From Desperation to Hope

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1 How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? 3 Look on me and answer, LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, 4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes will rejoice when I fall. 5 But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. 6 I will sing the LORD’s praise, for he has been good to me. (Psalm 13 NIV Bible)

Our hope is in the Lord; the God Who Provides and there are times when you need that word more than usual. And that could hold true for today for some, not for all. As I write this is it Wednesday and the first text of the morning was one alerting me of yet another death, this time of Mrs. Terry McCandless, a strong woman of faith and service, who for many years worked faithfully at the Conference Center in San Antonio. She had been battling cancer and this morning at 4:45, she entered into the amrs of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Terry was the wife of The Rev. Mickey McCandless, who worked for Methodist HealthCare Ministries and for many years was the pastor of Bracken UMC. Please pray that Terry and family are comforted by the Lord. And may God be with any and all who also mourn on this day for loved ones already in the presence of the Lord.

In my forty-six years of ministry, not counting the ministry I've continued in retirement, I learned a lot about life. Life is beautiful, but with beauty also comes the dark side of the challenges that come with life, which can sometimes Life can sometimes feel like a turbulent storm, tossing us amidst waves of doubt, sorrow, and uncertainty. And it is in those moments of despair, that we may question whether God sees our struggles and if He hears our cries. Yet, within the pages of the Bible, we find solace in the Psalms, where the psalmist pours out his heart and emotions before the Lord. In Psalm 13, we witness a beautiful transformation—a journey from desperation to hope.

As we enter Psalm 13, we encounter a weary soul, crying out to the Lord, asking how long the trials will persist. None seem brief; all seem like they will last an eternity. It is a raw and honest lament, reflecting the anguish of feeling forgotten and abandoned by God. Yet, even in the midst of this anguish, we find a glimmer of hope, for the psalmist turns to the One who holds the power to rescue and redeem.

In verses 3 and 4, the psalmist directs his plea to the Lord, asking for His divine intervention. No burden should be borne alone and certainly without God's help. He longs for God's light to shine upon his path, dispelling the darkness that threatens to overwhelm him. He knows that without the Lord's intervention, he may be consumed by his sorrows, and his enemies may rejoice over his defeat. But he doesn't stop there. Instead, he chooses to place his trust in God's unfailing love.

It is in verse 5 that we witness the turning point—the shift from despair to hope. The psalmist declares, "But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation." In the face of adversity, he refuses to be defined by his circumstances. Instead, he anchors his hope in the character of God—the One who is steadfast, faithful, and loving. He chooses to rejoice, not in his present circumstances, but in the assurance of God's deliverance and salvation.

As we reflect on this psalm, we too can find hope in our own trials. Like the psalmist, we can pour out our hearts before God, expressing our honest emotions and concerns. He welcomes our laments, our questions, and our doubts. And in our vulnerability, we can find the strength to shift our gaze from our troubles to the greatness of our God.

Though we may not always see immediate answers to our prayers, we can trust in God's unfailing love. His timing is perfect, and His ways are higher than our own. Even when the storms of life rage around us, we can cling to the hope found in our relationship with Him. We can rejoice in the salvation He has provided through His Son, Jesus Christ, who conquered sin and death on our behalf.

So, let us join the psalmist in his resolve to praise the Lord. Despite the challenges we face, let our hearts overflow with gratitude for His faithfulness. He has been good to us, and He will continue to be our source of hope and strength in every circumstance.

PRAYER: Awesome God, speak to our needs and despair. May it be Your strength that moves us from desperation to hope. Help us be ambassadors to hope; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Be a faithful witness to God's power to move us into hope.

Receive my blessings of joy and peace,

Pastor Eradiio Valverde, Jr.

How Much Do You Love/Trust Me?

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1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” 3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” 6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” 8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. 9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” 13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” (Genesis 22:1-14 New International Version Bible)

A blessed and wondrous Wednesday be yours, dear Reader. I pray the blessings of the Lord be with you. And as we pray today, I ask prayers for the family of The Rev. Edgar Avitia, who died on Tuesday in El Paso, Texas, unexpectedly. Rev. Avitia was 62 years old and had worked in these past few years as an executive with The General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church. Edgar and I were colleagues in the Rio Grande Conference and after unification with The Rio Texas Conference. Edgar was a good man and appreciated friend. May God's peace be with his widow, Josie and their children, and all who knew and loved Edgar. Pray for one another, pray for the needs of those who asked prayers from you, and pray for the world and peace in every heart.

Today we join Father Abraham, who is visited again by God and this time not with a promise, but with a demand that most parents would not want to hear. Remember, Abe is now 100 years old. The promise of inmeasurable children is up to two, Ishamel and Isaac; and this demand from God will lower the number down to one. God asks Abraham to take his beloved son, Isaac, to a mountain God would show him and there offer the boy as a burnt offering. One would expect a long, heated session of "Why, Lord? Why my son? You just gave him to me!" But we don't see one, though we don't know what Abe was thinking as he heard and decided to obey God. He was the "Father of the Faith," after all. In all fairness, we know even this yes to God weighed heavily on his heart.

Abe gets up early and begins to pack for the trek that he is about to undertake. He packed his donkey and chops the needed wood for the sacrifice and he heads towards where God had him go. And, get this, he had to travel three days; add that to the heaviness of his heart. Upon reaching the spot, Abe tells his servants to wait while he and the boy would go and worship the Lord. Abe makes the difficult walk up to the place where the sacrifice will take place. The going get rougher when the son asks, "Where Is the lamb?" Isaac had seen enough sacrifices to know that they were equpping in the firewood department and they also had the fire ready; but he did not see the lamb. Hear the faith of Abraham when he replies to his son, "God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And onward they went. When they reached the point of the sacrifice, Abraham built the altar and placed the wood as it should have been. Then for the hard part, he ties up his son, and places him on the altar and takes the knife and raises his hand, ready to kill his son when he hears the voice of the angel from Heaven that stops him from killing his son. And the voice then says, "Now I know you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." Here we begin to see the why behind such a request and the powerful event so far in the future, yet part of the biblical narrative of a Father who would not hold back His Son, His only Son, to save humanity. The request to Abraham was a very difficult one that still begs the question of why? Abraham knew and trusted God, and more importantly, he loved God. His faith allowed him to say yes to the big move even at an advanced age, and to believe the promise that he would be the father of nations, and these were kept. His having his second son was an unexpected blessing and once he was had him, he held him and loved him and loved God for this gift. And even in his mind, to have a difficult request from God was difficult, but doable. And this calls to mind the countless sacrifices parents have made of sons and daughters to military service, to service on family farms/ranches, to charitable organizaitons, and even church communities. It helps make the statement that life is tough even more true, but we also believe that "God will provide," And He does, time after time, need after need. We can trust God and that should help us face whatever challenge, obstacle, or barrier we may be facing. The story ends with the provision that God provided to Abraham; a ram caught by its horns which Abe used to offer this sacrifice to God. This lamb took the place of Isaac, just as Jesus took our place.

