Do It Out of Love

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Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the church in your house:Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith towards the Lord Jesus.I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ. I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother.For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love—and I, Paul, do this as an old man, and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus. I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to me. I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back for ever, no longer as a slave but as more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ.Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. (Philemon 1-21)

This epistle is a difficult one for Paul to write.  He is asking a major favor of Philemon on behalf of a runaway slave.  Somehow, both Philemon and Onesimus are believers, but in those days of that awful practice, Phil owned Onesimus, and one day Onie decided to run away to truly be free.  Paul says that "formerly he was useless to you," which could have meant this attitude was so against his being owned by someone he failed to work and reached the point where he ran away.  Was Phil a bad owner and beat and abused Onie?  We don't know; all we know is what Paul has presented:  Onesimus has become Paul's spiritual son; he had learned much and is now disposed to return back to Philemon.  Now Onie has a special status, so beloved by Paul that Paul calls him his "heart."  One has become a helpful assistant to Paul and Paul has difficulty sending Onie back, but wants now Philemon to do the right thing; receive him back, not as a slave, but as a beloved brother, both in the flesh and in the Lord.  Paul says, "If you truly consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.  And if he owes you anything, I will pay it for you.  And by the way, I am saying nothing of what you owe me - your very life."

Jesus Christ has set us free from the slavery to sin.  He has set us free from the prisons we made for ourselves out of bad habits and choices; flung open the doors and welcomed us out.  And if any of us feel someone is indebted to us, we should do as Paul is asking of Philemon, set them free.  As Christ has freed us, we should freely free any who are indebted to us.  If we keep them "right where we want them," guess what?  We're right back in that same prison that Christ had freed us from! And that's no way to live.

PRAYER:  Loving God, I thank You for the freedom You shared with me; help me to be one who frees others from jails and prison, indebtedness and obligations.  Your grace is too precious to keep for myself.  I pray this in Christ Jesus my Lord, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

All In!

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Now large crowds were travelling with him; and he turned and said to them, ‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.” Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. (Luke 14:25-33)

There have been several times in my life that I have had to choose decisions that if I made them, I would have to be all in.  No halfway compromise, but full-hearted, full-minded, all-body commitment.  The first was my decision to go away for college.  I chose a college about three hours away from home.  I had no car.  All my family packed into our family sedan, along with all of my earthly belongings; more important to me at that time was the Radio Shack stereo I had gotten for Christmas.  They dropped me off, saw my dorm room, kissed and hugged me and off they drove.  I had to decide that this was the right decision, the right place, and the right time to do what I needed to do.  Within a few hours an upperclassman asked if I wanted to go see a movie.  I started to say, "Let me go ask...Sure!"  No longer had to ask permission to go to the movies!

The seriousness of Christ's call involves our being able to commit in the same way.  I knew once I stayed, my job was to learn, study, work, and do all that was involved in my being a good college student.  Jesus in the same way asks for our full commitment in all areas of our lives.  Jesus matters more than family, for there will be some families that will not share the same commitment to Him and we will have to decide.  Jesus gives us a task for which we need to also commit all of ourselves to complete.  Jesus may even ask us to move far from where we are right now, and we should be ready to say yes, Lord, here am I.  No one has ever said it is easy to follow Jesus.  Discipleship costs.  It cost Jesus His life, and it costs us our lives while living, to give all and do all.

PRAYER:  Awesome God, here I am.  Ready. Willing, and with Thy help, able.  Use me.  I'm all in.  And this only because of Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Never Satisfied?

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Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. 5Thus says the Lord: What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves? 6 They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that no one passes through, where no one lives?’ 7 I brought you into a plentiful land to eat its fruits and its good things. But when you entered you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. 8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers* transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after things that do not profit. 9Therefore once more I accuse you, says the Lord, and I accuse your children’s children. 10 Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has ever been such a thing. 11 Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for something that does not profit. 12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the Lord, 1for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:4-13)

Some people are just like that I guess. Or should I say some of us are like that? God has done wonderful and incredible things, but we're never happy nor satisfied. We woke up this morning and yet we gripe, "I don't want to get up!" Or, we complain, "I don't want to go to work!" Don't you remember a time when you were so sick you couldn't get out of bed? Or, don't you remember the excitement when you were offered your current job? You're being Old Testament, people! This passage is a prime example of God's reaction to the people whom God led out of slavery into freedom; yet they complained, yet they kept looking back, wanting to go back and keep doing the same though slaves. They forsook the Lord, and took to doing things for themselves they couldn't quite do. And we sometimes do the same.

Zig Ziglar, the late motivational speaker used to offer what he called, The checkup from the neck up. Think about it; it's about attitude and gratitude. If we would but pause from time to time, to take stock of what God has truly done for us and the countless blessings we have because of Him, we would have a better attitude; we might even have gratitude. Then, life would truly be seen with God's eyes and not ours. The big picture would blot out the imperfections and small nuisances that make us think that all is lost. It isn't.

PRAYER: Awesome God, You have done so much for me that I just want to thank You. Forgive me the times I want my way and not Yours. Help me truly have an attitude of gratitude in and towards all things. The truth is that You truly aren't through with me, and the best is yet to come. This I pray in Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Smile more!

Eradio Valverde

In God's Guest Room

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I run for dear life to God, I'll never live to regret it. Do what you do so well: get me out of this mess and up on my feet. Put your ear to the ground and listen, give me space for salvation. Be a guest room where I can retreat; you said your door was always open! You're my salvation - my vast, granite fortress.  My God, free me from the grip of Wicked, from the clutch of Bad and Bully. You keep me going when times are tough - my bedrock, God, since my childhood. I've hung on you from the day of my birth, the day you took me from the cradle; I'll never run out of praise. (Psalm 71:1-6 The Message)

As a youth growing up in the Río Grande Conference, our retreats were usually held in big cities, not camps, and our accommodations were in people's homes not cabins.  That made for interesting character development.  And as a youth officer I sometimes went alone to different meetings where again, I would end up in someone's guest room.  And though the rooms never looked like the picture above, it was better.  I felt at home.  I felt safe.  I felt welcomed and loved.  There are people who were the adults in those homes who welcomed me as a son and made true the Lord's word on leaving home for His work and finding mothers and fathers wherever we would go.  Mrs. Gladys Sonnen was one of my moms when I stayed there with my dear friend, David.  Mr. Andrew Hernandez was my dad when I stayed there with my dears friends Andy and Bobby.  Recently, we always had a special room with Bill and Jody Henderson where we were welcomed and loved.  That is why I chose the Message Bible's version of today's psalm.  It always speaks honestly and in a tone that is very today.  There have been times I have run for dear life right to God, and I have yet to regret finding a hiding place in God.  And yes, God has gotten me out of many messes, and yes, God has given me salvation.  And yes, God has a guest room where I enjoy the things a guest room provides like I mentioned above:  a home away from home, security, safety, and love.  God's door is always open, for God is my salvation.  In God I do find escape from the grips of Wickedness and Bad and Bully; God keeps me going even when the going is rough.  May I never run out of praise!

