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27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:27-38 New International Bible)
Happy and Blessed Monday, ConCafe Family! HAPPY VALENTINES DAY TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU! May the marvels of a Monday be yours, dear reader, is my prayer for you. May we continue to pray for my brother-in-law, Hector Rosales, who remains in a coma, but stable. Pray for his recovery. Our continued prayers for Baby Hudson. Our brother in Christ, Daniel Soliz is now on day fourteen of a hospital stay at Baylor Hospital in Dallas. His lung is not yet where it should be, but Daniel is feeling better and says he can feel our prayers; pray for his complete healing and recovery. Our continued prayers for Dan Hisey and his recovery. Pray for one another, pray for your needs. May God be glorified in our lives.
"If someone hits you, you hit them back!" Instruction from maybe 98% of the dads when my generation was growing up. "If someone calls you this, you call them that." Instruction from a significant portion of moms when my generation was growing up as well. And, bullying continues, as does name-calling, as does racism, and crimes of violent nature towards those who are different from us. And we may have been guilty of some, if not a majority of the things listed above. Jesus came with a different message and one that should have taken hold of society by now. Hate those who hate you only serves to keep hate alive. Jesus' message? "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." It's been refreshing to see messages on social media mimick that in a different way. One showed this very manly man, identified as an officer in the Navy Seals, whose message was if someone is wanting to hit me, I'm going to run away. "The strongest weapon in a fight are my legs," he said, "That I will use to get as far away as I can from any fight." Another showed a man who teaches the best self-defence is humor, sharing how an innocent man charged by another, struck a man who fell and hit his head and died, and the hitter was charged and convicted of murder, now he's serving thirteen years in prison for that crime. I have a grandson who was being bullied at school and then he got the worst haircut of his life and worried about going to school. On Monday, before the bullies could say anything, he had made a joke about being put into a dumpster where the barber did his haircut. Instead of laughing, they all sympathized with him and felt sorry for him.
Jesus' way is not the way of the world. It's a divine way of living. "If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them... Do to others as you would have them do to you." Sound golden, doesn't it? We always have options of how we will live and respond to attacks and abuse, and Jesus' way is the one that is the higher road. It makes people talk and think differently about you, and it may also help you live longer, and you may be blessing others in having them see there are options, and better ones than the ones the world, i.e. well-meaning parents, may have tried to instill in us. Jesus continued, "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you." What more can we say? Jesus has pretty well covered the basics of a live rooted in the divine realm of God's love and compassion. The world needs this, and who better to take it to them, than those, like you and me, who know God through Jesus? Let's get busy!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, bless us this day to live as people of true love. Today is a special day of showing love, instead of just flowers and candy. May our acts of love bless those who have yet to experience true love. May love also be about forgiveness to those who ask it of us. We pray in Christ Jesus, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show true love today to all people. Smile, wave, bless and forgive!
Receive my love for this special day,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
