Month: December 2023

I love the Christmas season!  I love the music, the food, the fellowship.  I love it all!  I never feel as if Christmas celebrations start too early!  Why do I feel this way?  Well, what is the first part of Christmas?  Christ!  What I love celebrating is Christ.  Wouldn’t it be nice if we really could celebrate the presence of Jesus Christ all year long?  What if we could celebrate in July the presence of Jesus Christ as we do in December?  No doubt, some of you may be saying, “I’m not cooking pecan pies and pumpkin rolls in July!”  And, I suppose we would grow weary of the continual business of the celebration.  Or would we?

When we consider what we celebrate – the prescreens of God Almighty, who came to earth to pay for our sins and secure our place in heaven – perhaps we should strive to live out our lives in continual celebration for Jesus, our Christ!  I am reminded of the words of the Apostle Paul who said: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4).  I find it interesting that Paul says, “I will say it again!”  He stresses the again because sometimes we need to hear it again, and again.  

My prayer for each and every one of you this Christmas is that you will rejoice!  I pray that you will rejoice again and again throughout the year, and every day, for what God has offered to you at no price – grace, forgiveness, and eternal life. 

Merry Christmas!,

Posted by Ramón Torres

Psalm 133:1 – How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!

² It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe.
³ It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.  (NIV)

I once was the pastor of two small country churches in southwest Virginia.  When one of the churches decided that the time had come to re-shingle the roof, much time was spent amongst the members as to what color shingles would be used.  When the decision was finally made, one couple was so unhappy with the decision that they left the church.  Much to my dismay, that coupled simply went to my other church – and caused even more division! 

If Christians who worship together cannot get along, can we blame anyone for calling us hypocrites?  Divisions among the people of God is nothing new.  In the Christian age, divisions within the church have been around as long as the church!  Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth was written in response to the many factions that were dividing the church.  Paul wrote: “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.” (1 Cor. 1:10, NLT).

Psalm 133 gives us a picture of the ideal.  Unity among the people of God, according to this passage, is a good and pleasant thing.  The word ‘good’ in verse one, and the word precious in verse two, are the same Hebrew word which can be translated as desirable.  It is desirable that the Church get along!  This is true within a local congregation, and it is true with Christians worldwide.

This past week I attended the monthly breakfast of the Cleveland Ministerial Network.   Twenty to thirty pastors from a number of different churches and denominations sat together in unity, as we enjoyed coffee and breakfast.  Did we all believe the same way on every issue?  Of course not.  Did we all believe that women should be pastors, or that babies should be baptized?  Again, of course not.  We do, however, believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we share a belief in our common duty to live out our lives as a witness to the transforming power of the Good News.  We will not let our differences break our unity, but instead continue to seek common ground on which to stand together as we go about kingdom work.

Today, we all have kingdom work to do!  Let us not let our differences slow us down.  Let us continue to stand upon our common ground, remembering the words of Psalm 133:1 – How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Romans 9:1 – With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. ² My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief ³ for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them. ⁴ They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises. ⁵ Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. (NLT)

Today we get a glimpse into the heart of the Apostle Paul.  We catch of glimpse of the burden that he had for all people, that they would come to have a relationship with God through Jesus.  Remember, Paul was a Jew, and not just any Jew.  Paul was a member of the Pharisees, and had been trained in the best theological schools of his time.  Before he came to know Jesus, he spent a great amount of time persecuting the Jews who believed that Jesus was the Christ.  Yet, even though he came to know Jesus as Christ, Paul was willing to be cut off from Christ so that his Jewish brothers and sisters would be able to share in the saving knowledge of Jesus!  

This causes me to think – what are we willing to sacrifice so that others may know Jesus?  What sacrifices are too much?  Indeed, what sacrifices do we offer up in an effort that others may know?  These are not questions to accuse, but rather questions we should honestly ask ourselves.  If we truly believe that a relationship with Jesus makes a difference, then what are we willing to do for others who don’t know that difference? 

What are we willing to sacrifice in matters of our time?  Personally, I struggle with this question.  I mean, I already work for God!  Sometimes I don’t want to volunteer over and above my ‘church’ time, but I have to separate what I do for work and what I ‘sacrifice’.   When we receive new members into our church, they are asked, “Will you support this church with your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service and your witness?”  I believe these are good measures of our willingness to sacrifice so that others may know about Jesus.

Today, let’s take an honest look at what we are – or are not – doing in an effort to share the message of God’s grace through Jesus with others. 

Posted by Ramón Torres 

Acts 17:10 – That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. ¹¹ And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. ¹² As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.

¹³ But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble. ¹⁴ The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind. ¹⁵ Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens; then they returned to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him. (NLT)

In this passage of Scripture we encounter Paul experiencing some evangelistic success.  However, if we were to read from the beginning of Acts 17, we would know that Paul had just come from a very difficult and dangerous situation.  Paul came to Berea from Thessalonica, and while some there did come to believe, many rejected Paul and were even violent towards his message.  Indeed, in Acts 17: 5 we are told that a riot took place!  

This passage teaches us something of Paul’s persistence.  He did not let rejection discourage him in his efforts to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He did not even let danger to himself deter his efforts!  This makes me wonder – what do we let discourage us in our efforts to share the message of Jesus?

Also, in this passage we can learn something from the Bereans.  When they heard Paul & Silas preach they neither rejected or accepted their message.  What they did do, however, was to search the Scriptures daily to see if they were telling the truth.  There is a lesson here for us, especially when we listen to a preacher or Bible teacher with whom we are not familiar.  We must be familiar enough with the Scriptures that we, too, can search the Bible to see if what a preacher or teacher is telling us is the truth.  If we study the Scriptures daily, we can come to new insights, as well.  We thank God we already know and trust Jesus, but there is much insight in the Bible for us to yet glean!

Today, let us search the Scriptures, ready to receive what God would reveal to us! 

Posted by Ramón Torres