PRAYER:  Yes, Loving God, You are my hiding place, my refuse, my rock and my secure place.  Thank You for the guest room I find through prayer, silence, reflection and the reading of Your Holy Word.  May it be a place others find when needed; for You are my Salvation.  In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Serve the Lord with the Right Words

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Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.’ Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.’ But the Lord said to me,‘Do not say, “I am only a boy”;for you shall go to all to whom I send you,and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.’ Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,‘Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,to pluck up and to pull down,to destroy and to overthrow,to build and to plant.’ (Jeremiah 1:4-10)

Think of the hardest job you've ever had.  Think of the worst job you've ever had.  Sometimes those are two and the same.  But whatever job or jobs came to mind, let me ask you, "Have you ever been a prophet?"  And I don't mean being an outspoken critic in your church; I mean a biblical prophet, called by God in a different era, unusually under a kind or queen, and your job was to speak God's judgment on that kingdom.  Ouch.  It was not an easy job.  It was usually a job not sought after; it was just given to you by God.  Here is Jeremiah's call.  I've known about Jeremiah longer, because before I could read, my Mom would say to us boys if we were crying, "Who do you think you are, Jeremiah?"  I didn't know then what that meant, but I came to find out.  She knew Jeremiah through her church life that he was the weeping prophet.  Such was the power of his message and expectation that he wept a lot for his people and for himself charged with this task of using the right words to bring the message of God to a disobedient people.  One scholar has said that Jeremiah embodied the message of God and felt the anguish of God and that of the people.  Yet, he was the right man at the right time for the task.  

We notice that the call from God came to this prophet even before he was born; in the womb Jeremiah was consecrated and appointed.  Even as the boy says he is too young, God reassures him that if God calls us, he will equip up and ready us for the task.  God calls the prophet to not have fear, for God was with him, and God gave Jeremiah the words he was to speak.  Notice that God gave the prophet words "to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."  

In our daily life we too are called to serve the Lord.  We are to use the God-given words that we have heard in our churches, our devotional life, our experiences, and our memories to bless, heal, transform, and to build up.  Ours is a job of bringing hope to a people that are lost and drowning in their sins; and we can do that lovingly.  

PRAYER:  Lord God, just as You called Jeremiah, You are calling us to share Your words.  Grant us those words, the assurance that we are not alone, and that You are with us, and the strength that takes away our fear of serving You.  In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Worship As Usual? I Think Not!

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You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. (For they could not endure the order that was given, ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.’Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, ‘I tremble with fear.’)But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.’ This phrase ‘Yet once more’ indicates the removal of what is shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:18-29)

There have been times when you and I have been in worship settings where we know little to no effort was put into it.  The music dragged.  The sermon was just so-so.  The people were not welcoming.  And the congregation was small and they reflected they were bored.  And I suspect that any effort to change worship would be a matter of much discussion in a committee meeting.  The above passage shares what the writer knows to be true; when it comes to God, God is awesome.  And when it comes to worshipping an awesome God, our worship should be awesome and inspiring. Moses, as he says, experienced God and his job after that was to help the people of God become an awesome people of worship and service.  And he wanted that reverence and awe to spill over into their daily lives.  Therefore, people of a stale worship become people of stale lives.  We must not be about that.  Read the final verses of this passage again:  "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire."

Do what you must to spark up your worship life and your life outside of worship.

PRAYER:  Loving God, speak to our hearts the truth about You.  Move among us and stir us up for obedient and awesome worship, and let it spill over into our daily lives.  We serve an exciting God and we should live in ways that invite others to come to You.  In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.

Eradio Valverde

That's a Hard Way to Live!

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Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.’ When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.’ But the Lord answered him and said, ‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?’ When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing. (Luke 13:10-17)

Having moved from a tiny home town to a huge metropolis of over one million people was enough to make me walk if not bent over, certainly walking with head down.  My mother who would watch this 13 year old walk the two city blocks to catch the city bus once asked, "Are you looking for nickels?"  I laughed and said no, I'm just trying to avoid people...  She asked why and I told her, and she said that I was as good as anybody else, and God had made us all, and I had nothing to hide; to look people in the eye and find my way through this world.  And I did.  

Imagine living that way most of your life.  Eighteen years is a long way to live bent over or with heads bowed.  This woman regardless of her appearance found her way to worship every week; she didn't let this physical handicap limit her praising and thanking God; and it was in the synagogue on that Sabbath that she found healing at the hands of Jesus.  Jesus, remember, was teaching in the synagogue on this sabbath day and while he was teaching this woman came in.  He calls her over and says, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment."  He laid hands on her and her healing was immediate.  And so was her praising of God.  After 18 years of living life limited as she was, now she was completely free to praise and worship God.  And yet, the leader of the synagogue became angry that this healing took place on the sabbath.  The routine had been broken; Jesus brought change to the worship service, and most certainly now the offering could not be taken up because people's focus was on the healed woman.  This leader begins to lecture Jesus about work on the sabbath; "You have six days to do that kind of thing, why now and why here?"  Jesus answered them with the reality of how strict this rule of worship was kept, and then calls this woman a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan had kept this way for many eighteen long years, now she is free from her bondage.  That shut the leader and his followers up.  The crowd went back to "rejoicing at all the wonderful things that He was doing."  Indeed.

You and I have been blessed by Jesus and most of us have kept those things pretty secret, but now is the time to speak up and share the wonderful things that Jesus has done for us.  The world needs to hear some good news.  We need to share with so many the answers we have gotten from the Lord and let others know that all is not lost, there is still a savior that delivers us from our captivity and shame.  Otherwise, people will continue to live looking down and not up; thinking that all is lost; when we know it is not.

