Greetings! I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the cool Fall weather. Thank you for your prayers and support. Pray is an essential part of the missionary task. So thank you for praying for the displaced indigenous work in Bogota. Please continue to pray that the Word of Christ would speed ahead and be honored and that the gospel would advance throughout the world unhindered. Missionary work is hard. And our Lord has promised to be with us as we go to the nations. We trust that God will use His Word to change lives as we boldly proclaim the gospel to the nations.
Most of my work focuses on the displaced indigenous in Bogota. I spend my days visiting the
various parks, shelters, and neighborhoods where the indigenous live to build relationships, provide
some material aid, and most importantly to proclaim the good news of Christ. In September, many
of the indigenous were moved back to their territory. My team has continued to work with those
who have stayed. In one shelter, it has been difficult to gain entrance. The indigenous are very
welcoming to us, but the government social workers are limiting who can go in. Some who have
stayed in Bogota have moved to various parts of the city, and we have been trying to track down
where they are living. We have been able to locate one neighborhood with a few dozen indigenous
and another neighborhood with a few families. Pray that we may find out where everyone is and
begin to make fruitful gospel visits. There is also a possibility that many of those who recent went
back to their territory will be returning to Bogota due to the that area of the country still being
violent and dangerous. So pray for us as we continue to work with them upon their likely return to
the city. Pray that we can clearly proclaim to them the hope and light of the gospel.
My team is beginning to grow a bit. We have two couples who recently arrived in Bogota, and
another missionary will arrive shortly. Pray that the team will work together well each with their
own strengths to provide for the team and that we can each focus better on different locations in the
city. Also pray for a national partners who are working with us. They are an invaluable part of the
task.
Pray for more national partners and local churches to join in the indigenous work so that we can see
many come to know Jesus. There are several training events coming up in October and November.
These event will train national workers who will go out to several parts of the country. Maybe some
will work with us in Bogota. So pray for those event to go well.
Pray for some of my other visits too. Pray for me as I visit “Silas” and the Wounaan. One of our national partners has started to do some work with the Wounaan. There is a small Wounaan church. Pray that it would grow and become a healthy church that can reach other Wounaan with the gospel. Pray for my visits with “Mike” and his family. He is interested in learning more about Christ and the gospel. Pray that God would open his heart to receive the Word.
Pray that God would grant me and my team the wisdom we need, that He would open up new opportunities to work with the many displaced indigenous in Bogota. It is a difficult task that requires lots of patience. Pray that God’s Word would take root in the lives of the people and produce faith in Christ. Continue to pray for me as I work on learning one of the indigenous languages. My primary language helper has left Bogota, so pray that I can find another helper. We know that God is faithful. He promised in the Great Commission to be with us, and we trust that He is. Thank you again for your prayers and support.
In this verse, John is bearing witness to who Jesus is—Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! We too in the Great Commission must bear witness to the nations this confession of who Jesus is and what He has done for us. We do not preach ourselves but Christ (2 Cor 4:5). We urge people to look to Christ and Him crucified for our sins. Paul told the Galatians that it was before their eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified (Gal 3:1). Galatia is a long way away from Jerusalem; they weren’t eyewitnesses to the crucifixion. But through the lively preaching of Christ andHim crucified, they saw Jesus. So we too must boldly and clearly preach Jesus urging everyone to look to Him and be saved. We preach Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Lamb of God looks back to the Old Testament’s sacrificial system. But the blood of animals cannot take away sin (Heb 9:12; 10:4). Those sacrifices typologically pointed to the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus is the spotless Lamb, the one without sin, the one with perfect righteousness (1 Pet 1:19). He bore our sins on the cross (1 Pet 2:24). In Christ, our sins are removed (Psa 103:12), and we are clothed in His perfect righteousness (1 Cor 1:30; 2 Cor 5:21). This gospel message is for the world, for everyone (Jew/Gentile, rich/poor, old/young), for anyone who trusts in Christ (John 6:37). And one day people from every tribe and nation will gather around Jesus’ throne worshiping Him and loudly proclaiming, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive blessing, honor, glory, and might forever and ever! (Rev 5:9-14).
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