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1 God rules. On your toes, everybody! He rules from his angel throne - take notice! 2 God looms majestic in Zion, He towers in splendor over all the big names. 3 Great and terrible your beauty: let everyone praise you! Holy. Yes, holy. 4 Strong King, lover of justice, You laid things out fair and square; You set down the foundations in Jacob, Foundation stones of just and right ways. 5 Honor God, our God; worship his rule! Holy. Yes, holy. 6 Moses and Aaron were his priests, Samuel among those who prayed to him. They prayed to God and he answered them; 7 He spoke from the pillar of cloud. And they did what he said; they kept the law he gave them. 8 And then God, our God, answered them (But you were never soft on their sins). 9 Lift high God, our God; worship at his holy mountain. Holy. Yes, holy is God our God. (Psalm 99 The Message Bible)
Happy, Tremendous Thursday, ConCafe Family! May you share hope with many today and all days, dear Reader, is my prayer for you! Prayer Update: Mr. Byron Lester underwent a successful surgery on Tuesday night and by 2 am was in his room, and early on Wednesday was already up and in physical therapy. The plan is to spend another day in Houston, return home then a followup appointment to scan the areas in hopes that all the cancer has been cleared. Please continue to pray for Byron's recovery, and for strength and peace for Julie and all the family. Prayers for our pastor, Rev. Dr. Matt Pennington as he and his family prepare for his treatments in Houston as well. This is a difficult journey for our pastor and he needs our prayers. Pray for Brooke, and Drew, Nate, and Grace. May God be glorified in their lives. Pray for one another, and pray for your needs, too.
This coming Sunday as most churches celebrate Transfiguration Sunday, the focus will be on that significant mountaintop experience of Jesus and His three inner circle disciples, Peter, James, and John. The language of this psalm parallels the experiences there on that mountain. The greatest of all is God. God rules over all things, and the splendor of God outpaces all others. The beauty of God is a call to worship Him; God is worthy of our praise, and all creation should worship God. God is holy, God is King, God is just, and God is Creator that no one can compare to. God is a God of life, so much so that that event showed long dead prophets present with the living Son of God. Moses and Elijah were there to speak to and encourage Jesus on the road that awaited Him. They spoke from experience and love, knowing that God would do all that He promised to fulfill all things that would call us all back to Him.
That day on Transfiguration Mountain, God did several things. He reminded us that He is indeed the Creator of all things, and as such, even those long dead from here on the earth, can re-appear on the earth though they are from a new realm we call Heaven. God created Heaven to be a holy and spectacular place, and that radiance has been mentioned throughout this week in all the passages we have studied, and using Jesus' clothing and body, the disciples caught a glimpse of the heavenly realm. God also used the event to once again speak so that those present with Jesus would hear that Jesus was indeed, the Son of God, and as such, would bring the world back to God. All that Jesus had preached and taught, was true. Sin was bad and needed to be removed from us, and once removed, eternal life would be the reward to all who believed and accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. Not bad for an event that took place we guess was not even an hour long; but the impact would forever remain in the minds and hearts of the three who saw it. As they were led to their death, they held on to all they had heard and all they had seen and had no fear of what would come next, for they knew the promises of Jesus were that to which we cling even when facing the pains of death. God is triumphant in all things, even, and perhaps, especially death. To God be the glory. Not a bad psalm to read to wrap up this week leading to Transfiguration and to the beginning of Lent.
PRAYER: Loving Father, come into our hearts we pray, and help us prepare for our lives' journeys and challenges; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show others how awesome God has been in your life!
Receive my blessings of life and hope,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