PRAYER:  Speak to my heart, Loving Father, and let me share the Good News with all people.  Great and many are the wonderful things You have done for me, now let me share those with others.  In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.

Eradio Valverde

Prayer Update:  Mrs. Ally Portwood, underwent surgery and the complications she was having were fixed.  She was moved from ICU to a private room and should be released to go home soon.  Praise God!  And thank you  all of your prayers.

Get Out of Bed! You've Slept Long Enough!

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Listen, Shepherd, Israel's Shepherd - get all your Joseph sheep together. Throw beams of light from your dazzling throne  So Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh can see where they're going. Get out of bed - you've slept long enough! Come on the run before it's too late.Remember how you brought a young vine from Egypt, cleared out the brambles and briers and planted your very own vineyard? You prepared the good earth, you planted her roots deep; the vineyard filled the land. Your vine soared high and shaded the mountains, even dwarfing the giant cedars. Your vine ranged west to the Sea, east to the River. So why do you no longer protect your vine? Trespassers pick its grapes at will; Wild pigs crash through and crush it, and the mice nibble away at what's left. God of the angel armies, turn our way! Take a good look at what's happened and attend to this vine. Care for what you once tenderly planted - the vine you raised from a shoot. And those who dared to set it on fire - give them a look that will kill! Then take the hand of your once-favorite child, the child you raised to adulthood.  We will never turn our back on you; breathe life into our lungs so we can shout your name!  God, God of the angel armies, come back! Smile your blessing smile: That will be our salvation. (Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19 The Message Bible)

Ah, the joys of sleep!  Some people enjoy sleep too much; some not at all.  Which are you?  For this passage sleep refers to inaction or inactivity towards what God desires from us.  So, it isn't necessarily that of staying in bed snoring; it is our willing to stay inactive, or worse, indifferent to what God calls.  The image of the vineyard returns today; the psalmist is calling upon God, and upon God's children, to awaken and to do that which pleases God, not us.  The feeling of the writer is that God has abandoned us and pleads for God to return; when in fact God never moves, it is us.  The old joke of the elderly couple stoping at a traffic light behind a young couple, tells of the wife on the passenger side saying, "Look at those two!  They're so close together they seem like a two-headed monster!"  Then reflecting on it says, looking at her husband, "Remember when we used to do that?  Why don't we do that anymore?"  The old man said, "I haven't moved."  

Here is our invitation to move closer to the Lord in our actions.  Stop sleeping and taking for granted that God will do everything for us.  We have to get up, get out, and busy in doing what we are called to do:  Share the Good News of God's love through Jesus Christ.  Every day that we take for granted is a day lost in the work needed for God's Kingdom.

PRAYER:  Awaken, O God, my heart, mind, spirit, and body, to the work You've called me to do.  There is so much to do and we cannot take another day for granted.  In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

As the Sun Rises and Sets, God is Faithful!

Image by Eradio Valverde, Jr. of Corpus Christi Bay

The God of gods - it's God! - speaks out, shouts, "Earth!" welcomes the sun in the east, farewells the disappearing sun in the west. From the dazzle of Zion, God blazes into view. Our God makes his entrance, he's not shy in his coming. Starbursts of fireworks precede him. He summons heaven and earth as a jury, he's taking his people to court: "Round up my saints who swore on the Bible their loyalty to me." The whole cosmos attests to the fairness of this court, that here God is judge. (Psalm 50:1-6 The Message)

God is noisy!  And God makes a grand entrance!  And He does it every. day.  The photo above I took here in the Sparkling City by the Sea; it's noisy and it's grand.  And it's beautiful.  It is God shouting, as this version of the Bible says, "Earth!  Wake up and be ready for a new day!"  And in the same way, God is coming back through Jesus.  The shout and the message will be the same, "Earth!  Gather all the earth and come with me; It's Judgment Day."  Jesus painted a picture of what that would be like in Matthew 25:  Goats on one side, sheep on the other; going up?  or going down?

Friends, it is our choice.  We would love to blame God for any condemnation we might have, but indeed, it has been the result of our choices that will determine our eternity.  Why not choose life, and eternal at that?  Why not begin a relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?  Why not grow our faith into one of love and service to all, as Jesus says is our duty; to feed the hungry, quench the thirst of the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the sick and prisoner?

PRAYER:  Loving Lord, I again confess I am a sinner and ask forgiveness of my sins.  I invite You into my life as Lord and Savior and I pray that I might begin a faithful and fruitful relationship with You. Guide me and bless me; in Christ Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Prayer Update:  Davis' procedure went well; he, Mom, and Dad are doing fine, thanks be to God!

Are You Religious, or In A Relationship?

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The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.  Hear the word of the Lord,    you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God,    you people of Gomorrah!  What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?    says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt-offerings of rams    and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls,    or of lambs, or of goats. When you come to appear before me,    who asked this from your hand?    Trample my courts no more;  bringing offerings is futile;    incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation—    I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.  Your new moons and your appointed festivals    my soul hates; they have become a burden to me,    I am weary of bearing them.  When you stretch out your hands,    I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers,    I will not listen;    your hands are full of blood.  Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;    remove the evil of your doings    from before my eyes; cease to do evil,     learn to do good; seek justice,    rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan,    plead for the widow. Come now, let us argue it out,    says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet,    they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson,    they shall become like wool.  If you are willing and obedient,    you shall eat the good of the land;  but if you refuse and rebel,    you shall be devoured by the sword;    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 1:1, 10-20)

The old story tells of the man who died and stands before Saint Peter expecting entrance into the Heavenly gates.  The man identifies himself and Peter asks him what he did with his life declaring that you must score 100 points to gain entrance.  He says that he was married to the same woman for sixty years and completely faithful to her the entire time of their marriage.  Peter replied that was worth one point.  "One point?" argues the man, "Is that all?!"  Yes, says the saint; what else have you done?  The man said he sang in the church choir for all his life.  "Great," said Peter, "that's worth another point.  Well, states the man, I was a tither and gave to second mile campaigns in the church.  "Great, another point!"  Another point, declares the man, at that rate the only way I'll get in is by the grace of God!  "That's correct, 100 points!  Come on in!"

