With or Without Her

Ricardo was baptized in October of last year and began telling others about Jesus soon after. As a result, he invited Joseph and me to study the Bible with Fernandes, who owns a used car lot. Fernandes said that he had given his life to Christ over 20 years ago, but he had never been baptized. We studied with him about what the Bible says about baptism. He said that he wanted to be baptized but was waiting for his daughter and wife to be available to witness his new birth. I tried to convince him of the urgency, but he decided to wait anyway. While Joseph and I traveled, Francinaldo gave the Bible study. Something I said and the contact with Francinaldo led Fernandes to do some hard thinking and he decided: he couldn't wait anymore, he had to be baptized with or without the presence of his wife and daughter. And so, he was buried and raised to new life in Christ on Tuesday, May 27, 2014. One new life producing life in others.

Please pray:

* that God may continue to increase Fernandes' faith in His Word

* that God may strengthen Ricardo's faith and that he may now learn how to help Fernandes mature in his faith.

Comments

"What About Baptism?"

Edda and I went to a nearby city to study the Bible with a family, Genilda (who is already a Christian), Ana, Mariana, Luiza, and Jefferson. While we were reading God's Word, Ana's husband, Silva, came in and sat down, and then blurted out: "What about baptism?" It took me by surprise because he has barely studied with us, but, most certainly, is already thinking about spiritual matters. Our Bible study then took a lot of detours, answering this question or that. Silva said he still has a lot of questions, and we pray that the Lord will use us to answer them, bringing him to understand the Good News!

One More Goodbye

This year has been rough for Borges's family. They lost a pillar in their family, his wife's mother in February. Now her brother has passed, buried today. He was diagnosed with prostrate cancer 18 months ago. A policeman, used to taking care of the family, he had to settle with being taken care of by the family as his body gradually shut down when the cancer metastasized to his bones. Borges and Geilza have spent every free moment taking care of Demilson's needs, and it has been torture watching him slowly wear away. His colleagues in the Military Police carried his casket, played taps on a trumpet, presented his family with a Paraiba flag, and thanked his family for supporting him in defending society for nearly thirty years. It was a nice gesture, but the event that gives us believers hope in the face of death is Jesus winning over the grave. He is our certainty that a grave is not the end.

Men Preparing Themselves in the Word

Every Tuesday night for the last month we have been getting together to study God's Word. The subject is controversial but needed because it affects relationships and families in the church, and we as spiritual leaders will be more effective if we are united in teaching Jesus' will on marriage and divorce. Just like Jesus, we want to go back to beginning and uphold God's ideal when He created marriage: “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” Matthew 19:4-6

McKinney Report

Search This Blog