Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

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1 You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. 5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you. (Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 NIV)

Dear Friend, if you've never lived out of state, you owe it to yourself not to. Okay, I jest. I blame God, I mean, I thank God, for leading me out of Texas into the wilds of Colorado back in the day. Not black and white days but you could see them from there. The days then were so different from today. Not necessarily simple, but not yet complex. I had been hiding from God, thinking I was useless in His plan, but true to His nature I got a letter from my scholarship program in New York that I was still a Crusade Scholar in the United Methodist Church and could return to seminary if I wanted. I tossed that letter aside and the very next day, the next day! I get a letter from a seminary of the UMC kind, in Denver, saying they learned I still had a Crusade Scholarship and if I wanted to resume my seminary education I did not have to apply for admission, just call their number and I was in! Wait. What? This is God we're talking about; and I, of course, dialed the number and became immediately a student at Iliff School of Theology, and I resigned my high paying job at Southwestern Bell Telephone in Houston. God had been with me the whole time I was hiding and God knew my thoughts, doubts, fears, worries about me being a minister. And this came as an affirmation that said loudly, "I still believe in you; you can do it; just come back." Oh, David had it right when he wrote, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain." I soon found myself in the Mile High City, enjoying nose bleed reminders that this South Texas boy was not made for high altitude cities. And when homesick for some Mexican food, I kid you not, I was sitting in a so-called Mexican restaurant watching in horror as the waitress brought me a bowl of Fritos and catsup. I'm not lying! Gulp. This was 1975 Denver. I've been back since and have been blessed to find that my people have found their way there and have changed the cuisine culture for the better.

In a world where we often feel anonymous, overlooked, or misunderstood, Psalm 139 offers us one of the most intimate portraits of God's relationship with us. David begins with a stunning declaration: "You have searched me, Lord, and you know me." This isn't the casual knowledge of an acquaintance or even the deep familiarity of a close friend. This is the complete, perfect knowledge of the One who made us.

God knows when you sit and when you rise. He perceives your thoughts from afar. He's familiar with all your ways. Before a word is on your tongue, He knows it completely. (Quit thinking that Santa Claus song! It's too early for Christmas!) This isn't surveillance—it's love so deep and personal that it encompasses every detail of your existence.

Sometimes this level of divine attention can feel overwhelming, even uncomfortable. We're used to hiding parts of ourselves, editing our image, presenting our best face to the world. But with God, there's no hiding, no pretending, no need to perform. He sees it all—and loves you anyway.

"Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain." David acknowledges that being fully known by God is beyond human comprehension. How can we wrap our minds around a love that knows our darkest thoughts and deepest fears yet never withdraws?

This complete knowledge might terrify us if we didn't understand the heart behind it. But this isn't the cold observation of a distant deity—it's the tender attention of a loving Father who delights in His children. Every detail He knows about you is held with care, not judgment.

Being fully known means you never have to wonder if God understands your struggles. He knows the weight you carry that others can't see. He knows the battles you fight in private. He knows the dreams that seem impossible and the fears that keep you awake at night. And in knowing all of this, He loves you completely.

The psalm shifts from God's knowledge of our present to His involvement in our past: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." The imagery is breathtaking—God as the master craftsman, carefully knitting together every fiber of your being, attending to every detail with the skill of the ultimate artisan.

You are not an accident, a mistake, or a random collection of atoms. You are a deliberate creation, crafted by the hands of the Almighty with intentionality and love. Every aspect of who you are—your personality, your gifts, your struggles, even your quirks—were woven together by God Himself. I believe you were made for a purpose, great or small, but important to God, so live up to it or work yourself up to it!.

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." The word "fearfully" doesn't mean with fear, but with awe—you are awesomely made. You are a wonder, a marvel, a testament to God's incredible creativity and skill. When you look in the mirror, you're looking at one of God's masterpieces.

In a culture obsessed with self-improvement and comparison, this psalm offers a radical perspective. You don't need to become wonderful—you already are wonderful. You don't need to earn God's attention—you already have it completely. You don't need to make yourself loveable—you are already deeply loved.

This doesn't mean we become complacent or stop growing. Rather, it means we grow from a place of acceptance rather than desperation, from love rather than lack. When you know you're fearfully and wonderfully made, you're free to become who God created you to be without trying to become someone else.

The psalm challenges our tendency toward self-criticism and comparison. When you catch yourself focusing on your flaws, remember that you're critiquing God's handiwork. When you wish you were different, you're questioning the wisdom of the One who formed you with perfect intentionality.

"How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you." God's thoughts toward you are not occasional or fleeting—they are constant, precious, and countless.

Imagine trying to count the grains of sand on every beach, in every desert, on the ocean floor. It's impossible. That's how often God thinks about you. You are never far from His mind, never forgotten, never overlooked. Even when you sleep, His loving thoughts toward you continue.

This means that in your darkest moment, when you feel most alone, God is thinking about you. When you feel forgotten by the world, you are remembered by the One who matters most. When you question your worth, remember that you occupy the thoughts of the Creator of the universe.

Understanding God's intimate knowledge and love transforms how we live. When you know you're fearfully and wonderfully made, you stop apologizing for taking up space. When you understand that God's thoughts toward you outnumber the sand, you stop begging for His attention—you already have it.

This knowledge frees you to take risks, to be vulnerable, to step into the fullness of who God created you to be. You don't have to hide your authentic self or pretend to be someone you're not. The God who knows everything about you delights in who you are, not who you're trying to become.

You can rest in the security of being fully known and completely loved. You can find confidence not in your performance but in your position as God's beloved creation. You can face each day knowing that the One who formed you is with you, thinking about you, caring for you in ways too wonderful to fully comprehend.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for knowing me completely and loving me perfectly. Thank You for the incredible truth that I am fearfully and wonderfully made by Your own hands. Help me to see myself through Your eyes rather than through the lens of comparison or criticism. When I feel unknown or forgotten, remind me that Your thoughts toward me outnumber the grains of sand. When I question my worth or purpose, help me remember that You knit me together with perfect intentionality. Give me the confidence that comes from being fully known and completely loved. Help me live as someone who truly believes they are Your masterpiece. Free me from the need to earn Your love or prove my worth—I already have both in abundance. May the security of Your love transform how I see myself and how I relate to others. Thank You that when I awake each morning, I am still with You, held in Your loving thoughts and surrounded by Your presence. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: When negative self-talk arises, remind yourself that you're critiquing God's handiwork and choose instead to thank Him for the specific ways He has crafted you uniquely and purposefully.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

I Don't Need to Change!

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1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 "Come, go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words." 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. 9 And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings. (Jeremiah 18:1-11 NRSV)

Nellie says when she was growing up her Daddy taught her a lot of things about reading, writing, math, and other school type things. So on her first day of first grade she came home and announced to her Dad and Mom that she no longer needed to go back! "I knew everything the teacher was trying to teach me! So, why do I need to go back?" I've heard older folks say the same things about other things; I don't think I can learn from anyone else; I know most things. I'm about to teach you what you need to know. And various forms of those thoughts and exchanges some pre-potter house people might say. It's the classic, "I don't need to change!" Interesting how so many hundreds of years later, a man, who from birth on, learned all he could about his faith and his religion and reached a point where he no longer wanted to know any more about anything. In fact, this man, while still a young man, had the Potter's House come to him.