God's grace desires our relationship with God, not religious acts.  Our faith should and does motivate us to do good, but we do it not for points or appearances, we do it because we love God and seek to love God's creation, which includes other people.  The prophet Isaiah as he begins his book lists God's complaints against an empty religious people, who went through the motions of good religious deeds, but who showed nothing of love and compassion for others.  God answers, "Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, please for the widow," and as a result of this the Lord says, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."  Those are the marks of one in love and in a true relationship with God.

PRAYER:  Loving God, help me go beyond motions to meaning and purpose.  Help me be the example of what it means to love and serve You.  Bless me so that I may bless others.  This I pray in Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Prayer Request:  Please pray for Davis Barnett, son of Kim and Rev. Ryan Barnett, undergoing a procedure today to have tubes placed in his ears.  Pray for Mom and Dad to know the calm assurance of God's presence.

"I've got to see it to believe it!"

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Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, ‘as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.’ All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16)

One of my favorite hymns is "Open My Eyes, That I May See."  It has a beautiful melody but a very demanding message.  I should add it is a hymn, that according to our hymnal is not based on scripture.  A few pages later, we have a hymn that I don't believe I've ever sung called, "Faith, While Trees Are Still in Blossom."  I don't know the melody, but the message is beautiful because it is based on the first verse of this morning's passage.  The first stanza says, "Faith, while trees are still in blossom, plans the picking of the fruit; (this would be a great Valley hymn!) faith can feel the thrill of harvest when the buds begin to sprout."  One cannot be a farmer without faith.  The seeds as they are planted are done so with hope and conviction; trusting that God will bring to blossom a tree, and some time later, the fruit of that tree.  One cannot be a farmer without patience, for it is a long process between planting and harvest.  And dare we say one cannot be a believer without the kind of faith defined here?  We have, if we ask, the assurance of God upon our lives about life; seeing that which we know will come because of faith.  And the parents of the faithful from the pages of the Bible are shared with us as encouragement to us:  Abraham, and we add Sarah, the father and mother of the faith; called by God to leave his home for a new one with the promise of an inheritance and off they went. And as they had been told and promised, so did they reap.

You may be in a place where you don't yet see what you hoped to have seen, but God says this is in My time, not yours.  You may be in a place where you feel like giving up, but God says give me more time, I'm working on it.  You may be in a place where you have given up and you think you've reached the end; God says, "It's not over until I say it's over.  Hold my hand and believe."

PRAYER:  Loving God, forgive us those times of doubt and despair.  Hold us ever more tightly during those times.  Grant to us the faith we need to have that assurance and conviction that You're in control and we see the harvest even before we see the blossom; this we pray in Christ Jesus our Lord, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Let Me Have All Things

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

Once I became a parent and now as a grandparent, I realized the humorous clamoring of children at times is mine. There is a huge difference between want and need. Children, and some of us, are slow to learn that, for we "need" almost everything we covet or desire. My "want" list is now relatively short, for God has supplied all my needs. Yet, if I ask one of my grandchildren, their "need" list is long. If you don't believe me take them to Toys'Rus or the toy department of any discount store. As soon as their little eyes see something, it is, of course, something they need!

The prayer of Wesley deals with our needs and wants, but keeps it in a healthy perspective. In our relationship with God, we trust God enough to say what Wesley said, if You want to give us all things, I am fine and happy with that; if You chose to give me nothing, I am fine and happy with that. The key is our knowing that as long as God is with us, we will lack for nothing. The very first verse of that famous 23rd Psalm, in King james English, was something we all learned, but it was years before we realized its true, deep meaning. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." I struggled in Sunday school yet didn't ask for fear of revealing what my Sunday school teacher may have suspected about me; but I wanted to ask, "Why do I not want the Lord?" Now I know and rejoice in saying because the Lord is the good shepherd of my life, I lack nothing.

Make God the Good Shepherd of your life and you too, can join David, and others who declare, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

PRAYER: God of all provision, you know my heart and thoughts; make them right and real before You and for me. Let me have the deep faith of those who trusted completely in You so that I can honestly and truly pray, "I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low for thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing," I pray in Christ Jesus my Lord, amen.

Thank You, God, for Second Chances!

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I give you all the credit, God - you got me out of that mess, you didn't let my foes gloat. God, my God, I yelled for help and you put me together. God, you pulled me out of the grave, gave me another chance at life when I was down-and-out. All you saints! Sing your hearts out to God! Thank him to his face! He gets angry once in a while, but across a lifetime there is only love. The nights of crying your eyes out give way to days of laughter. When things were going great I crowed, "I've got it made. I'm God's favorite. He made me king of the mountain." Then you looked the other way and I fell to pieces. I called out to you, God; I laid my case before you: "Can you sell me for a profit when I'm dead? auction me off at a cemetery yard sale? When I'm 'dust to dust' my songs and stories of you won't sell.So listen! and be kind! Help me out of this!" You did it: you changed wild lament into whirling dance; You ripped off my black mourning band and decked me with wildflowers. I'm about to burst with song; I can't keep quiet about you. God, my God, I can't thank you enough. (Psalm 30 The Message)

If on the freeway of life you miss the Perfection exit, get off on Second Chance.That the best comment I could think of on a devotional on second chances.  I wrote, for I have missed that exit many a time, and I thank God for second chances.  I also tried to think what I'm perfect at, and I could only think, "I'm pretty good at messing up!"  And you might be too.  That's what the psalmist was thinking as he wrote the ancient version of this psalm quoted above in a modern translation.  We get into messes, God pulls us out.  We yell for help, God answers us.  We find ourselves near death either physically or spiritually, and God is there to pull us out of the grave; and God does grant us second chances, yes, even at life.  I think back to the number of jobs I have had since high school, and all of those were for money; I won't list them for some people are still doing those jobs and are quite content to have a source of income, and I say, praise the Lord; but as I pondered my future, and by most of those jobs in later years such as high school and college, I already had my calling and I knew where I was going, but I still gave each job my all, and sometimes I did miss the perfection exit, but the very next exit was Second Chance.  

