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10 It makes good sense that the God who got everything started and keeps everything going now completes the work by making the Salvation Pioneer perfect through suffering as he leads all these people to glory. 11 Since the One who saves and those who are saved have a common origin, Jesus doesn't hesitate to treat them as family, 12 Saying, I'll tell my good friends, my brothers and sisters, all I know about you; I'll join them in worship and praise to you. 13 Again, he puts himself in the same family circle when he says, Even I live by placing my trust in God. And yet again, I'm here with the children God gave me.14 Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it's logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil's hold on death 15 and freed all who cower through life, scared to death of death. 16 It's obvious, of course, that he didn't go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. 17 That's why he had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people's sins,18 he would have already experienced it all himself - all the pain, all the testing - and would be able to help where help was needed. (Hebrews 2:10-18 The Message Bible)
The Reverend Howard Thurman was a pastor, author, college and seminary professor, and dean of two major university chapels. Among all that he wrote, I believe this to be timeless, and timely, for us:
The Work of Christmas by Howard Thurman
When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flocks, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To release the prisoners, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among the people, To make music in the heart.
Jesus' work at Christmas was to complete His Father's desire for all the world. It meant that He wanted to lead all people to glory. As I stated before, a certain megachurch has as its mission statement: our mission is to take as many people to Heaven as we can before we die. Period. This passage speaks of Jesus immediately treating all people as family, placing Himself in that same famly so that we could identify with being a part of a caring circle of people. Jesus took on flesh and blood, just like us, and even accepted death as part of His life. This was done in such a way that even those who were "scared to death of death" could know that He destroyed death for our sake. He so identified with humans that He could save us.
The best teachers and coaches that I had in life, were those who knew how to identify and integrate themselves into my life and show me how to best learn, study, and suceed in all things. They knew me, asked about me and my family, and took an interest in all aspects of my life and so, knew how best to help me. In the same way, Jesus knows you and cares about you. There is no area of your life that is too minor or insignificant that Jesus does not care for or about you. Yes, He loves you that much.
Whatever you may be facing, Christ is with you. Whatever you think you cannot overcome, Christ is with you and has overcome it before and He can do it again. If you're still carrying the weight of guilt from a past sin, turn it over to Jesus; He will take it from you and toss it into the deepest part of the sea. (That means, He has forgotten about it, so should you!). God is good!
PRAYER: Loving God, thank You for identifying with me and my situation and condition. I turn over to You those areas of my life that have weighed me down so much and I ask You for strength to move forward with Your help; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Turn your life and worries to the Lord.
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
*****PRAYER REQUEST: The Rev. Dr. David Alvirez, a retired pastor, dean and professor, who lives in San Antonio, is in the hospital and needs our prayers. Please pray for his wife Pauline as well. In 1980 when I was hired and appointed to be the UM campus minister at Pan American University (Now UTRGV), David was our neighbor two houses down, and was the Dean of the Social Work School at Pan Am. His mother was active at the chuch where we attended worship.
***The Belated Gift There was a woman who had waited until the last minute to send Christmas cards. She knew she had 49 folks on her list. So she rushed into a store and bought a package of 50 cards without really looking at them.
Still in a big hurry, she addressed the 49 and signed them without reading the message inside. On Christmas Day when things had quieted down somewhat, she happened to come across the leftover card and finally read the message she had sent to 49 of her friends. Much to her dismay, it read like this: "This card is just to say / A little gift is on the way." Suddenly she realized that 49 of her friends were expecting a gift from her--a gift that would never come.
