"Each visit to Ecuador produces deeper relationships that in some way expands the Lord's work. While I am constantly meeting new people, there is a core group that I see over and over that allows trust to develop. As time has passed, we have begun to share struggles and needs, which did not happen initially. With each visit, I have begun to understand the culture better and this has helped me relate to the people I minister with. Relationships are essential for effective ministry.
I traveled with Oswaldo, his wife, and Nuvia, a widow whose husband died of COVID complications. She is important to this report. We ministered in four different towns and three of the towns are a result of Nuvia’s contact with believers in each place. Several months ago, she “stumbled” on God’s Plan for His Disciples (GPHD in Spanish) and decided to start a Bible Study using this resource. She only had one copy, so she made copies of the lessons. Eventually, she was told about Oswaldo who supplied what she needed. Once she received enough manuals, she gave a copy to a pastor friend who began to use it in his church and share it with other pastors, who also began to use it in their churches and share it with other pastors. So, the work continues to spread in a new area of Ecuador." (Tom) More of this wonderful story will be posted tomorrow.
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In the middle of a long history of failure and disobedience, when God was about to give up Israel to their enemies for 70 years of captivity as a form of discipline, something unusual takes place. Isaiah is in the temple of the Lord, and he sees a very uncommon vision of "the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up" (Isaiah 6:1). If the vision was not enough to get Isaiah's attention, one seraphim (angelic beings or "burning ones") called to another and said, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts" (3). The holiness of God was ignored by Israel.
To see this sight and hear a call pointing to the presence of God as very holy, Isaiah is forced to examine both his own bankrupt condition and that of the nation. It immediately evokes confession and repentance in the prophet who cries out, "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips" (5). This open confession leads to cleansing by the seraphim with a burning coal; a recognition that God received his repentance. This was in preparation for the call of the Lord, "Whom shall I send and who will go for us?"(8). This experience was the preparation Isaiah needed to respond with "Here I am! Send me." Have you seen the glory of God and allowed him to take you through a purifying process that prepares you for where He wants to send you and what He wants you to do? As in so many countries around the world, there has been a migration of people groups and nationalities from their homeland to other parts of the world. There are many reasons why this has transpired. Whatever the reason, this movement of people gives us the opportunity to introduce and train them with our resources in their language.
Our partner in S. E. Asia thanks God (and thanks you) for providing books in the Mandarin language so they can connect with people in other countries who are Chinese. Some of these people live in Malaysia as well as other parts of Asia. Please pray with us that by God's grace He will lead our partner to many other places in Asia where Mandarin is spoken. There is a major problem for many of these people groups when they come to America, Europe, and other modern destinations, because they become so 'busy' with the Western culture that spiritual things become less important. Having said that, we still desire to impact those hearts that God opens so they can reach their own people. The word "devotion" or "devoted" is not used as much today as in past generations but it needs to be revived both in its meaning and living example. It was part of leadership in the Early Church when the apostles said, 'we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word" (Acts 6:4). The word means to "stay close to or associate closely with" something that has very high importance and value.
Paul has several ways of saying the same thing but with different words. He writes, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). This form of "testing" is for the purpose of determining if something is worthwhile or of sufficient value to give time and commitment to it. What have you found in the will of God that is worth giving your life to? The will of God should be of such great value to us that we are willing to lay down our lives and sacrifice everything that it might be displayed through the way we live. It was one of those phone calls that immediately caught my attention. The new voice on the other end was a missionary who has served many years in Suriname, S. America. Though they are now retired because of health concerns this did not weaken his passion for the Lord's work. He had heard about our resources through another missionary and wanted to discuss the possibility of translating them into Brazilian Portuguese.