In our relationships with spouses, parents, children, grandchildren, we also sometimes get off on Mess Up Lane, we drive along for a bit, get back on and see the Second Chance exit, which we should take.  And yes, as believers we have sometimes gotten off on That's Enough or I Doubt That, but getting back on and heading on to Second Chance, we should take that.  God is a God of Second Chances.

PRAYER:  Lord, we don't know where we would be in we hadn't gotten a second chance from You; there have been so many times.  But remind us of Your love, and pull us out of whatever mess we may have fallen into or created ourselves, and guide us safely towards Perfection in Love. This we pray in Christ Jesus, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Just Do What the Lord Says

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Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favour with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy.Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, ‘If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’ So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. And the king of Aram said, ‘Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.’ He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments. He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, ‘When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy.’ When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, ‘Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.’ But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, ‘Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel.’ So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, ‘Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.’ But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, ‘I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?’ He turned and went away in a rage. But his servants approached and said to him, ‘Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, “Wash, and be clean”?’ So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean. (2 Kings 5:1-14)

The Lord used many voices to get one man made whole.  The man was a successful military man, general in rank, and beloved by his king.  He had a defect, he suffered from a dreaded skin disease, leprosy.  Through the voice of a POW, a little girl whose name we do not know, told her mistress about a man back in Samaria who could cure his leprosy.  So, the man heard from his wife, who had heard this from their slave girl.  Naaman was the name of this man and he goes and tell his king, who orders a letter of introduction written to the king of Israel, and to sweeten the pot adds silver, gold, and clothing.  The king of Israel does not receive the letter well; he tears the clothing in despair thinking this could be the beginning of war.  But the prophet heard about the letter and sends word to the king that he would take care of this general.  And so here comes this entourage of horses, chariots and foot soldiers to this prophet's house.  The messenger for the general knocks on the door of the house, and Elisha's servant goes and tells the messenger to tell his general to go and wash seven times in the Jordan River.  The general expected that the very least the prophet could do was show some common courtesy and come and greet him, but he didn't.  He expected the prophet to come and pray over him, waving a hand over the leprous spot and that would be it.  And seeing the Jordan and its dirty waters wondered why this river when back home we have beautiful rivers?  Then the general hears from his soldiers, "Father, if the prophet had asked something difficult of you, you would have gladly done it; why can't you just go into the river and do as the prophet said?"

We can only imagine getting into the river, finding the spot where he could immerse himself and then begins his path to obedience and healing.  One.  Two.  Three.  Four.  Five.  Six.  And  you know he kept watching that spot, seven.  And now his skin was like that of a baby.  Healed.  Whole.

At any point of that journey, the general could have gotten more frustrated and could have reached the point where he would have said, "I've had/done enough.  I give up!  I will just to to M.D. Anderson in Houston and they will cure me."  But it was the encouragement of voices from others that helped him keep going until that request before God was met.  You and I have traveled the same road, and many have been the times we think giving up is the best solution, but God knows different and God sometimes uses the voices of others to get us where we need to be.

PRAYER:  GOD, speak to our need and use other voices if necessary, and help us listen.  Help us reach the point where You would have us be.  We pray in faith in the name of Christ Jesus my Lord, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

What Have You Sowed?

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My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ. For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbour’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads.Those who are taught the word must share in all good things with their teacher.Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith. See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised—only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh.May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Forneither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! As for those who will follow this rule—peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. (Galatians 6:-16)

Have you tested your work lately?  What are you dedicating yourself to?  Is it FaceBook?  Instagram?  SnapChat?  Or are you maintaining a balance of all things in your life?  This passage is basically asking that question along with sharing with us what should be important in our lives.  There is the matter of sin (transgression) and restoration, for sinning can be replaced by restoration.  And this in gentleness.  Tempted?  Well, we all are in different ways, but if we have someone with whom we share faith and accountability, we can share with them and together we can "bear one another's burdens."  Then there is the matter of what we are sowing.  This is related to work; how much time are we dedicating to each area of our lives?  Family?  Church?  The Lord?  Our personal prayer life?  etc.  The more time we spend in each the more we shall see the fruits of that effort.  A church by which we walk has on its sign, "Feed Your Faith and Your Doubts Will Starve to Death."  And that's right along the lines of this passage; the more time we spend with God in His Word and in prayer, the less chance other negative have to ruin our day or our life.

See to be a new creation in the Lord; put to death those things that should die or that are draining our time away from the things that really matter.

PRAYER:  LOVING God, help me to be wise in You; help me to sow that which will bear eternal fruit.  Help me to be a compassionate person, a better brother/sister to all, and one who cares about all people.  This I pray in Christ Jesus my Lord and Savior, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Work to Be Done!

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After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.”‘Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.’ The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’ (Luke 10:1-11, 16-20)

The work is right here, right now.  We don't have to go far to find someone who has yet to hear or accept the good news of Jesus Christ.  Jesus demonstrates this in this passage when He sends out a group of 70 to towns and places where He Himself intended to go.  These advance people went to do the work of the harvest, and Jesus said they were not going alone, for the Lord of the harvest sends and accompanies those who go out and do the work.  Jesus' explanation was simple; the work is crucial and there will be those open to it, and those who won't; find the ones who are and stay with them.  Share with them the word that the kingdom of God had come to them, then cure the sick and share the good news.  And regardless of the work still to be done, those doing it will have their names written in the book of life.

God is with us, and God has and will give us that which we need to say and do, to win more lost souls for His glory.  The work starts now.

PRAYER:  Loving God, I know there is much to do, but I want to be in that number of those who work for You.  Equip me, train me, and deploy me.  This I pray in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Afraid of the Dark? Don't Be!

