VBS Acuna, 2008

Marsha, Rosalyn, Sissy and Mary outside of Pastor Romero's church in Acuna, Mexico before VBS.

The following are debriefing questions with answers regarding VBS:

1. Was there ever a time that you really felt like God was directing you? Yes, when I yielded to him to present the wordless book and to do the VBS.

2. What were some of the ways you ministered on your trip? Witnessed and VBS.

3. What were some of the ways you ministered on your trip? Helping in VBS.

4. What was the biggest highlight of your trip?
When the kids encircled us after VBS and prayed for us.

5. What were some of the ways you ministered on your trip?

(By) handing out tracts, inviting kids to VBS...

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We were informed when we got to Acuna that we would be doing a VBS for the local children. I commend the EFBC team for being so flexible and diving right in and putting on a VBS class, especially considering the fact that there was such short notice (less than 12 hours and only 3 of those hours were waking!!!). The VBS at Pastor Romero's church went great. However the VBS at the church plant was a little more ummm....difficult; but no less great.

The VBS at the church plant was to be held in cojunction with an open air worship service (due to the heat). The problem with this was that the service was literally right outside the door of the church. Since the inside temperature of the church was so high, we had no choice but to open the doors and windows to keep from being baked.

If you know anything about buildings in Mexico you know that they are mostly built out of cement block. This church building was no different. Also because the church was a new construction there was nothing but bare concrete walls to echo and amplify the LOUD, I mean, EXTREMELY LOUD worship music coming from outside. I am sure that I do not need to point out that this was a bit of a distraction for the teachers as well as the students. Again, as I stated above, the EFBC team did fabulous. The "show" went on as best as possible and the EFBC team enjoyed worshiping the Lord through service.

It is amazing to see God work in all of our lives when we let Him. When we do, our desire to witness and to serve others through means such as VBS becomes our focus and delight instead of a drudgery that has to be done.

Mission New Jerusalem, Acuna Mexico

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig.

Well we made it back alive and well! I think that without question, we certainly learned what it means to be fluid.


I want to say that when I said that we should count on thing not going as planned, I never realized that NOTHING would work according as planned!

From the start we had an auto mishap that set us back a little more than hour. That should have been our first indicator that this trip would be a bit "bumpy". Then, an hour or so before we got to Acuna we ran into a thunderstorm that packed winds and rain that caused us to slow down to about 25-30 mph. After entering Acuna, our plans changed more times than I can count. One time our plans changed 3 times in less than 10 minutes!


HOWEVER!!! Even though we had to be beyond flexible the trip was a great one! In fact part of the reason this was such a fantastic trip is due to the fluidity of the group. I do not believe I ever heard even a grumble as a result of all of the changes that took place. Most people would have at least been a little upset. Not our people. They were great. Thank you for being so patient.


God is great. The numerous areas of spiritual growth that I witnessed from this team was amazing. Here is a short list:


-The team as a whole showed great patience and fluidity as mentioned above.


-Gerald's willingness to attempt to put together a few words of encouragement for the congregation in Acuna despite sharing the same anxieties of standing before a crowd that I have (I can say from personal experience that this is a giant step).


-Joe's "mini-sermon" to the church in Acuna (again, another giant step).


-Mary's desire to reach the lost through handing out tracts.


-Marsha's desire to reach the lost through handing out tracts.


-Sissy's desire to reach the lost through handing out tracts.


-Rosalynn's desire to reach the lost through handing out tracts.


-Linda's desire to reach the lost through handing out tracts.


-Jacob's willingness to experience what it will be like to live in Mexico and his willingness to try different things.


-Everyone's desire to serve both churches through helping out with VBS.


-Everyone's desire to work hard and work late.


-Everyone's willingness to see God from a different perspective.


-Everyone's willingness to sacrifice the comforts of home for the unexpected of another country. I would like to say here that I am especially proud of Marsha in this area because she had prepared herself to sleep in a motel with a dirt floor. :) She was certainly relieved to find out when she saw her room that it was similar to a Motel 6.


- I grew as well. God enabled me to see the Spanish culture through a clearer lense. It is amazing how friendly the people are, just a stones throw from the U.S.A. The pastor displayed a true picture of the commandment that is like the greatest. He was only able to do this by obeying the greatest commandment first. This man loved the Lord and therefore loved his people as a result. Now if God will continue to grow me so that I may emulate the pastor. May we all emulate him.



It will be a week or so before I am able to post more pics since I will not get my cameras for another week or so. As soon as I get them I will post them on the blog.

I pray that we all have a bigger view of God than the view we had before we signed up for the trip. May God's name be made great.

Sound Familiar?

We know you don't want to go to hell. All men naturally seek their creator.1400 years ago Allah sent his one and only uncorrupted revelation so that man can be guided and submit to him. That whoever believes in him will not die but live eternally in Jannah. You can be saved and receive Jannah today if youaccept Allah into your heart by praying this prayer; "I testify there is no God but Godand Muhammad is his prophet." When you do this you confess Muhammad as a prophet of Allah and Allah is in your heart. Now you're a Muslim. Congratulations! (HT Javier)

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"Acts 16-In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were thrown into prison when an earthquake shook the foundations of the jail so violently that the doors were flung open and their chains fell off. Upon seeing the doors open, the jailer assumed that the prisoners had escaped and drew his sword in order to kill himself. However Paul and Silas called out for him not to harm himself because they had not fled. The jailer (after certainly hearing the Gospel preached while Paul and Silas were singing and praying to God) cried out "What must I do to be saved?"

Their reply was "Believe! on the Lord Jesus Christ".

Folks, the work of prayer is not salvation. It can become a silly superstition and nothing more than a sacrament in Baptist clothes...We need none of the common 20th century methods of evangelism, just passionate, doctrine, Theo, Spirit empowered, preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because the Scriptures are sufficient. They (the Scriptures) don’t need our help brother.

