Superbowl Sunday!

Pastor Moreno always says that “Every Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday”, (meaning that, as servants of God Almighty, it is the highlight of our week in the proclamation of the Gospel and the Name of our Great God. Sunday is rarely a “travel day”. However, this last Sunday was one of those rare exceptions. I left at 9:15 AM from Calvary to take two families to Curitiba to begin their Bible college experience.

I've written about these families before and so this is more of an update than a testimony about how they came to this juncture of their lives. Ronaldo and Adailza and their three sons: Mateus, Lucas, and Tiago, will spend the next two to three years studying for the ministry. Sandro, Gislene, and their sons:Juan and Josue will spend the next five years in that pursuit.

As I mentioned in my previous note on these two couples their move is a huge step of faith in God. They will prove His faithfulness in the coming months as they train to serve Him.

On the trip down (Ronaldo and Sandro had left at 2:00 AM with the moving van) we stopped at a roadside restaurant to stretch our legs after about three hours of driving. We spent about twenty minutes there and then left. About five minutes down the road Adailza, Ronaldo's wife realized that in the commotion of our departure (trying to get three little boys corralled) she had left her purse next to one of the benches outside the restaurant.

It took us about fifteen minutes to make the return trip only to discover that the purse had “vanished”. We had all whispered a prayer of protection on that little black purse but it was gone! Things like purses left in public places rarely stay put, no matter what country your in. As I walked into the nearby shopping center to ask if a purse had been turned in I winced with doubt. But, praise be to our Heavenly Father, as I asked the check out girl if a purse had appeared the first word out of her mouth was, “Adailza?”

That was proof positive that they had found the purse because there are no other Adailza's on earth (or at least that I know of)! The manager of the store came out with the purse which still had her cell phone, her money (little though it was) and everything else a womans purse holds. He said, “MAN were you LUCKY!!!” NO! I replied, “... it is God's blessing and protection!” “Yeah you are very, very LUCKY!” he repeated. In his way he was saying that someone turning in a purse full of valuables was something that he had never seen before! He didn't understand that God was protecting our journey.

After nearly three more hours on the road we arrived safe and sound at just after 3:00 PM. As we stood in front of the Bible college apartments that these two families will call home for the next several years, Sandro said to me, “This seems like a dream! A dream come true!” Please rejoice with us that these two young couples have had the courage to dream BIG and have begun to see God move in their lives; preparing them for His ministry and His glory.

Mike

Don't forget that you can help them too by giving toward their studies. Write “National Assistance” on the memo line of your check to our account.

Caught up to Paradise - 2 Corinthians 12

Residing in Michigan for over half my life, I had heard about Paradise. Because Paradise is a small town in the Upper Peninsula, you may have never visited there in your life, but you knew it existed. It was WAY up there next to Tahquamenon Falls and nothing else. Where's Tahquamenon Falls? Next to Paradise and nothing else. It's a long way from home. Why all of the talk about Paradise? Because Paul talks about it in 2 Corinthians 12. There was this guy who had been caught up to Paradise. Not in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, but into the REAL Paradise. While there, he'd heard things that he was unable to repeat. What on earth was this? Who was this guy? Here's what was going on. Paul defended his position of Apostleship in chapter eleven and gave the Corinthians an idea of what Apostleship looked like in chapter twelve. It came with great wonders, like seeing or instead hearing unimaginable things. But, too, that position came with a terrible cost. God gave Paul a &q

What to get God for Christmas

Jesus left perfect surroundings, relationships and glory to be born into squalor. He was homeless before birth. His father was a carpenter in a culture where carpentry was a despised trade. His, mother though young and giving birth to her firstborn, had no attendant nurses, helpers or friends. Rather than a pristine hospital, birth was given in the filthy stench of a stable. Romantic? Hardly. This sacrifice brought a life of hardship. Why? Why this odd story? Obedience. God's gift to humanity was His son. Jesus' gift was obedience to the Father. He paid the greatest price. Not because we are special but because he loves His Father. His gift was the perfect gift. Our Father wants obedience for Christmas and every other day for that matter. In Brazil Christmas is becoming commercialized. A phenomenon familiar for years in the United States tickles a growing economy. There is little time for meditation on God's Gift. There are no chestnuts roasting or Jack Frost nippin

Stop Trusting

Isaiah 2:22 says Isaiah 2:22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of? The Prophet is saying that we shouldn't put our trust in humankind because they are so finite. They are not like God, who is infinite. People are fickle. They change their minds. They love you and then hate you in moments. God invites us to trust him completely with everything that we have. He doesn't show himself to us physically or as a spirit. He demands that we have faith. However, he also gives us the faith to trust him. The universe shouts "Creator!" and yet we often ignore the proclamation. This ignorance does not make God's creation any less a physical demonstration of his grandeur. God's boundless being becomes more amazing in his presence within us. How can the infinite God dwell in the mortals he commands us not to trust? Jesus said, "with man it is impossible but with God, all things are possible."

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