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 The Babylon Bee: Holy Spirit Unable to Move When Church Fog Machine Breaks

Holy Spirit Unable To Move Through Congregation As Fog Machine Breaks

March 2, 2016

NASHVILLE, TN—Describing the experience as “tragic,” local worship leader Axl Johnson found his congregation totally unable to worship as the church’s primary fog machine malfunctioned right in the middle of the Sunday morning set. “We barely got through our new song. It was a real train wreck,” a visibly shaken Johnson told us while sipping a latte macchiato in the church cafe after service.

Just as the song, an original mashup between Hoobastank’s The Reason and Gungor’s Beautiful Things, reached its climax, a loud pop emanated from the 1600-watt machine positioned just in front of the Plexiglas pulpit. The device sputtered to a halt and ceased pumping out 30,000 cubic feet of water-based fog per minute into the venue. Onlookers said it totally and instantly killed their personal worship experience.

“It was horrific,” one parishioner recalled. “One moment I was caught up in the Spirit, worshiping the living God of all creation before His throne, and the next I was brought plummeting back down to earth. The mood was ruined.”

The church has ordered a full inspection of the remaining five fog machines as well as the laser light controllers as a preventative measure. “We’re not losing the Holy Spirit again, not on my watch anyway,” Johnson declared. “We’re a strong group on a life journey together. We’ll pick ourselves up and grow from this tragedy.”

At press time, the church is discussing a possible name change from “Legacy” to “The Gathering” to help the flock move on.

I Can Only Imagine ~ Bart Millard

Bart Millard

The lead singer of the band Mercy Me was preparing to follow in his father and brother's footsteps and become a football playerin his home state of Texas. It was only after he hurt his ankles in a high school football game that Bart Millard decided to take Choir as his elective class.

After high school, It was during Bart's time as a youth ministry intern in Florida where the future band found it's name; Finding her grandson home whenever she called - his southern roots woulld ring clear as she would say to him, "Well mercy me, why don't you get a real job?"

Bart Millard recently sang this song at the annual US National Prayer Service, attended by the US President and US Government Christians and heads of State. (Feb 2 2017)

Can a Christian Drink Alcohol

By Barry Cameron

Recently, news broke that Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Shaun White had been charged with vandalism and public intoxication. On my Facebook wall, I posted the following comment: “This just in…and the gold medal for character enhancement, once again, goes to alcohol.”

For years, well-meaning, sincere Christians have debated the subject of drinking. Let me be clear by saying there isn’t a single verse in the Bible that says a Christian cannot have a drink; although the Bible clearly warns about the destructive and addictive nature of alcohol (Proverbs 20:1; 21:17; 23:29-35; Ephesians 5:18) and is very clear that drunkenness is always wrong (Romans 13:13; Galatians 5:19-21; 1 Peter 4:3; Habakkuk 2:15; 1 Corinthians 5:11).

The Bible is also clear that mature Christians should avoid causing others to stumble by drinking (Romans 14:21), and that leaders ought to avoid drinking alcohol (Proverbs 31:4-7) and cannot be given to drunkenness (1 Timothy 3:3, 8Titus 1:7.)

I have yet to hear from anyone who drinks how alcohol enhances anything or blesses anyone. Max Lucado said, “One thing for sure, I have never heard anyone say, ‘A beer makes me feel more Christlike… Fact of the matter is this: People don’t associate beer with Christian behavior.”1 I’ve yet to see how it improves someone’s testimony or makes anyone a more effective witness for Christ. Quite the contrary, like Shaun White mentioned above, or Richard Roberts, Oral Roberts’ son, who was arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma, driving under the influence, the result doesn’t enhance your testimony. Rather, it takes away from what testimony you had.

Recently, a friend of mine, former megachurch Pastor John Caldwell, wrote an article in Christian Standard magazine called To Drink or Not to Drink? Here’s the link to his article. John’s article explained why he has personally abstained from drinking alcohol and dealt with the bigger issue of the contemporary church becoming more and more like the world.

