Prayer Requests

Alberto - He is not able to see his child that he has with his girlfriend. Pray for their relationship to be honoring to God.
Russel - His grandmother is sick. Pray also for his family and his daughter.
George - He has not seen his daughter for 10 years; she is now a teenager. Pray for his relationship with her.
P. - His sister is in prison. Pray for her safety during this time. He asks for prayer of safety for his mom and brother also. For himself: prayer for guidance and patience.
Ricardo - Pray for his family and their life and health.
Juan - Please be in prayer for his little brother. His substance abused has caused damage to his brain.
Beltron - Pray for him for God to continue working in his heart. He asks for prayer that the Lord will forgive all his sins. Pray that he will come to an understanding and acceptance of God's forgiveness in Christ.

Burden

I haven't logged in an update since coming back from Germany a couple of weeks ago. I am glad though to now have the time to do that and praise God for His grace during this time. During my time in Germany I got to think more about the Holy Spirit and it's work in believers and how it brings believers to believe. It was saddening to me to realize that not much is spoken about the Holy Spirit these days in the evangelical community. Is it possible that we have overreacted so much to the extremes of the Pentecostal movement that we are even afraid of what we say in regards to it? Are we coming to the point whereby we even ignore the person of the Holy Spirit? I pray not. The next several weeks we will be going through the upper room discourse of Christ (John 13-17) paying special attention to the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Please be praying for that, especially for me as I grow more in understanding this important person, in understanding God and living in a way that He calls me to.
There have been some really neat counseling opportunities the past couple of weeks and I praise God for that. I am burdened however at the guys who are leaving the center as they go out into a world filled with temptation and hardship. I think that this perhaps is the most challenging aspect for them where they have to face the realities of not being able to find a job because of their prison record or because they just don't have the means to get to the job if they find one. A lot of them give up and fall back into drugs and the life they used to know and are back in prison within a few months. Please be praying for me as I think through ways in which we can come alongside these men after they leave and be an encouragement to them, especially those who have known the Lord during their time at the center.

Amazing grace

Yesterday was a really blessed day as we watched 11 men get baptized as a public testimony of what the Lord has done in their lives. It has really been neat seeing the Lord draw them to Him and them growing in the knowledge of who He is. Pastor Juan and Pastor Oliver officiated the baptism service. Thank you for your prayers for these men and may all glory be given to the Lord most high in whom salvation is found.


Left - Steven, Right - the chapel
Below L - Justin, Below R - Tommy

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20)

Praises

Recently we have been going through a series on the person of Christ. The past two weeks focused on Christ's deity, on Him being fully God. This was mostly done through an exposition of John 1:1 in which the Lord has really been seen working in these men's lives. For the next couple of weeks we will be focusing on Christ's humanity.

I was thinking of how the Lord has been working in these men's lives. I remember a year ago when I started going there how there would be one or two who would bring their Bibles to the meetings. And now it's the opposite; one or two do not bring their Bibles. It's encouraging to see that when they, the men, now come they know what the source of the authority is going to be. They know that it's now about the man who is in front of them but the God of the Bible. During the week they discuss what has been taught among themselves and bring questions on Saturday. I have hope for them and what the Lord is doing in their lives. All of them, save a handful, have spent a significant amount of time in prison and the destruction that has brought to their families is nothing short of sad. Please pray for their families as well.

Next week we have about ten men being baptized which has been another fruit of the Lord's work. My prayer, as I ask you to join me in, is that these are genuine professions of faith and that if they are not, the Lord draws these men to Him.
I am ever so grateful as well for the men who have come alongside this ministry and have been given a great desire by the Lord to minister to these men. Of special note is Jim Cosley, who lost his brother to drugs. He will be teaching on the humanity of Christ in two weeks. Another has been Bill Stamper. He has been faithful each week in encouraging the guys there and giving them practical advice on the world that awaits them after they finish their time. These guys have been a huge blessing from the Lord and we praise Him for that. I am also grateful for your prayers which I value greatly because the Lord does answer them.