PRAYER: Loving God, in Your mercy help us trust You more. Share with us the strength we need to trust You always, especially when we face what we face, or fear what we fear; We ask Your comfort and peace be with our sister Josie and her children. Share with them Your comfort and strength. We thank you for the life of Your servant, Edgar. Hear our prayer that we lift up in Christ Jesus our Lord, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Help others trust God more.

Receive my blessings of love and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Set Free!

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12 That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don't give it the time of day. 13 Don't even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time - remember, you've been raised from the dead! - into God's way of doing things. 14 Sin can't tell you how to live. After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer. You're living in the freedom of God. 15 So, since we're out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we're free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? 16 Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it's your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you've let sin tell you what to do. 17 But thank God you've started listening to a new master, 18 one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom! 19 I'm using this freedom language because it's easy to picture. You can readily recall, can't you, how at one time the more you did just what you felt like doing - not caring about others, not caring about God - the worse your life became and the less freedom you had? And how much different is it now as you live in God's freedom, your lives healed and expansive in holiness? 20 As long as you did what you felt like doing, ignoring God, you didn't have to bother with right thinking or right living, or right anything for that matter. 21 But do you call that a free life? What did you get out of it? Nothing you're proud of now. Where did it get you? A dead end. 22 But now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! 23 Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master. (Romans 6:12-23 The Message Bible)

Have you ever been trapped in a place where you didn't want to be? My harrowing experience was in an elevator for not a long time, but the initial scare made up for the brevity. How about you? While most of us have not been in a physical situation like an elevator or jail, but a relationship or a habit can be equally powerful and strong. And as Paul sees it, sin can be the worst prison to be in. And sin, can lead to the death penalty, the eternal death penalty; but Paul knew the way out. Paul preached that because he believed that, and because he lived it. The seriousness of all things is that Paul says once we are free, we should stay free. Let's say your "sin" is a desire for double fudge chocolate cake. Once you have set yourself "free" from that cake, you should stay away. This modern version says, the freed person should not get chocolate cake a "vote in the way you conduct your lives." We who love chocolate cake know just how sneaky cake can be. They know us by our first name, heck, the cake knows our nickname, and with its sweet voice can call us to "vote" for it. Paul stresses in the next verse, "Don't even run little errand that are connected with that old way of life, meaning just walking by that sneaky devil of a cake can be more than we can take. Remember Eve? The first lady, when told she could eat freely of any tree in the garden, believed the serpent when he twisted the truth and asked Eve if she was not allowed to eat from any tree. Eve responded that she was not even allowed to touch the tree, meaning she had run more than one little errand by the tree, for that tree, like the cake, called to her, until that day, with the tempter's prompt, did eat, and then handed the delicious piece of fruit to her husband. Paul admonishes the believer to give themselves wholeheartedly and full-time to staying alive, because in sin they were as good as dead, now free from sin by Jesus, they have been raised from the dead! "Sin can't tell you how to live."

Sin does tell the captives how to live. The drug addict sometimes cannot hear freedom's voice when the drug is tugging, and pulling at his very being and the voice of freedom is sometimes muffled by the loudness of a drug, or a drink, or a temptation that drives the captive to weakness. The only way we can get sin to shut up is to follow Paul's urging, to "Offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits." God's voice is the loudest if we seek to hear it, and to realize that God is the new Master, not sin.

Paul reminds the believer that we should remember when we were led to obey sin and disobey God. We were led by the flesh we did whatever we felt like doing. We were ignoring God. We were not living a free life; the path to our destruction was on a fast track and had it not been for Jesus, we would still be there. Our delight should now be in the delights of knowing God. Ours is now, as Paul describes, "our whole, healed, put-together life now, with more and more of life on the way!" And Paul also shares the truth, "Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master."

The Apostle Paul loved God. The Apostle Paul loved Jesus. The Apostle Paul loved the Holy Spirit. And because he loved God, he also loved the people God called him to preach to. His entire life after his face-to-face encounter with the Risen Christ, was about his faithfulness and genuine fruitfulness, was because of the love he felt to those who were responding to the message of salvation. Paul's desire, like most preachers, pastors, and evangelists, is to help those who surrender to Christ to stay alive and in the new life which they have accepted in Christ. That same love was in the voice that led you to Jesus. Whoever told you about Jesus wanted life, the fullness of life when she or he preached that, and wants you to stay in that life. Dear one, wherever you find yourself right now, remember the love you felt when you gave your heart to Jesus, and know this, Jesus still loves you. The clergy-person who shared Jesus with you, loves you. You are a loved person and you deserve to enjoy the new life that was given to you away from sin and its destructive ways.

PRAYER: God of love and mercy, we thank You for the mercy and love shown me; let me stay free from the attraction of sin, and let me be a person who can tell others about the love that You have for all people; in christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Pray for the person who shared Jesus with you.

Receive my blessings of love and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, JR.

Hospitality

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40 “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (Matthew 10:40-42 NIV Bible)

Visitors versus guests. yes, we've had this discussion before. The people who come unexpected are visitors and those are the ones who usually drive us to hide behind the sofa and turn off the lights in hopes that htey leave soon; while guests are those whom we invited to come, or whose visits are neverr shunned. The doors for guets are flung open. You and I have been in both camps; for some we are visitors and for others we are guests. The more important question is how to we welcome visitors or guests? How does your church welcome those who are not normally in your midst? Hospitality is very important, for through it we convey either love or indifference or we could make an impact that will bless a person beyond expectation. I've shared how a classmate invited me to eat when I had no money as my scholarship check was late; what I hadn't shared was another classmate who when visiting was preparing a meal and then rudely said, "Are you just going to watch me eat?" I got the hint and left.