Not surprisingly, a number of people responded to John’s article and some called him to task for taking such a strong stand against drinking. In response to the responses, my good friend Ken Idleman, former President of Ozark Christian College and now Pastor of Crossroads Christian Church in Evansville, Ind., wrote these words, which are among the very best I’ve ever read on this issue. I asked Ken for his permission to share them here.

“OK, I am conscience bound to weigh in on this one… For a minute, forget about making a definitive case for or against ‘drinking’ from the Bible. Here’s the truth from logic and real life. No one starts out to be an alcoholic. Everyone begins with a defensive attitude saying, ‘I’m just a social drinker and there is nothing wrong with it!’ no one says, ‘It is my ambition that someday I want to lose my job, my health, my self-respect, my marriage and my family. Someday I want to be dependent on alcohol to get through my day.’ Yet, this is the destination at which several millions of people have arrived. Why do you suppose that is? It is because alcohol is promoted and elevated as a normal/sophisticated activity in life… It is also expensive, addictive and enslaving. People get hooked by America’s number one legal drug. And just like all illegal drugs, alcohol finds it way into the body, the bloodstream and the brain of the user/abuser.

I had two uncles whose lives were wrecked by alcohol. The exception you say? Hardly. It is not what they wanted when they dreamed of their futures when they were in their 20s. Praise God, they were wonderfully delivered in their 60s when the grace of God became real to them. And can you imagine it?… They got their lives back by becoming total abstainers by the power of the Holy Spirit!

One of my most memorable conversations in the state penitentiary in Jefferson City, Mo., was with a young man facing a 28-year prison sentence for the brutal sexual assault of his own 8-year-old daughter. I will never forget the image. The tears literally ran off his chin and splashed on his shoes as he gushed, ‘I guess I did it. I don’t know. I was drunk at the time.’

Listen, some of those who are defensive in response to Dr. Caldwell’s thoughtful and courageous article will want to revise their text if, in a few years, they discover that they were able to handle their drinking just fine, but their son or daughter could not. Answer honestly. Could you live with the knowledge that your dangerous exercise of Christian liberty factored into your children’s ruin? Or, if your loved one is killed some day in a head on collision by a driver under the influence who crossed the center line, will you still be defensive of drinking?

A good friend during my growing up years was the only child of social drinking parents. When his folks were away, he would go to the rathskeller [German for tavern] in the basement where he developed a taste for alcohol. I won’t bore you with the details. He is 65 today. A broken life, broken health, broken marriages, a broken relationship with his only son, a broken relationship with his only grandchild, a broken career and a broken spirit that…tragically…he tries daily to medicate with the alcohol that led him to this tragic destination.

Hey, thanks for indulging my rant. Like my friend John Caldwell, I confess to setting the bar high for Christian leadership [especially] when it comes to aesthetic holiness. Call me a ‘right-wing fundamentalist.’ Call me a ‘throw back to the days of the tent evangelists.’ Call me a ‘simpleton.’ Call me a ‘minimalist.’ But, if you do, go ahead and also call me a ‘watchman on the wall’ where the welfare of my family [children, in-laws, grandchildren] and my church family is concerned.”2

Personally, I’ve yet to have my first beer and have no desire to start now or to drink alcohol of any kind. At the same time, I don’t judge those who believe they have freedom in Christ to drink. But when asked, I always tell people I don’t believe it’s the best choice.

The bottom line is this: The question really isn’t CAN A CHRISTIAN DRINK? Rather, it is: SHOULD A CHRISTIAN DRINK?

