State Missions Day is only two weeks away. If you have not already received an offering, I encourage you to do so to enable our association to send the light into the places we have not been before.
Great Meeting
I enjoyed being with the Central Arkansas Association Brotherhood and was thankful for the time to speak on behalf of our missionaries. Thanks, men, for your generous offering to State Missions.
It’s High Time!
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (II Chron. 7:14).
We are living in perilous times. It is time when man’s presuppositions and a lot of scientists have sowed doubt among the masses concerning the need for, or even the existence of, God. The Bible says, “professing themselves to be wise they have become fools” (Rom. 1:22). One of the most solid apologetics of our day, Dr. John Lennox, professor of mathematics at Cambridge was told years ago by a group of renowned scientists, one being a Nobel prize winner no less, that if he wanted to be known and counted competent among his peers he needed to get rid of this idea that there is a God and that the Bible is God’s written Word. They said no one will take you seriously.
I loved his answer; he asked, “What can you offer me that is better than what I already have?” The great men of science surrounding him were unable to answer, so he stood up and walked out.
We must believe all of God’s Word or why believe any of it? The very fact that such wise and knowledgeable men cannot see past their idea that everything we know and see and feel came from nothing. “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3). May we find the courage to stand in our pulpits and declare the whole counsel of God. God is love, that is true, but He is also holy and righteous. Those who would worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and Truth (John 4:24). “Not everyone who says Lord Lord will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt. 7:21).
I pray people will not lose hope. “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged” (Rom 3:4).
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “We are preparing for the Vacation Bible School. We have the material, the people who will teach the Bible classes, the songs, the crafts, the games and snacks. It will be 5:30-8:30 p.m., from Monday, July 24 to Friday, July 28.
“Marlon, Nicole, Mathew, Oliver, Jordany and Christopher are young people who participated as students and are now volunteers. We pray that God will use them and that this experience will help them affirm their call to serve the Lord.
“Next Saturday, we will be decorating the temple facilities and fine-tuning the last details. Please pray that the finishing will be good, we can work as a team, don’t have accidents and that the spirit of God will move powerfully.
“Roberto, a visitor at the Bible study we used to have on Thursday nights, is in the hospital. He had an accident with his vehicle, which did not involve anyone else. I went to visit him, and his spirit is very good. The doctor has placed some metal sheets on his back and, thank God, he has recovered his ability to move his limbs. Let us pray for his recovery, but most of all that he will draw near to God and make his profession of faith.
“This week, we met Estarlin and her 9-year-old daughter, Alejandra. We were very impressed by how well-educated Alejandra is; her ability to interact with adults is surprising. They visited us at the Sunday meeting. We will visit them again this week, and we hope to have the opportunity to share the gospel with them. Please remember them in your prayers.”
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “We continue to work with the new believers in their growth on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in two home groups. Our desire is that they will continue to multiply in other groups. The pandemic set us back by two years, but we are now praying and taking the necessary steps for new people to hear the gospel.
“We are not only planting a church, we also need to pastor it along the way, and that involves spending time with their problems, giving counsel and giving timely spiritual nourishment. This week, I spent time with people and their challenges in life. Please support me by praying to God for wisdom. We have people who need to get married and build marriages that glorify God. Pray for four couples to make that decision.
“We continue giving the Gospel Movement workshop. This week and next week the theme is on sharing, and we are giving a way to share the gospel. I also had the opportunity to continue taking the Word of God to the baseball players.
“As part of the other ministry I serve in, Novo (novo.org), I visited our missionary in Northwest Arkansas, Roberto and his wife. We spent a time of mutual enrichment. They were not expecting my visit, but as his wife said, it was a divine appointment. At Novo, we work with pastors and leaders to strengthen them and give them tools for their growth. Pray for each missionary. Sometimes they must work alone. Thank you once again for your support and prayers. To God be the glory!”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “We had a really great week at Faith Chapel. Had a great time of worship with above average attendance, even though some families were out.
“Sunday evening was also great. Some dear friends who have been sick were finally able to come. Praise God! Thank You for hearing and answering our prayers!
“Our people are excited about Christmas Shoeboxes again this year, and we are trying to get those together now. They love doing them, and we hope to surpass last year’s efforts.
“The building is slowly progressing. The electrical is almost done, the HVAC is started, and the outside is finished except for porch posts and the steeple. The insulators came Friday to prep and are supposed to spray Monday morning. I sure hope so. Every little thing that we complete, we say, ‘that’s one more thing’ (that we don’t have to do).
“Thank you all for your support and prayers. Please continue because God is answering them!”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, “We continued our study in the book of John this week. It was over one of the seven ‘I Ams’ that are in the Scriptures. We concentrated on ‘I am the true vine, and my father is the vineyard keeper.’ (John 15:1 HCSB). We learned that we must strive to abide in Christ to continue to grow spiritually, so we may produce more fruit in our lives and help show God’s love to others.
“We enjoyed a fun night of worship and Bible study, mixed in with a game that had a little friendly competition! The game is called Bible Book It. We split into teams and had to come up with the books of the Bible to answer questions that were asked. It was so much fun, and this is a great way to learn about the Bible in a new way. If you ever get a chance, grab a friend and start asking questions and learning along the way!”
Misión Gracia Soberana (Sovereign Grace), NWA: Roberto Marcelletti writes, “How exciting to see what the Lord has been doing week-by-week in the lives of our brothers. Testimonies of how they face their struggles and trials fill us with joy. We follow our biblical evangelism workshop, where we talk about the importance of each believer has been called to live the mission of God where God has placed him in his neighborhood school.
And already three families are ready to open their homes and let us start three new grace groups in their locality — Springdale, Rogers and Pea Ridge.
“On Sunday, Leonardo and Mairoby finally visited. She is the woman for whom we were praying for a miracle in her life since she was on the verge of death. The doctors sent her by helicopter to Little Rock because of the severity of her stroke and God made a double miracle in her life, saved her from death and saved her from the second death! So, we had a beautiful time of gratitude and celebration yesterday.
“The number of children in our Sunday School grows and we need a laptop for the teacher and a printer. We continue to pray for our portable sound system, to use in our activities outside the temple.”
Epic Life, Pea Ridge: Jake McCandless writes, “We just returned from Israel. Our family had an incredible time having the Bible come to life and be confirmed, along with seeing how God is currently fulfilling His Word in the land. We were so blessed to get that opportunity and there are long God-stories of how that came to happen.
We traveled with the ministry we have leaned into for multigenerational ministry. The trip was designed multi-generationally.
“After that trip, Amanda and I went straight to a conference in Dallas led by the ministry where I first heard about the Discover Bible Study method we are using. It was encouraging to hear from church planters across the world who are using this model. The beauty of our model is that work has continued on the ground in Pea Ridge, even with us outside of the country. One of our Connection Groups continued to meet. We also had a profession of faith and baptism amid all the busyness!
“We’re looking forward to having Epic Life members to the house this weekend to share gleanings from our time in Israel.”