The prophet Jeremiah is told by God to take a field trip. One of the joys of being in a church was when it was my turn to do Children's Sermon and I'd take the kids on "field trips." Thanks to the invention of wireless microphones this became a possibility and made parents squirm not knowing how their kids might behave or run off while on said field trip. But Jerry gets told by God to go on this field trip to the potter's house, and the kiddie sermon would be there. The lesson was simple but powerful. The vessels being made by the potter, if defective or spoiled, could be made new. The young man I mentioned above, when he witnessed the first murder of a Christian, loved what he saw, and so devoted his life from that moment on to bringing other Christians to judgment; so sure was he of this calling that he got the credentialing and permission slips signed, and off he went to arrest, harass, and trouble men, women, and children, who devoted themselves to Jesus. So, Saul of Tarsus plans a trip to Damascus and along comes the Potter Himself and bam, knocks him off his high horse onto the ground, blinds with a great light, and remolds him as the new vessel he was to become! He did not ask for this; God just came and said, "Hey, you, Saul; what's this all about? Why do you think you should be persecuting me?"

As Jeremiah watches the potter work, he witnesses something both beautiful and heartbreaking: a vessel being formed, marred, and then reformed. The clay doesn't cooperate. The pot becomes misshapen. But instead of discarding the flawed vessel, the potter presses it back into a lump and begins again, shaping it "as seemed good to him."

This simple scene becomes a window into the heart of God and His relationship with His people—and with us.

The image of God as potter reveals something profound about His character. Potters don't work in haste. They don't force the clay. They apply steady, patient pressure, working with the material's natural properties while guiding it toward their intended design.

Notice what the potter doesn't do when the vessel becomes spoiled: he doesn't throw it away in frustration. He doesn't replace it with different clay. Instead, he reworks it, patiently reshaping what seemed ruined into something new and beautiful.

This is our God—not the angry deity who discards us at the first sign of failure, but the patient craftsman who sees potential in our brokenness and possibility in our flaws. When we don't turn out as expected, when we resist His shaping, when we seem marred beyond repair, He doesn't give up on us.

But here's where the metaphor becomes both comforting and challenging. While God is the potter, we are not passive lumps of clay. The passage makes clear that our choices matter: "At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it."

We have the capacity to resist God's shaping hands or to yield to them. We can become hard and unmalleable, or we can remain soft and responsive to His touch. The clay that fights the potter's hands will crack and become unusable. The clay that trusts the potter's skill will become something beautiful.

The most hopeful part of this passage isn't just that God can work with flawed material—it's that He can start over. When the first attempt at the vessel fails, the potter doesn't see failure; he sees another opportunity. The same clay that was "spoiled" becomes the raw material for something new. This means your past mistakes, your broken dreams, your shattered relationships, your failed attempts at becoming who you thought you should be—none of these are the end of your story. In God's hands, every ending becomes a new beginning. Every breakdown becomes a chance for reconstruction.

God specializes in second chances, fresh starts, and new beginnings. The areas of your life that feel most damaged might be exactly where He wants to begin His most beautiful work.

"Just like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand." This is both an invitation and a challenge. It's an invitation to trust that God knows what He's doing, even when His shaping feels uncomfortable. It's a challenge to remain soft and moldable instead of hardening our hearts against His work.

Trusting God as the potter means believing several difficult truths: that He sees potential we can't see, that His timeline is perfect even when it feels too slow, that His methods are loving even when they feel painful, and that His final product will be more beautiful than anything we could have imagined.

Life often feels like being on a potter's wheel—spinning, disorienting, with pressure being applied from all sides. We wonder if we're being shaped or simply being made dizzy. We question whether the pressure we feel is destructive or constructive.

The potter's wheel passage reminds us that the spinning and the pressure have purpose. The potter's hands that seem to be applying uncomfortable force are actually guided by skill, experience, and vision. The process that feels chaotic from our perspective is actually carefully orchestrated from His.

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for being the patient potter who doesn't discard us when we don't turn out as expected. Help us trust Your hands even when Your shaping feels uncomfortable or confusing. Forgive us for the times we've resisted Your work in our lives, hardening our hearts against Your loving pressure. Make us soft and responsive to Your touch. Help us remember that You see potential where we see only problems. When our lives feel broken or spoiled, remind us that You specialize in new beginnings. Give us faith to believe that You can take our failures, our disappointments, and our mistakes and reshape them into something beautiful and useful for Your kingdom. Help us rest in the knowledge that we are in Your skilled hands, and that whatever You're making of us will be exactly what You intended from the beginning. In Jesus' strong name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: This week, identify one area of your life that feels "spoiled" or broken and consciously place it in God's hands as the potter. Instead of trying to fix it yourself or despairing over its current state, ask God to show you how He might want to reshape this area into something new and beautiful.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Transformation

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1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, 2 to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 When I remember you in my prayers, I always thank my God 5 because I hear of your love for all the saints and your faith toward the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do for Christ. 7 I have indeed received much joy and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, my brother. 8 For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty, 9 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. 10 I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful both to you and to me. 12 I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. 13 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; 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. 15 Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back forever, 16 no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. 17 So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand: I will repay it. I say nothing about your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, let me have this benefit from you in the Lord! Refresh my heart in Christ. 21 Confident of your obedience, I am writing to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. (Philemon 1-21 NRSV)

A most blessed Tuesdays to you, dear Friend; may this be a day of transformation in those areas where you know improvement may be necessary. Pray for your needs, for the needs of those who are on your church's prayer list and pray for this old man as tomorrow I may get the sutures out of my knee! I thank you for your prayers as I have been feeling them strongly! God is good, loving, and gracious.

The key for this week is transformation. The process of letting go and letting God come and change those areas in your life where you know you know you need improvements or adjustments to take place. As a true disciple of Jesus we are called to be in a daily process of improvement we can call growing in love or being made perfect in love. The notion is that today we should be more perfect in love than we were yesterday. Being a Christian, in theological terms means sanctification, a process; an ongoing day by day, step by step movement towards where we know God would have us be. We should never be content to being stuck to old habits or thinkings that hurt others and hurt God. I'm with the sheep in the graphic in the print version for today, where he says, "I just wish Paul had said, 'Phil, slavery is wrong.'" This is what this passage is all about. Philemon is a slave-owner. And he is a Christian. It might be considered okay for the time and place this was taking place. His slave, Onesimus, had run away and desired to be free. And in the process of running, ran into Paul and became a believer in Jesus. Paul was already in prison awaiting his fate and during this time Onesimus has become an assistant to Paul. And Paul, wishing to keep things legal and right, appeals to Onesi that he should return back to Phil, but Paul wants Phil to welcome him back not as a runaway slave but as a brother in Christ, Paul even offering to repay any wrongs this act of Onesi may have caused or cost Phil.

Paul's request seems impossible by worldly standards. He's asking Philemon to welcome back someone who wronged him—not just as a returning slave, but as a beloved brother. "Welcome him as you would welcome me." This isn't just forgiveness; it's complete restoration with full honor.

This challenges our natural instincts for justice and self-protection. When someone hurts us, we want them to pay. We want them to grovel, to earn their way back into our good graces. Paul asks Philemon to do something radical: treat Onesimus as if the wrong never happened, to receive him with the same warmth he would show to Paul himself.

