As I talked to him, I could tell that he was tired of this lifestyle and wanted deliverance. Abusing prescription painkillers had spiraled his addiction out of control and he wanted to go to treatment to get some tools to deal with his problem. He claimed God as his higher power and had been to a local church that morning. He seemed rather interested to know more about God, and was asking some questions, so I asked if he was interested in reading a book that summarizes the Bible. As he flipped through it, his eyes lit up. "It has pictures!" he exclaimed. He said he comprehends better when someone else explains it to him, so I'm hoping he will read some of it before next week so he can bring me any questions that might arise. He mentioned something about an interest in science, which blossomed into a discussion with various other guys about evolution and the evidence for it (or lack thereof). I perched on a picnic table in short sleeves, enjoying the breeze as the sun slipped away. I could smell each puff of cigarette smoke, which was unpleasant. But to most of them, smoking tobacco was an improvement from the things they used to smoke. One guy obviously espoused the theory of evolution and argued his point. When he was finished giving his insufficient evidences, I began to explain my view, beginning with Scripture. I explained that I couldn't completely prove creation, but I have chosen to accept the Bible as my starting point. Once I do that, there is an explanation for the earth's history, geology, and biology. Two other guys who were talking with me expressed interest in reading "By This Name", the book that I gave to the guy earlier that day. Next Sunday, I'll take them the copies that I bought at the bookstore today. Please be praying for these guys, that they will understand the truth - that they might understand God's holy character and that Jesus is the only way to the Father. Contrary to what some will say, all religions are not just using different terminology for the same things.
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"What do you believe?" he asked. His long hair and tattooed arms give him a rough look. We'll call him J. With a few interruptions, I managed to tell him an extremely brief overview of God's story as contained in the Bible. The interruptions were perpetrated by a guy with weird ideas, but with the common thread of Nostradamus and the destruction of the world in 2012. So many people talk about this that I should probably study it so I have better answers. I moved over next to J and asked him about his story and beliefs. He had not been raised in a church, but realized that his life was a mess. He prayed for 'enlightenment' and the next day ended up in jail. At some point, a Mormon had come to his door, but he didn't go that route. Over the past couple of months he has been learning what he can from believers he runs into, and has been reading the Bible some. He told me that He reads at a 3rd grade level, so it has been difficult. We read Psalm 144 together and I summarized the first few chapters of Romans, which was new to him. So if you think of it, remember to pray for J at the substance abuse treatment center.
This past week was encouraging in various ways. The week before last, I would not have believed the forecast of warm weather as I looked out at the snow-covered ground and felt the sub-freezing air flow through an open door. But to my delight, the thermometer peaked in the 70s on Thursday, so we celebrated with shorts and t-shirts, walking in the park with flip flops, and playing field soccer. I hate the cold and being cooped up inside, so any break from it is enthusiastically embraced. Another encouraging thing is our Romans 5-8 class, where we have been discussing some of the practical concepts set forth in those chapters. The instructor is more of a facilitator and asks many intriguing questions to make us think. Today we have no classes, so we will relax and prepare our minds for another week of learning. I was slightly anxious about it. Various people with medical knowledge were putting on a practical skills workshop where we would obtain some hands-on experience with basic medical instruments. The most worrisome was the syringe. I'm not terrified of needles, but the idea of being injected with saline solution was not appealing. My last memory of getting vaccines as a kid was unpleasant. I think it was a Hepatitis shot. All I remember is my arm aching for hours afterward. Upon my turn to receive an injection from my classmate, I was glad to find out that subcutaneous saline solution injections aren't that painful. It is hard to decide which is more stressful - giving a shot or getting one? "Bury the needle," the instructor said. Thankfully my "patient" was used to getting injections and I finished the process quickly and painlessly. We moved on to the next room, where we took pulse, listened to hearts, and tried to figure out blood pressure. One room was devoted to wraps for sprained ankles and such injuries. We got to look at eardrums through otoscopes and listened to breathing through stethoscopes. In all, I learned a few things and hope the knowledge will stay with me for years to come.
On Sunday I went to Cedar Ridge and managed to talk with several guys. No lack of excitement looms over that place. Well, maybe not all of them are excited to be there, but interesting things always seem to surface. One of the guys had moved to Israel as a kid with his mother and had been drafted into the Israeli military. He even spoke some Hebrew. Some new guys came into the treatment that could use some prayer. One of them has been through treatment various times. Thank you all for your prayers. Oh, and Happy Valentine's. I don't know if you were watching the weather last week. If you saw a huge white cloud on the weather map in the midwest, I was probably under there somewhere. I woke up on Tuesday morning to a white blanket of snow on everything, with more falling. Public schools around here get canceled for very minor snowfall, but our classes here at the Missions Training Center never get canceled. Or so I thought. As I was chatting with my buddy Sam, the phone rang and the voice on the other end informed us that our classes were canceled for the day. It is a weird feeling to have a day all booked from 7 am until supper time and then suddenly have nothing to do. A group of us congregated in one of the regular hang out apartments and spent the day playing games, talking, watching movies, and even taking some time to worship. In the afternoon we got to help shovel the sidewalks around campus. It seemed futile, since I shoveled the same spot twice in the same hour. The wind didn't help much. Thankfully the next day the sky looked much happier with us, since it was bright and blue. This may not seem exciting to you if you live in Idaho or somewhere else in the north, but it is very unusual here. A local man told me he hadn't seen such snow in close to 20 years. Public schools were canceled all week and they're even canceled today (which blows my mind). We resumed classes the next day, but they were shuffled around since the teachers who live off campus valued their lives too much to traverse the death trap labeled Piney Point. (It is the same hilly, winding road that obscured the rock to pulverize my oil pan a few months ago.)
I actually went to church and outreach yesterday after staying on campus all week. At outreach, I talked to a bright guy who had a terrible childhood full of abuse and drugs, but now had to stop using drugs because his body was about to give out. He grew up knowing about God and the Bible, but even though he was a counselor at a church camp, he said he hadn't believed in it. We had a good long conversation, in which he clearly showed me that his doubts are not based on good facts, but on an emotional objection. "I have a lot of friends who are good people. I just can't accept a God who sends people to hell because they don't believe in Jesus." This is an issue that probably every one of us has wrestled with at some point. But I think it stems from the faulty impression that God is somehow obligated to be kind to us, when really we were "by nature, children of wrath" (Eph. 2:3). We were completely contrary to God and there was absolutely no good reason for Him to show us favor. Instead, we deserved the very opposite. Salvation is completely apart from any merit of our own and is based solely on the mercy and grace of God. "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)." Ephesians 2:4-5 |
AuthorWe are normal people who believe that God would have us serve Him in Brazil. We are saddened by the existence of people who do not have access to the gospel due to their location and language. We want to live among such a people group and plant a church among them, shepherding the believers as they grow to maturity. Archives
November 2019
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