected how people view the Church. Worship attendance is down, even online, and that means that the positive impact the Church once had is at one of the lowest, if not the lowest, in its history. And to read in modern language, the counsel of one so dedicated and in love with Jesus as he was, the Apostle Paul is right in saying, "Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!" It rightly means that you and I, have the opportunity to impact love and justice like never before in the lives of so many. What follows in the passage, if we read it prayerfully and wisely, speaks to how we can bless the Lord. "Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants. Don't drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of Him. Sing hymns instead of drinking songs! Sing songs from your heart to Christ. Sing praises over everything, any excuses for a song to God the Father in the name of our Master, Jesus Christ."

I do not read condemnation in any of the above words; I see encouragement. It is a warning of what can distract and possbily destroy not only our relationship and walk with Jesus, but also the walks of others. It calls for our making wise choices, That means we develop a strong and regular prayer life. A decision made through prayer is one guided and blessed by God. It also helps us, as the Apostle directed, to "understand what the Master wants." We should be sober persons when it comes to serving the Lord. Any deviation or distraction that is brought on by "wine" or other types of alcohol are not usually helpful in our daily lives. If we could truly drink "huge draughts of Him" what a "lift" that would bring us in a positive and productive way. And our choices of music should include songs of worship and praise; "songs from your heart to Christ," for our praise time does not end at 12 noon on Sunday; it continues on Sunday night, Monday through Sunday. We glorify God by living the best life that we can, living a life dedicated to Jesus and set apart by God, to serve Him, and Him only.

PRAYER: Loving God, guide and bless us in our daily lives. Make us truly dedicated and consecrated by You, to serve You and draw to You those who have strayed or have yet to be drawn near to You; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! See how to set your life apart for Jesus' sake.

Receive my blessings of love and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

Foundational Food

Image from digitalmissioners.com

Listen to today's devotional right here: https://bit.ly/3jzLcHk

51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” 52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” (John 6:51-59 New International Version of the Bible)

Happy Monday of the Blessed Kind, ConCafe Family! May your day, dear Friend bless you with a closer walk with the Lord. We expect, with God's help, to be made perfect in love. What that really means is to seek to make Monday better than Sunday, Tuesday better than Monday, etc. until people see the love and spirit of Jesus in us! May it be so! Let us continue to pray for one another; pray for ourselves, and for the needs of the world.

I remember days in my childhood home when we would have fresh flour tortillas as the bread for the day. I also remember being ashamed of taking tacos as my school lunch instead of some sort of sandwich made with white bread. Keep in mind this was before the whole world discovered breakfast tacos and tacos of all kinds. Many were the ones at the school cafeteria that would gladly trade their PBJs for a taco; once there the choice was not even close. Years later I learned of a certain school's football tradition of throwing tortillas into the crowd, and I thought I would incorporate that into a sermon. I preached on one of these "bread of life" texts of Jesus and threw flour tortillas into the congregation. As a result a couple visitng our church to check us out, joined! Yes, the one lady who was not paying attention did not appreciate a cold tortilla shot to her head. Oops.

Bread is a foundational food. It can be eaten alone. It can be eaten warm with butter or cheese, or it could be used to house meat and cheese, maybe lettuce, tomatos, and other things to truly be a sandwich. Whatever form it may come in, it is seen as a living symbol of nourishment, as that which can sustain life. So, for Jesus to make such a declaration of His being "the living bread that came down from Heaven," is to make a declaration about His being able to sustain life for all people. And He makes claims that go beyond this life. "Whoever eats this bread will live forever." And to make matters more interesting, critics and those who were not aware of Jesus' life and ministry, began to claim that to be a Christian was to be a cannibal, after all, Jesus said, "This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." The Jews chimed in with their objections, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" Jesus addresses the need to know and be with Him, as He said, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the loving Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me." Every time we have the opportunity to receive Communion, we are taking part in a sacred moment of connecting deeply with our Lord and Savior. We are taking Him at His word, and we are feastng on the real, living bread, and the living blood which blesses us for the present age and prepares for the the coming age, where we will live eternally with Jesus. Whatever our challenges or obstacles, we are not alone and we journey in the presence of Life, Jesus Christ.

