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30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. 33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” 36 He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:30-37 New International Version)
A blessed Monday be yours, ConCafe, filled with God's calm and peace. And may you, dear Friend, be a servant leader of God in all situations. I begin with some sad news from our church in Gonzales, TX. Mr. Doyle Allen died in his sleep on Saturday night. Mr. Allen was an active member of our church and owned a business in Gonzales. His daughter, Kylie Allen, just graduated from high school and is enrolled at Texas A&M. Please pray for all who loved him and may God's comfort be with them. Our prayers again for our pastor, The Rev. Dr. Matthew Pennington who has yet another funeral to do. This is his seventh in about three weeks. Pray the Lord sustain him with calm, peace, and wisdom. Please pray for his wife, Brooke, Drew, Nate, and Grace; who also suffer stress with what Pastor Matt has to do. He does not complain, but as a pastor I am well aware of the wear and tear on our lives and families. And may God be with you as well! I ask some prayers for this area where we are in our last week of enrollment because Tropical Storm Nicholas is planning on making landfall near us here in Cameron County where the forecast shows we may have some flooding later tonight (Monday, 9/13/2021). If rain does come in huge doses we will make our way to our daughter's home in Misison, TX, where the impace is expected to be minimal if at all. Pray for one another; pray for yourselves. Pray for the homeless who are susceptible to the elements.
Most of us do not want to receive bad news. And almost all of us do not want to hear news of someone dying or close to death. When Pastor Matt advised me of Doyle's death I was in shock. I could not believe that a young man like Doyle could die in his sleep. It was unexpected and shocked me. Imagine being one of the Twelve and hearing Jesus tell you about what was coming to Him. "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after three days He will rise." I don't know about you, but my mind would have wandered into very dangerous territory upon hearing that my Master and Savior would be delivered into the hands of men; let alone what followed that He would be killed... That would have been all I heard.
The psssage confirms my feelings and suspicions. They did not understand what Jesus had said and were afraid to ask Him about it. And what really blows my mind is that instead of asking Jesus about His pending death, they begin to argue as to who among them was the greatest. Okay, human nature, right? These common men, fisherman for the most part, who were now a part of an elite team of men with the Son of God teaching and leading them to who knew where? They saw unexplainable things and heard some of the amazing things of God. So... could it be that far from reality to assume that well, this went to their head?
Jesus knew what they had discussed and so when He had the chance, He sat with them and said, "Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all." Whoa. What? Has Jesus seen the way some of us drive? I confess that I am among those. The old joke was if you took all the cars in the world and lined them in in a single line, there would still be someone from Houston trying to pass them all. The idea of being last in a freeway or a traffic jam gives us away. Jesus was serious. He took a child and sat the child among the disciples and said, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the One who sent me." In other parts of His story, Jesus speaks of being like a child when it comes to the things of God. A child has no time pressure on him/her; they wander and lollygag and squirm and squeal; what catches their attention is what draws their interest and attention. They fear little if they sense the presence of their parent nearby. They don't have an agenda for the day because they do not need one. They are provided for, and whenever the feel like it, they fall asleep. Jesus invites us to put a little childlike wonder and attention into our lives and realize that when we are walking with Him, we are walking with His Father, and as such, we need fear nothing.
PRAYER: Loving Father, hold us when we think we are too special and stressed. Guide us to the places where we sense the things that really matter and do not distract or detract us from what we truly need to be and do. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day iin the Lord. Be childlike in your schedule today but in a Godly way.
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
