Come Unto Me, All Who Are Heavy Laden

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And I Will Give You Rest

From the New King James Version of Matthew 11: 16-19; 25-30: But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying: 'We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children." At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Jesus compared the generation of people for whom He came as a generation much like marketplace children. While their parents tended their shops or while they shopped, the kids would taunt other kids. The saying Jesus uses is one to tease those who were not aware of much, children who did not know what to do or how to react. The ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus were not understood and many did not know what to do or how to react. The taunts were a bit harsher with accusations running from demon possession to drunkenness and influence by bad company. But the truth was, Jesus say, that God was revealing to "babes" the things of God's Kingdom among them. Those whom the world believed had no clue, indeed had the keys to the kingdom. Those who were "heavy laden" would find in Jesus' message and teachings, "rest." Being yoked to Jesus would mean having an understanding no one else would; and a rest for souls that the world could not match.

Nellie and I were reflecting on the impact God is already having on our grandson Liam's life at this point. While his mom works on Sunday, Liam usually ends up making long trips with grandma and grandpa, usually to things he would not normally choose. Yesterday was such a day. We worshipped here in Corpus Christi, then we felt led to take a nursing student to lunch. We then drove to Cuero, Texas, for a five o'clock dedication service of their new organ and we sang and sang. We sang what I called the "newer Doxology" that has in it several "Alleluias," and we heard a community choir sing the Hallelujah Chorus. As we left the church he could not stop singing "Alleluia, Alleluia," and even asked if I had in my iPod "that church song with the alleluia?" I do have the Hallelujah Chorus and played it several times on our way to Beeville where we greeted the young workers of the UM Army in town to do repair work on several homes. His singing of alleluia I believe, is rest for his young soul. He's being exposed to worship experiences that others are not. My prayer is that his soul never depart from that understanding and relationship that he has or will have with Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. In Christ we find rest for our souls; an understanding and acceptance that the world cannot and tries not to match. In Christ there is a pace and a peace that everyone needs and should have. And guess what? It's ours for the asking.

PRAYER: Lord, the demands of life on my soul can be taxing at times, but I thank You that in You I can find the pace and the peace that I need. Help me to receive it, and more importantly, help me to share it. This I pray in Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!

Eradio Valverde

Conviction

The Apostle Paul wrote, "I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some." (1 Cor. 19:22). He was describing the need to reach all people and experiencing and living what they lived. Earlier, Jesus said, "But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'" (Mat. 5:37). This was shared in relation to people feeling the need to swear to have people believe them. I was guilty of that on the grounds of my elementary school. "Cross my heart and hope to die!" Or "I swear on a stack of Bibles!" But what is conviction, and why is that important in the life of a believer? Conviction is standing for that which one believes is of God and God's righteousness, and never wavering from that. If the situation calls for one to say "yes" when a yes is required, then Christ would say for us to say yes and stand by that yes. If the situation required our saying "no," then we would need to say no and stand by the no and all the reasons behind it.

For the pastor who believes one must please all people, don't. There is only One whom we seek to please and that is the One who sent us into the joys of ministry and serving. We are called to stand on our convictions and rely on prayer, reflection, study of scripture, and honest searching to help us know where we are to stand. In all things of course we stand on God's love and grace, and that we should offer to all people; but we should not be afraid to hurt someone's feelings if we have to say no or yes, when they are expecting or demanding the opposite.

As parents we have had to stop being our child's friend, to say yes or no when they expected or demanded a no or a yes. Years later, they will understand and realize that because of our love we had to stand firm on what we believed to be best for their development and growth.

As humans we will make mistakes. Seek to err on the side of God.

Passion

I'm reading a book called "The Promise of a Pencil" by Adam Braun. It is an extraordinary book about a wonderful response by this young man to a global need. I won't say more because I believe you should read it. But I do want to quote something Mr. Braun wrote about passion. He was in his early years of his career, which he did not like; seeking to make lots of money in New York City before going and doing what he wanted, but a friend told him that that was the wrong approach. If he worked for twenty years and then tried to do his passion, he's have children and a mortgage. So, that night he was invited to hear the New York Philharmonic. He had never been to the symphony before and the sounds of that night mesmerized him. What intrigued him was that as people performed they left the stage to thunderous applause, and then an oversized man sat at the grand piano to play. Mr. Braun wondered if just one person could stir the same wonderful response that the entire symphony had done.

"The pianist began playing the concerto, starting with soft melodies that soon became soaring harmonies. Thunderous sounds poured from the piano. This man was crushing the keys and swaying with such force that the few hairs on his head flew from side to side. As an audience, we hung on his every note. I closed my eyes and could hear the passion he brought to his craft. I thought, if I could feel as strongly about any one things in the world as this man feels about his piano, I know I would be fulfilled.

Whatever you do in your role in the church, are you doing it with passion? Are you fulfilling God's call upon your life as well as stirring something in the people with whom you work? If you're a Sunday school teacher or small group leader, can the others in your class or group feel the passion you have for God and for the subject matter you are sharing/teaching? If you're a pastor, when you preach, do you preach with passion that shares the contagious and excitement that should be in every message of good news?

Passion is what comes from the deep rooted love we should have for what we do because of the great love we have for God and God has for us.

