Cisco Baez

Words from the Pastor
This morning as I sat and wrote Naomi’s mother’s eulogy, I was reminded once again of how fragile life is. As the poem by C.T. Studd states, “Only one life, will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.” Although Naomi’s mother was 91 years old, a long life by anyone’s estimation, it is just a small blip on the screen when you compare that to eternity. Sarah, Naomi’s mother, served the Lord as faithfully as she could in the knowledge that she had.
There has been 4 of Naomi’s family called home in the last 2 years. One of the things that these deaths have shown me is that life is so short. We never know when God will call us home do we? It can happen anytime. But one thing I do know is that we better be ready.
One stanza in the same poem is: “Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done; Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgement seat; Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” One thing that I have to constantly remind myself of is that serving God is the most important thing we can do. Even if we are doing church work or serving the poor, fighting the fight against abortion etc. etc., we may not be putting Christ first. We may be doing everything that is right on the outside. But what does our inside look like? The inside that no one else can see except God. Jesus told the religious leaders in His day this: “”Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence (Matthew 23:26).” Jesus is saying that everything looks good on the outside but inside, where no one can see, we are only interested in our selves. In verse 27 Jesus goes on to say, “Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.” Isn’t that interesting? So, it doesn’t matter what the outside looks like, if our inside is dirty, we’re dirty all over! Take care of your heart first and everything else will follow! But aren’t we so much more interested in the outside? Making sure we look good instead of making sure our inside is clean and we can stand before God and hear these words, “Well done good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:23).” And when we do hear those words, I promise you that they will make it all worth it! No matter what we have to endure here on earth, it will be nothing compared with the glory that will be revealed in us in Heaven! I promise you that. So, continue to serve the Lord with all of your heart and please, don’t weary in doing well! Jesus loves you, and even though it may not seem like it right now under your circumstances, He is going to make all things work together for His good. He is that kind of Savior. All you have to do is trust and obey Him. He loves you.
Please let me know if you need anything. You pray for me and I’ll pray for you. Naomi and I love you all. -Pastor Steve