Hospitality was important to Jesus for in this passage, He speaks about those who welcome His disciples would be welcoming Him, and those who welcomed Jesus would be welcoming the One Who sent Him. That is very powerful for it describes how serious and sacred, Jesus took those who welcomes His disciples and Him. They would be counted as being in the company of God. And as He continues, Jesus says those who welcome a prophet for being a prophet, will be reward with a prophet's reward, meaning that the faithfulness of those prophets who were called by God and served as God asked, would be welomced into the presence of Heaven; likewise those who welcome a reighteous person receive the same reward as that righteous person; again, entrance into God's rest and life eternal in God's presence. And those who share a cup of cold water to one of His disciples and followers, would also never lose that reward for having blessed those who believed in Him. Everything we do that blesses others, brings a blessing to us. While this return blessing may not come immediately, or even in this lifetime, but it belongs to us nonetheless. The economy of God's kingdom is one of generosity; those who are generous to others will be rewarded generously. Jesus is saying we should hold nothing back, and that which we share should be that which brings the fullness of life to others.

This economy of God's runs on the foundation of love, for it is those who love others, are blessed by having that kind of giving love in their hearts and their reward will be awesome. We should note that Jesus does not say that we help only those like us, or those whom we favor, but we help everyone who is in need. The thirsty were among those whom Jesus considered needy, for Jesus knew that no one should be thisty. In His declaration on the judgment of the nations in Matthew 25 also declared our need to help the hungry, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned. No where does Jesus say help only those who believe and act like you. The economy of God's kingdom also runs on the notion that all people matter and count to God. You matter very much to God; this was all for you. Your neighbor also matters equally as much as you, yet some do not yet know this, and it will take you and me the effort to win them for God.

PRAYER: Loving God, we are thankful You have invited us to live in Your kingdom. Help me be a responsible and loving member of this new place, loving and welcoming all people. Forgive for having made distinctions in the past over who should be here with us and who should not. Help us grow your kingdom; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Welcome all people to your life!

Receive my blessings of joy and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Father of Two Warring Nations

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View here: https://bit.ly/3Xkpcna 8 And the child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. 10 So she said to Abraham, "Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac." 11 And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, "Be not displeased because of the lad and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for through Isaac shall your descendants be named. 13 And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring." 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went, and sat down over against him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, "Let me not look upon the death of the child." And as she sat over against him, the child lifted up his voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him fast with your hand; for I will make him a great nation." 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. 20 And God was with the lad, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. (Genesis 21:8-21 Revsied Standard Version of The Bible)

A blessed and tremendous Thursday for you dear Reader! Make it your day by making it God's day to speak to you. Listen, respond and rejoice. Let us pray for one another; praying for those who have asked prayers from us, and pray for the needs of your community, your town or city, and our nation. Pray for peace in all places.

The first family had trouble. Make that serious trouble. We read in Genesis about the first murder and it was what is called a fratricide, a brother murdering a brother. Murder is a sin and if you can compound a sin, whenever a sibling kills a sibling, well, it is, in my opinion, doubly sinful. And today's passage reminds us something we tend to forget, that Abraham was the father of faith, the father of Isaac, and the father of Ismael. Isaac is the father of the Jews and Ishmael is the father of the Arabs. And there has never been peace in the Middle East because of this history, and some say there will never be such a thing as long as any from either side still lives.

Was it Sarah's fault? When she thought she would never bear a child for Abe, she ordered him to sleep with their servant girl Hagar and thus he would have a child. That relationship produced Ishmael. And later, after the visit from the Lord, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. We tune in when Isaac was weaned and Abraham threw a big party to celebrate this occasion. It was during the party that Sarah watches as her son and the son of the servant are playing together and that struck her as bad and so she orders Abe to get rid of this woman. You can imagine that Abe was not too pleased, as he loved his son, and in his prayer, God reveals to him that he should do what Sarah has asked,, for through Isaac that all of his descendants; and God promises that through Ishmael another nation would come because he was the son of Abraham.

The next morning Abe awakens early and prepares provisions for Hagar and Ishmael's journey. She and her son set out into the wilderness of Beer-sheba. Soon the water is gone and she puts her son in some bushes and saw down away from the boy thinking that she could not bear to watch him die. Soon Ishmael begins to weep and God hears the cries of the boy and calls out to Hagar asking what troubled her and promises that Ishmael would not die and tells Hagar to hold him tight, "For I will make him a great nation." Hagar must have thought those were comforting words just so that Ishmael's death would be less painful and she closes her eyes. As she opens her eyes, she sees a well of water, so she goes and fills the skin given to her by Abraham, and gives water to the boy. The closing verses explain how God was with him and he became an expert bowsman, as he lived his life in the wilderness of Paran, and Mommy got him a bride from among the women of Egypt.

God provides. God provides even for our enemies, as some might interpret this, but God was with Abraham and Sarah, and with Hagar and Ishmael. Just as God will provide for you. It matters not who your enemies are or your friends; you matter to God and God loves you!

PRAYER: We celebrate awesome God, Your love that knows no borders, nationalities, skin colors, or views on politics; bless us with Your grace and power to do the same with all people; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Be God-like in your love for all people.

Receive my blessings of love and peace for all people,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Hide Not Thy Face, O God

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7 Because of you I look like an idiot, I walk around ashamed to show my face. 8 My brothers shun me like a bum off the street; My family treats me like an unwanted guest. 9 I love you more than I can say. Because I'm madly in love with you, They blame me for everything they dislike about you. 10 When I poured myself out in prayer and fasting, All it got me was more contempt. 11 When I put on a sad face, They treated me like a clown. 12 Now drunks and gluttons Make up drinking songs about me. 13 And me? I pray. God, it's time for a break! God, answer in love! Answer with your sure salvation! 14 Rescue me from the swamp, Don't let me go under for good, Pull me out of the clutch of the enemy; This whirlpool is sucking me down. 15 Don't let the swamp be my grave, the Black Hole Swallow me, its jaws clenched around me. 16 Now answer me, God, because you love me; Let me see your great mercy full-face. 17 Don't look the other way; your servant can't take it. I'm in trouble. Answer right now! 18 Come close, God; get me out of here. Rescue me from this deathtrap. (Psalm 69:7-18 The Message Bible)

The words of Jesus in Monday's gospel lesson about the "sword" and the division that woulc come between parents and children and in-laws with in-laws, is rooted in this psalm. There have been too many cases of those who have loved God in the right way and it has come at a great cost. This has been especially true in the case of those who were called into professional ministry. And, more so by those who felt the call after they had already married while enjoying a totally different career and calling. Some lost their marriages because the spouse would say "I married a (fill in the blank) not a preacher. Or, even the "God did not call me into ministry." And those were valid, but their reality caused heartahce and heartbreak; in some cases more so for the children of these broken marriages. But we cannot forget the promise of Jesus for thosw who left father or mother for His sake, that He would provide a hundred mothers and fathers for them. (Matthew 19:29).