Modern day down grade.
1. We have dumbed down Gospel, which is no Gospel.
2. We have a dumbed down view of conversions which is not conversion.
3. We have dumbed down revival which is not true revival, it is revivalism, created by man.
4. Now we have to have dumbed down churches so that we can keep these unregenerate people happy and coming back to church.

The church has become more like Six Flags over Jesus.
The true Church will do well to remember that “Missions isn’t about sending missionaries. Missions is about sending Truth."
Planting churches isn’t about planting churches. Planting churches is about sending preachers. We need God called, Biblically sound, Spirit empowered, preachers to go to these places and preach Christ to anybody who will listen until God builds His church. You might say, ‘Well that’s simplistic.’…(My reply is) Well try it." - Dr. Jeff Noblitt

A true story from a student at a seminary in Jordan

There was a Christian, Filipino, domestic servant who worked in the mansion of a very powerful prince in a Muslim country. While prince’s child was on his death bed, despite the danger of being killed, the servant asked if he could pray for this child. He said that he would pray to Jesus Christ. The prince reluctantly gave permission for him to do so. God graciously answered the servant’s prayer and had mercy on the child, healing him.
In response to this answered prayer, the prince told the servant that what ever he wanted in (name of the country), he would give him. The servant said that he wanted nothing other than to be able to fly in a helicopter over the capitol…so that he could pray for the city from above.
This servant showed that not only was he a servant of the prince but more so a servant of God. He could have become wealthier than he could have ever imagined; driving a $100000 car, living in a mansion, having his own servants. But because this servant knew what his true Treasure was, instead of becoming greedy and hording earthly wealth, he desired to spread the Treasure that he possessed onto the city of his raising, desiring that God’s grace be poured out onto his people.

Equip Them To Delight In His Glory And To Declare The Gospel To Their People

"The sad part is that illegals often come here wanting to provide for their families back home—but the reality is that their absence often deteriorates the family more than if they’d never left.”


One Question

ByFaith asked four pastors and missionaries, all of them with years of experience with Hispanic immigrants this question: How should the fact that illegal immigrants have knowing broken the law affect our attitudes toward them. One pastor in Florida told us: “I don’t ask the immigrants we help whether they are here legally or not. It’s incumbent upon us to love our neighbors and to help meet their needs.

But I take a different stance about those south of the border. Those who want to come here illegally shouldn’t do it. But we can’t close our doors to those who are already here. We’re still called upon to love mercy and act justly toward them.

The sad part is that illegals often come here wanting to provide for their families back home—but the reality is that their absence often deteriorates the family more than if they’d never left.”

Here are three other replies.

Question: How should the fact that immigrants knowingly broke the law affect our attitudes toward them?

In many cases, we don’t know why people are breaking the law (whether it’s for a family member in need, for example). So my attitude should be to try to understand why they’ve come to the U.S., what their needs are, and their reality here.

But I disagree with those who put water bottles in the desert for illegals crossing the border. I think it’s better to discourage that behavior.

An illegal Mexican immigrant visited the church I pastored in Houston and asked for advice on what he should do. We talked and prayed about it, and it didn’t seem to me that he had a good reason to be here. I counseled him, “For your own good and for the good of your family, I think you should go back.” And he did.

Another illegal couple had become Christians after they moved to the U.S. They were concerned about the lies they had told, and I counseled them to tell the truth to the authorities. They had the mindset that they would be at peace either way: whether they were deported back to Mexico and would help plant a church there, or whether they would stay in our church community in Houston. The authorities let them stay, and that man is a deacon in the church today. It’s a great story of Christians having a big view of God.

Alex Villasana, a Mexican national (both he and his wife have green cards, their two children are U.S. citizens) is planting a PCA church in Norcross, Ga.


Question: How should the fact that immigrants knowingly broke the law affect our attitudes toward them?

We must show hospitality to the alien among us. The state and the kingdom of God do not have the same interests, so we shouldn’t get caught up in the tenor of national politics on this issue.

Violating immigration law is not the same thing as committing murder, though some have equated the two. Our missionaries overseas violate immigration laws all the time. So the question to me is, why do we treat illegal immigrants differently than we treat congregants who speed in traffic or lie on their taxes?

We’re trying to enfold our Hispanic community members into our church. Instead of establishing another church, we’re trying to welcome them into our existing family. It’s hard, but it’s what the gospel is all about.

Travis Hutchinson is pastor of Highlands Presbyterian Church in LaFayette, Ga. The church offers blended services (English and Spanish together) in an increasingly Hispanic community.

Question: How should the fact that immigrants knowingly broke the law affect our attitudes toward them?

Christians are not thinking gospel-centered when it comes to this issue. They reveal a confusion of sword with cross, and the state with the gospel.

Jesus did not do any background checks, and He didn’t question the reason for anyone's sins or oppression, but instead ministered respectfully and gracefully to all. Therefore, the gospel of Jesus Christ embedded in our attitude is the only rule of conduct for ministering to sinners, even illegal immigrants. Are we servants of the gospel or enforcers of the state?

However, I believe that Christian illegals, if they can't get legal papers to stay, should go back to their countries out of their relationship to the lordship of Christ.

Al Guerra is a Cuban-born pastor to Hispanics in Chicago, who is getting his doctorate of ministry degree through Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando.

BEIJING OLYMPICS

Please allow me to commend to you this very informative interview of Carl Moeller, President and CEO of Open Doors USA regarding the state of the Church in China. This is, I believe, is going to give you a more complete and realistic perspective than what we’ll receive from the secular media alone leading up to the summer Olympics.

click here -->BEIJING OLYMPICS 2008

A Great Site To Look Over

Here is a great for you to be looking over if you have time.

