Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers ~Psalm 1:1 (18 August 2014)
¡Julian y Malu están aquÃ! ✔ Julian and Malu are here! (19 August 2014)
We’ve been having a good time and a not-so-good-time here. Maybe that’s not so unusual.
We would appreciate your prayers as we join with our friends at Path of Life Bible Church in Santa Barbara to reach out into a new neighbourhood with kids’ clubs and a special study for parents. Last week’s turn-out wasn’t great, but Shari, Julian, Malu and some from the church handed out some more flyers yesterday, so we’re hoping for better things this week. 🙂
Acts Contest!On Sunday we had a special service at Path of Life Bible Church in Jesús MarÃa. All through the month of August, the congregation was encouraged to study the book of Acts. Last Sunday, we had a special quiz to see who knew their stuff. It was a competition between the women, the men, and the youth.
I got to make up the questions – from easy, to normal, to hard, to very hard, to “almost impossible”. (And they were.)
One group worked particularly hard to prepare, and it showed. Congratulations to the women! (The men challenged them for a while, but eventually fell behind).
The not-so-good has been health. I’ve been sick since Thursday noon, and last night was the worst night yet. Which means I’m getting better now, right? Right?
It looks like Shari has decided to join the ranks of the sick today as well. 🙁
But we’re pushing ahead, trying to get some other outreaches up and running here, getting some Bible studies going, and of course getting Hannah and Nathanael edykated.
Wow – the last 90 days have kind of been a blur. But anyway, here is a review of the most popular posts here at Finding direction, in chronological order as always. The ones in bold were the most popular of all.
Remember, if you’re a part of our support team and you want to read the key posts that are most relevant to you, check out this page.
Tonight Ismael was leading a Bible study all about trusting God to do the impossible. One of the passages we read from was 1Peter 5:6-7:
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Do you think this might be a good definition of faith? There are lots of ways we could define faith, and they all show different aspects of what faith is.
As Christians we know that “faith” has to have an object. It’s not “faith that things are going to get better” or “you just gotta have faith!” No, it’s faith in the God of the Bible.
And the God of the Bible is the Almighty, the All Knowing, the All Wise. He is also the Loving Father.
He’s the one who sees the big picture that we don’t see. He’s the one who cares for us.
So I wonder if this verse could show two aspects of faith – we trust Him enough to humble ourselves and give Him his proper place in the universe. And we cast our cares on Him – knowing that He isn’t some distant deity or an angry tyrant. He’s a God who cares, and so we can leave these things in His hands.
Sometimes it’s hard to have faith. But it should be a lot easier as we learn who God is, and how He cares for His people.
