The more I study the Word of God, I realize the less I know. I have always been intrigued by the correlation of God as father and the redeemed as children, giving us a way to try and understand our relationships with the trinity. And He said, “A certain man had two sons” (Luke 15:11).
In this narrative, we clearly see that one son made a cogent decision to separate himself from the authority and security of the father, which was clearly not the father’s perfect or desired will for his son but allowed him to leave in and through his permissive will. In fact, it appears that not a day went by that the father was not thinking about that son. It begs another question — if he knew he was coming back, why didn’t he just wait until he was near to watch?
Many young men and women have rebelled against their parents, and foolishly left home. Outwardly, the parent seems to be saying good riddance, while groaning deep within for their child. In fact, God’s grace and time would often find that child in the mire and coming home to find their parents with open arms. If we were truthful, many of us could have been that child. Not just the desire but the ability to return is a glorious example of man’s free will. We serve a God of second, third, fourth, etc. chances.
We could also take the story of Joseph, when his brothers sold him into slavery. What a terrible thing to do, how could God let that happen? Well, one does not have to imagine or wonder as the whole scene is recorded in Holy Scripture. It was the sins of the brothers (God’s permissive will) that landed Joseph in his predicament. If this was the end of the story, there would always remain an unanswered why. I believe that is why when we must suffer, we are left with the great big why that we immediately asked. Because we cannot see the end of the story and its desired effect on us and others. The old song says, “We will understand it better by and by.” After all, we are to count it joy when we suffer for the Lord’s sake. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:2-4).
From Our Missionaries
Misión Creciendo en Cristo (Growing in Christ), North Little Rock: Juan Carlos Posadas writes, “This was a week full of unusual events. Monday and Tuesday, I participated in the BMA of America Pastors’ Roundtable, organized by BMA Global, Lifeword and BMA Financial. We spent time building relationships and collaborating on how we can fulfill God’s mission together. It was a blessed meeting.
“Tuesday afternoon, Sayra underwent more detailed examinations after her annual mammogram found calcifications. We thank God that the results were negative, but we had a couple of weeks of much uncertainty and prayer. That same Tuesday night, I had the opportunity to continue with the Bible Training Center for Pastors (BTCP) class I am teaching at the Bible Institute on Ecclesiastical Ministry — Administration and Education. It was a good time to study spiritual gifts.
“Wednesday and Thursday, I received the first infusion of the year to treat neuropathy. Thank God, my body has responded very well to the treatment. The doctor has suggested giving more time between infusions, so the next one will be in five months, and the last will be six months later. When they apply the medication, my body reacts with high blood pressure and subsequent severe headaches for up to two days after the application, so I had a very bad time. Please pray that God will continue to work in my life and that my body will resist the side effects.
“The youth group was very active in raising funds to participate in SOAR 2024. With the help of some ladies from the church, they prepared delicious chicken tamales, Guatemalan style. Thursday, they began to prepare some ingredients they had bought on Monday, and Saturday starting at 6 a.m., they began to cook the tamales. At noon, they were already delivering the orders. They worked hard to cook about 350, sell them and distribute them. We thank God for the work done, the people who bought the tamales and the success of the fundraising.
“This Sunday, we study Rev. 4:1-11, where a window in Heaven opens to the Apostle John and he can witness heavenly worship. God spoke to us loud and clear about the type of worship we should do.”
Ebenezer, West Little Rock: Ruben Isturiz writes, “Our attendance average was in the normal range this week. Thank God, we had no sick people this week. Neymar is in his treatment for cancer, so let’s keep praying for him.
“The sisters had their first formal meeting after to electing their leadership. It was a blessing to see them gathered in my home. We try to make our activities revolve around the homes at Ebenezer. That allows us to be closer to the community. We also had our Discovery Bible Study (DBS) group in our home, and we started a group with new people. It was a blessing.