It is called Just For Catholics and covers Q and A about the Bible and why Protestants hold to Sola Scriptura, what the canon of Scripture is, what the apocrypha is. It also covers false doctrines such as Mariology. It is well worth your time to look over it so that it can help give you a good perspective on what we will be facing.

Following is an example of the type of questions and answers that are addressed at this site:

Catholic question: Is Mary a Mediator (Mediatrix in Roman Catholic Mariology refers to the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a mediator in the salvation process. )?
Protestant answer: Who told you that Roman Catholics believe that Mary and the Saints are mediators to God? As Roman Catholics, we believe that Jesus Christ is the only mediator to God. Just curious to know how you came up with that.
Answer: Here are a few excerpts from the book "The Glories of Mary" written by St. Alphonsus Liguori. All quotations are taken from the chapter entitled "Mary Our Mediatrix."
Mary, the most faithful mediatrix of salvation.
She has been made the ladder to paradise, the gate to heaven, the most true mediatrix between God and human beings.
No creature has since received any grace from God except through the hands of Mary.
Are we then going to scruple to ask her to save us when (as St. Germanus says) no one is saved except through her?
Moreover, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 969, affirms that Mary is a mediatrix:
Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation.... Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix.
In contrast, the Bible declares that there is one mediator:
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all (1 Timothy 2:5,6).

Click HERE to read....

Acuna Video

Here is a great video that a church in Austin made of a recent trip into Acuna. Dont let the water on the ground fool you. Rain is an anomaly; it is the acception rather than the rule! It is HOT and dry there.

ENJOY!!! :)

A True Miracle - From Death to Life - Salvation is of the Lord

I went on a mission trip to Acuna, Mexico this past January and was able to see many people pray to receive Christ as their Savior. However, few evidenced true conversion... I am not saying that those who prayed to receive Christ who did not show outward signs of conversion were not regenerated. I am saying that few evidenced being born again like the lady in this picture. If you will look closely you can see tears rolling off of her cheeks.

I walked up to her and her mother to share the Gospel with them and shortly after, her husband joined us. Because I do not speak Spanish I had to have an interpreter. From the start, I could tell that the Holy Spirit apparently was working on her shortly after I began sharing with her. You could see that she was deeply disturbed. I presented the Gospel as clearly as possible but she did not at that point want to cry out to her Creator to be saved.

By God's providence, another interpreter came up who was in the Catholic Theology class that I was in. I knew that he would be able to answer her questions more clearly than what I could. I gave him the reins and asked him to present the Gospel to her in her own language.

He was able to answer her questions much more clearly than I. Because of this, their conversation was very "smooth". He asked her if she understood everything that she had just been taught and she answered yes. He then asked her if she understood her position before God and she said that she did. Last he asked her if she felt that God was calling her and she said tearfully said YES. He then led her in prayer to receive the greatest Gift of all.

This picture was taken as she was praying to receive Christ as her LORD and Savior. May God bless her all of the days of her life.

This post was not written to point at the greatness of myself nor of the translator but to the greatness of the Giver of Life!

To Him be the glory forever and ever!

See If You Agree....

B.B. Warfield

From Selected Shorter Writings of Benjamin B. Warfield – Volume I, pp. 407-410
John E. Meeter, editor (Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1970)



I believe that my one aim in life and death should be to glorify God and enjoy Him forever; and that God teaches me how to glorify and enjoy him in His holy Word, that is, the Bible, which He has given by the infallible inspiration of His Holy Spirit in order that I may certainly know what I am to believe concerning Him and what duty He requires of me.





I believe that God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and incomparable in all that He is; one God but three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, my Creator, my Redeemer, and my Sanctifier; in whose power and wisdom, righteousness, goodness and truth I may safely put my trust.




I believe that the heavens and the earth, and all that in them is, are the work of God's hands; and that all that He has made He directs and governs in all their actions; so that they fulfil the end for which they were created, and I who trust in Him shall not be put to shame but may rest securely in the protection of is almighty love.




I believe that God created man after is own image, in knowledge, righteousness and holiness, and entered into a covenant of life with him upon the sole condition of the obedience that was his due: so that it was by wilfully sinning against God that man fell into the sin and misery in which I have been born.




I believe, that, being fallen in Adam, my first father, I am; by nature a child of wrath, under the condemnation of God and corrupted in body and soul, prone to evil and liable to eternal death; from which dreadful state I cannot be delivered save through the unmerited grace of God my Savior.



I believe that God has not left the world to perish in its sin, but out of the great love wherewith He has loved it, has from all eternity graciously chosen unto Himself a multitude which no man can number, to deliver them out of their sin and misery, and of them to build up again in the world His kingdom of righteousness: in which kingdom I may be assured I have my part, if I hold fast to Christ the Lord.



I believe that God has redeemed His people unto Himself through Jesus Christ our Lord; who, though be was and ever continues to be the eternal Son of God, yet was born of a woman, born under the law, that He might redeem them that are under the law: I believe that He bore the penalty due to my sins in His own body on the tree, and fulfilled in His own person the obedience I owe to the righteousness of God, and now presents me to His Father as His purchased possession, to the praise of the glory of His grace forever: wherefore renouncing all merit of my own, I put all my trust only in the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ my redeemer.



I believe that Jesus Christ my redeemer, who died for my offences was raised again for my justification, and ascended into the heavens, where He sits at the right hand of the Father Almighty, continually making intercession for his people, and governing the whole world as head over all things for his Church: so that I need fear no evil and may surely know that nothing can snatch me out of His hands and nothing can separate me from His love.



