Image from bible.com
Hear the devotional here: https://bit.ly/3y6lHEl
2 "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation." 3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 And you will say in that day: "Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name; make known his deeds among the nations, proclaim that his name is exalted. 5 "Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. 6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel." (Isaiah 12:2-6 Revised Standard Version Bible)
Happy Thursday, ConCafe Family! May the Advent journey lift you higher to the reality of God's Glory in your midst, dear Reader, is my prayer. Please pray for one another; pray for yourselves.
What things make you afraid? When our daughters were young I told them stories that I made up. One particular series was about some church mice to whom I gave names. They were a hit with our daughters. So, Saturday night I thought the youngest granddaughter of our firstborn would love the story. So, with her framed in the bed with grandma on one side, and me on the other, I started the story. And to make it funny, I thought it would be cute to make the scurrying noises of the mice through the walls of the church, and i used the material of my t-shirt to help with the noise. Nope. "I don't want to hear this story," my baby says. She was afraid of the possibility of mice being in our hotel room. I didn't have the heart to tell her of my fear of possums in the shower in small RVs.
Fear can cripple. Fear can prove to be a big obstacle to doing things. Fear comes in all shapes and sizes, and almost everyone has a level where fear can take them. Jesus came to defeat fear. Jesus came to set the captives free, as Isaiah shared; and many of those captives are still living in fear and incapable of doing things expected of them. What scares you? Does fear keep you from doing something you should be doing? I believe this passage may help you in some way confront your fears and win over them because of Jesus. Think to the times and the realites of those times, to hear, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation." To a people paralyzed by fear, to hear the prophecy that God was in control, and that in God we too, can find the power to overcome our fears.
What is the opposite of fear? Confidence or joy? The prophet said,"With joy you will draw water frm the wells of salvation." There is no better water which to drink, nor a deeper well from which to draw, than the wells of salvation. That will lead to a thankfulness towards God, and the certainty of faith with which to call on the Lord's name and to make known God's deeds among the nations. These are Advent declarations of the belief that the coming Messiah will be able to do all these things on that day of His arrival. Advent should be the preparation all who lack God should involve themselves in to make deeper the meaning of Christmas and gives us hope for Christ's second return.
The vast emptiness of despair and darkness gets shattered with the coming anointed one of God. Our response should be loud and wonderful worship with the singing of praises of God for God's glorous acts; our shouting should be of joy so that all would know that in our midst has come the "Holy One of Israel," who is Christ the Lord.
PRAYER: Loving Father, even now there are some who are in fear; may Your promises break the chains and fling open the doors of our being captive and freed to follow God's direction towards the fullness of life.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show someone the love that brings them hope and freedom from fear.
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr. with a special invitation"
MARIACHI CHRISTMAS SERVICE, Sunday, Dec. 12th at 9 am. I will be helping with the liturgy and it will be live-streamed on YouTube on the Good Shepherd UMC of Houston. Under YouTube find Good Shepherd Church Cypress and you can watch the service there. On FaceBook you also can watch at https://www.facebook.com/GoodShepherdCypress. The theme is Las Posadas, the walk of Joseph and Mary and the trouble they had on that journey finding shelter. The music will be in the Mariachi tradition. Please join us if you can!