Confession

Confession is good for the soul. And that holds true for individuals as well as for organizations. I have often wondered if individuals, who make up the Church, ever pray a prayer of confession for the Church as well as for themselves. Confession is an admission of guilt or fault needing correction. Confession is the first step towards forgiveness, both that sought from the offended or violated person, as well and just as important for the one making the admission.

We have at our disposal one of the greatest prayers of confession that we should use more often for ourselves and for our Church. It is the one found in the beginning of our hymnal, and one prayed monthly at most of our churches:

Merciful God. We have a God of mercy rooted in love. All of scripture speaks of God's lovingkindness and readiness to forgive. This is a great starting point.

we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. Honest and realistic. We tend to love others or other things more than we love God. But our confession is personal and we should confess that we have not loved God as we should.

We have failed to be an obedient church. Just attend a meeting, any meeting, and ask yourself, What is this meeting about? Is it about doing what God expects of the church or is this meeting more about us?

We have not done your will, Not just the meeting, look at the calendar of events scheduled for any week of that church; does it reflect going beyond our walls and campuses to our neighborhoods to do good?

we have broken your law, Again, back to that "law" of loving one another or getting along with those who disagree with our points of view; and even the ten found in the Ten Commandments. Should we be reminded of what they say?

we have rebelled against your love,Love from God is free, but to accept it means our willingness to love others in everything we're about, our thoughts, words, and actions. Are these three holy and pure before God? Are they geared to making disciples for Jesus Christ?

we have not loved our neighbors,This in every regard is true. We don't know those who live across the street from us or who live across the street from our church, let alone love them in ways that bless and help them during their times of need. Most of us drive quietly into our parking lots of worship and leave the same way. We sometimes refuse to acknowledge all people as our neighbor. Remind yourself of the conversation Jesus had with the one who asked, "Who is my neighbor?"

and we have not heard the cry of the needy.Most of our dwellings and churches are comfortably air conditioned, the music is soothing (usually) and we are insulated from hearing anything from the outside; and when we do we express our frustration with our frowns and scowls or the eye contact we make with our "neighbors" in worship.

Forgive us, we pray. Lord, truly hear our prayers when we do ask for genuine forgiveness, meaning we want to repent, to turn away from this old way of living towards a new way, a better way, a more inclusive way.

Free us for joyful obedience,Joy is still allowed in church, but we wouldn't know it in some. Obedience is what is expected of those who love God and seek to do God's will. What did we use to sing? Oh yeah, "Trust and obey, for there's no better way!" Obedience lived out joyfully is a blessing to God and to us.

through Jesus Christ our Lord.All things center on Jesus, especially all done in the Church,and it is through Jesus that we should pray all prayers.

Amen This is like the "Like" button on Facebook, or the "10-4" from old days on the road, or "Roger" for those who fly or "May it be so" for those who truly pray in Jesus' name.

May it be so.

Observe & Receive

Read a story once about Albert Einstein. It said on the day he and his family were set to move, he was, as was his custom, in another world. He had been working in his home work space and came out to the street and encountered a little boy. "Little boy," he asked, "Do you know where my family has moved?" The little boy said, "Dad, Mom knew this would happen and that's why I'm here waiting for you!" I don't know how true this story is but it proves the point; we can sometimes be so wrapped up in what we're doing we miss the bigger picture. Is the glare of a smartphone or tablet screen dimming your view of the bigger picture?

If we observe more carefully at the bigger picture, we're set to receive a bigger blessing of what God has, is, and will, do in our surroundings. I've shared numerous times how when arriving to a charge conference I noticed a little girl playing outside her home across the street from the church. She and I shared the same skin color and that made her pause to see me get out of my car at this particular church. I smiled and waved at her and entered the church. During the charge conference I asked if anyone in the church knew that little girl's name. No one did. Is the glare of the routine dimming our view of the bigger picture?

Two men worked side by side for over thirty years. They both retired on the same day, and it was on that day they discovered they were both United Methodists! Thirty years of hello-how-are-yous, and not once, How was church? Thirty years. At least on the last day they finally shared at least their faith background. Is the glare of the mundane dimming our view of the bigger picture?

Think of all we have missed because we've not observed or shared as we should. Think more of what others have missed because we have not shared our faith story with them.

In reading from Acts this morning, it strikes me as how important the church once took sharing. In chapter 8 of that awesome book, in spite of the persecution, Christians running for their lives still found ways to share their faith stories with others. Philip, guided and blessed by the Holy Spirit, was able to share even while on the road the good news of Jesus Christ. Is the glare of fear dimming our view of the bigger picture?

Inward?

Nellie and I worshiped in a church not from our district, nor from our conference. As the pre-worship announcements were made, and a couple of people walked up to the pulpit to make these, one of them made my wife write in pencil on our bulletin a single word: Inward! Yes. My wife thinks like I do, that our church is turned inward and we cater to the whims and fancy of our members and care not much about the culture outside our walls. As we drove home the discussion was about what good such an event serves. I answered that it builds up the Club.

Christ said, "Go into all the world." Yikes. That isn't inward at all. Pentecost was an outward event spilling the disciples out onto the street, acting drunk, according to some, but joyfully telling of the great works of God. Think about it; the disciples had been inward during those uncertain days, but when God's power was poured out, outward they went.

We have that same power.

Go!