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Hear the devotional here: https://anchor.fm/eradio-valverde/episodes/He-Will-Save-Us-From-Our-Sins-e1s43k2
Watch on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@eradiovalverde/video/7176113488438234410?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&lang=en
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about : His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25 New International Version of The Bible)
A blessed and marvelous Monday to you, dear Friend. May this day be a blessing to you and you, in turn, bless others. Please pray for one another; pray for the sick and others in need. Pray for God's Church that she may reach the world with the might and power of this word. Prayers for the congregations of El Divino Salvador (The Divine Savior) and La Trinidad (Trinity) United Methodist Churches of San Antonio, Texas. The congregation of EDS has requested to merge with LT due to financial and congregational realities. May God bless both. Prayers for Reverends John and Raquel Feagins, the pastors of LT who are suffering from Covid. Prayers for The Rev. Nohemi Ramirez, pastor of La Santissima Trinidad UMC of Seguin, whose household also has Covid. Friends, it's still out there and we should take care not to receive it or share it.
The reports keep coming in about the number of United Methodist Churches that will disaffliate from the denomination. The Texas Annual Conference already held a session of their annual conference and 49% of the churches in that conference voted to leave. Some conferences will not have such a meeting until 2024 when the General Conference will take a vote on exit procedures. These news and thoughts about what the future may be for this once powerful denomination prompted me to ask a dear friend and mentor in ministry this question: What three things, besides money, are UM preachers not preaching from their pulpits? His answers were different from mine, but his answers were indeed difficult issues that some preachers will not address in their Sunday sermons. My answers were that preachers do not preach 1) Salvation, 2) Sin, and even, for some, they don't preach about Jesus. I shared how when I would arrive in a new appointment how many were thankful that they were "finally hearing a sermon from The Bible!" That shocked me. I don't know what else to preach, and if I'm not preaching Jesus and His love for all people, I am failing God. If I can't share a message of hope about obtaining and holding a trusting relationship with God we call salvation, I have not shared hope; and if I refuse to preach about the reality and power of sin, I have not done my job.
Here it is, almost Christmas, and the passage from the lectionary for this coming Sunday is all about Jesus and His purpose and mission for the world. In a setting very similar to the Old Testament person named Joseph, the New Testament Joseph is visited by an angel who reveals to Joseph what God expects of him, and how his life now plays into the greater plan of God's love. He was to become Mary's husband, even in the face of possible disgrace, and the reason is outlined in verse 21, the angel outlines, "She (Mary) will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins." There's that word. There's the reason Jesus was born. We have "missed the mark," the classic definition of sin. We have done, said, or thought things that we knew were wrong and went against God's will but still onward we pressed. The time came when God had to act, and God acted in this marvelous way, through a baby.
The first sermons of John the Baptist and Jesus were the same; Repent for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand. These sermons were exactly what God needed preached and both hit the listeners in the heart of all who heard it and realized their need to truly rid their lives of sin. And in Jesus they found the answer; He came to help us rid our lives of sins, because sin leads to death and God is all about life, and He offers to us the gift of eternal life. Dear friend, Advent and Christmas is about making a decision for Jesus. I would pray we not put it off any longer if you have not yet decided to give your life to Jesus. Let today be the day.
PRAYER: God of love and life, I thank You for Jesus and all He brought to us; Lord, let us commit our lives and every part of our being to You. Grant to us the gift of salvation and rid our spirits of sin; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Make Jesus your Savior and serve Him.
Receive my blessings of peace and love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
