Saturday, July 31, 2021

July 2021 Update

Greetings! I hope everyone is doing well. Grace and peace to each one of you. Thank you for  praying for me and for the work God is doing in Colombia and throughout the world as missionaries go forth armed with the preaching of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Prayer is a crucial part of the missionary task. Thank you for holding the ropes for those of us who have gone down into the well. May the word of Christ continue to spread to every tribe, nation, people, and tongue.

  



 The past month has been busy. One thing I’ve had to deal with is my visa renewal. The process has changed some due to the pandemic. For some reason, the processing on my visa was delayed. Because of this, I had to fly to MedellÌn to get a document that allowed me to stay in the country beyond the expiration of my old visa. Earlier this week, my visa finally came through. So I was able to begin work on my identification card renewal which I was able to begin immediately. I have done that what I need to do for that and should receive my new card in a few days.

 

Please continue to pray for the Embera (Katio and Chami). Life has been difficult for them. They are in need of hope. Pray that I will be able to establish consistent contact with them that they may hear the hope the Christ can give. 

 

Furthermore, please continue to pray for my friend “Ted.” He lives in a shelter where he can get some physical needs taken care of. He still deals with depression since his wife passed. I am meeting with hime once a weak. Pray that I can show him the peace that Christ can give.

 

Please continue for the Wounaan. I am meeting with him every week. I have begun to study Ephesians with “Silas” and some of the other Wounaan. (I have already been teaching a Sunday school class on Ephesians at Betania Baptist Church, a study which I will be wrapping up soon). Pray that the Word will do its work in their lives. 

 

This pass month, I met “Mike,” a Puinave man from GuainÌa, near the Venezuelan border. He, his wife, and one year old daughter live in a super small, one room apartment near Betania Baptist Church. I have begun meeting with him to study Scripture. Pray their my visits with him and his family will be fruitful. 

 

In many of my visits, a man from Betania Baptist Church has been accompanying me when he is free to do so. Pray for both of us and that others will also be able to contribute to the work as well.  Thank you for your prayers. May each of you be blessed with the grace found in Jesus Christ. 


2 Corinthians 4:1-6 

1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God,we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the  truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the  unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the  gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

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Paul writes about how many false teachers in the first century would tamper with the Word of God in deceitful, crafty ways. And today, many false teachers continue to use disgraceful, underhanded practices, twisting the Word of God for their own purposes. Some do so for their own personal gain. Others, however, may mean well, yet they lack confidence in the Word of God or are ashamed of its message.

 

But Paul says that he does not lose heart. He has complete confidence in the Word of God. He knows that the Word of God can open blind eyes to see the glory of Christ so that people may turn from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God, and receive forgiveness of sins (cf. Acts 26:16-18). The gospel is powerful enough to break down any barrier that Satan uses to keep people deceived. 

 

Therefore, we need to unashamedly proclaim the gospel of Christ. We too must reject tampering with the Word attempting to make it more palatable to sinners. Moreover, we do not preach ourselves and what we have done, but who Christ is and what He has done. And as we boldly the gospel, the same powerful Word that created the universe will create new life in spiritually dead sinners (cf. Eph 1:19-2:4).

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