The psalmist knows about the reality of his relationship with God and the impact that had on other relationships. In his case, it was his brothers and family who shunned him as they would "bums off the street," and "unwanted guests." Yet, his love for God did not waver, nor should ours. The psalmists writes that his love for God caused those who did not care for God to despise him and blame him and God for their dislike of God. This did not deter his spiritual disciplines of prayer and fasting even at the cost of more contempt and anger towards him. Any sadness in his life made his enemies ridiculte him and even the drunks and gluttons of his town made up drinking songs but this drove him further into prayer and worship of God. And he used those times to call upon God to rescue him from all he was facing, and the answer he wanted was to feel the love and salvation from God. His plea was for God not to hide His face from him as he prayed.

We have been in his shoes many a time before, have we not? And have we sought God through worship and prayer, or did we leave the spiritual realms for the worldly ones? The answer, dear friend, is always in God and we should never give up or think there is no remedy. There's always a remedy if we trust God. And trusting God begins with our loving and seeking to know God better and better in all the ways we can. We should never write God off, for God holds the pen.

PRAYER: Loving God, speak life and hope to us when we face the hardness and reality of life. When it seems our enemies have teamed up against me and my faith. Hear us when we cry out to You; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Be the bright face of God radiant with hope!

Receive my blessings of peace and hope,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

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1 So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? 2 I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? 3 Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace - a new life in a new land! 4 When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. 5 Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we're going in our new grace-sovereign country. 6 Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the Cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life - no longer at sin's every beck and call! What we believe is this:7 8 If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. 9 We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. 10 When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. 11 From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That's what Jesus did. (Romans 6:1-11 The Message Bible)

"I love Jesus, but I cuss a little," was something shared by a woman on the Ellen Show some years ago. The comment went viral becuase many found it hilarious. What are your thoughts on this? Comment below if you're watching the video or email me your thoughts. Thanks to my paternal grandfather my second language was Malidiciones en español. He thought it was hilarious to hear a baby cuss. In my defnense I didn't know better. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! And I wlll never forget the worst (best?) spanking I ever got for my reaction to my Mom pinching me while worship was going on. I yelled a loud Spanish obscenity to her and I remember getting home and taken to our restroom and me getting a paddling with a brush we used in the bathtub. I was too young to realize that I was, in Mom's opinion, still living in a "country where sin (cussing?) is sovereign," and I was still in an old country home. Also, I could not yet say, at that age, that I was speaking "A dead language that meant nothing to me;" I was not yet speaking God's mother tongue."

Paul's message is very clear. Once we were surrendered to Christ, we become dead to sin, and alive in Christ. In Paul's case, he was speaking from personal experience. He knew what it was to live in an alien land, far from God; and when he encountered the Risen Christ, he knew what it was to be in the presence of the holy and sacred. And he also was blessed with an intense seminary experience of learning all he could about the mystery of Christ and the reality of sin and his own experiences with sin. He knew the power of Christ to take away our sin, and our tendency to want to keep on sinning! Paul thought it was ridiculous to meet Jesus and then keep going back. To become a believer, in today's version, means we have "packed up and left there (the land of sin) and left there for good." Paul understood baptism as a journey out of the "old country of sin" andd into "the new country of grace." The believers now live in a "light-filled world" of God, so we should not stumble into the old ways of sin. Paul knows that our old life was crucified to the cross by Jesus and we were included in Jesus' sin-conquering death, and life-saving resurrection. Paul asserts that when Jesus was raised from the dead it signaled to the world the end of death as we know it, a complete end of life. Paul knows that death will never again have the last word on us; God will. I love verse 10: "When Jesus died, He took sin down with Him, but alive He brings God down to us." And the closing is just as powerful: "From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. Tha's what Jesus did." Amen.

I count this as a celebratory passage of the victory believers should celebrate when they come to faith. A new life on a new road, a new adventure and journey, walking hand-in-hand with Jesus and away from the devil and his desires for us. We're God's people on God's mission, to do whatever it is that God would have us do. This is a great place to be, and it is leading us to the greatest place, a place where God lives, the place we call Heaven. So, let us do what we can to invite others to join us and to be a part of this happy throng of Spirit-filled pilgrims.

PRAYER: Awesome God, we thank You for this new life that is ours in Jesus Christ. Guide us and bless us and help us become the people You would have us be; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Live in the full light and love of Jesus so others can see too!

Receive my blessings of joy and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Are You Willing to Flee The Coming Wrath of God?

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24 “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household! 26 “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. 34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “ ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— 36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:24-39 NIV)

There's no other way to say it, but we've gotten to the point where we don't like hearing anything uncomfortable. I've shared the story from my days in active ministry where one of my staff people told my wife they were not happy that I was preaching from a passage of scripture that made her feel bad. Imgagine that? The Bible speaking truth and making some of us feel bad? And imagine the Bible speaking things that might just bring us to eternal life? The reality is that since Day One, some have not liked hearing the truth. And what's even more uncomfortable, God calls men and women to stand and speak the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it may be. Re-read the prophets! Imagine there are people who love you enough to tell you what is right and what is wrong; what is just and what is unjust; those are the brave men and women of faith. Among them, I count The Reverend John Wesley, the founder of the movement that gave us Methodism. He did not set out to be a Methodist, in fact, he set out to be a priest in the Church of England like his father. It would be years before he came to faith, but once he did he set in motion a movement that changed the Church of England, started the Methodist movement in the colonies and all because he loved God enough to challenge people out of their comfort zone. Those who wanted to know more were invited to join classes that Wesley started, and the admission question was the title of today's devotional: Are you willing to flee the coming wrath of God? Based on, and this is incredible that verses 3:7 of both Matthew and Luke spoken by John the Baptist, form the foundation of this question. "Who warned you to flee and escape from the wrath and indignation [of God against disobedience] that is coming? The question called for the true preparation of each class member to take seriously their faith by reading their Bibles, attend worship, pray, and attend to their spiritual needs. John the Baptist knew God and the anger of God towards sin and evil. Those who do not want to "flee" may find themselves further away from God than they thought possible.

Today's passage, which is next Sunday's gospel lesson speaks to our preparation if we truly want to flee from God's wrath. Jesus is teaching. Jesus is teaching humility when it comes to serving God. To realize that it is God who is in control. God knows all, God sees all, and God comes through. Our faith is to be shared openly and freely; not with reservation or fear, but with boldness and surety. Fear is not even a part of the equation; we must not fear sharing our faith. The only One whom we should fear is God. God knows us so well that Jesus says that God knows the number of hairs we still have on our head, and our worth before God is vast. If the sparrows of the field are loved and cared for by God, how much more will we be? If we will acknowledge God before others, Jesus will also acknowledge us before God. But, if we disown God, God will disown us. Jesus' ministry came and disrupted the norm when it comes to peace in families. Jesus said the peace is disrupted by the "sword" He has brought the real peace; the peace of knowing God's love for us. Yet, this will cause as Jesus says, "to turn a 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law - a man's enemies will be the members of his own household." Then again the question of love to which Jesus says, "Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it."