Heartache and hope

Perhaps the one aspect that has lingered in the shadows during the time that I have been with Live Again is the heartbreak that comes with ministry. I have never spent time in prison as these guys have, neither have I done drugs in my life or been an alcoholic. I am thankful though that the Lord gave me a passion for those who have. My concern at the end of the day is not so much that they stop doing drugs, but rather, for their eternal souls. With that comes change that is through the Spirit and growth in Christ.

It is painful and sad when people reject the gospel because they are rejecting the very thing that gives them life and brings them to worship the Living God. It is also humbling in the same light that it is not the craftiness of our words that saves people but God Himself through this good news. I take comfort in Paul's words

"Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, but we we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the Word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:1-4)

This passage beckons us to fall on our knees and pray that the Lord removes this veil that the devil has placed on their eyes. To give up on unbelievers in our continuous evangelism is like to give up on the power of God to save. In spite of the heartache that comes with them rejecting the Lord, our God is still powerful to save and we take hope in that.

Prayer Requests

Eddie - Please pray for his family, and continue to pray for his relationship with his wife.
George - He asks prayer for his dad´s parents. He was able to visit his family this week. Pray for his relationship with Christ.
Steven - Pray for his sisters who have been affected by his drug usage. He is thankful for his family and their support.
Anthony - Pray that God would continue to convict his heart. He realizes his sinful anger towards his wife, pray for God to change him and make him realize his need for a savior through it. Also, pray for strength for his family while he is in Rehab.
Christopher - Pray for his walk with the Lord.
Edmundo - He is thankful for a week of soberity.

Doxa

I am thankful that I can sit down and write about how God has been working at the rehab center in the past few weeks. I have had finals and projects due and so have not been able to do this. By His grace I got through them and now will be doing summer school and working.

David - I have known him for the past nine months and it has been a joy to see him grow in the Lord. I have come to be convinced that he is saved. He is married with children and was into drugs together with his wife. She is still doing drugs as well. David left two weeks ago and it was really awesome to see his committment to change. Instead of going back home to his wife where he knew he will get enslaved again to drugs, I was blown away by the decision he made to live with a friend elsewhere as he tries to convince his wife to leave the sinful life of drugs and alcohol. As much as he loves her, he fears to sin against the Lord more. Please be praying for David and his family.

Chris - I have known Chris for a while as well. He's a Christian and is in his 40's. I am so thankful for him and how the Lord is working in his life. He knows what a sinful life he has been living and is always hungry for the word of God. It's emcouraging that after the teaching he is comes to me and is already asking for the verses I am going to talk about the next week so that he can be studying them. This also keeps me on my toes I guess. One really neat thing is seeing his love for the guys there and the nature of his prayer requests. It is refreshing and a great encouragement to see one always concerned for the salvation of his children and of specific individuals at the center.

Alvin - Joined us about a month ago. This guy has seen life and been through a lot. God has brought him to live at the center in a broken state. The change in his openness and knowing that the source of wisdom and the answers he is searching for are in Scripture has been a testimony of how God is not done with him. It is neat to see how before we start a meeting he is open about what he has been thinking through during the week, or a discussion about a text in Scripture he might have had with someone, and now wondering what exactly God's Word says about it.

Fernando - This guy joined us two weeks ago. On his first day in the session he got into a heated argument with one of the guys there and I thought things were going to go bad but the Lord's hand was in it. He later came to talk to me and I soon realized his anger towards everyone, especially God. We prayed for Him during the week and what the Lord did was amazing. Last week I was teaching on 'A Biblical Perspective on Satan,' and he raised a question to ask an interesting question, 'why does God allow Satan to play around with us?' We talked about this until he was teary eyed as he could only but confess that the Word of God had gripped him on his sin. It was such a huge difference from the week before of this angry man wanting to have a go at anyone. Please pray for him and the Lord continues to work in his heart.

Thank you for your prayers.