© 2012. Barry L. Cameron

1 David Faust, Voices From The Hill, (Cincinnati, OH: Cincinnati Bible College & Seminary, 2003) 252.

2 John Caldwell, “To Drink or Not to Drink,” Christian Standard 11 August 2012, 18 September 2012.

Pastor Fred Howson ~ 1970's

Ed's note:  It's been 4 years since my Dad died and I still miss him greatly.  Here is a audio file I found in his belongings of a church service from the 1970's at his church in Manitouwadge, Ontario.

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The First Adam vs The Last Adam ~ Russell Grigg

Both are vital to the Gospel … but exactly how?

by Russell Grigg

The Bible presents Adam as the first man, and gives the Lord Jesus Christ the curious title of ‘the last Adam’ (1 Corinthians 15:45). What does this term mean, and why is it given? What are the similarities between Adam and Jesus that warrant Jesus having this title? What are the differences?

Adam and Jesus compared

1. A miraculous beginning

The Bible tells us that the first man, Adam, was created by God, in His image and likeness, directly from the dust of the ground. God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living soul (Genesis 1:26–27; 2:7). Thus, Adam was not the product of some form of theistic evolution.¹ God did not make him in the image or likeness of an ape, nor from a ‘lower hominid’ by any lengthy or even abrupt mutational processes.² Rather God created Adam as an immediate act, by His word (i.e. by commanding or willing this to happen), at some time on the sixth day of Creation week.³

While Adam was made in the image of God, Christ is ‘the image of the invisible God’ (Colossians 1:15).

The Bible tells us that the last Adam, Jesus Christ, was the One through whom God created all things (John 1:1–3; Colossians 1:15–20; Hebrews 1:2). Thus Jesus was pre-existent with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit before Adam lived (John 8:58; Micah 5:2).⁴ Nevertheless, in His humanity, He too had a miraculous beginning when He was incarnated as a human being—conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary (Matthew 1:20–23;Luke 1:26–35).

2. Perfect, innocent, holy

Adam was created a perfect man, in full possession of all human faculties, and with a God-consciousness which enabled him to have spiritual communion with God. Initially innocent, sinless, and holy, he was in a right relationship to God, to woman, to himself, and to the natural world around him.

The last Adam, Jesus, was also perfectly man, one with God (John 10:30; 17:21–22), innocent, sinless, and holy (Hebrews 7:26). Many people mistakenly refer to Jesus Christ as the ‘second Adam’, a term not found in the Bible. However, Scripture refers to Christ as the ‘second man’ (1 Corinthians 15:47). There have been many men since Adam, but Jesus Christ was only the second man to ever be completely without sin.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only beacon of real hope for a lost humanity. Its intergrity is firmly based on the historical truth of both the first and the last Adam. Credit: Designzzz

Unlike the first Adam, the Lord Jesus was, in addition, divine, having the attributes, offices, prerogatives, and names of deity. Being fully God, He is worthy of worship (e.g. Revelation 5:11–14).

3. Humanity’s head

Adam was the head of the human race. Jesus Christ is the head of redeemed humanity (see, for example, Ephesians 5:23). Since Christ died once for all time (Hebrews 7:27; 9:28; 10:10–14), there will never be the need for any further ‘Adam.’ Hence He is the last Adam.

4. Both givers of life

The first Adam gave life to all his descendants. The last Adam, Jesus Christ, communicates ‘life’ and ‘light’ to all men, and gives eternal life to those who receive Him and believe on His name, giving them ‘power to become the sons of God’ (John 1:1–14).

5. Two rulers

Adam, representing mankind, was given dominion over the created world (Genesis 1:26). After being raised from the dead, Jesus Christ was elevated to God’s right hand, and given dominion over all things, which were ‘put under his feet.’ (1 Corinthians 15:27; Ephesians 1:20–22). The first Adam was lord over a limited domain, the last Adam is Lord of all (Acts 10:36).