PRAYER: Living God, we praise You and thank YOu for this bread of life that is Jesus. Help us to share His promises and peace as we march on in faith with Him; through Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be the bread and peace of God that you have found in Jesus.

Receive my blessings of joy and hope,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

Help Me, God!

Image from thebibleasliteratureotwbryan.wordpress.com

Hear the devotional right here: https://bit.ly/3jmnldT

1 Help, God - the bottom has fallen out of my life! Master, hear my cry for help! 2 Listen hard! Open your ears! Listen to my cries for mercy. 3 If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings, who would stand a chance? 4 As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit, and that's why you're worshiped. 5 I pray to God - my life a prayer - and wait for what he'll say and do. 6 My life's on the line before God, my Lord, waiting and watching till morning, waiting and watching till morning. 7 O Israel, wait and watch for God - with God's arrival comes love, with God's arrival comes generous redemption. 8 No doubt about it - he'll redeem Israel, buy back Israel from captivity to sin. (Psalm 130 The Message)

Thursday! Welcome to our lives and bring in to them the blessings of our Creator! May it be so, dear ConCafe Family, and may you, Friend, be filled to the brim with hope, joy, and peace! And may that bring blessings to those around you now, and always!

The Upper Room's devotional for today was very powerful. A grown man writes that as a child his grandfather taught him a "big little prayer." It was, "Help me, God!" The boy expected more, but that was the prayer. "He told me that if ever I am in danger, have a problem, am afraid, or have to make a decision, I can call on the Lord." I doubt that grandpa wrote that prayer. It may just be the oldest prayer in history that even Adam or Eve might have uttered more than once! In fact, any one of the characters from the Old Testament and New Testament might have said those very words as well. And we certainlyl have that prayer in an even briefer form here at the hand of King David; "Help, God." And if we think about it, any prayer is good enough for us to share with God. All prayers uttered from the heart reach the heart of God. And in this case, the broken and contrite heart of David upon the news of his son's death cries to God asking for any assistance God could share with him. And many of my prayers, and perhaps yours, have been lifted from the depths of despair and need; and this prayer of David's is no exception; he's hurt from the death and also for his transgressions against God, against Uriah and Bathesheba. David's cries are for mercy, for he truly wants to hear that he is forgiven. David delights in remembering that God is a forgiving God, and worthy of our praise. He has come to delight in his prayers to God and knows to listen as God responds to his needs. And the prayer includes the king's hope that help for the nation Israel will also come as an answer to this prayer. For Israel's true captivity is to sin, and from sin they need to be delivered.

Sin is at the root of all our troubles and afflctions and even the afflictions of our nation. David, as king, prays for himself and concludes by praying for his people as well. And the remedy for sin is prayer. God hears, God responds, God forgives and God moves on, leading us away from our sin areas into our abundant life areas. Our God is the God of second chances. And our God is a God on the move. For us to reach those places where we get bogged down and mired, are exactly the places that God visits with the intention of pulling us out and taking us with Him to places where we can serve Him by helping others. For a king to be guilty of adultery and murder is to reach a place that seems impossible to recover from, but God lifted David out of there and on to the plaes where he needed to be to continue in his role as God's anointed and appointed person to serve God in this very critical position and crucial time. The devil may have won a skimrish but the ultimate battle winner was, of course, God.

This may well be your story, dear friend. You may have survived an encounter you didn't expect, and you may even feel defeated, but we take heart in knowing that God has not given up on you and is even now offering you a second chance. Remember, God is the God of life, not death, and not matter how dead you may feel, cry out in prayer, that big little prayer, "Help me, God" and guess what? God will help you!

PRAYER: Loving God, we celebrate You and praise You for being the God of new life. Create in all of us new hearts, fitted for and filled with, Your love and vision. Guide us to where we might continueour discipleship walk with You. May we bring honor and glory to You; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Lift someone who needs the lift of love from God that you carry in you!