“Thursday, the tornado warnings went on and off after the meeting, and we asked the attendees not to leave until after the warning was over. That allowed us to share with them until 10 p.m. I am thankful for what God continues to do in Ebenezer. There are weeks that have been difficult, but God, in His immense mercy, allows us to move forward.
“Keep us in your prayers, that God will introduce us to people that He wants us to share the good news. Pray that we keep our spirits up and, above all, that the glory be to Him.”
Faith Chapel, Flippin: Johnny Shew writes, “I know I say this a lot, but what a great week we had at Faith Chapel! Even though the flu is still going around, and some of our members still have it, we had a good number and a wonderful time of worship.
“I am happy to report that our drywall hangers stayed until they finished! The finishers should be here soon. It looks like a building now, and we are so excited to be getting it finished and the plumbing and painting done, wo we can get in there and put it to use for the Lord’s glory! Praise God, we can’t wait.
“We love you all, and we thank you all for your prayers and support. We are so grateful for you, and we thank God for you!”
Faith Journey, Benton: Bryan Clay writes, “We are lifting up praises from a great week at the mission. We had one of the ladies from one of the nursing facilities that we visit for weekly services ask Jesus into her heart and be saved. It was an amazing time of rejoicing and worship! God is working in the lives of the older generation just the same as He moves in young lives.
“During this week’s service, we played a fun little game of charades with teams, to show the value of communication in relationships with each other and with Christ. This led us into our lesson on prayer, and how crucial it is to growing and maintaining our relationship with our Savior. One of our men said he recently heard someone say that ‘Prayer is me talking to God, and reading the Bible is God talking to me.’ As Christians, we cannot neglect the truth that prayer and Scripture are both ways to strengthen and protect our relationship with our Heavenly Father.
“We had some returning guests this week, and we were encouraged that they said they would be joining us again next week.”
Misión Gracia Soberana (Sovereign Grace), NWA:Roberto Marcelletti writes, “We had our first women’s conference this week. My wife, Patty was the speaker, and the name of the conference was ‘Immersed in God.’ This began the women’s ministry of Sovereign Grace in a public way. The women who attended were very motivated and challenged to continue meeting and pray for their future meetings.
“We had a very good attendance Sunday, and the Lord gave us a precious time of worship where the gospel was exposed. I am very happy because, at the end of the service, two brothers spoke with me and want me to train them to serve in the church. This is an answer to our prayers that the Lord will make the brothers commit to their church.”
Epic Life, Pea Ridge: Jake McCandless writes, “It was an incredible week though only two of our current four Connection Groups were able to meet. Sickness and the start of Spring Break kept two from meeting. It was incredible because we had two kids make professions of faith and ask to move forward to baptism.
Both are newer kids to the group. One of them is the son of a coworker of one of our Connection Group coaches. Our Coach and host, Brian invited his coworker to the group, and that coworker and son have been coming since before Christmas. They had been out of church. The other was a neighborhood friend of one of the kids in our group and a student of Amanda’s. They have been bringing their friend since the fall. His family isn’t in church, and this seems to be his first experience with church.
“Our coaches have discussed with each other a concern about how we can keep salvation in front of group members. It is a concern, but each week we, the Connection Groups, work hard on hearing the Word and obeying it. Our study came to John 3 this week — ‘You must be born again’ and ‘must be born of Spirit and water.’ The application step was obviously salvation and baptism. This gave the perfect opportunity for these students to step up and make a profession of faith and move toward baptism. It was confirming that this simple approach to reading and obeying can capture the hearts of even children.”
I still have a little time before we get everything in order, but for the first time in a year and a half, we have some answers we desperately needed.
El Faro #2 Hispanic Mission, Cabot/Jacksonville: Michael Hight writes, “Thank you so much for your prayers and support. We made the trip to Phoenix and are back in Arkansas coordinating with doctors here to get the treatments started. This was a very beneficial trip, and it was made possible by your love and generosity.
“Please continue to pray for the Cabot mission. I am convinced that this obstacle will be overcome and that God has a definite plan for us here.”