6. A deep sleep produces a beautiful bride

Genesis 2:21–23 tells us that God put Adam into a deep sleep, during which time God made Adam’s bride, Eve, from Adam’s side—a wound in Adam’s side produced a bride! Note that once again theistic evolution is excluded. The text says that God made them male and female at the beginning (Genesis 1:27; 2:7; Matthew 19:4). If Adam and Eve had been sub-human before God breathed life into them, they would already have been male and female, without the need for God to have made them so at this stage.

After the last Adam, Jesus, died upon the cross—suffering the sleep of death for everyone—His side was pierced by a spear thrust (John 19:34). In His death he paid the penalty for mankind’s sins (1 Corinthians 15:1–4). Those who repent and put their faith in Him are united with Christ in a relationship which the Bible likens to that of a bride towards her husband (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:27; Revelation 19:6–8). Thus a wound in the last Adam’s side also produced a bride—the true Church!—‘a glorious bride, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing … holy and without blemish’ (Ephesians 5:27).

7. A momentous testing

At the beginning of Adam’s life he underwent a period of testing as to whether or not he would obey God.⁵ ‘And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’ (Genesis 2:16–17).

At the beginning of the last Adam’s ministry, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted (or tested—Greek: peirazō) by the devil (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1–3).⁶

8. A great failure and a great victory

The first Adam failed the test, and in doing so involved all humanity in his defeat, dragging the human race down with him.⁷ As a result, in Adam we all stand condemned, spiritually bankrupt, enslaved to sin, and expelled from Paradise (Romans 5:12 ff.).

The last Adam, Jesus, was victorious over sin, the flesh, and the devil. As a result, in Christ, believers stand justified and redeemed, spiritually wealthy, liberated from sin, and included in the Paradise of God (Romans 5:18 ff.; 1 Corinthians 15:21 ff.; Revelation 2:7).

The first Adam disobeyed God. The last Adam was ‘obedient unto death, even the death of the cross’

9. Disobedience vs obedience

The first Adam disobeyed God. The last Adam was ‘obedient unto death, even the death of the cross’ (Philippians 2:8).

10. Judgment and death

The first Adam experienced the judgment of God—he ultimately died and his body turned to dust. Because of his sin, death came upon all men, ‘For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23).

The last Adam, Jesus Christ, also died—on the cross—to atone for sin (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 3:18; Hebrews 2:9). But He did not stay dead, nor did His body ‘see corruption’ (Acts 2:27; 13:35–37). On the third day He rose again, thereby overcoming the devil and the power of death for all those who believe in Him (Hebrews 2:14), and bringing resurrection from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:22–23).

11. Curse and restoration

Creation was originally ‘very good’ (Genesis 1:31), so the ‘last enemy’, death (1 Corinthians 15:26) was absent. Even the animals were originally all given plants to eat (Genesis 1:30). The actions of the first Adam brought a reign of death and bloodshed upon a once-perfect world, which ever since has been groaning in pain (Romans 8:22).⁸ Precisely because of the blood shed in death by the last Adam, this curse of death and bloodshed will be removed, and creation restored to a sinless, deathless state (Revelation 21:1; 21:4; 22:3).

Conclusion

We are all connected with the first Adam (the natural and legal head of the human race) as depraved and guilty sinners, and so are included in the sentence of death which God pronounced on him. However, all who are connected with the last Adam, Jesus, through repentance and faith in His redeeming work, are forgiven, have ‘received the free gift of righteousness’, and so ‘have passed from death to life’ (Colossians 1:14; Romans 5:17; 1 John 3:14).

Related Articles

• Christ as the last Adam: Paul’s use of the Creation narrative in 1 Corinthians 15
• Could Jesus sin?
• The good news without the bad news is no news at all!
• Sermon ideas
• Father’s Day and the Christian connection
• Eve created from Adam’s rib
• Regenerating ribs
• Jesus, just ‘a man of his time’?