The gospel doesn't just erase our debts—it elevates us to full family status. This is what Christ has done for us, and it's what we're called to do for others.

"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." Paul doesn't minimize Onesimus's wrong or ignore the financial loss Philemon may have suffered. Instead, he offers to personally cover any debt.

This is the gospel in miniature: Christ taking on our debt and offering us His righteousness. Paul embodies Christ's role as mediator, standing between the offended party and the offender, making reconciliation possible through his own sacrifice.

But notice Paul's confidence in the outcome: "I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say." He believes that grace will win, that the gospel will prove more powerful than resentment or social convention.

This letter challenges us to examine our own hearts and relationships. Who in your life needs to be received not just as they were, but as who they've become in Christ? What broken relationships in your sphere might be opportunities for the gospel to demonstrate its reconciling power?

The story also reminds us of our own position. We were all runaways from God, slaves to sin, deserving judgment. But Christ didn't just forgive our debt—He made us family. We who were once enemies are now beloved children, welcomed not grudgingly but joyfully into the Father's house.

Church legend says that Onesi became the Bishop of Ephesus, and later was martyred for his faith. It may mean that Philemon allowed Onei to return, and later leave, to become a respected leader of the faith in Ephesus. Transformation did come to both men, through Jesus. As it can for us.

PRAYER: Father, thank You for the story of Onesimus and Philemon, which mirrors our own story of redemption. Help us remember that we too were runaways who have been welcomed back not just as servants but as beloved children. Give us hearts like Paul's that believe in the power of grace to transform every relationship. When we've been wronged, help us see beyond the offense to the possibility of restoration. When we've been the ones who've caused harm, give us courage to return and make things right. Transform our understanding of forgiveness from mere pardon to full restoration. Help us welcome those who have hurt us with the same grace with which Christ has welcomed us. Show us how to be mediators of reconciliation in our own relationships and communities. This we pray in Jesus' strong name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Identify one broken or strained relationship in your life where you have the opportunity to extend Philemon-like grace. Consider how you might move beyond mere forgiveness to full restoration, welcoming that person not just back into your life but into a deeper, more grace-filled relationship than existed before.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

What's It Cost?

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25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ 31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. (Luke 14:25-33 NIV)

Happy and Wonderful Monday to you, Friend! How many ventures have you entered into without first checking all the details? Honestly, have you taken the time to read the CVS receipts, front and back? What about the mile-long details on your new smart phone, BEFORE clicking I AGREE and wink-wink the "I have read and accept.."?

Years ago, on a retreat sponsored by the Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church, called the Walk to Emmaus, they showed a film at the very beginning about the Disciples after the Last Supper and the conversation people imagine could have taken place, and in one part, one of them says, "When this is over and we return home.." and he is interrupted by another disciple who says, "Wait, you don't understand do you? We're not going home. Our lives will never be the same again!" Did Simon Peter realize that when he said yes to Jesus, his life changed for good? His life as a fisherman was over. He would soon become the Vicar of Christ, and die in the same manner as his Lord, though he would choose to die upside down for he was not worthy to die in the same way as Jesus. They may not have taken seriously what Jesus said in verse 27; "And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." Gulp. How many of us did not realize what we would be giving up when we signed up for an afterschool sports program? For six months or so, our lives belonged to our coaches.

We cannot say we were not warned, we were. I cannot say that I did not know that in giving up family and home, I would receive a hundred times more family and homes than what I left behind. There is no such thing as cheap grace; grace comes through costly discipleship. In 1937, Dietrich Bonhoffer wrote a book called The Cost of Discipleship. The book was in response to what was being preached and believed; a cheap grace meaning a grace without the cross, without discipleship, a grace without Jesus , living and incarnate in us; the true cost is to follow Jesus as a response to Him with our obedience and transformation. There are several movies on this man's life, who took his faith seriously that he believed that a man like Adolph Hitler needed to be stopped and took part in a failed assassination attempt on Hitler, and was hanged for his actions.

One of my mentors in ministry used to ask, Why do we have so many retreats and no advances or charges? He felt that retreating was to run away and we became good at that and we do not have enough, "CHARGE!" A great question to ponder and prayerfully consider. We talk so much about the cross but run with the first nail we see!

The real question Jesus is asking isn't "Can you afford to follow Me?" It's "Can you afford not to?" Yes, discipleship costs you your old way of life. But what was that life really worth? Yes, following Jesus might cost you some relationships. But what kind of relationships are they if they can't survive your commitment to Christ?

Jesus is inviting us to count a different kind of cost—the cost of not following Him. What does it cost to live for yourself instead of for Him? What does it cost to build your life on shifting sand instead of solid rock? What does it cost to invest in temporary things instead of eternal ones?

In a culture that often presents Christianity as an easy addition to an already full life, Jesus' words are jarring. He's not offering a spiritual upgrade or a religious accessory. He's offering a complete life transformation that demands everything and promises even more in return.

This passage isn't meant to discourage us—it's meant to prepare us. Jesus would rather have disciples who know what they're signing up for than converts who bail out at the first sign of difficulty. He's looking for people who will stay when the crowds leave, who will stand when others fall, who will follow when the path gets steep.

The beauty is that Jesus doesn't ask us to pay a price He hasn't already paid Himself. He gave up everything—including His life—for us. Now He's asking if we're willing to give up everything for Him.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for Your honesty about what it means to follow You. Help us not to be intimidated by the cost but to be motivated by the incredible worth of what You're offering in return. Give us wisdom to count the cost accurately—not just what we might lose by following You, but what we'll surely lose by not following You. Help us see that what You're asking us to give up are the very things that keep us from experiencing the abundant life You died to give us. Transform our hearts so that loving You more than anyone or anything else isn't a burden but a joy. Show us that true life is found not in clinging to our own plans but in surrendering to Yours. Give us the courage to be authentic disciples, not just casual admirers. In Your precious name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: This week, honestly assess what following Jesus is currently costing you and what it might cost you in the future—relationships, ambitions, comfort, or control. Then consider what not following Him wholeheartedly has already cost you in terms of peace, purpose, and authentic life.

I love you and I thank God for you,

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Broken Cisterns; What Are They Good For?

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4 Hear God's Message, House of Jacob! Yes, you - House of Israel! 5 God's Message: "What did your ancestors find fault with in me that they drifted so far from me, Took up with Sir Windbag and turned into windbags themselves? 6 It never occurred to them to say, 'Where's God, the God who got us out of Egypt, Who took care of us through thick and thin, those rough-and-tumble wilderness years of parched deserts and death valleys, A land that no one who enters comes out of, a cruel, inhospitable land?' 7 "I brought you to a garden land where you could eat lush fruit. But you barged in and polluted my land, trashed and defiled my dear land. 8 The priests never thought to ask, 'Where's God?' The religion experts knew nothing of me. The rulers defied me. The prophets preached god Baal And chased empty god-dreams and silly god-schemes. 9 Because of all this, I'm bringing charges against you" - God's Decree - "charging you and your children and your grandchildren. 10 Look around. Have you ever seen anything quite like this? Sail to the western islands and look. Travel to the Kedar wilderness and look. Look closely. Has this ever happened before, 11 That a nation has traded in its gods for gods that aren't even close to gods? But my people have traded my Glory for empty god-dreams and silly god-schemes. 12 "Stand in shock, heavens, at what you see! Throw up your hands in disbelief - this can't be!" God's Decree. 13 "My people have committed a compound sin: they've walked out on me, the fountain Of fresh flowing waters, and then dug cisterns - cisterns that leak, cisterns that are no better than sieves. (Jeremiah 3:4-13 The Message Bible)

Jeremiah. One of the great prophets. He had a heart for God and for God's people; so much so that he wept a lot for his people. Known as the "weeping prophet," he was always a favorite on which my Mom called when one of us cried more than we should; "Are you Jeremiah, you cryer?" (Sounds better en español). But he also suffered personally for his message as he was beat, imprisoned, and even thrown into cisterns as punishment. He also inspired someone to write a song with his name in it, albeit a bullfrog. Okay, you have to be of a certain age to remember that song. But Jeremiah wrote some incredible words including a prayer I have been sayiing daily and often from the 17th chapter, verse 14: "Heal me and I shall be healed; save me and I shall be saved, for Thou art my praise." I pray that often each day in English and Spanish believing every word and trusting God completely for my healing.

