Trust & Obey; or Succumb to Fear

Moses and the children of Israel were resting by the Red Sea, just beginning to enjoy their new freedom when suddenly they saw the approaching Egyptian army.   Isaiah 43:16-17 tells us that it was not Pharaoh, but the Lord that drew the Egyptians out against Israel.  This amazes me!  God does, and permits things in our lives that are beyond our comprehension.  But ultimately, if we remain faithful and submit to Him in the process, we end up praising Him even more for the glory of his power, love, provision and protection at work in our lives!  Praise the Lord, he is an ever present help in all our troubles!  Do you see enemy hosts approaching?  Are you overwhelmed with problems, run to that place of prayer, call out to Him; submit to his Word and… “don’t fear, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord!”  Exo 14:13

An Amazing Sunday!

We had a pretty intense and joyful day today.  Some of those baptized last week took part in the Lords supper for the first time!  The brother that received the Lord at the baptisms last Sunday came today and was warmly welcomed by the believers! 

Just as our group Bible Study Dynamics class started Jose came up to me and said “Leon, you need to come outside, a visitor wants to receive the Lord!”  We both met the man outside, he was distraught.  His marriage and family was being torn apart.  He said, “I can’t take it any more, I have ruined my life and the lives of those I love.”   “I need to be forgiven, I need a new life, I need what you all have been talking about, this… Salvation.”  We shared the Gospel with him and he told us that he believed that Jesus died for him!  We prayed with him and stayed to encourage him.  While we were praying with him some of the believers came out and stood around us praying quietly for our new brother.

As were gearing up for the song service, Pedro comes up to me and announces, “Aaron received the Lord this Thursday at our home Bible study!”  We have been praying for Aaron for more than a year!  This is such great news! 

The leadership asked our sister Isabel to share about her trip to Mexico City and how God gave her the privilege of sharing the Gospel at a funeral.  There is a lot more to this story than I can share here, but in brief, more than 50 people stood up and put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!  Praise the Lord!

This Sunday was my turn to speak and the theme was on family.  I was struggling to keep myself from crying tears of joy with so much answered prayer all coming together at once.  The message was titled, Are We Going to Fight With, or Fight For our Family?  God blessed and everyone was moved to take steps for building UNITY in their marriages and families, and instead of arguing, envy & selfishness they are determined to get on their knees and in prayer FIGHT for their marriages, children, and for our brothers and sisters in our church.

It’s late, and I am tired, this has not been a very easy week for me.  But, as I think it through, I can see how God has been working, blessing & encouraging!  Even when things get rough, all that we do in the name of the Lord Jesus is definitely worth it!  I hope this encourages you my dear friends, what you do for the Lord will not be in vain!  Thank you for laboring in prayer with us for the work here in Ensenada!