References and notes

1. In Genesis chapters 1–5, the term ‘Adam’ is used specifically for a single person, not generically for the human race (although this occurs in chapter 6 ff). The Apostle Paul’s arguments in Romans 5:12–19 and 1 Corinthians 15:45—that death came into the world through one man’s disobedience, and the gift of righteousness through one man’s obedience—would fall to the ground if ‘Adam’ does not refer to one specific person in the accounts of Creation and the Fall. Paul also taught that Adam and Eve were real individuals in 1 Timothy 2:13–14. Return to text.
2. In Genesis 2:7 (‘and man became a living soul’), the word ‘became’ shows that Adam was not already a living creature that evolved into another/different living creature when he was made. He became alive (a living soul) only when he was made. Note also that some theistic evolutionists claim that the dust of Genesis 2:7 from which Adam was made refers to man’s evolving from a beast, but if this was so, then the returning to dust after death of Genesis 3:19 would mean turning back into a beast. This is, of course, absurd. Return to text.
3. See Russell Grigg, Creation: How did God do it?, Creation 13(2):36–38, March 1991. Return to text.
4. Comparing the origins of the two Adams, the Apostle Paul writes: ‘The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven’ (1 Corinthians 15:47). Return to text.
5. Since God created Adam with the power of moral choice, his obedience to God could be confirmed only in a situation where he had the choice either to obey or disobey God. Thus, at the beginning of Adam’s life, a period of probation was necessary, even though God foreknew it would result in the Fall. Return to text.
6. We should not imagine that this was the only time in Jesus’ life that he was tempted by Satan, cf. Luke 4:13; 22:28; Hebrews 4:15; 5:8. Return to text.
7. Note that Adam was in a pleasant garden, with plenty to eat, and was not hungry. Yet despite living in the best possible living conditions, he still sinned. Jesus was in the wilderness, with nothing to eat, and was very hungry. Return to text.
8. This is a potent reason why long–age ‘interpretations’ of the Bible do so much damage to the logic of the Gospel message. The fossils show evidence of death, suffering and disease. If they existed millions of years before man, it means that these things were present before sin. There could not then have been any Curse on creation because of sin, and never any sinless, deathless condition to which all things will be restored (Acts 3:21). Return to text.

Jesus Is My Bridge To God!

Jesus Is My Bridge To God!

What You Need to Know About Angelic Watchers ~ Jennifer LeClaire

Remember, wherever you go and whatever you do, angels are watching. (Flickr )

Jennifer LeClaire is now sharing her reflections and revelations through Walking in the Spirit. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

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Angels have many functions, from protecting to providing, but angelic watchers are roaming the earth on assignment—and have been through the ages.

Angels don't often carry names in the Bible, but they are called out by function, purpose or operation. The book of Revelation speaks of an angel who has power of fire (Rev. 14:18
), as well as an angel of the waters (Rev. 16:5
), an angel who binds Satan (Rev. 20:1
-2) and an angel of the abyss (Rev. 9:11
).

Where does the concept of watcher angels come in? We see watcher angels many times in the Bible. They are often seen observing. Let's look at a few examples in Scripture:

"I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him will the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God" (Luke 12:8
-9).

"Likewise, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:10).

"For I think that God has exhibited us, the apostles, last, as if we were sentenced to death. For we have been made a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men" (1 Cor. 4:9
).

"Without question, great is the mystery of godliness: God was revealed in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, taken up into glory" (1 Tim. 3:16
).

"I command you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing by partiality" (1 Tim. 5:21
).

"It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, concerning the things which are now reported to you by those who have preached the gospel to you through the Holy Spirit, who was sent from heaven—things into which the angels desire to look" (1 Pet. 1:12).

Those are just a few examples of watcher angels worth noting in the Bible. But why are they watching? They waiting for an assignment. They are ready to hearken to the voice of God's word (see Psalm 103). They are available to reap the harvest, to deliver people from danger, to communicate a message and more.

Angels are holy and seek to do God's will. You can grieve angels with your words and deeds just as you can grieve the Holy Spirit. Wherever you go and whatever you do, remember angels are watching—they want to help you do God's will in the season of abundant harvest.