I believe that the redemption wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ is effectually applied to all His people by the Holy Spirit, who works faith in me and thereby unites me to Christ, renews me in the whole man after the image of God, and enables me more and more to die unto sin and to live unto righteousness; until, this gracious work having been completed in me, I shall be received into glory: in which great hope abiding, I must ever strive to perfect holiness in the fear of God.



I believe that God requires of me, under the gospel, first of all, that, out of a true sense of my sin and misery and apprehension of His mercy in Christ, I should turn with grief and hatred away from sin and receive and rest upon Jesus Christ alone for salvation; that, so being united to Him, I may receive pardon for my sins and be accepted as righteous in God's sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to me and received by faith alone: and thus and thus only do I believe I may be received into the number and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God.



I believe that, having been pardoned and accepted for Christ's sake, it is further required of me that I walk in the Spirit whom He has purchased for me, and by whom love is shed abroad in my heart; fulfilling the obedience I owe to Christ my King; faithfully performing all the duties laid upon me by the holy law of God my heavenly Father; and ever reflecting in my life and conduct, the perfect example that has been set me by Christ Jesus my Leader, who has died for me and granted to me His Holy Spirit just that I may do the good works which God has afore prepared that I should walk in them.



I believe that God has established His Church in the world and endowed it with the ministry of the Word and the holy ordinances of Baptism, the Lord's Supper and Prayer; in order that through these as means, the riches of his grace in the gospel may be made known to the world, and, by the blessing of Christ and the working of His Spirit in them that by faith receive them, the benefits of redemption may be communicated to his people: wherefore also it is required of me that I attend on these means of grace with diligence, preparation, and prayer, so that through them I may be instructed and strengthened in faith, and in holiness of life and in love; and that I use my best endeavors to carry this gospel and convey these means of grace to the whole world.



I believe that as Jesus Christ has once come in grace, so also is He to come a second time in glory, to judge the world in righteousness and assign to each his eternal award: and I believe that if I die in Christ, my soul shall be at death made perfect in holiness and go home to the Lord; and when He shall return in his majesty I shall be raised in glory and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God to all eternity: encouraged by which blessed hope it is required of me willingly to take my part in suffering hardship here as a good soldier of Christ Jesus, being assured that if I die with Him I shall also live with him, if I endure, I shall also reign with Him.



And to Him, my Redeemer,

with the Father,

and the Holy Spirit,

Three Persons, one God,

be glory forever, world without end,

Amen, and Amen.

More Fish With Trish

Im sure that you have already seen this after clicking on the Fish with Trish link in the post below but I wanted to embed this video here in hopes that you might take a few minutes and watch this particular one.

This will give you some sort of an idea of what we will be facing when we get to Acuna.

Fish With Trish

HERE

See What God is Doing in Tanzania!!!!

The following letter is from a friend of mine who is in Tanzania with the International Mission Board. Be amazed as you read at what God is doing in Tanzania.

TO OUR PRAYER PARTNERS:

Tchenzema: Last week we storied the substitute sacrifice from Numbers. I usually do not give an invitation to accept Jesus since we are building to the coming of Christ. However, we had talked about the promise of God enough that many of them know where we are going. I could
see conviction on several faces when we talked about how God gives us a substitute to punish for our sins, so I gave an invitation to accept Jesus, explaining that the invitation was for a life of commitment and was in response to what they were feeling in their hearts. I told them that I knew they only had part of the story, but that God may be telling them now that all they had heard was truth and all they would hear would be truth. Seven came forward. We can see the beginnings of a core of believers and rejoice.

This week five of the seven came back (which is good, considering they are farmers and have needs in the fields). We storied the snakes in the desert, pointing to John 12:32 later on. They are beginning to ask good questions, questions that show they are thinking about the stories and knowing that the stories have to do with them.

Lualu: Last week we came back from Masalawe in time to story to the Village Officer and three other people in her office. This week we saw her inspecting road work as we came into the village. She was not there when we came back from Masalawe. Please pray that God will work
out the time for us to story to her. Our schedules seem to conflict.



Masalawe: God is at work in Masalawe. Around 100 people show up each time. They, too, are asking good questions. Last week we storied the fall of man and this week the flood. They can sit in the hot sun for two hours and listen. They have been talking about our meetings and want to move to a shady location in anticipation of the coming weather later this year. We can tell that
they are beginning to feel comfortable together. One of the more interested villagers caught a ride back to town with us. As we talked about our hopes for his village and about our desire that they eventually go out to other villages, he sat against the back of the front seat. When we finished,
he asked us to pray for him as he was feeling that God wanted him to be one who tells others the Good News.

Please pray that we will have discernment as to God's vision for these villages. As you know, we went in looking for a man of peace who would gather five people in his home. We were hoping for these five to teach five others who would teach five others, and so on. However, we have never been able to start with only five (which is not bad). That is why I am asking you to pray that God will have his church his way in the villages. He may have other plans that what we were looking for. We want to be obedient to know and do his will.

Mbete: School starts back this week. We went to visit with the Village chairman before school re-opened. We thought we had met him before since someone had introduced himself as such. It seems that person was the vice-chairman. The timing was good. It is important to meet with the village chairman for reasons of protocol. The village chariman has heard we were at the school
and wondered why we had not come to see him. He was happy that we did so and "welcomed us" to his village. This is important since the village is probably 90% or more Muslim. He is Muslim as well. We told him God had a plan to bring men back to him and wanted us to know the happiness of having heaven secured now. He took my number and said that he wanted to hear the plan. Please pray that God will make this appointment for us and will open his heart to receive truth.

Mgete: School will re-open July 14th. We still have not heard from the Catholic bishop. He is notorious for stalling. Pray that God will open this door. Without his permission to teach the Catholic children at Mgeta, we will only be able to story to non-Catholics. Also please pray for Teresa. Her back "went out" and she is in pain. She can only lie in bed or sit on the couch with pillows around her. We have said before and we will say again that we depend on your prayers.