The official language of Suriname is Dutch. However, most speak Brazilian Portuguese. In addition, there are 17 other languages spoken in this small country. Most everyone in the country can speak the trade language called Taki Taki which they prefer. There are also 5 jungle Indian tribes and 5 African tribes all of which speak their own languages!! The largest Indian Tribes are the Trio and Wayana. The first task is to identify qualified translators which this missionary is willing to do. I will be sending samples of all our books and instructions for the translators. They could greatly benefit from a translation of our training resources! Will you pray with us that every detail of this opportunity will be worked out by the Lord. Two events happened this week which caused me to ponder whether they were connected and what would be the greatest help. The second event was that a brother I know, and love, is going through a very difficult time when things seem to be out of control. My heart is hurting for him! How could I help?
The first event was a message from 1 Samuel 3 about how "the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli" (3:1). At first, neither Samuel nor Eli realized that the Lord was calling (speaking) to Samuel and Eli did not understand what God was doing. It took three times before Eli realized that God was speaking to Samuel. “Therefore, Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if He calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So, Samuel went and lay down in his place” (3:9). The fourth time God called to Samuel, he was ready to respond with, "Speak, for your servant hears" (3:10). I wonder if my brother is so busy that time is not taken to listen to the Lord? How about you? We often complain about the volume of work we have, anxiety sets in, and this often leads to depression which can eventually lead to mental paralysis. It is never God's will that this overcome His children. STOP! WAIT FOR GOD TO SPEAK! LISTEN! OBEY! "By the grace of God, it was a wonderful opportunity God granted to both train and grant valuable spiritual insights to the pastors and other church leaders at Port Victoria through the Word and led by the Holy Spirit. It was such a blessing to see them engaged with the truth in the pure Word of God shared through God's Plan for His Disciples. We saw a mindset shift among the men of God and a decision to do the work of ministry with a renewed mind." (Hosea) "We praise God for the training of these leaders, and for God's grace to overcome the obstacles that some of these leaders face. It is great to see them trusting in the Lord for provisions for the training and to avoid being derailed by deception. May God grant them and Hosea much joy in seeing the fruit of this labor in Jesus." (Randy) When we are faced with difficult situations OR we are confronted by others with their own 'version' of truth, where do we turn for clarity? Often, we interpret the words of others as being directed toward us and we feel cut down or demeaned. The enemy of our souls works overtime to make us assume things about what others say, but we can't really be sure since those persons may never approach us to discover what is true and what is false.
This type of circumstance caused me to reflect on how Jesus prayed for each of us, knowing ahead what we would face. Consider what he asked the Father in prayer. “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17). How many of us run to the Scriptures to gain clarity of heart, mind, and emotions before making assumptions? More often we seek out the opinion of others before going to the Lord and His word for understanding. It might be helpful to first follow David's example; “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23–24). There is no safer place than alone before the Lord! It was so exciting to get news that one of our longtime partners in S. E. Asia had taken God's Plan for His Disciples training to Malaysia. There are believers there that speak his language, so it made sense that he should take the training to them. This picture shows the result of his obedience to God's call to "GO". We never know exactly how God is going to work and where. With people groups being dispersed in many parts of the world from their original birthplace, we find these same groups mixed in with our own culture. What an amazing opportunity! Can you imagine sharing the gospel here in America with an unreached people group from India and through their salvation they return to their homeland and share with those who have never heard. These things happen when we allow the 'Missionary Spirit' to communicate to us the heart of Christ for the nations. We must not set limits on how, when, or where God wants us to share the gospel of Jesus. We continue to receive feedback from our contact in India that our introduction of God's Plan for His Disciples (GPHD) in the Oriya language has ignited a movement back to the Scriptures and principles of the pure gospel and early Church. After several years of no response from investing in leaders and ministries in India, God surprised us with this sudden movement among the poor and persecuted. Just from our introduction of GPHD in October of last year, about 1300 leaders were introduced to the GPHD resources in the field from the 50 pastors who went through the training. Almost daily the training is taking place and will continue in the days ahead. Please continue to pray for effectiveness through the Spirit for the glory of God. “But the word of God increased and multiplied” (Acts 12:24). |
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