The Lord is releasing angels of abundant harvest. Find out how to cooperate with them at angelsprophecy.com. 

Jennifer LeClaire

I Will Sing Of My Redeemer ~ Gaithers

Dominican Republic2017 Missions Trip (feb24-march3)

DominicanRepublic2017(feb24-march3)

Ed's Note: as I write, I am still in the Dominican Republic with my son Joshua, on the last day of our week long missions trip.  Rick and Tammie Romano (check out their website) serve as long time missionaries here.  This is a brief trip log.  Check back later and I continue to edit this page and will add pictures as time permits.
~St. Mark

Website: MissionTwentyFive35 ~ Rick and Tammie Romano Family
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Saturday -Arrived Santiago apx 445pm & Tammie + Rick showed us our room and brought us to a chicken restaurant.

Sunday- I took some videos of some of the singing at a nearby Catholic Church. We all got in the bus and drove for 45mins + had a Beach devotional near Peurto Plata on Matthew 25. We all had a nice rice/beans/chicken dinner, then spent a couple hours lying on the beach + drove back to Santiago. Josh and I watched a nearby baseball game.

Monday- AM:. Rick Romero got us to study James Chapter 1 for our morning devotional and we had group prayer. 

We visited Bandera (45min drive) to distribute food to 5 needy families & pray with them with pastor Franklin + Saul (Sol) + Emanuel
- doctor in a motorcycle accident/pregnant lady/sick elderly woman/ another sick lady / another lady sick as well as asking prayer for Salvation for family members.  At each place we left about $20 of food behind.  Each of the 5 families were chosen by the local pastor who accompanied us. This is to encourage these people and hopefully in time they will become part of that local church. We all prayed for a family and handed them a food bag- Joshua prayed for the pregnant lady.

PM:  Drive to the farm ; before we started work, Rick gave us an overview of all the ongoing projects. ...1000 young chickens (only 2 were male); they are the beginning of laying hens for egg production. Toured goats pens, including two just born yesterday.They will be sold; We toured the yucca field, as well as the squash field. Then toured the hydroponics-greenhouse operation. Basically the fish (tilapia) are raised in large tanks with oxygenated water. (2000+ fish so far), and the water from the fish tanks are circulated through the greenhouse and back, to water the plants growing there. The greenhouses are still being constructed and should grow tomatoes, peppers, cilantro etc..  The plants should do well in the soil because of the rich water containing the fish excrement, which acts as fertilizer.

Josh & I (Team Ontario) were assigned wheelbarrow-shovel duty- we moved a heavy pile of loam (soil) into a greenhouse being constructed. Rick wants Josh to take his drone to the farm to get some promotion material footage from the air.

Team Ohio painted buildings and collected the squash from the front field. This has to be picked as tomorrow a farmer is coming to till this field. The farm is near the town of Villa Tapia.

Tuesday- Again we met at the Ministry Center for coffee and breakfast. Just before breakfast, we studied James 2 and Rick encouraged us to meditate on the passage throughout the day. 

In the AM we all (10 of us) went to a private institution for mentally and physically challenged kids from ages 3 to 18. Some of them were terribly mal-formed; many of them were just left on the street by their bewildered parents who simply didn't know what to do, so they were abandoned. I played my borrowed guitar and we sang songs (This little light of mine/He's got the whole world in his hands/ At the Cross/Nothing but the Blood of Jesus)with them; hugged them and we brought a big cake to eat with them. There was alot of chaos as the kids were so excited to see us; some of the kids plucked the guitar as i tried to play, but it was OK. The kids really had fun. I let a few of the older boys wear my watch and they really got a kick out of that. We went back to the Ministry Center for lunch.