In this passage for today, we read of the heartbreak that caused the prophet to weep. God's people, as we often do, sometimes think we know more than God, and find ourselves in messes so bad we don't have anywhere to go but up! Here in this Message Bible, the language gives away his frustration as we read in verse 5, "Took up with Sir Windbag and turned into windbags themselves?" That's usually where we find ourselves when we forget to ask, "Where's God, the God who got us our of Egypt, Who took care of us through thick and thin, those rough-and-tumble wilderness years of parched deserts and death valleys, a land thta on one who enters comes out of, a cruel, inhospitable land?" And that's the key of this entire passage, "Where is God?" When we find our bearings in God, we find the bearings we need for ourselves.

God identifies exactly what went wrong: "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."

First, they abandoned the source of living water—God Himself, who never runs dry, never disappoints, never fails. Second, they frantically started digging their own wells, crafting their own solutions, building their own security systems. But here's the devastating truth: everything we build apart from God is fundamentally broken. It can't hold what we desperately need it to contain.

We dig cisterns of career success that leak when the economy shifts. We build containers of relationships that crack under pressure. We construct wells of material security that run dry when circumstances change. Meanwhile, the fountain of fresh, life-giving water remains available, flowing freely, waiting for us to return.

This isn't just ancient history—it's our story too. How often do we walk away from God not because He's failed us, but because we've gotten distracted? We start believing that other things can satisfy our deepest thirsts. We replace God "as the central focus of anyone's life and thought" with substitutes like "injustice, greed, lust for power."

The heartbreak in God's voice echoes through the centuries: "You were so devoted in your youth, so eager to please. What happened? When did My love stop being enough?"

Maybe we didn't consciously decide to abandon God. Maybe we just gradually shifted our attention, slowly redirected our hope, quietly placed our trust in things that seemed more tangible, more immediately rewarding. But the result is the same: we end up thirsty, holding empty buckets, wondering why life feels so dry.

The beauty of this passage lies not just in its diagnosis but in its implicit invitation. God isn't asking these questions because He's given up on His people—He's asking because He wants them back. The fountain is still flowing. The invitation to drink deeply is still extended.

God doesn't need our cisterns to be completely destroyed before we can return to Him. He simply needs us to recognize that they're broken, that they were never meant to be our primary source of satisfaction. The living water is still available, still fresh, still able to satisfy every thirst we've been trying to quench elsewhere.

PRAYER: Lord, You are the fountain of living water, and yet we confess we've been digging our own wells. Forgive us for the times we've walked away from Your unfailing love to chase after things that promised much but delivered little. Help us see the broken cisterns in our own lives—the places where we've tried to find security, identity, and satisfaction apart from You. Show us how empty these substitutes really are, not to shame us but to draw us back to the abundance that flows from Your heart. We're thirsty, Lord. We're tired of trying to make broken things work. Draw us back to the fresh, life-giving water that only You can provide. Remind us again of Your faithfulness in our past, and help us trust You with our future. Restore the joy of our relationship with You; in Jesus' strong name we pray, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. OUR CALL TO ACTION: What cisterns have you been digging? What sources of satisfaction have you been relying on that might be leaking or running dry? Instead of frantically trying to repair what's broken, consider returning to the fountain of living water. Spend time in prayer and Scripture, allowing God's presence to refresh your soul in ways that your substitutes never could.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Behave! The Rewards Are Outta This World!

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1 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. 4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” 6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” 7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. (Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-15 NIV)

Happy Happy Happy Day, dear Friend! I pray God's smiling face be upon you, which I know it is - do you? The joy of the Lord is my strength! Is it yours? It can be! Every single word from God's word that you read provides you with a connection, if not the connection, to face the day, make your decisions, and to get that added boost to move forward and upward! These aches and pains will soon leave us; but the great things like joy, the smile of loved ones, the memories of those gone on before us; those cannot and will not be erased!

I love that God saw fit to add a BEHAVE section to His precious word. I know, it's a shame really that we should know and do better, but we don't. I'm the first to admit the mischievousness of my younger years still lingers, invited and otherwise, sometimes getting me into situations I didn't much anticipate. But it hit me that as we read the Bible and follow God's path along it, we have the Old Testament and all that it contains to prepare us for Jesus; boom, we come to the New Testament, and Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John say, "Tah dah, hereeeeee's Jesus!" And yes, Come, Lord Jesus! we say. Then Luke says, and here's how we responded in the book of Acts, and the rest of it says, behave! Yes, you read that right! Paul, called of God by Jesus Himself, has to write letters to folks who were NOT behaving! You would think the Here's Jesus part would have made all people say, "I know Jesus loves me and so I will live like Him! But, no; what do we read about in Paul's letters? Stop doing this, don't do that; behave!

And here we are, reading what may be Paul's letter to all the people who are Hebrew. And how does this passage start? "Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters." Okay, most brothers and sisters do love each other, but sometimes they don't. And sometimes they fight or argue. Paul continues, "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." Whoa, you forgot there's a supernatural component to our faith did you? You can't and shouldn't! Some people, Paul says, were so nice to some strangers that they were really being nice to angels!! Think about the "brownie points" those loving souls got on that day. And they did it not for the points, but because it was just a part of their nature to do good, like showing hospitality. What would today's modern Christians be doing? I won't answer that, but will sigh along with you.

This next part will sound like Paul's not only saying behave, but some would say, he's gone to meddlin'. Which is a Texas way of getting into businesses that are not ours. But, if I'm remembering correctly, he's merely reinforcing what Our Lord said in Matthew 25: "Remember those in person as if you were with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." And the list goes on as a summary of all Paul shared in his many letters to believers. Our discipleship is costly, requiring our obedience to God to bless all people.

When someone is forgotten by society, we remember them. When someone is oppressed, we feel their pain as if it were our own. This kind of love is costly—it disrupts our comfortable routines and forces us to care about problems we didn't create and can't easily solve.

The challenge extends to our marriages and relationships: "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure." In a culture that treats commitment as conditional and purity as outdated, following Christ means swimming against the current, choosing faithfulness even when it's difficult.

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" The writer connects contentment directly to God's faithfulness. When we're secure in His unchanging presence, we're free from the anxiety that drives endless accumulation.