We look forward to seeing you and thanking you personally this December.
In Christ alone-
Tim and Teresa

God's Wrath and Mercy

I receieved the following letter from a friend of mine who is an elder at the church that I attend. I thought that I would share it with you. May we always remember our postition before God. May we always remember that, as Isaiah wrote, compared to God, we are less than nothing. And as the illustration that I used this past Sunday evening, we are in a love embrace with Hitler when comparing our holiness and greatness to His. Certainly we are no holier than Isaiah who cried out "Woe to me!" when he came face to face with the God's holiness.


Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,


Even as I write the above greeting, I am reminded that to be "in the Lord" makes all the difference for us. Two of my readings this morning showed such a contrast between the Lord's people and those who are outside Him.In Jeremiah 6, God is revealing to the prophet the destruction that is about to come upon Judah because of her wickedness and turning away from God. He says they were given to covetousness, to dealing falsely, and not even being ashamed when they committed abomination. They had rejected His law and not shown mercy on others. Therefore, their burnt offerings and their sacrifices were not acceptable to Him and He describes them as rejected silver from a refiner and says, "the Lord has rejected them".Those characteristics above could be used to describe us at times, could they not?The difference is being "in the Lord".






Psalm 145 presented such a contrast to me as I read of the mercy of the Lord on those who are His. The psalmist says the Lord upholds all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down. He describes the Lord as righteous and gracious instead of the one who brings destruction and judgment. He says that the Lord is near to all who call upon Him in truth and that He will hear their call and save them. He preserves all who love Him. No wonder the psalmist spends so much time in the psalm praising the Lord and blessing Him!There will be no destruction, despite our sin, for those who know the Lord and call upon Him. He has made all the difference.




May we praise Him and bless Him today,Dale--Elder at Redeemer Church

Catholicism

I want to encourage you to visit these web sites so that you can get an understanding of the vast differences between Catholicism and Protestantism.

CATHOLICISM

Compared to

Protestantism

Click-->

HERE

Gospel For Asia

The book "Revolution in World Missions", that I was telling you about last night, is available for free. It is one of my all time favorite books. I want to encourage you to order it by clicking HERE.


About K.P. Yohannan
K. P. Yohannan Download messages - mp3s
K.P. Yohannan is the founder and president of Gospel for Asia, a mission organization involved in evangelism and church planting in the unreached regions of Asia. Currently Gospel for Asia supports over 16,500 church planters in the heart of the 10/40 Window.
Born in a remote village of South India, K.P. Yohannan's personal journey toward spiritual reality began at the age of eight when he gave his heart to Christ. While he was still a young boy, his mother began fasting each week, praying God would call one of her six sons into full-time Gospel ministry. Her prayers were answered in 1966 when 16 year-old K.P., her youngest, volunteered to serve in North India with Operation Mobilization.
From 1974 to 1979 K.P. attended Criswell Bible College in Dallas, Texas, where he earned his B.A. in Biblical Studies. He was also awarded an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Hindustan Bible College in Madras, India.
During the time he attended Criswell, he pastored a local church in Dallas. However, he was unable to forget the millions still lost without Christ in his homeland of India, and knew God was calling him to reach his own people. In 1978 K.P. resigned his pastorate and he and his wife, Gisela, organized what is now Gospel for Asia.
GFA has grown rapidly and has quickly become one of the most effective mission forces in Asia today. The ministry has expanded beyond India to support native missions in Nepal, Myanmar, and many other Asian nations. At the 54 Gospel for Asia missionary Bible colleges, over 8,000 church planters are being trained to reach the unreached.


Yohannan Family

In addition to traveling and speaking in North America, K.P. spends half of his time in Asia, consulting with Christian leaders and speaking at missionary gatherings. He's also heard throughout India by millions of people on a daily Christian radio program.
K.P. has authored more than 200 books published in India and five in the United States, Revolution in World Missions (ISBN 0-88419-195-8), The Road to Reality (ISBN 0-88419-250-4), Why the World Waits (ISBN 0-88419-303-9), Living in the Light of Eternity (ISBN 0-9632190-6-5), and Reflecting His Image (ISBN 1-56599-999-1).
He lives near Dallas with his wife Gisela. They have two grown children, Daniel and Sarah, who are serving the Lord.
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Tortured for Christ

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It was the book that shocked the nation. After surviving 14 years in communist prisons, Pastor Richard Wurmbrand came to America to proclaim the trials and testimonies of our persecuted brothers and sisters.
In Tortured for Christ, Wurmbrand tells of his imprisonment for his work with the underground church and introduces the work of The Voice of the Martyrs. Forty years later, The Voice of the Martyrs remains true to its calling to be a voice for persecuted Christians, to serve with them in their time of need and to assist them in their efforts to proclaim the gospel.
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Answer to previous blog post

Team members to Acuna,

Below is a letter that I received from a very close friend who is preaching in a state north of Texas. This state is without question, in the Bible belt. I hope that you see the tragedy of what this friend of mine describes. I pray that your heart will be broken for the sad state of the Southern Baptist churches in this area. I have to wonder, does this letter describe the health of the churches who are Southern Baptist in Texas; specifically Central Texas? If it is we need to drop to our knees NOW and pray that God would have mercy on us; that He would make His great Name known among the people in the, YES, the Southern Baptist churches in Texas., not to mention all of the other Baptist and non Baptist evangelical churches.

