I hope you will help Jason Holt and the Chile team to make a difference in several lives. They are going to try and raise several thousand dollars in the next couple of days. They will be taking supplies into Concepción where the earthquake took place.
They will find churches and God’s people that are suffering and try to make a difference.
You can click on this link and go to Jason’s blog and send an offering right now via paypal. I had the privilege of being the first to send a little.
The following quotes are from a book by Warren Wiersbe, On Being a Servant of God. They are some of the bravest, bluntest statements I have ever read. Read and enjoy or endure!
Because it has power and can slowly seduce us into treating it like a god. Instead of loving God with all the heart, soul, and mind, we try to love God and money; and before long, God loses out. The desire for money possesses the heart; thoughts of ways to get money control the mind; and before long, the will is captured, and money starts to rule the will. No wonder Paul equated “covetousness” with “idolatry” (Col. 3:5).
Money is a very satisfying substitute for God. After all, money is more tangible, and less faith is required to trust it.
Money is the god of modern civilization, and its worship has invaded the church. It makes no difference what kind of character people have, if they are “successful”-translate that “rich and famous”-they are admired and imitated, even by Christians, who ought to know better. These celebrities show up in pulpits and are interviewed on religious radio and television. The “health and wealth” preachers have convinced millions of people that poverty is the penalty for unbelief and that the unpardonable sin is driving a used car when God can give you a stretch limousine.
Money is the “god of this world:’ and it empowers millions of people to enjoy life by living on substitutes. With money, they can buy entertainment, but they can’t buy joy. They can go to the drugstore and buy sleep, but they can’t buy peace. Their money will attract lots of acquaintances but very few real friends. Wealth gains them admiration and envy but not love. It buys the best in medical services, but it can’t buy health.
Paul next asks for open doors to preach the gospel. That is exactly what your missionary is going to need the minute he arrives on the field. Just where will he preach? Who will listen to him? He needs God to direct his paths. He needs to know where to go. He needs God to open doors. This is a definite way that you can help by praying. Even Paul had to have open doors. There are multiplied millions of folks out there. Most of them have never heard the gospel. But where will I really be able to have success. Where will I find some folks to listen to me? I need your prayers for open doors. Your pastor needs the same thing in prayer. He goes soul winning. He tells folks about Jesus and often times we do not have the success that we could have if we would just go where He has prepared the way and the hearts of folks. Today why don’t you pray for your missionary and for your pastor that God would show him where to go and that God would open doors and prepare hearts for the gospel message?
Paul also realized that it was more than just having open doors. He would need to know how to preach, witness and talk. God open doors but then teach me how to talk to them. What should I say? How do I get the message across? Especially crossing cultural boundaries and speaking in another language we need special help from ‘God. Will you pray for your missionary that God would move in this way? This also would include special pray for your missionary while he or she is in language school. We have the message. We don’t have the tools of how to get it to them. We need another language. They are all hard. We must pray that God would encourage them and help them get the language.
Finally brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. 2Thessalonians 3:1-2
Finally Paul asks them to pray that the word of God might have free course and be glorified. It was the word of God that changed our lives. Paul asks them to pray for free course. That means that nothing would hinder the working of the word of God. That means that the Bible would be able to run through them and their society.
Andrew Young, our grandson, just had his 6th birthday. We love him very much and wanted him to know that we are so very proud of him. Actually Andrew was born on February 29th so he doesn’t get many birthdays on his actual date. I am late posting this but not late in loving this little man.
Andrew has one of the sweetest spirits of any one that you will ever meet. He is kind and gentle. He is of course adorable but then what do you want a grandparent to think.
Andrew, Grandmama and I couldn’t be with you on your birthday but we can’t wait to see you and tell you just how much we love you. You are turning into a very fine young man and we are very proud of you.
It is a privilege to be able to address you, to thank you for your prayers, knowing about your love towards the work for God.
Last month God blessed us with a lot of visitors in both churches Smyrna and Hunter. At Smyrna we had a special day on Sunday Feb. 14th in the morning for we had the Wedding Vows Renovation. We had 199 people, including 23 guests. At Hunter that same day we had 190 people attending at night. There were almost 40 couples in whole, the ones who renewed their Wedding Vows between Smyrna and Hunter Churches.
At Hunter we had the Summer Biblical School every Sunday, having close to 100 kids each week, we also had lots of visitors and many decisions towards salvation. I thank Pastor Miguel Mego for all his work, together with the teachers of the Sunday school.
Form the 8th to the 12th of February we had a youth camp at Ite, closet o the port of Ilo, 80 people attended, between Hunter and Smyrna Churches. There went two of our youngster’s Pastors: Alfredo Pari (Hunter) and Alan Chujutalli (Smyrna). They did a great job!
At mid February one of our College students (Richard Quecara) from Hunter came back from the capital Lima, who was helping a church in Surquillo. Lima. He needs to go throw many medical examinations. We ask for your prayers for his health.
On February 15th, a group of six people between students and former students of our college, including Alfredo Pari, Elio Hilares and Shirley Chavez, from Hunter Church .left to La Paz – Bolivia. They were a blessing those two weeks there, because Alfredo preached in many churches and Shirley helped teaching children, many of them accepted Jesus as their Savior.
On Friday, February 19th and Saturday 20th we had a retreat in Camana beach for the youngsters at Smyrna, where 27 of us attended. I was able to share with them some topics regarding team work and the difference between the children of the light and the children of the darkness besides, having a great time together.
On Sunday 28th we had our first service in the new church Berea, where a total of 22 attended . The services there will be at 3:00 pm, and in between the week on Tuesdays, at 7:00 pm.
We ask for your prayers for our plans for March:
- Official start of classes at our Christian School, March 1st.
- Classes for Pastor son March 2nd and 3rd, at our College
- Start of classes at the institute and College, on Monday March 15th and Tuesday 16th respectively.
- At Hunter we will talk about a” Contagious Church: The Thrill of sharing The Gospel”.
- At Smyrna we will talk about “Family over the Rock: Can I have a good family?”
- Our trip to Ayacucho, to preach at Baptist Church Libertad, from March 9th to March 11th.
I would also like to ask for your prayers for the mother of our co-pastor of Hunter, Brother Luis Navarro. She was detected Cancer at the cervical vertebrates and has started her treatment of radio-therapy. Please help us with a prayer for his family as well.
I thank God for the loyalty of each one of you. May God bless you and keep you well.
Proverbs 2:3-5 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
The main reason so few of us get much from our Bibles is the attitude that we have when we approach the Bible. Notice in these verses that we are to seek after, cry after knowledge and understanding.
We are to come to the Bible with a real desire to understand God and know more what He has for our lives.
What would happen if we cried after Him, His Word, knowledge, and understanding like men cry after silver or like they search for hid treasure.
You must dig into the Word of God. A flippant reading even if you do so daily will not bring you much understanding, knowledge, or growth.
Cry after, dig, seek, search until you get something from the Word of God.
Numbers 32:9 For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them. God’s people got right to the edge of the promise. Some of them even got to […]
Numbers 27:23 And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses. Moses takes Joshua and in front of the entire congregation he will lay hands on him. In our church we lay hands on men when we pray for them and especially when […]
We are officially on full-time deputation! We are so excited that God wants to use us to plant churches and train Christian leaders in Spain. We have been preparing for this for 7 years, from Bible college, to working on the field, to training at Vision Baptist Church. When I look back at these years […]
Num 20:29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel. They mourned this man for 30 days. He had made big mistakes. He had failed in his leadership, but he had been used of God and he had made a difference. […]
Numbers 16:3 and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and Jehovah is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of Jehovah? This is one of those verses that […]