This isn't about settling for less or lacking ambition. It's about finding your security in the right place. When you know that the God who owns everything will never abandon you, you can hold earthly possessions lightly. You can be generous because you're not afraid of running out. You can be content because your worth isn't measured by your wealth.

The passage culminates in a beautiful picture of worship: "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."

Real worship isn't confined to Sunday mornings. It's a lifestyle of praise and practical love. It's lips that speak God's goodness and hands that demonstrate it. The same Jesus who receives our songs of praise also delights in our acts of service.

Notice that both praise and generosity are called "sacrifices." They cost us something—our pride, our comfort, our resources. But these are the sacrifices that please God, not because He needs them but because they transform us into people who reflect His character.

Because Jesus never changes, we can live with confidence even in uncertain times. We can love boldly because His love for us never wavers. We can give generously because His provision never fails. We can extend hospitality because His welcome of us is permanent. We can speak truth because His Word endures forever.

This isn't about trying harder to be good Christians. It's about allowing the unchanging nature of Christ to work through our ever-changing lives, creating stability in chaos and hope in uncertainty.

PRAYER: Loving Father, thank You for Jesus, Who remains unchanging, ever loving and ever ready to forgive and to deploy us to do His work. We know there is much work still to be done and we willingly accept, with Your grace and peace to do what we need to do, to reach the world for Jesus. We want to, and with Your help, will behave! We love You, Loving Father; we pray in the Name above all Names, Jesus, our Lord, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: This week, choose one specific way to live out the unchanging love of Christ in your changing world. Perhaps it's reaching out to someone who feels forgotten, practicing radical hospitality by inviting someone new into your home, or finding a practical way to support those who are suffering.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

A Kingdom Meal

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1 On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. 7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. 8 "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9 and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, "Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, "Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." 12 He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." (Luke 14:1, 7-14 NRSV)

Happy Wednesday, dear Friend! Welcome back! And thank you for your kind and generous prayers for me. I saw Dr. Box this morning and my healing is on track! I had hoped the uncomfortable brace would come off, but it's the primary instrument of healing pre-therapy so I need to keep it on for about four weeks. It will be next week when the sutures come off and therapy will begin in about a month. I am so thankful for your prayers and thankful to God for His mercy and patience shared with me. I'm so thankful to my bride for her loving care and patience with me and her willingness to take up driving again to get me to the doctor's office! I love you, Nellie!

The Bible is an honest book. The Bible is a book of geography. The Bible is also a book about meals. The meals shared with us serve deep purposes; celebrations, remembrances, vision-setting, etc. etc. Some of the meals in the Bible mirror ours on earth, where someone invites another to eat, and in response they invite each other back, etc. In fact, the Bible closes with a celebration meal where all who lived and died in the Lord will rejoice in His presence as eternity opens and the earthly ends.

You and I have been blessed to have been seated at numerous meals where we were blessed by the company, the invitation, the actual food, and the honor of being in the company of those who hosted. I have sat with with a friend who shared his last two slices of whole wheat bread, the last tablespoon of natural peanut butter, and two eggs at a time when I had no food in my cupboards and believe me it was a banquet and a feast! I've also sat at tables where the price of the meal was $650 a plate, and I was the recipient of six free tickets so that Nellie and our girls could join us in an exclusive meal in Washington, D.C. I've also been told that it was time to eat and that I should leave. I have also been fed in homes where the family was sharing a part of what little they had for the rest of the month. As a pastor I have been seated at tables of honor and at tables near the kid's table.

Jesus notices at a meal to which He has been invited at the home of the leader of the Pharisees that on the Sabbath how the other guests acted when it was time to be seated. The other guests chose the places of honor, so He responded with a parable. It was about humility. "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, 'Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would have to take the lowest place.'" Jesus teaches that if one starts with humility and willingly seats themselves at the lowest place so that the host may come and invite you to move up to the place of honor. The lesson Jesus says, "For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Boom!

But Jesus doesn't stop with personal humility. He pushes deeper, challenging the very motivation behind our generosity: "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid."

This hits uncomfortably close to home. How often do we give strategically? How frequently do our acts of kindness come with subtle strings attached—expecting gratitude, reciprocation, or at least recognition?

Jesus calls us to something revolutionary: generosity without guarantee of return. He challenges us to extend our table to "the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind"—those who cannot enhance our social status, advance our careers, or repay our kindness.

This is kingdom mathematics: when you give expecting nothing back, you receive everything that matters.

The beauty of Jesus' teaching is that it offers both immediate freedom and eternal reward. When we stop chasing human approval and start seeking God's approval, we discover a peace that the world's ladder-climbing can never provide. When we give without expecting return, we tap into the inexhaustible joy of participating in God's own generous nature.

But let's be honest—this is countercultural and challenging. Our society rewards self-promotion and strategic networking. We're told to "look out for number one" and "leverage our relationships." Jesus asks us to trust that God's way, though it appears foolish to the world, leads to true blessing.

The question isn't whether God's way works—it's whether we'll have the courage to try it. This passage confronts our tendency to treat relationships as transactions and generosity as investment. Jesus reveals that when we serve those who cannot serve us back, we discover the heart of God Himself. We find that the blessing isn't in what we receive but in becoming the kind of people who give freely.

This doesn't mean abandoning friendships or neglecting family. It means expanding our circle of care beyond those who can benefit us. It means looking for opportunities to serve without recognition, to give without reciprocation, to love without conditions.

PRAYER: Loving God, You always show us the better way; forgive us for thinking we know better or could do better. Grant us hearts to love others, even the ones no one else wants or even sees. Grant us your eyes to reach all; this we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Instead of seeking the place of honor, intentionally choose to serve behind the scenes. Instead of only spending time with those who can benefit you, reach out to someone who cannot repay your kindness—perhaps through volunteering, visiting someone lonely, or simply showing unexpected generosity to a stranger. Notice how it feels to give without expecting anything in return, and discover for yourself the blessing Jesus promises to those who live by His radical love.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Break Free!

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10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11 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. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from your ailment." 13 When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. 14 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." 15 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? 16 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?" 17 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 NRSV)

Eighteen years. Let that number settle in your heart for a moment. Eighteen years of looking down instead of up. Eighteen years of seeing feet instead of faces, dust instead of sky. This unnamed woman carried not just physical affliction, but the accumulated weight of social invisibility, religious exclusion, and daily humiliation.

Yet something remarkable happens in this passage: Jesus sees her. In a culture where women, especially disabled women, were often overlooked, Jesus notices. He doesn't wait for her to cry out, to push through crowds, or to prove her worthiness. He simply sees her need and acts.

But here's where the story gets uncomfortable for us. The religious leaders are indignant—not because a woman suffered for eighteen years, but because Jesus chose to heal her on the Sabbath. They had grown so attached to their interpretation of God's law that they couldn't celebrate God's mercy when it appeared right before them.

How often do we find ourselves in the same position? How often do our rigid expectations of how God should work blind us to how God is actually working? We can become so invested in our theological boxes, our denominational boundaries, our cultural preferences, that we miss the very presence of Christ moving among us.

Jesus calls the religious leaders "hypocrites," pointing out that they would untie their animals to give them water on the Sabbath, yet they begrudge freedom for a "daughter of Abraham" who has been bound for nearly two decades. The logic is devastating: if compassion for livestock is acceptable, how much more should we celebrate the liberation of a human being created in God's image?