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I cry aloud to God,    aloud to God, that he may hear me.  In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;    in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;    my soul refuses to be comforted.  I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord;    I will remember your wonders of old.  I will meditate on all your work,    and muse on your mighty deeds.  Your way, O God, is holy.    What god is so great as our God?  You are the God who works wonders;    you have displayed your might among the peoples.  With your strong arm you redeemed your people,    the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.           Selah  When the waters saw you, O God,    when the waters saw you, they were afraid;    the very deep trembled.  The clouds poured out water;    the skies thundered;    your arrows flashed on every side.  The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;    your lightnings lit up the world;    the earth trembled and shook.  Your way was through the sea,    your path, through the mighty waters;    yet your footprints were unseen.  You led your people like a flock    by the hand of Moses and Aaron. (Psalm 77:1-2, 11-20)

Today's Upper Room devotional which I read online, was about being afraid of the dark.  It's a common fear and one not easily dispelled by some people even when someone older and wiser says, "Everything's the same, you just can't see it!"  Yeah, and you can't see the monsters, snakes, spiders, mummies, werewolves, and zombies that come out when the lights go out!  This is a psalm of strength, through faith that came to the writer.  God hears us, and we can cal out to Him and we can seek Him.  During the day or even at night when it seems all is lost and everything is out of control, we can think on God and regain our perspective and focus; after all, God is the God of wonders and miracles.  God, says the psalmist, is so awesome even the deep waters (another fear of some) are afraid of Him.

Re-read this psalm as a reassurance of all that is ours through faith in God.

PRAYER:  Loving God speak to our hearts; the fear of the unknown frightens us, but we have You and You have all things.  Make us strong, grant us more faith.  In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

It's Your Choice; Check Each That Applies

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For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:1-13-25)

If you call technical support, or it you take a car in for servicing, your phone will ring after your experience.  "Would you mind answering a few questions about your experience today?"  And then the questions start and you begin pressing numbers to help them improve their service.  What if God did that after church each time you went?  "My child, would you mind sharing with me what you learned today in worship?"  Well, in a way, that survey is happening even now.  "Would you say you live led by Me, or by the flesh?"  "Would you say that your life decisions reflect freedom or slavery?"  "Would your neighbor say that you loved him?" "Which of the following have you done lately, press 1 for fornication, 2 for impurity, 3 for licentiousness (Dial 0 if you don't know what means), press 4 for idolatry, 5 for sorcery, 6 for enmity, 7 for strife, 8 for jealousy, 0 if one or more not on the list apply to you...an operator will be with you shortly to remove the operator already in your life..."

How much better would it be to hear God saying, "I love you and what you are doing with your life!  I see how love is important to you, and how you love others, and joy!  Joy seems to be pouring out your pores!  And peace is yours, so much so, you're blessing Me and others!  Patience, well, you're working on that; you'll get there soon - And kindness is evident, as if generosity, but give a little more of what you earn to your church, just saying...Faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are all present, check those boxes my child!"

You get the picture.  Now draw that painting in your life!

PRAYER:  Awesome Giver of Good Things God, grant to me a life that blesses and pleases You.  May I live in such a way that others will know that You live in me.  This I pray in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Are You Ready? Don't Look Back!

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When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village. As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’ (Luke 9:51-62)

As we make disciples, we must train them to be ready to move ever forward and upward.  We must counter the idea of comfort and complacency, both of which plague the modern church.  This passage is a teaching passage on that very thing.  Jesus was called for a mission and purpose and to that He dedicated Himself.  He knew to keep moving forward and to do His work along the way, even moving steadily toward His death.  He moves toward Jerusalem and enters a village where He is not welcome.  The disciples, especially John, is ready to ask that fire from heaven come and destroy this village, but Jesus rebukes John and the disciples.  As they come to another village they find those who have heard of Jesus and want to follow Him, but they have their conditions that they want met before they move onward.  The first wants to make sure that he has a place to sleep.  The second says, "I will go, but first there's a funeral I must attend."  Jesus replies that the dead should bury the dead.  The third says I must first say goodbye to all my family and friends.  Jesus says, if you put your hand to the plow you can't look back.  

Discipleship is an active, ever-moving endeavor.  Discipleship is not about finding or seeking rest, it is about finding and making disciples.  Discipleship is not an endeavor you put on hold while personal business is tended to; you must keep moving forward.  Discipleship is not an endeavor that waits even for personal farewells to loved ones.  It is like the farmer who is plowing, s/he must keep his/her eyes on the row being plowed to keep it straight and to make sure it is being done correctly.  If you're ready, you should already be on the way!

PRAYER:  Lord, help me to understand the demands of discipleship.  I want to be faithful, ready, and already at work.  In Christ Jesus I pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.

Eradio Valverde

Be Patient, God's On His Way!

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As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, "Where is your God?" These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts; all your waves and your billows have gone over me. By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. I say to God, my rock, "Why have you forgotten me? Why must I walk about mournfully because the enemy oppresses me?" As with a deadly wound in my body, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me continually, "Where is your God?" Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God. (Psalm 42)

Seeking God when we are troubled should be first on our list.  This first verse of this psalm has spoken to so many people who immediately relate to the image of a thirsty deer seeking cool water to quench its thirst.  So is the psalmist aware of his own need as he faces yet another challenge in his life.  Add to the challenge the taunts of his "friends" who ask, "Where it this God you're always talking about?"  Having spent time crying, taunts are the last thing you need.  But then his heart remembers that God is near; God has delivered him before, and will do it again.  Soon.  And the hope returns to his soul, and his mind is once again clear.  God is good.  God is near.  God will take care of this.

We can never let external nor internal things taunt us to the point of paralysis; we need to keep moving, hoping, trusting, that God is near to us and will bless us in our need.  It's a message worth sharing with someone whom you may know, if it's not you yourself, about what God can do.

PRAYER:  Loving God, in Your hands I place myself and those who need You.  Grant to us Your peace and hope.  Help us to find the quenching of our souls in You.  My soul does thirst for You, the living God, and I know You heard this prayer and are already answering it.  I lift it in the name of Jesus my Lord, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Prayer Request:  Our brother Leroy Keese is having surgery in San Antonio this morning.  Please keep him and his family in your prayers; you'll remember this has been quite a long journey of recovery from an earlier surgery and need.  God is good, and God's on His way!  Thank you for your faithfulness in praying for one another.

Where is God?