What does this have to do with Acuna? It has EVERYTHING to do with Acuna. Without the Gospel there is no salvation. I want to stress once again that the reason we are going to Acuna is not to feed the hungry, not to build a house and not even to give a cup of cold water. We are going to Acuna as an act of worship. In so doing we will be going to make His name great among the nations by telling the people there who He is and what He has done. If we get the opportunity to feed, build or give that cup of cold water as an act of worship, then PRAISE GOD!
Always remember, acts of service are just filthy rags before a holy God. If works of service are our primary goal, we will be NO DIFFERENT than people who desire to save whales, when everything is said and done our good works will perish.
Let's go to Acuna with the desire to make His Name known and made great, pointing them to an all sufficient God who desparately desires that these people know Him. Let's go to Acuna looking for dead people, desiring to give them the life giving breath that only the Gospel can provide.

Here are some questions that I would like for you to be pondering...

If people dont know that they are sinners, how can they be saved?

What is the Gospel?

Who can be saved?

How are they saved?

How necessary is the proclamation of the Gospel?

When we say that we are saved, what are we saying that we are saved from? (Think hard because the answer is not sin).

______________________________________________________________________________

Here is the letter that I received all emphasis are mine:


We have been in ______, _________ for about 3 weeks now and we are loving the small town life. However, I have to admit that it has been somewhat of a difficult adjustment for (their son). He has not had many kids his age to play with, and with such a drastic change we can tell that it has affected him some. So please pray for him. As for (wife) she has been so busy getting our home in order that she hasn't had much time to think about anything else. For me it has been a blessing to pastor this church, but at the same time a great chanllenge.

I am telling you all this to warn you seminary guys, and to encourage you all at the same time. So here it is!
Since we have been in ____ I literally feel like I am on a foreign mission field a most of the time. Here is what I mean. We went to our associational church camp,youth one week and children's camp the next, where I met many of the surrounding pastors as well as the Director of Missions. Everyone that I have met has been super nice but when it comes to the Gospel it is sad and scary. There are so many leaders and workers within our Southern Baptist Churches that have no clue when it comes to proclaiming the Gospel. I fear saying all of this because I don't want to come off sounding pridefull or arrogant because I am not. I say this to tell you it is far worse in our churches than I had imagined. In the church camp services I never once heard anything regarding repentance or what true faith is, and sin was mentioned but only in passing. Instead, I heard people say ask Jesus in your heart, pray this prayer, etc. Cheap imitations.
At one point I had the opportunity to set in on a counseling session with the Director of Missions and a young 8 year old boy. Here is what was said to the boy: Do you want to ask Jesus in to your heart so that you can go to heaven? yes You know if you ask Jesus in your heart and truly mean it, he will come into your heart and he will help you when you know what college to go to, what job to take, etc. Okay now you pray this prayer and you will be saved and you won't have to fear dying or anything else because you will know you are on your way to heaven. Then they prayed.
Along those same lines, I talked with the pastor from First Baptist last night. Really nice guy. Like I say, all of the people we have met have been really nice and I believe they are very sincere. Anyway, we were talking about our youth and how sad it is that older people and youth have nothing to do with each other becasue they are so different in age, culture, etc.. He then replied by saying, because they are two different groups you just have to please each group. Implying, just do what ever it takes to make both groups happy. In which I replied, "my philosophy is people are going to get mad at some point anyway, so I try to be a God pleaser rather than a man pleaser."

I could go on but my hands would fall off in telling you some of the things that I have encounterd, but having said all of that, I hope that it gives you all an idea of what you and I are facing in America today. It isn't as bad as it could be, but it is certainly not good when the Gospel is watered down or lost. Also, I want to say to you all who are going into ministry, from a guy who has only been on the field for 3 weeks, enjoy while you can the fellowship from likeminded people at ______, and be prepared to be misunderstood by fellow workers in ministry as you seek to go by Scripture. You will definitely feel discouraged at times, misunderstood, and alone. So when you pray, I would ask that you would pray that we would endure, and press on proclaiming God's truth, and that we would have a great impact on this region of _____. Also, consider coming to _____ to do ministry, because _____ needs people like you all to come and proclaim truth.

On the positive side of things, God is doing with his word more than I could have imagined on Sunday mornings. The people here who I believe are true Christians, are eating up God's word on Sunday morning. It has been amazing to see the things that God has accomplished through his word in only 3 weeks. This is for you ____ because I know you have a heart for Biblical counseling. Sara and I had the opportunity to councel a former pastors wife who is having difficulties with her husband. She came wanting to tear down her husband and point the finger at him and make it look like he was the only one in the wrong. So, having taken the Biblical Counseling class I used the principles I had learned there like:

1. Tell me your testimony,
2. are you loving God with all of your heart,
3. here is some scripture for you take this home and read it.

After counseling with this woman, come to find out she had not been in God's word in 2 years. Also, she commented that after reading the scriptures that I gave her God really had convicted her. Wow! God word is amazing. Who needs psychology or to be refered. I truly believe that God has been preparing the soil hear because things are falling into place much more quickly than I had anticipated. The neat thing is that I came here with the mindset that I am going to implemnent changes very slowly, and I have, but God seems to be taking things along much faster. The cool thing about it is I haven't even made any changes, I have just preached God's word and He has been taking care of the rest. Praise be to God!

I hope in telling you all, these things you won't feel sorry for us, but that you would pray for us and the churches in this area. Also, in telling you all the negative things about this place I don't want to sound like a prideful post graduate seminary student who knows all things because I don't. I just need your prayers, and I want to encourage you all who are still in seminary and at _____ to enjoy the fellowship there, and be prepared becasue wherever God sends you will probably be much like what I have found in ____, an eclipse of the Gospel. Likewise, it is awesome and encouraging to see what God can accomplish through his word.

I hope you all are doing well! Disregard any errors you find in this email, I was in a hurry.
Miss you guys! I hope that we will all cross paths again and that we can stay in touch.

Together for the Gospel,

_____ and _____

Missions

THE CHRISTIAN VISION PROJECT
Getting Back on Course
It's time to return to the priority of evangelism.
Ajith Fernando posted 11/02/2007 08:59AM
Related articles and links 1 of 4


The Christian Vision Project's big question this year has been,What must we learn, and unlearn, to be agents of God's mission in the world? Many respondents have argued for increased attention to issues of global justice. Ajith Fernando, longtime Youth for Christ leader in Sri Lanka, doesn't disagree, but wonders if we're in danger of forgetting what he considers our highest mission priority. Fernando is the author of a number of books, including Jesus Driven Ministry and The Call to Joy and Pain: Embracing Suffering in Your Ministry (both Crossway), and is a corresponding editor for Christianity Today.

The Church is notorious for its course corrections. Toward the end of the 19th century, theological liberals began to emphasize the humanness of Christ. They presented Christ's life as the main focus of the gospel. Evangelicals reacted by emphasizing the atoning work of Christ (especially as explained by Paul), almost to the exclusion of the life of Christ. So liberals concentrated on good deeds and evangelicals on saving souls.
But by the middle of the 20th century, we evangelicals realized our mistake. Carl F. H. Henry's The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism in 1947 and the Lausanne Covenant of 1974 were landmark documents leading us to once again see social concern as an element of the church's mission. Some evangelicals gave greater weight than before to the Gospels and the kingdom of God, while others advocated for a right-wing political agenda. But regardless of where we fell on the political spectrum, we were encouraged to engage the culture and seek to demonstrate the Christian ethic daily.
The old "evangelism versus social action" war was over—or so I believed. In Sri Lanka, I was devoted to raising up a "post-war" generation for whom social involvement and evangelism were natural outgrowths of commitment to Christ.Neglecting Evangelism?
But lately some disconcerting trends—more course corrections, if you will—have left me feeling uneasy. I hear evangelicals talking a lot about justice and kingdom values but not proclaiming the gospel to those of other faiths and winning them for Christ. Of course, if someone asks them about Christianity, they will explain the gospel. Thus, some people will be converted to Christ through their witness.
But that is a woefully inadequate strategy. Most of the billions of people in the world who do not know Christ will not come and ask us. We need to take the initiative to go to them.
Earlier evangelicals emphasized proclamation, while liberals emphasized presence—living out our Christianity before the people among whom we live. I fear that the old "presence versus proclamation" battle has come back to the church, or will shortly. Some evangelicals are going down that same road, though they claim to believe in proclamation evangelism.
This is why I am calling for a fresh commitment to proactive evangelism. We can't wait for people to come to us—we must urgently go to them. We must look for ways to make contact with them and use all our creativity and determination to communicate the gospel.

Yes, I praise God that evangelicals have discovered the AIDS challenge. I am only sorry that it took us so long. In biblical times, God called his people to pay special attention to sojourners, widows, orphans, and the oppressed. AIDS patients are the equivalent of such people today.
I pray that many evangelicals will devote themselves to lifelong service with such marginalized groups, including the mentally ill, the homeless, and the neglected aged. And, as Moses and Jesus said, "You always have the poor with you" (Mark 14:7; Deut. 15:11), indicating that we will have a responsibility to the poor as long as this world exists.

However, we must remember that today our society has accepted AIDS ministry and social development as attractive avenues of service. Evangelism will never have that attraction. Those wanting to follow Christ in seeking and saving the lost will always be despised for their supposed arrogance.
We Christians in Asia, Africa, and Latin America get very sensitive when we are accused of being arrogant. We do not like to be associated with the colonial rulers who looked down on us and on our cultures.
Worse, nations are outlawing conversion through what is called coercion. Those evangelizing among non-Christians are being persecuted severely in many places of the world. So we face several obstacles that could stop our evangelistic momentum and replace it with more palatable agendas.Stark Reality
How could we be guilty of such negligence? The following questions challenge our shortsightedness:
• In the sayings of Jesus, he talked much about the coming judgment. Do we? If not, the next generation won't believe it. One generation neglects the belief; the next generation rejects it.
• Jesus said, "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?" The context shows that the Lord is talking about eternal destruction, which we can avert only by accepting his grace, denying self, taking up the cross, and following him. Does this perspective color the way we look at people who do not follow Jesus?
• Why did the Holy Spirit ensure that there are seven statements of Christ's Great Commission in the New Testament—one each in Matthew (28:18-20), Mark (16:15-18), and Luke (24:46-49), and two each in John (17:18; 20:21-23) and Acts (1:8; 10:42)? Is it not because Jesus believed that before he left, it was important to drill into his disciples' minds the priority of the work of saving souls for eternity?
Now of course the Great Commission would be meaningless if those who obeyed it did not also obey the Great Commandment to love God and our neighbor. And we must continue to challenge people with the dual responsibility to live the gospel in society and to take the gospel to the unreached.The Language of Priority
Can we then say that evangelism must have priority over social concern? I have always been reluctant to use the language of priority. I have felt that such talk comes out of the Western desire to have things nicely lined up in a logical progression (e.g. God, family, and ministry).
I prefer to simply say that our calling is to be obedient to God totally. If God is in control of our lives, he will lead us so that we will give the proper place to the whole will of God for us.
But Satan is also active, and he does not like to see the population of heaven increase. He will do all he can to prevent Christians from making disciples by going to the nations, baptizing people, and teaching them the commands of the Lord (Matt. 28:19-20). I fear that many evangelicals have fallen into Satan's trap of upholding kingdom values to the diminution of God's call to proactively go after the lost and proclaim the gospel.
Yes, we are called to be holistic. But part of holistic Christianity surely is the statement of Christ that all earthly gain is worthless if a person loses his life to eternal destruction. The stark fact of lostness places before us the urgency of evangelism. No, such thinking is not common in some evangelical circles today. A theological faculty member of a university in Europe held a seminar a few years ago to discuss one of my books. One of the presenters, an evangelical scholar, faulted me for using the supposedly confusing term "lostness" when referring to those who do not believe in Christ.
As for me, I will do all I can to encourage people to live the Christian life in society. But I will also follow Christ's example in placing before Christians the fact of eternal damnation and the glory of eternal salvation.
And I will challenge them to follow the agenda of Jesus, who "came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10), reminding them of the advice of Jude, who said, "… save others by snatching them out of the fire" (Jude 23).The Combined Witness of the Whole Church
I am reluctant to reinsert the priority argument. But we need clarity. Some will rightly say that because of calling or circumstances in some parts of the world, faithful Christians cannot always preach. They are called instead to social work, and government regulations prohibit combining social work with evangelism. Fair enough.
Even though Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka is an evangelistic organization, we did not do any gospel proclamation during our massive tsunami-relief operation in 2005, according to government rules. Integrity demanded that we not do what we love to do—persuade people to receive Christ's salvation. (I believe, of course, that people were impressed by the gospel simply by seeing the way Christians helped them. But we would not call that evangelism.)
After about four months of almost total immersion in tsunami relief, we returned to our primary call, evangelism, and in the process refused millions of rupees offered to us for new tsunami-related relief projects. This does not mean that we do no social work now. As a youth organization, we do a lot of things, especially in education, to help youth from economically poor backgrounds advance in life. But we try not to tie that work too closely with evangelism. We do not want people to think that our help is tied to conversion.
In Nepal, Christian missionaries have been laboring faithfully for over 50 years, doing social work in the name of Christ. Evangelism, however, has been prohibited. For the first 30 years of this ministry, they saw little evangelistic fruit, but in the past 20 or so there has been an amazing evangelistic harvest of hundreds of thousands of people coming to Christ through the work of local Christians. I believe the faithful witness of the missionaries played a major role in helping people listen to the gospel as proclaimed by the Nepalese.