This challenges us to examine our own hearts. What have we allowed to become more important than human dignity and freedom? What rules, traditions, or comfort zones have we elevated above love? Where might we be hindering rather than helping God's work of healing and restoration in the world?

The woman's immediate response to healing is profound—she stands up straight and praises God. There's something beautiful about the connection between physical healing and spiritual worship. When we experience God's liberating power in our lives, praise becomes as natural as breathing.

But notice that her healing doesn't just affect her—it affects the entire community. The religious leaders are put to shame, and "the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing" (v. 17). Freedom is contagious. When one person is liberated, it creates ripple effects that can transform entire communities.

We all have our bent places—areas where we've been curved inward by pain, fear, shame, or simply the weight of living in a broken world. Some of our ailments are visible, others hidden. Some we've carried for eighteen years, others for eighteen days. But the same Jesus who saw and healed this woman sees us too.

The question is: Are we willing to let him straighten what has been bent? Are we ready to stand tall and praise God, even if it makes others uncomfortable? And perhaps most challengingly, are we prepared to celebrate when others experience the same liberation we long for ourselves?

PRAYER: Gracious God, like the woman in this story, we come before you carrying the weight of our bent places—the areas where pain, fear, and brokenness have curved us inward and downward. Open our eyes to see your presence among us, even in unexpected moments and places. Give us the courage to stand straight when you call us to freedom, and help us celebrate liberation wherever we encounter it, even when it challenges our expectations. May we be people who see others as you see them—beloved children worthy of dignity, healing, and hope. Through Christ our liberator, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: This week, look for someone who has been "bent over"—perhaps by circumstances, systemic injustice, or simply the weight of daily struggles. Practice the ministry of seeing: notice them as Jesus noticed the woman in the synagogue. Then ask yourself: How might God be calling you to participate in their liberation? It might be through advocacy, practical help, a kind word, or simply the gift of being truly seen and valued. Let the healing of this ancient woman inspire contemporary acts of compassion and justice in your own community.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Restoration God

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1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth 2 before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us! 8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. 9 You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land. 10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches; 11 it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River. 12 Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? 13 The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it. 14 Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine, 15 the stock that your right hand planted. 16 They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance. 17 But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. 18 Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name.19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved. (Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19 NRSV)

Our God is a God of Life. Newness and Life. Compassion and Love. Fresh Starts and Second Chances. The Author of the unfinished book, but Who is still writing; each stroke brings something wonderful and unexpected. Our God is the God who calls and sends. Our God equips the saints willing to serve and some of the transformations are incredible. Our God has heard all the excuses in the world and counters those which need changing. The call may not be to lead a mega church or preach in arenas; but a call to love your neighbor is just as important if not more. The call to walk across the aisle in church to shake the hand of the brother or sister you've come to consider an enemy rather than a spiritual sibling; can and should be made. You may be called to spend time with your family and away from the phone. The psalmist is sharing his call to God, Who has been calling us all along.

Ask any honest preacher why she is a preacher and she will tell you a story of transformation. Ask any honest lay leader, Sunday school teacher, youth counselor, etc., and you will hear the tales of God's involvement in lives, many unsuspecting, and how God brought those changes and the blessings began flowing.

The psalmist cries out to the Shepherd of Israel—the One who led His people like a flock and planted them like a choice vine. God had tenderly uprooted His people from Egypt, clearing the land and allowing them to take root and flourish. But now, the vineyard lies vulnerable, its walls broken, its branches ravaged by enemies.

This passage forces us to wrestle with two truths:

God is both the loving planter who delights in His vineyard and the righteous Judge who allows it to experience the consequences of neglecting Him.

Restoration is possible, but it requires honest repentance and a turning back to Him.

The refrain “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved” is more than a poetic cry—it’s a declaration of dependence. It says, “We cannot fix this on our own. We need Your presence, Your mercy, Your power.”

Our lives, too, can be like that vineyard—once flourishing under God’s care, but vulnerable when we let down the walls of prayer, compromise our obedience, or pursue self-reliance. The good news is that the same God who plants and prunes is also the One who restores and revives. But He calls us to return, not halfway, but fully—our hearts, our wills, our lives.

PRAYER: Lord, You are my Shepherd and the Gardener of our souls. We confess the places where we have allowed the walls to crumble and the weeds to grow. Shine Your face on us again. Uproot what is harmful, strengthen what is weak, and cause us to bear fruit that lasts. Restore our joy, renew our faith, and make our lives a vineyard that honors You. In Jesus’ strong name we pray, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Identify one “broken wall” in your walk with God this week. Bring it before Him in prayer and invite His restoring work to begin there.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

The Song of the Vineyard

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1 I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. 3 “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. 4 What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? 5 Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. 6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it.” 7 The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. (Isaiah 5:1-7 NIV)

Friends, as we pray, please pray for the family of Mr. Hector Cruz, beloved neighbor and friend, who died Sunday of a cardiac arrest. May God's comfort be with his wife, Terri, and their beautiful family. Hector will be laid to rest in his beloved Colorado.

My father found time to plant and grow trees and shrubs and plants of all kinds in our yard in Kingsville, Texas. One time it was a China Apple tree, or so we called it; tiny, semi-sweet apples would come forth and soon were gone. Hmm, I wonder why? We had a huge pomegranate shrub that yielded very sweet pomegranates that we enjoyed thoroughly consuming. We had carnation plants that brought forth nice flowers that my Mom and grandma loved on Mother's and Father's Day. I once planted watermelon seeds and had a nice watermelon that was slightly bigger than a football and very sweet. There's something to be said about the earth bringing forth new life, more especially edible life or life that can fill the air with awesome aromas. And for Israel, nothing said more about its own life than that of a vineyard, which were common to them. In 1962, a Yale School of Divinity professor, Dr. B. Davie Napier, wrote a book with that name, Song of The Vineyard, as an introduction to the theology of the Old Testament. The author went on to become president of Pacific School of Religion; and it sets out a way for people to more fully understand God's work among the people called Israelites. God is the owner and planter of the vineyard. He loves it. And later in scripture we meet God's Son, Jesus, Who says He is the true vine. The writer of this passage has him singing to God a love song about this vineyard. It sits on a fertile hillside and it has been cleaned up and made ready for its purpose. A watchtower is set in it as are winepresses; the only thing missing is a crop of good grapes. The poor vineyard could only bring forth bad fruit, aka sour grapes. I pause to mention this is the right season in our grocery store for the most sweet and delicious white grapes, which I personally prefer; but the days leading to the perfect crop some days bring not-so-good, not so sweet grapes.

God, as He talks with those living in Jerusalem that He has done all He could yet the crops are not what God desires. The only thing left is to bring about destruction, headed towards a wasteland; an unpruned non-cultivated land that will soon share its fertile land with briers and thorns and clouds will only pass over that land. The reason? The nation gave up being a just land choosing instead to be a land of bloodshed. God looked for righteousness and only heard cries of those in trouble, hurting; giving up.

This isn’t just ancient poetry—it’s a sobering reminder of the deep relationship God longs to have with His people, and the disappointment when His care is met with rebellion or neglect. In the story, the vineyard is Israel, but today it could easily be us—our lives, churches, and communities. God has given us everything needed to bear the fruit of justice, mercy, and righteousness. What are we producing?