PM - In the afternoon we drove in the bus to the farm. There was lots of rain today and slowed our work down some. We worked again on wheelbarrow and shovel to move lots of soil into the greenhouse area. Rick Romano really wanted drone shots of the project so Josh took lots of drone pictures. Another team mixed concrete today. We had supper at the Romero's condo.

Wednesday - We continued studying James, today in Chapter 3, on the damage a loose tongue can do. 

After morning prayer, we had breakfast (cereal, yoghurt, fruit, eggs, pancakes, granola bars). We are planning to do the garbage dump Ministry today, but because of all the recent rain, we are not sure that the road in to the dump area will be passable. Rick will go ahead in a truck, so we transferred from the bus to the truck for the final leg. Before we left, the Ministry Center we made a lunch for 50 people ( plus our team) to hand out. (Sandwiches, chips, cookies drinks). The people working at the dump are poor, and their job is to sort & separate the various recycling material entering the dump. Their ages ranged from early 20's to 50's, and they make less than $6. Per day for their recycling effort. Offering a lunch once a week is another way to make a relationship with them and look for ways to present the Gospel story. To date, many relationships have been made among these 50 people and 5 have come to faith in Jesus Christ . This is the power of the Gospel!

Rick asked Joshua to get drone pictures to be used in a Ministry promotional video.

We visited Pastor Luis in the town of Salcedo. In his living room.  His is the story of a church-planter who started from literally nothing and no people to growing into a thriving church.  In 3 years his current church has grown to up to 60 people in 3 years. He explained that it was very difficult to start and run an evangelical church in a predominantly Catholic area. Luis's recipe for guiding a new church is lots of prayer mixed with finding ways to love needy people. 

After a successful church plant, Luis agreed to move to another town, Salcedo to plant another Church when the District Superintendent called on him.  He was hesitant initially because it meant uprooting his family from schools and friendships.  Luis's children are now 16, 14 and 12 years old, admittedly difficult ages to move a family, but faithfully and obediently Luis followed God's new direction for his family. There were no people attending the church for months, so they began to call on God as a family to ask God for a congregation.  They enlarged their prayer circle, and asked other district churches to join them in fervant prayer.  When God's people behind to call on his name, things quickly began to happen.  Luis' confident smile was warming as the story emerged. 

A young man from an isolated area became aquainted with them.  His community villiage consisted of seven families, but was isolated because to get to the church, they had to pass through a neighbor's property.  The property owner refused to allow them access across his property, and then blocked them out. A protest to local authorities fell on deaf ears. They continued to pray about the situation.  

As time went on, Rick Romano and his ministry heard of Luis' problem.  If they could find a way to get access to this community, the seven families could join them. As they continued to study the problem, they began to realize that if they built a bridge across the river it would grant the people a way to cross.  During much of the year it rains very hard, causing the river to be up to 3 feet deep. When the bridge was built by the Ministry team, the church really began to grow as these families with the new access through the new bridge vegan to attend. 

  Ironically, a large tree fell on one of their houses during a bad storm and 3 people from this community were trajically killed. Pastor Luis continued to bless these needy people. 

The government said the villiage would have to be abandoned as other trees were at risk of falling as well. The Dominican government stepped in to offer these families temporary residences in a local apartment block. As well, the government has decided build these people free NEW houses as a replacements for the houses they condemned!  Meanwhile, Pastor Luis now has a congregation and God has provided new houses for them! Praise the Lord for his ways and faithfulness! Our team spent time touring the new homes under construction.

We stopped by a church that Rick's Romano's Ministry built, in the town of Bonagua over the past number of years. It is colocated with a program called "One Child Matters", which is an after-shcool feeding program that takes 280 children and helps with schoolwork.

Los Chicos is the site of another project associated with one of Rick's Ministries.  This is another "One Child Matters" organization colocated with an Alliance Church and serves 200 children between the ages of 3 and 16.

We had our supper again at the Romano's condo and will be off soon for a mid-week local church service later tonight.

