THE TRIP TO COSTA RICA

I am now back home and still excited about my recent trip to Costa Rica. Our group worked very hard and had a wonderful time. This trip was a spiritually uplifting experience. My prayer is that I am able to return to Costa Rica next year. I was able to team up with six others from the USA and three translators from Costa Rica.

Our week of work resulted in one baptism (a young lady taught by Jeff and Daniel Rich) and five restorations. Our group had well over 30 studies with people from the Upala, Costa Rica area. They were very encouraged from the Bible and we were very encouraged from their desire to hear God's Word. This Sunday I am planning to present a slide show of the trip I took. This presentation will be at the Canal church of Christ.

I am also planning to present at Elm Grove, and Rio Grande, Ohio soon. Please continue to pray for the people of Costa Rica and around the world that their hearts are open to the word of God. If your congregation is looking for a prosperous mission work to support then let me know. Costa Rica is a fruitful place to spend the Lord's money. And pray that the workers continue to be ministers with a message.

My Pre-Costa Rica Trip Message

My plan (if the Lord wills) is to head to Costa Rica for a mission trip. My desire is to also give real time updates about the progress that we are making. Our goal is to evangelize as many people as possible. To share with the people of Upala, Costa Rica the Word of God. I ask that you all pray for this effort. That we remain safe from harm and that the hearts of the people will be open to listening to us.

Our group is packed full of minister's with the message. We are eager to go and excited that God has provided us with the means to go into this part of the world. Our last trip last January was to Upala. We studied with a number of people and among those, 11 responded to Lord and were baptized into Christ for the remission of their sins. Three others responded and asked for prayers of forgiveness for their past sins.

Continue to look for my updates and pray for us. God bless your ministering the message.

What does it mean to "preach?"

Paul the apostle of Jesus Christ was inspired to write, "preach the word... (2 Timothy 4:2)." But what does it truly mean to "preach?" According to www.thefreedictionary.com, preach means, "to proclaim or put forth in a sermon." Ok, but that is not all there is to preaching. Preaching is not just proclaiming a sermon. There is a certain type of message that must be presented. And not everyone uses the word to present that message. Remember the two main elements in 2 Timothy 4:2, "preach" and "the word."

So I am to proclaim whose word? That of course would be the word of God. I must not waver or drift from what God has told all of us through the Bible. The difficulty in the religious world has been that many are only concerned with preaching a word that is sensitive to the hearers. Now listen, I do not mean that we are to be mean-spirited in our preaching. I am to always remember to "speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15)." But that word might be negative, it might be positive or it might be neutral. Again look at 2 Timothy 4:2, "preach the word, in season and out of season, convince, rebuke and exhort with all long suffering and teaching." There it is, "convince" (neutral), "rebuke" (negative), and "exhort" (positive). This is what is called balance preaching of the word of God.

So are you, as a minister, preaching the word of God in a balanced and loving way? Remember to minister with your message.

Go into all the world and preach the Gospel

I have only traveled on two foreign mission trips. If the Lord wills I will be returning to Costa Rica for my third trip this month. There are so many more preachers that have spent more time in missions than I have, so I do not claim to be an expert. I know one thing from my travels, "Go into all the world" is what Jesus wanted from me. I can do my part. I can go into all the world, literally, or all the world that I can get to. I do not believe that Jesus wanted me to literally step foot on every spot in the entire world, unless I was able. So, the question that you need to ask yourself is, "Where in the world am I going?"

Jesus said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV). Where have you taken the message of the Gospel? Sometimes we have even failed to take it to the family next door. I would love to be able to literally talk to every person in the world that is not a New Testament Christian and share with them this exciting message. But since that might not ever be possible, then I must do what I can do.

Every soul is important to God. Why else would Jesus want us to go into all the world? It does not matter if the soul is in Costa Rica, India, or here in America, I must do what I can to "preach the word" to them. So think about this the next time you are in a supermarket, at the mall, or with family. Have I, "Gone into all my world and preached the Gospel?"

May God bless you and please remember to pray for the opportunity to be a minister with the message.