Bad fruit comes when we lose our focus on Him, when our priorities shift toward self-interest, or when we grow complacent. Good fruit grows when our roots sink deep into His Word, when we are attentive to His voice, and when we love as He loves.

Isaiah’s warning is clear: God expects His vineyard to yield fruit worthy of His care. The question is—what will He find when He comes to inspect the harvest in our lives? When will we begin to truly do what God wants from us? What will it take for us to become the desired vineyard of the Lord?

PRAYER: Lord, You have poured out Your love, care, and provision over our lives. Forgive us for the times we’ve allowed weeds of sin and self-interest to grow in our hearts. Tend the soil of our souls. Prune what is unfruitful. Help us to bear fruit that honors You—fruit of love, justice, mercy, and humility. May our lives be those vineyards that brings You joy. In Jesus’ strong name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Examine your “vineyard” this week. Ask God to show you one area where He desires more fruit—and be intentional in nurturing it through prayer, obedience, and love.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio.Valverde, Jr.

Run With Perserverance

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29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days. 31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. 32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 11:29-12:2 NRSV)

A tremendous Tuesday, Friend! Make it a day of prayer filled with power and passion for Jesus! Lift high His name with those who seek healing, new lives, new opportunities, new relationships, and new ministry venues. Make it a day you spend with Jesus so that others may come to know Him.

As a child I ran everywhere I could. I loved to run but I also loved to eat and thus my body never really reflected a discipline life of exercise. Oh well. I enjoyed running and riding my bike. And years later in Houston as I tried out for the school's football team I was told I needed to run a mile under seven minutes. Upon hearing it it scared me a bit, but as I thought about it and talked to others interested in the team as well, we decided that if we could keep a certain pace we would make it. The pace we determined would be one, two, three, four, and repeat, one, two, three, four. I started to have faith in myself, that with God's help, I could make the team. And I did.

The writer of Hebrews continues with his masterpiece on faith. It's an encouraging who'w who and what's up of what things faith made possible in the Old Testament. The people of Israel walked through the Red Sea on dry land; the Egyptians were not so lucky. Faith saw impenetrable walls fall; and women of questionable morals had her life turned around to be included in the lineage of Jesus! And on and on reads the list of what could happen, happen because of faith. Even to the prophets who endured suffering—each story testifies that faith is not passive. It moves forward, even when the path is costly.

By the time we reach chapter 12, the imagery shifts to a race. We are surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses”—those who have already finished their course. Their example is meant to inspire, but not to distract. The focus is clear: fix your eyes on Jesus, and run the race at God's pace.

The race of faith requires both endurance and shedding. Each of us can and should run that race. Endurance is needed because the road is long and often uphill. And as we run, we need to shed those uncessary burdens be they sins, fears, or distractions because they will weigh us down and will slow us down if we cling to them. The call is to travel light, unentangled, and wholly focused on Christ.

Jesus is not only the one who begins our faith (“pioneer”) but also the one who brings it to completion (“perfecter”). He ran His own race with joy, even when it meant the agony of the cross, because He knew what lay beyond—the redemption of His people and the glory of God.

The challenge for us is to run with that same focus. The invitation is to remember that we do not run alone. The witnesses cheer us on, Christ runs before us, and His Spirit strengthens us every step of the way.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You are the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. Thank You for the cloud of witnesses whose lives inspire us to endure. Help us to lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely. Strengthen our hearts to run with perseverance, eyes fixed on You, no matter the cost. May our lives bring glory to the Father as we follow Your path. Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Run your race with endurance—eyes fixed on Jesus, heart free from all that would hold you back.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Jesus: The Fire in Your Life

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49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” 54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time? (Luke 12:49-56 NIV)

Dear Friend, As we pray today, please add to your prayers, Mr. Clay Pace has asked "Please pray for a friend of mine Pete Jauer. He's 84 years old and has become weaker to the point of his Dr's hinting to him that he's just winding down. He called me yesterday and told me he will live or die and he's alright with either as he a man of strong faith." May God's will be done in Brother Jauer's life. Pray for one another; pray for your needs.

Just yesterday I heard the story of the most insignificant, but most influential man in Christian history. It concerned a revival being held by the Evangelist Mordecai Ham who had filled his tent with interested people from North Carolina In November, 1934. Two fourteen year old boys were walking by intrigued by what they were hearing, but when they peeked inside the tent they determined there wasn't any room for them and so continued walking away. An usher saw the boys and ran after them and said, "Boys, I can find you two seats near the front!" The two stayed and followed the man to their seats. As they heard the bold proclamation of God's love, they both walked to the front and surrendered their lives to the Lord Jesus. The two boys were Grady Wilson and Billy Graham. Billy, as you well know, became an evangelist who preached the gospel to almost a billion people around the world. Grady became a key associate in The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The person sharing the story asked what would have become if that one usher did not take it as his job to bring the boys back? The fire in the usher's heart for his job is precisely what Jesus is talking about in this passage. The usher's fire brought about the first in Billy's heart that led him to preach the word that reached the world. My bride shared how when she knew that Billy was going to be on TV she would not miss a broadcast of Mr. Graham's sermons.

Slave-trader John Newton is another figure in history, whose life was changed for the better when he realized the importance and power of God in his life. It led to his conversion and his rejection of humans owning other humans, and eventually he gave up his job as a ship's captain and led him to writing the famous hymn many of us love, Amazing Grace, a personal reflection on God's power to transform.

These words of Jesus are jarring. We often picture Him as the gentle Shepherd, the Prince of Peace. Yet here, He speaks of fire, division, and urgency. This is not the soothing language of comfort—it is the sharp call of confrontation.

The “fire” Jesus speaks of is both purifying and refining. Fire reveals what is true, burning away what is false. When Christ comes into a life, things cannot stay the same. His presence forces a choice: Will we align with His truth, or resist it?

Jesus knew that His mission would divide even the closest of relationships. The peace He offers is not the shallow peace of avoiding conflict, but the deep peace that comes through surrender to God—sometimes at great cost. Following Him will mean parting ways with values, priorities, and sometimes even people who pull us away from obedience.

The crowd listening to Jesus could predict tomorrow’s weather but failed to recognize the spiritual moment right before them. The challenge remains for us: Do we see what God is doing in our time, or are we distracted by everything else?

This passage is both invitation and warning. Jesus is inviting us to be part of His refining work, to let His fire consume our self-reliance, our compromise, and our comfortable faith. But He warns that ignoring the urgency of His call is dangerous. The time to choose is now.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You are the refining fire our souls need. Forgive us for wanting a comfortable faith instead of a courageous one. Burn away everything in us that resists Your will. Give us discernment to see what You are doing in our time, and the courage to follow wherever You lead—even when it costs us. Kindle Your fire in us, and let it spread. In Your powerful name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Don’t settle for a lukewarm faith. Let Christ’s fire refine you, awaken you, and set you wholly apart for Him.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Come Now, Let Us Reason Together

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1 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. 10 Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 11 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. 12 When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more; 13 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. 14 Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. 15 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. 16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, 17 learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. 18 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. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; 20 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 NRSV)

Happy Wednesday! May this be your day, dear Friend! Make it a day of prayer, enrichment, discernment, and decision; decide to follow Jesus because you're in love with Him!