Thursday - James 4 for our devotional this morning. James reminds us to live & act humbly and to make sure we don't criticize each other. God opposes proud people.

After breakfast we bagged some cookies to take with us to the La Vega Detention Center. This is a facility that houses juvenile delinquent youth ages 13 to 18 years old. They are here because a judge has handed them a prison sentence from between 1 month and 8 years for a whole range of offences from theft to assault to murder. The Facility Director said that there are no rehabilitation programs once they enter the facility. Only ocassionally are visitors allowed, usually family. The only thing they have to pass the time behind bars is a few sports games like basketball. There are teachers on staff who teach them their school lessons however. It is a sobering thing to see these young lives behind the bars in primitive conditions in this developing country.

We were not allowed to take pictures in this facility.  In fact the permission that was given to permit the Twentyfive35 Ministry to even enter the facility was approved at the country's capital. This was an all-time first as it has not ever been approved before. In fact OFFICIALLY no one or no group is ever allowed to enter the facility. Somehow God has found his way to show favor to this Ministry to allow them through the iron bars.

Elisaul introduced each of our team members and we each told a few things about ourselves. Joshua told them he was taking computer-programming and was 18 years old. Kay, Haley, Ritch and Jerry all gave the approximately 65 young inmates that came to hear us a little glimpse into our lives in North America. The Director told us their facility currently housed 82 inmates. I volunteered to give a testimony of what God had done in my life. Elisaul Reyes, was the interpreter, so as I spoke a few lines in English, he translated it into Spanish. I decided that I would base my testimony on the word "decisions" because likely most of the boys were here because of bad decisions that they made.

Briefly, I told them...
I used to teach in an aviation college. I used to teach students how to become pilots. My job now is to fly a cargo plane.  My college students were about the same age as you are. So I know from working with young adults that when you are young is the time to make a decision for God. This is the age in life that it is very important to make GOOD decisions.
  I said when I was young I made decisions to do things that weren't always good.  I told them that when I was young my dad, a pastor helped me make a decision to follow Jesus. I clapped my hands loudly, not only to hold their attention, but to emphasize that a big change then began to happen inside my heart. The Bible says you MUST be born again! When I accepted Jesus, I became a new creation. The Holy Spirit began to reside in my heart. I then saw things differently, and when I made bad decisions, the Holy Spirit began to guide me to another direction and another path.

I pointed to Joshua, and said that when Josh was 6 years old he crawled up onto my lap and asked me to pray for him, and he then asked Jesus in his heart.  I again clapped my hands loudly and said that just like that, Jesus came into Joshua's heart and he became a new creation. When you accept Jesus your life changes.  I would speak a few words and  Elisaul would translate into Spanish. It was easy to see they were tracking with me as I spoke as they all remained wide-eyed.

I asked them to close their eyes to pray and invite Jesus into their hearts. He will come if you have faith to believe him for Salvation. I noticed that at least 10 or more of them were seriously praying and following along.

They all clapped enthusiastically as I concluded. Then I got out the (borrowed) guitar and we sang a few songs (Open the eyes of my heart Lord/This Little Light Of Mine). Manuel led them in singing. Our team handed out cookies and soda and we chatted with them and said our goodbyes. In a number of ways we felt very warmly received by the inmates who were so glad we came to visit and speak with them about Jesus.

We then drove out to the farm and did more shovel-wheelbarrow work moving soil for a few hours.

Rick and Tammie took us out to a pizza restaurant called Brixx, reputed to be Santiago's Best pizza. We talked over what the week together had meant to us. Rick commented, "If this week hasn't changed you in some way then it was a waste of time and money".  I'd felt that the week spent on this Ministry had shown me that we are the hands & feet of the church. I'd also felt that each of the Ministries we'd done this past was creative in that someone had noticed a creative way to serve people. I remarked that this would encourage me to be alert to unique mission opportunities and be creative in witnessing.

I Stand Amazed ~ Thompson/Phelps