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, ‘So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.’ Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lordcame a second time, touched him, and said, ‘Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.’ He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God. At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’ He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He answered, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.’Then the Lord said to him, ‘Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; (1 Kings 19:1-15a)

The old joke ends with the three little boys being asked, "Where is God?"  The boy on the left seems to embody the classic retort in that joke, "We're really in trouble.  Apparently God is missing and they think we took Him!"  (The little boy on the left is my brother, Ernest who was attending VBS at El Buen Pastor Methodist Church in Kingsville in 1962).  The passage from 1 Kings basically answers that question, where is God?  The prophet served God very faithfully and effectively but was worn down by the opposition he encountered in that ministry.  He defeated the prophets of Baal and in doing so angered the queen and king who should have been on his side.  The queen vowed to kill him, and that was enough incentive for the prophet to flee for his life, and to ask God to take him home.  God didn't have that plan yet.  God provided food when the prophet thought he would die.  And God directed him to the place where he needed to go.  And after a journey of forty days and forty nights, he found a cave.There God spoke to him and he to God.  Then God directs him to stand on the mountain where He said He would pass.  A great, strong wind came splitting mountains and breaking rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.  Then came an earthquake and the Lord was not in the earthquake. Then a fire, again the Lord not in the fire.  Then sheer silence.  

This silence made the prophet wrap himself with his mantle and God spoke to him again.  Elijah again stated his case, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the people You sent me to minister to, have forgotten about Your covenant, destroyed the worship places, and killed those who worked for You - I'm the only guy left and even now they are looking for me to kill me."  And God answered, "Go back to the wilderness of Damascus."  God was not through with Elijah.  Though discouraged and dismayed, God was with him, and needed him.  God demonstrated things that can come against us even in nature, and God prevails every time, showing Elijah that even with what he had encountered and even what he believed he was facing, God was with him.  And that was enough for God to say to him, "Keep doing what you're doing."

If you are discouraged and think you can't go on, think again.  God is with you and God is mightier than whatever you are facing.

PRAYER:  Loving God, You who have the strength of wind, earthquakes, fires, and even sheer silence, speak to my heart and encourage me to move forward and upward.  I want to still do Your will in whatever setting it may be.  This I pray in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

How Are You Dressed?

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:23-29)

Prisoners here in Texas jails are usually dressed in bright orange.  And this has nothing to do with a certain football team with the same name used in sentence one.  It is to identify those who are in captivity, and should they escape, they can be easily spotted.  Some states still use the black and white stripes, and some even still use the ball and chain.  Symbols of imprisonment.  Paul knew what it was to be enslaved to the law.  He had been a Pharisee and so he studied and knew the law.  Paul credits the law with helping him identify sin.  But when he met Christ, he found himself free from the law and living in grace.  Faith was and is more important.  The love of God made Paul, you, and me children of God through faith.  Through baptism we were clothed, or dressed, in Christ.  Our clothing in Christ Jesus should give us away as those who are free.  And we should also be abel to identify all believers as being one with us.  Paul explains it as no longer should we distinguish between Jews and Greeks, nor slaves nor free, no longer should it matter the difference between males and females; for we are all now one in Christ Jesus, children of Abraham, and heirs to the promises of God.

So, as you make decisions and enter into conversations, what will you wear?  The garb of captivity to sin?  Or the robes of love, compassion, and grace?  People can tell. So can God.

PRAYER:  Loving God, make me one with Christ Jesus, and clothe me in His splendor.  Let me interact with others with love, compassion, and grace.  May other comes to see Jesus in me in an inviting way.  This I pray in Christ Jesus my Lord, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Unshackled? Tell Others What God Has Done for You!

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Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As he stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me’— for Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many times it had seized him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilds.) Jesus then asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He said, ‘Legion’; for many demons had entered him. They begged him not to order them to go back into the abyss.Now there on the hillside a large herd of swine was feeding; and the demons begged Jesus to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned. When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.’ So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him. (Luke 8:26-39)

When something or someone has you shackled, there's not much you can do, either for yourself, for others, or for God.  Such was the life of this man.  Shackled by demonic possession, he lived naked and among the dead; and living in the graveyard is not living at all.  But such were the shackles of those demons, for there were many living in him.  But these demons knew Jesus and feared Him.  Their encounter with the Lord set the man free from them, and they begged to be sent into another living creature and into a herd of swine they went; and this herd, rather than lived shackled themselves, rushed off the cliff into the lake and drowned.  The man found himself clothed, and in his right mind, which freaked out the people that knew him.  These, having lost a significant herd, asked Jesus to leave their area, but the man, now free and in his right mind, asked to leave with Jesus.  Jesus gave him a task:  "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you."  And that's what he did.

Oh, how much God has done for us, and we usually do a great job of keeping it to ourselves.  The point of the story is the opposite; tell others how much God has done for us, especially how He unshackled us and led us into a new life.

PRAYER:  Loving God, may Your grace and comfort be with the people of Orlando, Fl, who are grieving the loss of so many in a senseless act of violence and terror.  Be with all who grieve and mourn this day.  Be also with those who have been unshackled and have yet to tell another soul of Your great love and power.  And this we ask in the Name that scares demons and shackles, Jesus of Nazareth, our Lord and Savior, amen!

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

P.S.  Thank you all for your prayers, emails, texts, etc. during the death of my father, Eradio M. Valverde, (Sr.)  It was a very difficult time for the entire family and only through God's grace did we get through it.  I did his eulogy and also his committal service at graveside, and only through God's grace and your prayers was that possible.  Leaving Houston was a most difficult thing, for my Dad loved that city and what it offered to him and us, when we needed it most.  I felt a sad loss as we drove away, but our daughter and grandson remain in Houston for the same reason that my Dad arrived there, so we will be back, the Lord willing.  

I ask for prayers for Rev. Dean Fleming's mother, who is in the hospital in San Antonio, TX with heart ailments.  May God bring healing and comfort to her and her family.

Eradio M. Valverde, 1931-2016

Eradio Valverde, Jr., and my dad, Eradio M. Valverde.

Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

Yesterday at about 8 a.m., my father, Eradio M. Valverde, entered into eternal rest, trusting in his Lord and Savior.  He had suffered much these past few months and now rests in Jesus' embrace.

I looked up to my dad and saw him in many ways as a giant, in faith, in his hard work, his love for us as a family, as a spoiling grandfather to our daughters and loved seeing his great-grandchildren.  His life story is incredible and I shorten it to say that he was a blessing to many, especially to me.

My dad was born in Mission, Texas, lived in Rio Grande City, where he started school, later moved to Kingsville as my grandfather took a job with Missouri-Pacific Railroad.  He loved to play, ultimately dropping out of school to work.  He used that as a life lesson that he pressed on us for us to stay in school and finish college.  All five of us did.  We didn't have a choice.  He made a way and so we all have at least our bachelor degrees, some of us post-graduate degrees.  