How were your raised? With a list of do's and don'ts? Or were you given free reign to do and act as you wanted? I know that different ages meant different eras of beliefs and ideas about how to raise your children. I was from the strictness of parents, teaching respect towards others and our failings were met with a spanking. Maybe yours was the time-out phase of child-rearing? Or something different. You can leave you comments on different formats or you can email me at eradiovalverde@yahoo.com to share your thoughts and experiences. I remember the strictest place for us was church. My parents took worship and participation in church activities very seriously. The worst spanking of my life came when I expressed my anger to my mother in a major category, I believe the ranking about be a 7. That was thanks to my grandfather Popó, my Dad's dad. He thought it would be cute and fun to make me trilingual; Spanish, English, and Maldiciones, not an island controlled by Great Britain. Though I was still a baby, the memory of that spanking will follow me to eternity! I was being a baby and walking up and down the pew enjoying the smiles I was bringing to those who should have been listening to the sermon, which in the canonical books of childrearing, Portatebienotemato, that was a strict no-no. So, Mom pinched me and I believe she added a twist or twirl, which was meant to drive home the point. I, without malice or much thought responded with a "Me duele, Ch-----". Immediately upon arriving home I was taken to the bathroom and given a severe spanking with a brush. Did that rid me of saying such things? In church, mostly yes.

What this passage is talking about is the internal and eternal change that should occur in us inside. If our inside is right with God so will our outside be. God is a bit upset and I know He so wants to pinch and twirl the soft part of the upper arm of those to whom this passage is directed, but He won't. But God is expressing His displeasure with the outward expressions of repentance and obedience, but God knows full well, that inside nothing has happened. Think of televangelists who say they need a fifth jet to spread the gospel, while boasting of living in the largest home in the state, and later claiming that Jesus' Second Coming has been delayed because people (viewers) are not giving as they should. Hmm. God said all that is for show and means nothing to Him and even less to us. "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 oprhan, plead for the widow. Then HIs famous invitation, "Come now, let us argue (reason) it out, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall become like wool."

Isaiah’s opening oracle is a sobering summons. It’s a wake-up call to a people who had kept the rituals of religion but lost the heart of it. The Lord’s words through Isaiah cut deep: offerings without obedience, prayers without justice, worship without repentance—it was all noise in God’s ears. The people of Judah, though going through the motions of faith, were spiritually adrift.

Yet within this stern rebuke, there’s a staggering invitation: “Come now, let us reason together.” The Holy One of Israel, the righteous Judge, extends a hand not to condemn, but to reconcile. He doesn’t cast us away in our guilt—He calls us to reason with Him. He invites us into a conversation that leads to transformation.

God doesn’t want religious performance; He desires surrendered hearts. The call to “cease to do evil, learn to do good” is not moralism—it’s covenantal living. It’s a call to realign with God’s heart for justice, mercy, and humility.

And here lies the challenge: true faith isn’t just expressed in temple courts or church pews. It must show up in the streets, in the way we treat others, especially the vulnerable—orphans, widows, and the voiceless. Isaiah reminds us that faith devoid of justice is hollow. But God offers grace that is never hollow. It cleanses. It changes scarlet-stained souls into garments of white.

The promise remains: If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land. Will we come to God with open hearts? Will we let His grace confront and cleanse us?

PRAYER: Righteous and merciful God, we confess that we have often clung to form without faith, ritual without repentance. We have heard Your call to justice and turned away too quickly. Forgive us. Cleanse us. Teach us to do good, to seek justice, to defend the oppressed. Thank You for the grace that meets us even when our sins are scarlet. Help us not just to hear Your Word but to respond to it with obedience, humility, and faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Open your heart to God's reasoning. Step away from empty rituals and step into a living, active faith that reflects His justice and mercy.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.

Let Go and Let God

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32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Luke 12:32-40 NIV)

The South Indian Monkey Trap is a story of villagers in South India who will take hollowed out coconuts and fill them with cooked rice. These are placed where monkeys are and a monkey will come, put its hand in the coconut and will grab a handful of rice. Once it has the rice in its hand it will not let go thus making it easy for the villagers to catch the monkey. This story sounds a lot like what happens in Walmart's toy section every day! A child, more specifically, a grandchild, will grab a hold of a toy that that child really needs and will not let go and any attempt to pry it away from said child will result in high decibel screaming or crying or both, and thus Walmart stock goes up every day. This story can be repeated in a car or boat dealership or a jewelry store.

The gospel is all about letting go of precisely those things that can completely separate us from the things that really matter, and Jesus addresses it in this passage. In this chapter Jesus has been talking to people who were truly worried about staying alive; having food to eat, clothes to wear; mostly what we in this part of the world take for granted. If we're hungry we go to the store to buy food to cook or we drive to a restaurant or fast food joint and get something to eat. And thanks to Covid, we can use DoorDash and order same fast food delivered right to our door for incredibly high markups. Jesus speaks a comforting word about believers getting access to God's kingdom while we do what others might not do or expect anyone to do like selling our possessions and giving them the profits to the poor. The treasures that truly matter namely treasure in heaven, and the awesome truth of the statement that He shared, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Our clothing should reflect our willingness and readiness to serve, and we should be prepared at all times. Even today, Pope Leo was attacked by a Fellow from Oxford for the Pope having said, ""Even today there are many contexts in which the Christian faith is considered an absurd thing, for weak and unintelligent people; contexts in which other securities are preferred to it, such as technology, money, success, power, pleasure." The Fellow said, 'How dare the Pope suggest that the gods of tech, wealth, fame, clout, and pleasure are counterfeit securities? How dare the pope critique those, in this scholar's words, “whose values or priorities differ from our own.” For this Oxford Fellow, the real scandal is that the Pope fails to realize that “Not all who seek truth answer in the same way.” Rev. Leonard Sweet, a professor and author said, "Welcome to your world, church, a world where . .Truth is a choose-your-own adventure. Jesus is a lifestyle brand. Faith is optional equipment. When the Gospel offends, it’s often doing its job."

Jesus speaks these words with tenderness and assurance. He knows that we live in a world full of uncertainty, where fear often takes hold—fear of not having enough, of missing out, of what lies ahead. But here, He calls us His little flock, cared for by a good and generous Shepherd who gives us not scraps, but the kingdom.

What does it mean to live like that’s true? Jesus invites us to loosen our grip on possessions, to trade anxious hoarding for generous living: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

This isn’t just about money—it’s about trust. If our treasure is in God’s hands, our hearts will follow. If our eyes are on His kingdom, we’ll live with a readiness that runs deeper than fear.

Jesus urges us to be watchful and alert, like servants waiting for their master’s return. The point isn’t fear of being caught off guard, but joy in being prepared to meet Him—eyes open, hearts expectant, lives shaped by grace.

Whether you’re deeply rooted in faith or simply searching, the message is clear: You are not forgotten. The kingdom is near. Let go of fear, and live ready.

PRAYER: Gracious Father, thank You for giving us the kingdom—a gift we could never earn but freely receive. Help us loosen our grip on fear and trust You with our heart, our plans, and our future. Make us ready, not by our own strength, but by Your Spirit alive in us. Amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Today, choose one way to trade fear for trust—whether through an act of generosity, a moment of prayer, or simply by speaking hope into someone’s day. Let that be your step toward living ready.

I love you and I thank God for you!

Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.