People still ask, why would a loving, compassionate God send people to hell? The real answer is that God does not want us there; it is us who deliberately choose to reject God and choose not to flee the coming wrath of God, and yet people will wonder why so many are on that path? The call from God is still for men and women, yes, even boys and girls, to join hearts to press the truth that we can flee the coming wrath and should, and our lives should reflect those who have chosen to flee and want to save others. Ours is a faith of hope and love. Such is our God and God's message for us; and we who konw should love others enough to invite those who are not yet on the path with us to join us, to reject evil and oppression and begin to show the world how we can best live lives of love and compassion, mercy and service. And we can start now.

PRAYER: Loving God, thank You for loving us enough to send Jesus; let us share Jesus with all; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Share Jesus with everyone today and all days.

Receive my blessings of joy and love,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

A Nation of Priests

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2 They followed the route from Rephidim, arrived at the Wilderness of Sinai, and set up camp. Israel camped there facing the mountain. 3 As Moses went up to meet God, God called down to him from the mountain: "Speak to the House of Jacob, tell the People of Israel: 4 'You have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to me. 5 If you will listen obediently to what I say and keep my covenant, out of all peoples you'll be my special treasure. The whole Earth is mine to choose from, 6 but you're special: a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.' "This is what I want you to tell the People of Israel." 7 Moses came back and called the elders of Israel together and set before them all these words which God had commanded him. 8 The people were unanimous in their response: "Everything God says, we will do." (Exodus 19:2-8a The Message Bible)

The Exodus took forty years. Women have said that it took so long because Moses never stopped to ask for directions! The real reason was that God wanted to form a nation. The forty years was a generation and God wanted the journey to form a nation different from the other nations. It was a forty-year degree that God wanted His people to receive. God knew the history of all nations and He was not impressed. God knew the need of the world to have at least one nation that would know and love Him, and love others enough to help form them in the right direction. Every mile of the Exodus was an experience or course in what God wanted them to learn. In this passage we read how God reminds Moses to remind the people of all they had seen in God's dealing with the people of Egypt, and all that God did for them. "How I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to me." God is not only reminding but calling them into relationship. God also says that if they pay attention ("listen obediently to what I say and keep my covenant"). And God promises that Israel will be His "special treasure," and even at this point, God considers them special like a "nation of priests, a holy nation."

The forty-year degree is a seminary degree, for God has not only called them into learning, but into a process of setting them apart, preparing them for ordination as priests, and all of them together will bcome a holy nation. I read that as a special responsibility not privilege. The relationship they have enjoyed with God was to help them know how to relate to Him and to the other nations. The role of a priest is to be a bridge between God and humanity. That relationship is to show others how it's done. The priest should live his or her life in a way that shows the specialness of God and them to set them apart as an example of how living away from sinful things, a life of love and mercy beats all other ways. The Bible teaches us about a life lived in piety is a good way to live. Please remember that is not a "holier than thou" way, but a way that acknowledges God and God's ways as an option that beats all other options.

When I was first ordained as a pastor, once back home my little sister who was about twelve years old, sat on the sofa across from me and stared at me without saying a word. I asked her, "Why are you staring at me?" She replied, "Well, you are ordained now and I want to see what's different about you?" I laughed and jokingly asked, "Do you want me to hit you?" She got up and ran. Indeed, nor a good witness about my ordination but I wanted her to know I was still her brother and our relationship had not changed. Remember our devotion yesterday about humor being important? To be of God involves all of our being and that is not necessarily one of having a serious, sad face with no smiles and no joy; quite the opposite, we recognize the joys of life, being alive for one, and being a part of a family as another, and trusting God for all that was yet to come. It was great to hear the people say, and have most of them mean it, "Everything God says, we will do."

The question we must ask ourselves is how holy have we become because we know, love, and trust God? What about you "give you away" as being holy? These are great questions given the challenges of society and life today. The world truly needs to know those who are genuinely people of love, accepting and not judging all people, regardless of their appearance, their accents, backgrounds and choices they've made in life. The nation of priests says to all, welcome, let us join hands and hearts, and help others come closer to God.

PRAYER: Loving God, help us truly say and mean that we will truly do all You have asked of us; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Be a person made holy by God.

Receive my blessings of hope and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Jesus Reaches Out and Makes Whole

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ORIGINALLY SENT ON MONDAY, JUNE 5, 2023 Hear the devotional here: https://bit.ly/3WMjrya

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9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. 10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”18 While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples. 20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” 22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. 23 When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, 24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.26 News of this spread through all that region. (Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 NIV Bible)

I remember growing up during a time that afternoons were spent outside, at least in my neighborhood. Some homes had porches, others set up chairs, and people took time to visit and get to know their neighbors. There was, for the most part, no air conditioning, and for a time, our home had no television and no phone. The "reaching out" was our making time and the effort to know one another. Then air conditioning became more available, so did televisions, and so did phones. People moved inside. Then, porches were gone, and along came rear decks. Decks allowed for people to go further "inside," and away from others. And churches began to build and focus on fellowship halls, where the very name implied "We're inside people," and the fellowship hall allowed us to be further removed from others, read outsiders and the unwanted.

The ministry of Jesus, even today, is one or should be one of reaching out. Effective discipleship is uncomfortable ventures beyond our comfort zones into the places where the needs are, as modeled by Our Lord. Jesus went beyond the norm and the accepable. Jesus visited and then called a tax collector to join His team! Hint: Tax collectors were hated men, and one of those gets a "Follow me, " from Jesus and Matthew becomes an insider of the Team. Then, to make matters even worse, Jesus goes to Matthew's home and has dinner there. Hint: It's bad enough visiting "one," then to go inside his home to eat, and then even worse, other tax collectors and sinners come and eat with Jesus! No bueno as far as the Pharisees were concerned. "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" was the question posed to the disciples. Jesus heard this and answers, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick, but learn what this really means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to the righteous but sinners."

The scene shifts to a real need among the righteous, a leader fo the synagogue, who comes and kneels before Jesus and pleads, "My daughter has just died. But come and put Your hand on her, and she will live." He had eyes and ears, and he had heard that Jesus was doing some marvelous and miraculous things, and he believed enough to ask Jesus to help raise his daughter from the dead. Jesus gets up to help, as do His disciples, but here comes a woman who had suffered uncontrolled bleeding for twelve years, whose faith drove to believe that if only she can touch Jesus' garment, she will be healed. So she touches the hem of His garment, and in this version of the miracle, Jesus turns to her and says that her faith had made her whole, healed from this long-term affliction. And she was. Jesus reaches the leader's house where a crowd had gathered and declares that the dead girl was only sleeping, which brings laughter. The crowd is driven outside, and He goes to the girl and takes her hand, and this was enough to resurrect her, and she got up. This causes the news to spread through all that region of what this man, the Son of God, was doing in their midst.

Jesus still reaches out and makes whole all those who ask and trust. The wholeness varies from person to person, but she or he who seek to be forgiven, are. And those who seek healing of an illness or ailment can reach out and can be made well. Those who are afraid and seek a place in which to hide, find just that. And some find the first steps towards a life that is better than the one they have, for now they can walk with He who is the light of the world and can shine light on the darknesses of life. Whatever your need, come to the Lord. And once you have received that which you seek, then reach out to others and share what you have learned.

PRAYER: Awesome Lord, You know my need and hurts; I turn to You in faith and hope, and I pray Your will be done for me and that I would in turn reach out to more; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Come to the Lord, then take the Lord to those in need.

Receive my blessings of joy and love,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

When Old People Laugh

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View here: https://bit.ly/42H0jDf 1 And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth, 3 and said, "My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant. 4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, 5 while I fetch a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on--since you have come to your servant." So they said, "Do as you have said." 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes." 7 And Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it. 8 Then he took curds, and milk, and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate. 9 They said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" And he said, "She is in the tent." 10 The LORD said, "I will surely return to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?" 13 The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, in the spring, and Sarah shall have a son." 15 But Sarah denied, saying, "I did not laugh"; for she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh." 1 The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised. 2 And Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 And Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; every one who hears will laugh over me." 7 And she said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would suckle children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age." (Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7 Revised Standard Version)

I love to laugh, don't you? I believe my sense of humor has blessed me during my life.There is power in laughter. Some believe there is healing power in laughter. Actor Carl Reiner was interviewed about a year before he died, and the answer was “daily.” He was 98 at the time of his death, but we think he was on to something. “There is no doubt about it,” he said in a 2019 Washington Post interview. “Laughter is my first priority. I watch something every night that makes me laugh. I wake up and tickle myself while I’m still in bed. There is no greater pleasure than pointing at something, smiling and laughing about it. I don’t think there is anything more important than being able to laugh. When you can laugh, life is worth living. It keeps me going. It keeps me young.” Reiner was 97 at the time of the interview. Comedian Paul Osincup, a past president of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH), you don’t have to be a comedian to laugh more. “Humor is not a talent, it’s a habit,” he says. He suggests not worrying about being clever or funny, but instead to get in the habit of seeing humor in everyday situations. I totally agree. Laughter helps us release stress and pressure, and so in today's passage we see how key laughter was for the woman in the spotlight of this story.

The star is Sarah, the wife of Abraham. She is the mother of faith because she said yes alongside Abraham and left family and friends to go where God sent them. Now, we should backtrack and remind ourselves that when that yes was given, God had told Abraham that he was to be the father of many children, even though at that point and at a very advanced age, Sarah had been unable to bear children. And guess what? Abraham had married a younger woman, so he was much older. But on this day of the passage, he and his wife had traveled 25 years. Talk about faith! Do the math, now Father Abraham, though not yet a Daddy, was now 100 years old! And the guests they received we now know were angels. Three men, from God, came with news from God to Abraham. Abraham, being a faithful host says they must eat and so asks Sarah to knead some flour and make fresh flour tortillas and he fires up the grill to have some beef fajitas ready to eat with the tortillas, and why not add cottage cheese and a large glass of fresh milk? As they sat down to eat, one of the men asks where Sarah is? Abraham says she was in the tent. It is the Lord who tells Abraham and says He will return in the spring and by that time he would be a dad and Sarah a mom. So, the 90 year old woman whom God is talking about laughed. Wouldn't you? I'm not 90 years old yet, but I can see it from here, okay? And at my age, diapers, bottle feedings at all hours of the night don't see so appealing at my age, and I would think that at 90 even less. And add insult to injury, Sarah not only laughed she said out loud what she was thinking. Not that matters because God hears our thoughts, but this woman said, "After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?" God heard that and asks the husband, "Why did Sarah laugh?" And God says, "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" And then Sarah lies and says, "I did not laugh," and the writer says, because she was afraid, but still God counters and said, "No, you did laugh."

When the time God said He would return, she found herself pregnant. And Sarah became the mother of a son. whom Abraham named Isaac, which means "He will laugh." (Thanks, Mom!). And Abraham fulfilled the covenant and circumcised Isaac at the appropriate time of eight days old. And the 100 year old dad brought cigars and celebrated the birth of his son. And the 90 year old mom said, "God has made laughter for me; every one who hears will laugh over me." And still in disbelief at the power of God says, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would suckle children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."

Nothing is impossible for God. All matters from cradle to grave are under God's control, and whatever God commands will occur. What God asks of us, God will help us accomplish. And when it comes to spreading love, we have the source when we trust God.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, bless our lives with hope and love and the faith that says to others, that You, Almighty God, can do anything and everything for the betterment of humanity; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Trust God in areas you have doubts in.

Receive my blessings of joy and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Our Progression into Maturity

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1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. 6 While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man--though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. 8 But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received our reconciliation. (Romans 5:1-11 Revised Standard Version)

A blessed and wonderful Tuesday, dear Reader. May the joy of the Lord be yours as you spend time in prayer for those who have asked prayers of us. We ask continued prayers for our brother John Lucas who continues to suffer from kidney stones. I spoke with John this afternoon and he was awaiting an appointment in the Seguin Hospital to get further relief from this ailment. Pray for Edith and all who are praying for him. Also, our prayers for Jeff Massie’s mom Viola Massie. She will be having surgery tomorrow to remove a melanoma from her leg. Please pray for a successful surgery and complete healing. Pray for each other, pray for the needs of the world, and pray for the Church.