His church life started when his oldest sister, Sylvia, began attending MYF.  Her girlfriends from the church would pick her up and so my dad decided he needed to become a churchgoer as well.  But, he married a Catholic woman, who was his grandmother's nurse as she lay dying in the Kingsville hospital.  My mother fell in love with him and left him about 14 years ago when she died; it was at that point he was ready to go as well.  My dad was very active in the local church and district levels of the old Rio Grande Conference, working lay witness missions in many areas, and in 1991, he was one of ten men that I selected to go with me to start the Walk to Emmaus retreats in Puerto Rico.  It is a memory I will never forget.  Just at this past General Conference, the current bishop and incoming bishop of Puerto Rico both remember him and said they would be keeping him in their prayers.  Both gentlemen were on that walk with my dad and myself.

The photograph of my dad that I treasure most is one of him ironing my graduation robe from Lon Morris College.  It was an image of my dad that summed up his life.  He always gave and always shared.  I had never seen my dad iron before, and thought it might be against his religion to do such things, but there he was, proudly ironing his oldest son's robe.  It still makes me weep as I think of that moment and that picture.  Another is one of he talking to our firstborn and she eagerly trying to respond to him.  I treasure all of the photos of him with my girls, usually at Easter, they in their new dresses and he and my mom beaming proudly to be with them.  It was after one visit in 1995 to an Easter weekend that he suffered his first stroke that left him paralyzed on his left side.  That slowed down a very active, very strong man.  He had been one to go and visit patients from my churches that were at M.D. Anderson Hospital, listening and praying with each, blessing them in the name of the Lord.

Right before I left for General Conference in Portland, which was a difficult decision to make, he said, "Don't be afraid.  You're going to meet a lot of people, and they're going to like you."  He understood the work that I do, and the importance of it.  This past Sunday as I knew he was perhaps on his last breaths I knew he would want me to preside and preach at our district conference.  My plans were to complete the conference and drive immediately to Houston, but that dreaded summer cold that I'm fighting kept me from doing that.  It was the next morning that I got a call from one of my daughters who had gotten a text from my sister that let them know he was gone.  I had missed the call from my brother that shared with me the news.

I love and miss my Dad.  I laugh when I think of his humor and how he blessed me with the same.  I laugh when I think of my daughters and how they all have that same sense of humor.  I pity Nellie having to be surrounded by her husband and daughters, and now grandchildren who share my dad's great sense of humor.  That humor helped him cross difficult racial lines, making lifelong friends who at first told him they would never be friends because of racial differences.  Few people did not like him, because he was genuine and sincere.  He was a tough dad, teaching us what we needed to learn, but loving us all the time.  

Jesus said that He was the way, the truth, and the life, and my dad knew that way, shared it with us.  My dad learned the truth of God's love and shared it with us.  And my dad came to life in Jesus, and he shared it with us, and now enjoying that life that will never end, life eternal.

Dad, please rest in peace.  Un dia nos veremos otra vez - y ese día no tendrá fin.

A Common Theme of Service

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Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!  I will praise the Lord as long as I live;    I will sing praises to my God all my life long. Do not put your trust in princes,    in mortals, in whom there is no help.  When their breath departs, they return to the earth;    on that very day their plans perish. Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,    whose hope is in the Lord their God,  who made heaven and earth,    the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith for ever;     who executes justice for the oppressed;    who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;     the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;    the Lord loves the righteous.  The Lord watches over the strangers;    he upholds the orphan and the widow,    but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign for ever,    your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord! (Psalm 146)

With the same mouth we use to praise God, we should use to cry out for justice and mercy for those who are oppressed.  With the same hands we lift in worship, we should use them to help the hungry.  With the same thoughts we use to offer prayers, we should use to creatively think of ways of reaching those in prisons, both real and spiritual, to help set them free.  With the same feet we get ourselves to worship, we should use to reach those not yet reached.  Praise by itself, without these works that God demands, is not quite what God wants of us.

PRAYER:  Forgive us, Lord, for trying to worship you with our lips only; set us free to boldly serve.  In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.

Eradio Valverde

Prayer Update:  Today is my father's 85 birthday, and he continues as we left him.  Please continue to pray for Eradio M. Valverde.  Blessings and thanks to you all.

Share What You Have; God Will Provide More

Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.’ So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, ‘Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.’ As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, ‘Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.’ But she said, ‘As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.’ Elijah said to her, ‘Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.’ She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah. (1 Kings 17:8-16)

God provides for the righteous.  God provides for the faithfulness.  God provides.  It sometimes means sharing what little you have with someone in need, and God will provide even in miraculous ways.  I never tire of sharing two incidents in my life when someone shared with my family or with me.  The first was when we had recently moved to Houston we lived in a fourplex; an ancient home made into four apartments.  There were only two families in there at the time; the Lopez family lived on the first floor and we on the second.  One Friday afternoon, with no phone with which to alert us to his lateness, my father worked overtime.  We usually would pile into the family car and drive over to the supermarket and buy our provisions for the week.  And on this particular day, Dad was late.  And our cupboard was literally bare.  Mrs. Lopez from downstairs came up and said, "I notice that Mr. Valverde is late.  Your kids are probably hungry.  I don't have much to share except this can of Spaghetti-o's; think your kids would like that?"  Answered prayer for my mother.  She took that can and filled the pan with more water than is required and that was our supper for the night.  Dad came late from working something we didn't know about yet, overtime, and we went for groceries later that night.  

This widow shared what little she had, with faith, with a man of God, and she was rewarded.  It was an act of complete faith for she had reached the point of believing she and her son would die after eating this last meal.  The prophet said for her not to be afraid and do as God was leading her.  She was rewarded with food until rain came from the sky and the drought was over.

You and I have probably thought of, or heard, all the excuses against sharing with God or with one of God's people.  We can list concerns for our children and their welfare, our future, our bills, etc.  And we can even convince ourselves against sharing; but God is not fooled.  More importantly, we can't outgive God!

PRAYER:  Loving God, for what I have, I am thankful.  For what You ask for me to share, I will share.  Grant me the faith of this widow to give from what I have, and let me bless You and Yours, and help me to see how I will be blessed.  This I pray in Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde