Guatemala Campaign July 2011—Part 3

On Day 4, Sunday, we started the morning with the baptism of Angela España at a beautiful location in the mountains in a spring fed river.  Worship was not until that evening at 4:00.  Bryan was asked to lead a song in English because they were very interested in hearing us sing.  I spoke on “How to Solve Spiritual Problems.”  Three people responded in need of prayers.

Monday, was somewhat of a “free day” and we went to a town called Livingston.  The boat ride there was on a mini cargo ship and took about an hour.  This town is on Mario’s radar for a church plant in the near future.  We met and visited several hours with a potential contact that would make a strong Christian.  The trip back was on a motor speed boat that ended up breaking down.  The Guatemalan Coastguard, which Mario didn’t even know existed, towed us to shore and we made it safe.

            We were able to eat at a very memorable restaurant on the Bay of Honduras that was outdoors and on a huge dock sitting over the water.  In the middle of dinner we got another call for a baptism.  We were able to witness a lady be baptized that night by Caesar España.  This took place in a hotel pool since that was the most convenient body of water.

            Day 6, we traveled to a town called El Estor and Bryan spoke on “Be Thou Faithful until Death and Receive a Crown of Life.”  After worship we visited the preacher’s house there in El Estor and his family graciously fed all 10 of us who traveled there.  We returned late that night since it was a six hour drive round-trip.  On Wednesday, we visited the church in Morales.  Amilcar España preaches at the church here.  Before heading over to Morales, the España family invited us for lunch.  After lunch we went to see the building progress in San Manuel about 10-15 minutes from the España’s.  We headed to Morales and visited the piece of property they purchased for a building.  The building they worship in now is leased and they have plans for their own building soon.  Mario asked me to speak that night on “How to Solve Economic Problems.”  The message was well received and they all lined-up afterward to hug each of our necks.

Guatemala Campaign July 2011—Part 2

Day three of our trip was Saturday, July 9.  The church in Puerto Barrios conducted a seminar from 8:00 AM—4 PM.  The speakers included Paul Miller, Bryan McDonald, Enrique Colon, and Marito Racancoj.  This seminar was open to the community, but the focus was on the area wide preachers to attend, which many did.  Total attendance was between 20-30 people.

            Paul spoke on Spiritual Growth in the church and within the individual.  His key texts were Mark 4:26, Acts 8:4, 2 Peter 1:5-8.  He emphasized the spiritual growth of an individual from the time of the planted seed to the birth and growth of the person.  Planting and watering is up to the Christians, but we must rely on God for the increase.  Spiritual growth must be an ongoing process without a retirement age, but has great retirement benefits.  Marito translated for Paul and was a great tool as both a presenter and translator for all the English speakers.

            Enrique (Henry) spoke on the world and the church.  He emphasized the characteristics of a Christian servant and when someone should decide to become a servant of Christ.  Marito Racancoj also spoke on struggles in the world and dealing lovingly with those who have fallen away.

            Bryan McDonald spoke on leadership.  He paralleled and contrasted secular leadership with leadership in the church.  He pointed out the various kinds of leadership styles there are and discussed the pros and cons of each.  Good emphasis was placed on the necessity of leadership in the church in order for things to operate more smoothly and be in accord with God’s intention.

            Saturday night we had worship at Puerto Barrios and I spoke on the subject “How to Solve Family Problems.”  Angela Espana responded for baptism.  This is Amilcar’s wife who had been struggling with faith for 16 years.  Paul, Mario, Amilcar, and countless others have been working with her over the years.  This was certainly an emotional time for many who have been involved with this work.  There were also four others that responded in need of prayers for spiritual healing.  They had a potluck for us that night of hot dogs which is a rare dish for them!  More details to come…

Guatemala Campaign July 2011—Part 1

        Over the next few weeks there will be articles about the recent trip to Guatemala.  There were nine travelers total including Paul & Linda Miller, Kayla Waller, Terry Carr-Jones, Bryan & Casey McDonald, Henry (Enrique Sr) Colon, Ricky (Enrique Jr) Colon, and Mario Racancoj all the way from Madrid Spain.

On Thursday, July 7, we left Four Mile Hill parking lot at 3:30 AM.  We arrived in Guatemala City about noon and caught a bus at 2 PM to Puerto Barrios.  We checked-in to our hotel that night about 9:00 PM.  

Day two of our trip started out by helping with some building maintenance and home visits to wayward members.  At the building we moved dirt to help flatten out the church’s property and make the drive-way level.  The building had some water damage so we helped chip away the ruined plaster in order to prevent fungus.  After lunch we came back to the building and went to visit Amilcar Espana.  He preaches in Morales and recently came down with cirrhosis.  We also got to visit with his wife who was not a Christian at the time (more on that later).  He is doing well and is back preaching only 3 weeks after liver surgery.  After visiting we witnessed the baptism of a new sister, Sarah, whose husband was baptized three days earlier, Pablo.

          That night we had a worship assembly and a presentation on an effort put-on by the area congregations for training in personal evangelism.  The course will begin September 6^th and will cover a broad spectrum of topics.  Biblical/historical studies will be covered including specific books of the Bible and time periods from Ancient Israel through the Restoration Movement of the church.  Denominational studies will also be studied to prepare people for encounters during studies with people.  Personal evangelism tactics will be learned specific to the culture in Guatemala.  We got back to the hotel that night about 10:45 PM after a long and fulfilling first full day in Puerto Barrios.  A general consensus among the team was to go down and help, but more than anything we went down and were the ones helped.  More to come in the following weeks…

Prayer is Powerful

Check-out the sermon on 1 Timothy 2:8-15 in the podcast player or in iTunes.

Wisdom Tells Her Age

            It is taboo in many cultures to ask how old someone is, at least among adults.  Asking the age of kids does not seem to pose a problem and they are proud to tell you how many years they have under their belts.  This age taboo question is also prevalent in Guatemala.  Someone was wondering the age of a particular lady and the translator said, “You ask her that!”  The older we become the less proud many people are of their age.  Wisdom is quite the contrary.  Wisdom gloats about how long she has been around.  This kind of pride puts the worth of experience into perspective.

            “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man” (Proverbs 8:22–31, ESV).  If wisdom is so willing and even proud to share her age then why do we get so bashful about our age?  It is time we change our mindset of the older age and learn to sit at their feet to learn from their life experiences and soak in the wisdom they have to offer.

            “And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death” (Prov. 8:32–36).  Let us constantly seek out wisdom and never disregard it simply because it has a lot of miles under its hood.

Back from Guatemala

There are several new sermons in the Podcast player for your listening enjoyment that are sure to convict you.  Click on the sermon of your choice to listen to or click on the Pod-O-matic player to take you to the host site to subscribe to the podcast through iTunes.  The mission trip was great and I will have a more detailed post about it in the near future.

Wisdom’s Words

            There is a poison out there for each person.  This poison is not labeled with a toxic or haz-mat sign so it is very difficult to identify.  Satan controls this poison and knows the kind and dosage to dole out in order to get you to take some.  This poison is addictive and tastes good.  It tastes so good one wonders how it could possibly be bad for consumption.  If you are not careful, a love for this poison is easy to develop.  Consider this, “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate” (Proverbs 8:12-13, ESV). 

It takes great love to have hate for your poison.  It was specifically mixed for your own liking.  If your poison tasted horrible and made you want to throw-up, Satan would not be very good at his job and Christianity would be rampant.  Sadly though, Satan is frighteningly good at what he does as a poison brewer.  Here is how wisdom can help you right now, “I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength. By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly. I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me” (Prov. 8:14-17).  Satan’s poison for you can be identified and you can learn to hate it with wisdom.  What are you chasing after in your life?  Seek diligently for wisdom and you will find it. 

We may not give enough credit to wisdom in our spiritual lives.  This God given gift is essential in fighting the spiritual warfare.  What is wisdom’s worth?  “Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver. I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice, granting an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries” (Prov. 8:18–21).  You have an inheritance waiting for you after this life on earth.  Maybe your poison is material things instead of wisdom which is far better than that.  Wisdom is hard to measure and value because it is not tangible, but do not discount it.  Wisdom is necessary to win and that is its worth.

What’s Wisdom’s Worth?

            You may know someone who is perpetually kidding around.  This person is always predictable about joking around and making people drag the truth out of them.  They do not do this out of contempt or hatred, but simply as a sense of humor to try and get people laughing.  Some people can only take so much of this behavior before they feel like they are going to snap if they have to put up with it one more minute.  Does this personality sound appealing to you?  “Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud: “To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man. O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense. Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right, for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips (Proverbs 8:1-7, ESV).

It may be difficult for some to make every word out of their mouth righteous.  That is, not cursing, lying, or telling dirty jokes.  To find wisdom’s worth, we as Christians must learn to tame our tongues.  “All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them. They are all straight to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge (Prov. 8:8-9).  Can you say all your words are righteous?  Sure, there is a time and a place for good times and jokes.  If you make your personality and habits to be that of just “joking around” who do you expect to take you seriously and find your words straight?  Wisdom’s worth is only found in the mouth of the straight and righteous.  

Wisdom’s worth can be summed up in these two verses, “Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her” (Prov. 8:10–11).  Some say that every man has his price.  In other words, there is something valuable enough in every person’s mind to betray everything they believe in order to obtain that “price.”  The proverbs assure that wisdom’s worth is higher than any price you may have.

New Sermons

Check out the latest sermons from 4 Mile Hill on the podcast player and subscribe through iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/four-mile-hill-church-christ/id364916132?ign-mpt=uo%3D4

It’s a Matter of Life and Death

            Have you ever been beckoned to go somewhere or do something because it was a matter of life and death?  Kids may try to get their parents’ attention by claiming their problem is a matter of life and death only for the parents to discover they are out of shampoo!  True life and death matters are much more serious than the absence of shampoo.  If “A” happens then you will live, but if “B” happens you will die.  So, how do Christians make sure that “A” happens so they can live?  Listen to the Father’s words.

The wisdom of the Proverbs has much to say about the dangers of adultery.  Adultery is no light matter in scripture, but it is a matter of life and death!  The wise man instructed his son, “…keep my commandments and live…” (Proverbs 7:2, ESV).  Then at the end of this lesson he said, “Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.” (Proverbs 7:27).  Sheol was thought by the ancients to be a pit beneath the earth that could only be reached through death.  One way to experience that death was to mess around in adultery.  Wisdom teaches us from millennia ago to stay away!

            Words are more powerful than we often give them credit for.  They have the power to build-up and to tear down.  It should be no surprise then that one of the most effective tools that an adulterer uses is words.  It is easy to justify playful flirting as just being nice or seductive jests as harmless jokes.  The truth is that these things are neither playful nor harmless.  The scriptures make it clear that the adulteress uses “smooth words” and to keep away from them (Proverbs 7:5).  “With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him. All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter…he does not know that it will cost him his life.” (Proverbs 7:21–23).  Don’t be a dumb ox!  They go where they are guided with no thought of outcome.  As God’s precious children, let us have the foresight to keep from sin by realizing its consequences.  “Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths” lest you find your way to Sheol on a path unintended (Proverbs 7:25).  Choose life.