We humans go through two serious periods of life; the I can't wait to be old period, and then the I don't want to be old period. We've known kids who are X-years old going on 40, and those who are in their older years going through their "Mid-life crisis." And in more serious terms we soon realize we must face maturity, in whatever terms you mean by it. I believe maturity to be when we come to have full realization of who we are and that we have come to the place where we can and do place full trust in ourselves only because we have come to know and trust God like never before. Paul calls it "peace with God through our" relationship in "Our lord Jesus Christ." Through that moment when we, like Matthew in last week's gospel lesson said yes to the Lord's "Follow me," and receive justification in Him. Ours is now a life of grace and a peace that allows us to rejoice in our hope of one day sharing the glory of God. And our peace as found in our maturity allows us to see beyond our suffering to the point we can rejoice in our sufferings. These sufferings can help us become more enduring towards life, and the Apostle says this endurance produces character. Character is unique to each individual meaning that how we think and how we act define our character. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ both our thoughts and actions should be those grounded in love and mercy towards others. Our character will help us share with others, the hope that we have found in God. And we know that hope can never disappoint, because hope comes from God's love, poured into our heartrs through the Holy Spirit which is also given to us.

As Paul turns his attention to the eternal he shares this key verse; "While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." Paul had shared to him by Jesus the why behind this as he wrote, "But God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." Jesus gave His life for us so that our justification could occur through His death, and also through that we are saved by Jesus' life. And not only that Paul continues, we rejoice in God through Jesus Christ who has now been reconciled with us.

The true maturation we should seek is the peace that comes from knowing that we have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior and we submit ourselves to being guided by His Holy Spirit towards the future. Ours is to complete that to which Jesus has called us. When Our Lord said to us, "Follow me," He shared what it was we are to do; and He will provice all we need to fulfill that.

PRAYER: Loving God, we surrender to You and we ask You guide us towards our being truly and fuly reconciled with You. Wipe out our past errors and faults, and make straight the path to which you have called us; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Start a joyful journey towards your full potential with Christ Jesus.

Receive my blessings of love and joy,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

The Pity Party is Over!

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1 “Hear this, you priests! Pay attention, you Israelites! Listen, royal house! This judgment is against you: You have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor. 2 The rebels are knee-deep in slaughter. I will discipline all of them. 3 I know all about Ephraim; Israel is not hidden from me. Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution; Israel is corrupt 4 “Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the LORD. 5 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them; the Israelites, even Ephraim, stumble in their sin; Judah also stumbles with them. 6 When they go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, they will not find him; he has withdrawn himself from them. 7 They are unfaithful to the LORD; they give birth to illegitimate children. When they celebrate their New Moon feasts, he will devour their fields. 8 “Sound the trumpet in Gibeah, the horn in Ramah. Raise the battle cry in Beth Aven ; lead on, Benjamin. 9 Ephraim will be laid waste on the day of reckoning. Among the tribes of Israel I proclaim what is certain. 10 Judah’s leaders are like those who move boundary stones. I will pour out my wrath on them like a flood of water. 11 Ephraim is oppressed, trampled in judgment, intent on pursuing idols. 12 I am like a moth to Ephraim, like rot to the people of Judah. 13 “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his sores, then Ephraim turned to Assyria, and sent to the great king for help. But he is not able to cure you, not able to heal your sores. 14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces and go away; I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them. 15 Then I will return to my lair until they have borne their guilt and seek my face— in their misery they will earnestly seek me.” 1 “Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. 3 Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” 4 “What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears. 5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth— then my judgments go forth like the sun. 6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 5:15-6:6 NIV Bible)

A blessed and tremendous Thursday be yours, dear Friend. May God's peace and joy be with you today. Please continue to pray for Ms. Diane Battles, whose surgery was yesterday; may the reports be reports of joy and peace. Pray for all who love her and who are praying for her.

You and I have celebrated those parties of the pity kind. For little to no reason we gather what's left of our wits and begin to whine, moan, or cry about who were are, and where we find ourselves. We try to invite others to join us and we want them to sing along with us the song of pity, "Woe is me." The lyrics only come to me when I'm actually there and there are as many stanzas as there are heartbreaks and sorrows. Yes, it's a pitiful sight and more, a pitiful place to be in. Such is the passage we read right now. The prophet Hosea is leading the regular pity party that Israel threw for themselves. Scholars call it the prophetic cycle and it kinda reminds me of me. We go to church and have a great time there and we know we were in God's presence, but as the service is ending, we notice that our best friend had the gall to go and talk to my dreaded and almost-hated enemy; and they're laughing! I won't come to this church ever again! And off we sulk and mutter to ourselves that we have been jilted and we won't darken the door of this church every again! Okay, Israel's actions were a bit more serious, like engaging in forbidden religious and sexual practices, and did I mention, forsaking God in favor of gods, with little g's, to make them the gods of Israel? And so, they were right in having the pity party for their sins were great against the Lord and thoughts of "How can God ever forgive us again," were right on target.

Israel was tempted and gave into the sex religions of the area, and no leadership from the palace or the temple spoke against it, in fact, all leaders condoned it. The prophet is voicing the consequences of their sin and the fear that may be realized; that they could not seek the Lord, for they believed that God had withdrawn away from them. They were feeling what we sometimes feel - our sin seems too grave and serious and we believe that God may not want to be near us any longer, when deep down we know it is us that have moved away from Him. God's call was for Israel to admit/confess their sin and return to God with repentant hearts. The shift to chapter 6 has the prophet saying the time to return to God is now. He knows that God will repair them, though it feels that God has torn them, and that God will heal them. And in a prophetic nod to Jesus, he says that revival will come in two days and on the third day, full restoration, enough that we can live in the presence of God. What Israel is called to do, as are we when we find our way back to God, is to acknowledge God, knowing God will appear and come to us, with His unending, glorious love. And in the last verse we read what was said, "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings.

The thing to remember is that God stands ready to forgive those who truly repent of their sins and make their way back to Him. That is how our God is. God is an understanding God of love, who like a great parent never condemns us for our actions and does all He can to mend our wounds, ease our hurts, and keep the doors of His heart open for us to enter back. No one is excluded nor turned away. God desires our love and fellowship, which will nurture and strengthen us. We should not stay away, but return to God.

Yes, we may still have pity parties from time to time, but the more time we spend with God the leas we will need them, for in God we will be known and loved even in spite of what we have done.

PRAYER: Loving God, we praise You for Your love and ever open invitation to be Yours. Help us share that invitation with all; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Have a celebration "party" for what God has done and is doing in you!

