Skip to main content

The Heart of Man

By
            There is a place in the heart of man that can only be touched by God.  If man does not let God near this place, man will never be changed.  Fabiano is a man who travelled and served the pastor and members of his denomination.  Fabiano is an alcoholic, and he was winning the battle but fell, weak to his vice.  After going on a drinking binge, his services and travelling were no longer needed by the denomination of which he was a part.  He was left alone. 

            Antônio Germano has been visiting Fabiano for some time, long before the above story took place.  Antônio had been telling Fabiano that he needed to follow the truth.  Fabiano would listen and even agree that some of the things the denomination does are not in accordance with the God's Word, but he would not change. 

            Antônio and I went to visit Fabiano this past Sunday.  He is sad and ashamed by his behavior, but most importantly, he seems repentant.  I don't want to be naïve: I know that only time will tell if his love for the Lord will overcome his love for alcohol.  I am excited, though, to see his desire to honor Christ with his life.

            He also said during our visit that he wants to begin meeting with the church in Alagoinha and learning more from God's Word. 

Please pray for:
  •  God to move into Fabiano's heart so that he will have the strength to recover from alcohol and sin;
  • God to give wisdom to Antônio Germano and Zezito, these two men are working with the church in Alagoinha;
  • God to increase the faith of the members in the church in Alagoinha;
  • God to give me wisdom and patience to work with the church in Alagoinha;
  • God to raise up more men to work with the church in Alagoinha.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Second Generation, Part II

By
In 1993 when we came in contact with a young struggling couple in Caruaru, Paulo and Simone, we never imagined what plans God had in store for them. Now 18 years later (Wow, has it been that long?), after conversion, ups and downs, growing pains, working to further the Kingdom and living it, they have had the pleasure to witness the beginning of their daughter's life in Christ. Juliana (age ten) was baptized by her older brother, Jheymerson, who was also ten years old when he gave his life to Jesus. What a wonderful blessing to have one's whole family saved in Christ! Maria and Cícero were also converted when we lived in Caruaru, though single at the time. They dated and got married, the ceremony performed by yours truly. Maria has been faithful to Jesus all these years though going through several difficulties. Cícero, on the other hand, fell away, but came back and renewed his life and his marriage, and now, along with Juliana, his daughter Vitória (age ten) was baptize...
Post a Comment
Read more

Out And About

By
    Last weekend I traveled to Patos, where I conducted the state-wide plan meeting, spent time with an evangelist, helped plan the Great Supper in October and met with two different congregations.              The state-wide plan is still moving forward.  Their goal for this meeting was to have someone prepared who is able to prepare another person.  Each congregation is still working towards this goal.  They each have someone in place that they are training.  The short-term goal is to train men and women who will be able to train other men and women.  The mid-term goal is to prepare the congregation in various aspects of the work and spiritual life so that it, the congregation, can continue to grow without the current evangelist.  The long-term goal is to prepare the congregation to send out the current evangelist or other men to establish a congregation in a new city....
Post a Comment
Read more

Pandemic Connection Strategies

By
Since the Covid-19 pandemic and its social distancing, we have had to work out other ways to connect:  We started a telephone ministry to keep members connected, to verify needs, and to keep our prayer lists updated. Some conversations last five minutes, others have lasted two hours. The idea is that every member receives at least one phone call a week. As we discover needs, we are able to act. One thing that surprised me was that I was expecting to hear about many financial needs. This has not been the case. Many requests have been of an emotional nature. Most requests have been of a spiritual nature. This type of contact has brought us closer together. It is interesting how God can use difficult times to bring about good. May God be glorified! Also, we began small group Bible studies with 3 to 6 members depending on the group. We would normally organize groups like these according to neighborhoods. However, since we are online, we created several groups, days and times and let th...
Post a Comment
Read more