Receive my blessings of joy and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde

As The Palace Turns; God's Prophecy Comes True

Image from daleargot.com

Hear the devotional right here: https://bit.ly/2VpBpeC

5 The king commanded Joab, Abishai and Ittai, “Be gentle with the young man Absalom for my sake.” And all the troops heard the king giving orders concerning Absalom to each of the commanders. 6 David’s army marched out of the city to fight Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim. 7 There Israel’s troops were routed by David’s men, and the casualties that day were great—twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread out over the whole countryside, and the forest swallowed up more men that day than the sword. 9 Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going.15 And ten of Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him.31 Then the Cushite arrived and said, “My lord the king, hear the good news! The LORD has vindicated you today by delivering you from the hand of all who rose up against you.” 32 The king asked the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” The Cushite replied, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up to harm you be like that young man.” 33 The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!” (2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33 NIV)

A wondrous Wednesday be yours, dear ConCafe Family, and may you, dear Friend, find what you lack in God's word and His presence, and may our prayers reach the throne of Heaven and bring to earth the desired results of God. May we pray for comfort for the Ploeger Family who today laid to rest, Deannie, a marvelous woman of faith. May she rest in peace. Pray for one another. Pray for yourselves.

When we last visited King David, he had confessed to his sin and God shared with him some hopeful, merciful words, but also some truthful words; "10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own." (2 Samuel 12) The sword did not depart from David's home. One of his own sons challenged him for the throne and went to war against him. David, faifthful father that he was, pleads for compassion in the treatment of Absalom. The passage shows otherwise. As the young man hangs from the branches of an oak tree, ten of General Joab's armor-bearers surrounded Absalom and struck him dead. The army rejoiced and thought the king would as well. When he asked about his son, the officers replied that what happened to Absalom happen to all of the king's enemies. David was shaken and sad by the news. David wept and wept for his son, even though the young man was willing to kill his own father for his politial ambition.

Friends, just as there is no perfect person in the world, save our Lord Jesus, there is no perfect family either. And no place does that seem to appear more than in the Bible. Remember the first family? With Cain and Abel, one would think they will certainly fight like brothers and sisters do, but to have killed him? And to the children of Abraham; sure, separate mothers, but hatred of this magnitude? And to the present age? Since the times of Genesis? If your family immune to this? Chance are that your family, nor mine, is not. And it can be the littlest thing that triggers wars in the household. "This is mine, not yours!" Or, "Who gave you permission to do that?" or even "Who do you think you are?" Lines are crossed, boundaries are erected, and feelings, sometimes hearts, sometimes lives are broken, and it seems like nothing can ever repair them. One would think the prestige, the protection, and position of a palace would count for something, but in this case of King David and Prince Absalom, it counted for nothing but heartache and death. Even modern monarachies do not have any sort of protection from the human condition. You would think wise words like those we read last night from the Apostle Paul would or should make a difference in the lives of believers; yet we can step back and say, the first four books of the New Testament are about the Good News, one book about the history of the start of the Church, and the rest of the book can be summed up with one word, behave! Okay, two words, behave Christians! Yes, the majority of the NT is how to act right, live righteously, and seek to glorify God. And do we do it?

This then, my friends, is our call to action. To be men and women, boys and girls, of love, service, sacrifice, praise, and compassion. May true change happen in our hearts, and our spirits so that we can, truly transform the world for Jesus Christ.

PRAYER: Loving Father, we have heard and we will respond as You guide us. We want to transform the world for You, but we know it must start in our hearts first; so, come Holy Spirit and ignite in us the strength and peace we need to serve You in faithful ways. We pray for all families represented in this prayer, that love would reign supreme in each heart and spirit and truly become the places where love is no stranger. This we pray in Christ Jesus our Lord, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be love for others today!

Receive my blessings of joy and love,

Pastor Eradio Valverde