Receive my blessings of joy and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

God's Promise to Abram

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1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” 4 So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD. 9 Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev. (Genesis 12:1-9 NIV Bible)

Moving is one of the hardest things to do, especailly for a child. When I was born Mom and Dad lived in a concerte block house behind a relative's house in Kingsville. That structure no longer stands, but it did for a long time and I had a chance to see it as we drove slowly by. I was still an infant when my parents moved to the home I would come to know as the family home on West Avenue A. That home meant the world to me for thirteen years. The day came when Dad had to make a decision to leave us on Avenue A and make his move to the unknown city of Houston. That move had a profound spiritual impact on me, my Mom, my grandmother (Dad's mom), for we prayed harder than we ever did. Many men in Kingsville had already moved to Houston, mostly alone, and would come home on Fridays and return back to the Big H on Sundays. My father followed that model and went with our neighbor to seek employment in Houston. It didn't completely register that I would be involved in a move some time later, for now the shocking news that during the school week I would not have a Dad bothered me more than I could understand. The memory of that Sunday is still fresh in my mind, heart, and spirit. We cried and hugged and cried and cried. My father climbed into our neighbor's truck with other men and off to the evil empire of the North they went. I prayed and cried as I entrusted my Dad to the Lord. Years later, Nellie and I would make several moves with our children involved in the heartbreak and unknown of each move.

Abram heard the phone ring and he picked it up and it was God. God said quite plainly, "Abram you're going to move. First Haran will miss you but you've done well there, and First Canaan will be a great move for you. God also said, in DS fashion, "You will do so well that your reputation will be known throughout the conference, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will move next year; but all the people who come to know your ministry will be blessed!" Click. The phone went dead. Abram goes into the kitchen, makes himself a cup of coffee and Sarai comes to join him. "Who called?" she asked. "Honey, you're not going to believe this, but that was God. And He's moving us from First Harah to First Canaan." Sarai shocked into not moving, prayed silently, then looked up to see how her husband was taking it. "You know you're seventy-five, don't you?" She already knew the answer for she heard his knees creak and groan every morning. "I know how old I am, but I still got it in me to continue. This may be our last move, but we will make the best of it, with God's help."

Abram loaded all his stuff and Sarai's stuff and began the trek to Canaan. At the first stop, God said this would be Abram's land, and his offspring's land, and Abram's first worship was there, and all along the way he stopped to pray and worship the Lord, trusting that His promises would be kept. As we learned yesterday, God keeps His promises and we are blessed, not by what we do, but simply by who we are. We are God's beloved children, for whom God will do anything to bless us. And we trust in God to help us fulfill that to which we were called.

PRAYER: God of covenants and God of the promise, through Jesus we praise You and thank You for Your faithfulness; bless us to be faithful and fruitful; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Share God's promises and love to all people.

Receive my blessings of joy and love,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jrl.

God's Promises Are True

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13 That famous promise God gave Abraham - that he and his children would possess the earth - was not given because of something Abraham did or would do. It was based on God's decision to put everything together for him, which Abraham then entered when he believed. 14 If those who get what God gives them only get it by doing everything they are told to do and filling out all the right forms properly signed, that eliminates personal trust completely and turns the promise into an ironclad contract! That's not a holy promise; that's a business deal. 15 A contract drawn up by a hard-nosed lawyer and with plenty of fine print only makes sure that you will never be able to collect. But if there is no contract in the first place, simply a promise - and God's promise at that - you can't break it. 16 This is why the fulfillment of God's promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God's promise arrives as pure gift. That's the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions and those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is father of us all. He is not our racial father - that's reading the story backwards. He is our faith father. 17 We call Abraham "father" not because he got God's attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn't that what we've always read in Scripture, God saying to Abraham, "I set you up as father of many peoples"? Abraham was first named "father" and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. 18 When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him, "You're going to have a big family, Abraham!" 19 Abraham didn't focus on his own impotence and say, "It's hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child." Nor did he survey Sarah's decades of infertility and give up. 20 He didn't tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, 21 sure that God would make good on what he had said. 22 That's why it is said, "Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right." 23 But it's not just Abraham; 24 it's also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. 25 The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God. (Romans 4:13-25 The Message Bible)

A gracious and blessed Tuesday be yours, dear Reader. My prayer is that the joy of the Lord bless you and strengthen you today and all days. I also pray that this time together with the Lord will bless you with exactly that which you need. Pray for one another. Pray for those who have asked prayers from you. Pray for the needs of the world. Pray for those who feel outside and unloved; and do your part to bring them into the love of Christ Jesus. Also, a lady named Diane Battles from a sister church is facing surgery tomorrow, Wednesday. Please pray for her, that she be calm and trusting in God and that the surgery bring her the desired results for her life and wellbeing. May God bless you for sharing of your time and prayers.

My father was a man of his word. If he promises something, he would deliver. If he said he would be somewhere, he was there. I thank God that my Dad never let me down. My wife is a woman of her word in the very same way. I trust her with my life and with all things as well. I know she will be there for me if I need her, and will do what she says she will do. You may have people like that in your life, too and if we could multiply the promises and deeds fo those whom we trust, we would only be about a sand pebble towards reaching what God's promises are. Just think of the beach and the vastness of the sand, and you get the picture of God's faithfulness. I love this modern version's interpretation of this. It is not what we do that gets us God's promises; it is who we are; His beloved creation. Abraham, as Father of the Fatih, is called that because he believed, but it was God's love that made that promise come through. Our relationship with God should be just one of love, not a contract of we do this and God will do that. God will do what He has promised because He loves us. It comes as a gift, an unexpected one. I love seeing some social media posts of some who will ask money from strangers then surprise those who help with larger amounts. One gentleman will ask for a dollar, and those who help are given a thousand. What has been interesting about those videos is the ones who help are the ones who seem to truly need that dollar just to survive. Another man stood outside a grocery store and asked people to feed him with what they had already bought; the same was repeated at a gas station. Most angrily said, "I have what I have because I worked hard!" Then, when someone helps the man, he gives them money for their groceries or for their gas. And what makes it sad and funny are the people who angrily said no to then whining that they need money, too.

This passage says that Abraham received what he got not because he was a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. (v. 17). I get nothing but joy from reading that, mainly because I am miles from being a saint, and yet God still loves me and God is not through working on me. I, like you, am under construction. I live not basing myself thinking that I can do but rather knowing what God can do. Yes, I prepare, I pray, I trust, I read and re-read, but yet trust that God will do through me what needs to be done; for that was His promise to me when He first called me into ministry. We focus not on what we perceive are our weaknesses, but on God's strengths.

I love the closing verses of this passage, verses 24 and 25, "The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God." Live a life, dear one, embracing and believing Jesus all the time. And stand back, for God will do marveloous things in, thorugh, and for, us.

PRAYER: Come, loving God and grant me faith and trust to do what You have asked of me. I seek to love You and all of Yours; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Embrace Jesus with faith, and live a life that invites others to do the same.

Receive my blessings of joy and peace,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.