So, yes, some parts of the body of Christ may be called to do things other than proclaiming the gospel of eternal salvation, though they would verbally advocate other aspects of the kingdom agenda—such as justice, fair play, and righteous values. Indeed, every Christian needs to be committed to the whole gospel, seeking to be a personal witness through life and word.
To that end, Christian social-service organizations must ensure that their workers are not only committed to their social work, but also to Christ as Lord of their lives. So even though verbal witness may not be part of their job descriptions, they need to be committed to it in their personal lives.

Let me also add that much of the church's witness through social engagement and human rights advocacy will be done by laypeople who go into the structures of society and live out their Christianity. The local church and Christian organizations should teach the laity a truly biblical approach that motivates and guides them in their service. No one disputes that we must apply the Scriptures to the social issues of the day in our preaching and teaching. Pastors should also pray for laypeople serving in society and advise, comfort, and encourage them. For example, John Wesley sent his last letter to William Wilberforce encouraging him in his antislavery campaign.

Practical realities will dictate that not every segment of the church will be involved in all forms of proactive evangelism and all forms of social engagement. Parachurch organizations will indeed specialize, while being committed to the whole mission of the church. Local churches will do a little of most aspects of the mission of the church.
But taken together, the whole body of Christ will be engaged in the whole mission of the church. As the Lausanne movement puts it, the whole church must take the whole gospel to the whole world.
The tendency among some evangelicals to downplay verbal proclamation—including persuading people to receive Christ's salvation—demands a fresh call for evangelicals to emphasize the urgency of proactive evangelism. And if talk of priority will help the church to a fresh commitment, then so be it.
Christ certainly seems to share that priority: "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life?" (Matt. 16:26).
Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.Related Elsewhere:
Ajith Fernando was one of the speakers at Urbana 2006. A shortened version of one of his talks, "Missionaries For the Right Reasons," is available from Urbana.org.
Fernando's books, including Jesus Driven Ministry and The Call to Joy and Pain, are available from ChristianBook.com and other retailers.
Earlier Christian Vision Project articles on mission include:
The Dread Cancer of Stinginess When it comes to missions giving, donor dependency may not be the greatest problem. (October 2, 2007)
Powering Down World Vision India head Jayakumar Christian on how the poor become movers and shakers, and movers and shakers become poor. (August 31, 2007)
Liberate My People Theologian and educator Ruth Padilla DeBorst says true Christian mission addresses issues of power and poverty. (August 8, 2007)
From Tower-Dwellers to Travelers Ugandan-born theologian Emmanuel Katongole offers a new paradigm for missions. (July 3, 2007)
The Mission of the Trinity Singaporean theologian Simon Chan says 'missional theology' has not gone far enough. (June 4, 2007)
Christ, My Bodhisattva Multinational businessman and politician Ram Gidoomal talks about 'translating' the gospel in today's world. (April 27, 2007)
Living with Islamists A year in Pakistan gave me a glimpse of what Christian witness might look like today. (March 30, 2007)
On a Justice Mission Thanks to William Wilberforce, we already know the key to defeating slavery. By Gary Haugen (Feb. 22, 2007)
A Community of the Broken A young organization models what it might mean to be the church in a suffering world. By Christopher L. Heuertz (Feb. 9, 2007)
An Upside-Down World Distinguishing between home and mission field no longer makes sense. By Christopher J. H. Wright (Jan. 28, 2007)
Christian Vision Project articles on culture are available on the Christian Vision Project website.

The Love Test

1. Here is a Test that we all need to take before going to Acuna.
3. It is not hard.
   It reveals the truth about ourselves.
4. It is VERY revealing.
5. It will encourage all to want to be obedient children of God and to begin growing.

Please take the time to take it. It will only last about 1-2 minutes.