Blessings

I am so thankful for the blessings I have received in my life. They are just too numerous to count or list. But, as they come I thank the Lord for them. This morning as I was driving from Seguin to Gonzales, I was thankful for my four girls. Today is the day God blessed us with our youngest, Caitlin, whom we call Caty or Cata. She and Liam drove in last evening and we had supper with them; she spent the night and drives back today to Houston. This weekend she will be meeting with her university as she is set to begin the final phase of her Nurse Practitioner degree.

How do you define and what do you do with blessings? I define a blessing as a gift from God. I could add a "special" gift, but all that God gives to us is special and so playing with words does not do justice to what a blessing is intended to do; make our life richer and our hearts thankful for God's thoughtfulness in our lives.

I invite you to say thank you to God for whatever blessing you're enjoying today.

I say again, Thank you God, for Caty and her blessing to us. May You share with her many more years!

Renewal of Our Spirits, Ahh!

Image from interpret.com

O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.  Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there, living things both small and great. There go the ships, and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it. These all look to you to give them their food in due season; when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your spirit, they are created;and you renew the face of the ground. May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; may the Lord rejoice in his works— who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke. I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more.Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord! (Psalm 104:24-35b)

My prayer for Pentecost Sunday is that it would begin today!  My prayer is that today be a day filled with the power of God in our lives in ways that transform us for the better.  I would pray that every house who praises God be rocked with the awesomeness of God in ways that bless the neighborhoods in which these homes are.  And I would pray that the Holy Spirit presence and praise be carried into our churches in ways that the cobwebs on our souls be dusted right off, and a newness of heart and joy be ours. May a routine Sunday (whatever that is/was) be gone forever.  Let the prayer of the little boy who asked loudly during prayer time be fulfilled with "more smiling faces!" on us first, and our neighbors in worship next.  May the dryness of our souls for the things of God be renewed with the living waters of Jesus; granting us new eyes and ears, strengthening our hands to reach out in love and service to those around us. This could be the start of a new day for Christ's church.

PRAYER:  Come Holy Spirit and fill our hearts.  We pray You kindle in us the fire of Your love.  May Your Spirit renew us and the face of the earth.  Grant us Your wisdom by Your instruction as we seek to worship and praise You, and be at work for You in the world.  This is our prayer in Christ Jesus our Lord, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord.  Smile more today.  It's contagious.  

Eradio Valverde

P.S.  Dear friends, a new chapter in our lives makes it necessary for ConCafe to take a vacation for a few days as we move from Corpus Christi to our new home.  We thank you for your faithfulness to this ministry; your prayers, comments, thoughts, and love.  We ask you pray for our safe move and for grace for the new days of new opportunities.  God is faithful and we seek to be faithful and fruitful for the Lord.  Love you all, Eradio & Nellie Valverde.

Elephants vs. Alligators

Image from GrindTV.com

What is the difference between an elephant and an alligator? The old man wasn't making a question, it was more the way he taught. The way his ancestors have taught since the beginning of time.

"One's a mammal, one's a reptile," replied the student. "one lives on land visits water, one lives in water and visits land. One is a flesh-eater, the other a vegetarian. Neither has natural enemies, only the same enemy - man."

"You missed the essential differences. The one that separates them forever."

"Is this a riddle?"

"Not a riddle, not a mystery. A truth you can learn...if you listen."

"I'm listening."

The baby alligator comes out of the egg a perfectly formed predator. It will not grow, it will only get larger, do you see? It learns nothing. From the moment of its birth, it fights to survive. If it succeeds, if it reaches its full size, it hunts. At birth, it is 9 inches long. In adulthood, perhaps 9 ft. The difference can be measured. As a predator, it increases in competence, in skill. But, no matter what its fate, it will always be what it was born to be."

"I understand."

"Do you? Your work is with children. To work with children, you must know the child. The baby elephant cannot survive on its won. It needs nurturing, it needs protection. Without love, it dies. Depending on how it is raised, the baby elephant grows to be a work animal, a circus performer, a peaceful beast content to live in harmony. But some elephants grow up to be rogues, dangerous to humans. Depending on how they are raised - that is the key. You see the difference now?"

"Yes."

"And so, ask yourself: Are the children of humans alligators, doomed to what they will be from the moment of birth? Or, are they elephants, fated to nothing specific and capable of anything?"

Andrew Vachs, "If You Could Listen to a Child's Soul," Parade, 6/16/1991.

Recognize Jesus?

Photo of Emmaus Team to Puerto Rico; seated are E. M. Valverde, Eradio Valverde, Jr., Carlos Alaniz; standing are Ruben Silva, Jerry Saenz, Ezekiel Acevedo, Gabby Garza, David Marroquin, and Paul Adams.

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’ They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?’ He asked them, ‘What things?’ They replied, ‘The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.’Then he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. (Luke 24:13-35)

In 1991, I led a group of ten men to San Juan, Puerto Rico, to help lead their first Walk to Emmaus in Spanish on that island.  The retreat was held outside of San Juan in El Yunque, a rain forest retreat center, where iguanas, huge parrots, and other amazing wildlife and plant life set the stage for this amazing weekend.  The photo shows part of the team, those sitting are my dad, E. M. Valverde, myself, Carlos Alaniz, then on the back row are from l to r, Ruben Silva, Jerry Saenz, Ezekiel Acevedo, Gabby Garza, David Marroquin, and Paul Adams.  Of those in the picture, my father, Mr. Acevedo, and Mr. Adams are deceased.  Of those in the picture, I believe I was the first to attend a Walk to Emmaus in 1985, but not without resistance, and after having turned down two prior invitations.  Of the men in the picture, Mr. Adams, Mr. Alaniz, Mr. Acevedo, Mr. Silva and Mr. Garza, were from my church, El Mesias UMC in Mission, Texas, and Mr. Adams was the first I was able to convince to attend a Walk. He offered little resistance until he arrived at the camp, and was seen by a team member using the pay phone calling his son-in-law to come and pick him up.  The team member remembers hearing Paul say, "I don't know where I am, that's the trouble, but when I figure it out, I'll call you to come get me."  He never made that call because the Walk blessed him almost immediately.

The retreat focuses on the title of today's devotional, and is geared to help those who attend to recognize Jesus.  It happened to me; I didn't want to go because 1)  I was already a pastor, and pastors know everything, right?  (wrong!), and 2) a retreat held at Mt. Wesley with its high mountain trails and called a Walk gave me images of a lot of walking and I was not so disposed.  But as the event unfolded and surprises of gifts, letters, posters, etc. made me recognize Jesus right at my side, where He had been all along.

The two disciples walking that Seven Mile Journey between Jerusalem and Emmaus, never walked alone; the risen Jesus came along, quizzed and blessed them, but it wasn't until He broke bread with them, they knew who He was.  So it happens in our lives.  The busyness and noisiness of our world, the worries, distractions, interruptions, all serve to keep our eyes focuses away from Jesus, almost like Peter when he walked on water; as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus he was fine, but when he looked away to see the waves, he sank.  So it is with us; the waves of despair or doubt, or challenge or worry, family concerns, worries about the future, all can take our eyes off of Jesus.  If we stop to worship and celebrate Him in our midst at church or at a retreat or during our personal prayer time, we will see Jesus.  And the more we see Jesus, Jesus will be seen in us.

PRAYER:  Loving God, may I take time to focus on You and see Jesus right by my side.  Let not the worries and challenges of this day take my vision away from the One who helps and guides me.  And may it be so, that the more I see Him, He will be seen in me by those who so need.  This I pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.

Have a great and blessed day in the Lord; may Jesus be seen in you!

Eradio Valverde

Leave Your Cape at Home, Pastor!

My wife was reading to me from the Book of Face about ten things for which pastors need prayer. The list made me think back to the days I started out in ministry. I thought seminary had given me along with the gown that I wore for graduation, a red Superman's cape. I didn't wear glasses yet, so it was hard to disguise that I wasn't Superman all the time. And yes, there still were phone booths where I could have easily changed, but I didn't need to! I had a cape! There was no problem to big that I needed to refer to a trained professional - I had the cape, I was the professional. There was no detail so small that I needed to delegate it; I was the one who could go and buy the bread (sorry folks, Hawaiian bread had not yet appeared!) and the juice, and pick up the lilies, and poinsettias (am I pronouncing it right? Of course I am! I am superman!). Sigh, that was a long time ago.

The years tattered my cape and my soul, as I began to realize, as the hymn says, "I serve a Risen Savior, who's in the world today." Jesus doesn't need a cape, neither do I. My prayer life grew through the years and I learned that I could leave the cape at home, and I could easily say, "I don't know," or "Why don't you pick these things for the church?" and even, "I don't think I can do that, sorry."

I now wore glasses.

The Person of Christ. Do You Know & Offer Him?

Image from localsaints.org

Our oldest granddaughter goes to school in Austin and the other day was selling magazines to raise money for one of her school's projects.  Being very overindulgent grandparents, we bought magazines, of course.  The only one that seemed to interest me was "Ministry Today: Equipping Christian Leaders to Grow."  I got the first issue yesterday and the cover story was called "The Life and Ministry of A. R. Bernard."  I went to that story and read.  Ouch.  It was on page 20.  Let me say that this brother is now the pastor of the largest church in New York City, with 35,000 members and about that many in worship every Sunday.  They are starting to offer several satellite churches around the city.  But the ouch part was this:

"Bernard grew up Catholic but got involved in a youth program at a local Methodist church. 'It was about community and an alternative to being on the streets,' he says, ' I was exposed to the church and Christianity but  not to the person of Christ.'"

Yikes.  It was not until he was a bank executive that his secretary introduced him to the person of Christ.  He says, "She began to share with me the person of Christ, not the institution of Christ.  What got me most was her simple childlike faith."

I have shared with some of you that early on one of the biggest frustrations of mine was serving a church and having kids graduate from high school go off to college and come back and share how they had now found Christ.  I began to question what I was preaching, how I was preaching, and what could I do to offer Christ?  It's a question that I still ask and perhaps one we should be asking about our ministries.  The starting point is of course, do we know the person of Christ?  Thank God I do.  The second is are we offering the person of Christ to those who come to hear us preach and worship with us.  The person of Christ is He who lives and works in and through us; not the out there Christ of Wesley on that ship when he was asked if he knew Him.  "I know him to be the savior of the world," was his reply.  "Do you know him to be your savior?" was Spandenburg's reply.  It wouldn't be until John Wesley's Aldersgate experience in 1738 that he would finally know the person of Christ, as the One who died for his sins and did take away even his sins.

My prayers are with you for an awesome Sunday and may the person and power of Jesus Christ fuel your ministry and bring His kingdom rich and wonderful blessings through you.

Love and appreciate you!

Eradio Valverde