No muy seguido, pero de tiempo en tiempo, Dios nos trae a una encrucijada en nuestra vida. Desde ese momento podemos seguir en una vida cristiana mas perezosa e inutil o encendemos mas ese fuego con el que damos todo por su grandeza--lo mejor para su gloria. ~Oswald Chambers
Bible Gateway compiled a list of the most searched Bible verses on their site. From a sample of 25 million queries of 3 verses or less the results are very popular verses and at the top, not surprisingly, John 3:16.
Here’s a sample of the list:
John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Jer 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Rom 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Phil 4:13: I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Gen 1:1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Prov 3:5: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
Prov 3:6: in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Rom 12:2: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Phil 4:6: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Matt 28:19: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Eph 2:8: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
Gal 5:22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Rom 12:1: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
Please watch this wonderful clip where John Piper tells of the reaction that a missionary has to being rescued from death and brought to life by Jesus: he or she knows that “I can’t stay. I must go.”
The Annual To Every Tribe Mission Conference “The Privilege of Suffering: Jesus is Worth It” will be in Dalton, GA. For more details please see the conference page at: http://www.toeverytribe.com/pages/page.asp?page_id=73825
Part of Worldvision’s work is to address desperate need for water in many parts of the world. The video shot in Uganda shows the difference between a 14 year-old girl Anyaka and an Australian woman Suzy both attempt to lift a 20 liter container on their head. The results are predictable but go ahead and watch the “challenge.”
What follows below is a testimony, from a university student in Pakistan, about what it’s like during the month of Ramadan. We invite you to join Maaria to take this month as an opportunity to pray for Muslims around the world. Her blog post is below.
Ramadan has begun. Around the world Muslims are fasting from sun rise to set. While the Muslims declare to the world through word& deed that from sun rise to sun down they will obstain from food, drink& smoking, their fasting is imposed on non Muslims around them. Where on one hand we would gladly be respectful of their faith and not tempt them by taking our freedom to an abusive level, we do not appreciate the fact that we are watched and observed closely, in schools, colleges and even while driving on the road or at the work place. Remember last year when Mrs Zia snapped at me for stirring my cup of tea? This time Ramadhan comes at the same time as our Crisis as Christians in Pakistan.
In the wake of the Gojra violence our Muslim neighbours are on a holy and righteous journey to please Allah and earn brownie points to go to heaven. All the while we are still mourning for the lives lost in the violence and the damage done to Christians because of the injustice of laws such as the blasphemy law which makes us vulnerable targets.
But while this crisis ensues, let us not forget that as always the beginning of Ramadhan brings with it endless opportunity to discuss our understanding of fasting. Normally our Muslim friends will talk to us about fasting and ask us whether we fast as well, if we do how long does one fast for, is it really 24 hours like we were taught in Catechism in school or not and whether all Christians have to fast like all Muslims and whether there is a difference between ‘sects’ and how they ‘fast’. Of course discussions like this lead to questions like ‘What is a denomination? Do you hate people of differing church background? What is a cult? Do you believe that members of another denomination will go to hell? Do you believe that if you do not fast you will go to hell?
To me all these are opportunities. Opportunities not to be ignored and lost. How great the opportunity to be able to say that no I am not compelled by a religious code to fast, I am not compelled by my pastor to fast, no I will not go to hell for not fasting. In fact my faith is in Christ and all the things I do I can do because either His Holy Spirit compels and leads me to do them and my joy is in obeying or then even if I am led by Him to do something which may not seem easy to me as Maaria, then by His Holy Spirit He will give me His Strength to achieve and obey His calling and direction as with all things and every day and all that lies on the path I walk.
I am able to talk about Lent and able to share with them that this is all an act of a closer walk with Jesus, a reminder to us that before His public ministry Jesus went into the wilderness, led by the Spirit, and set Himself apart to be alone with His Father.
As I share with my friends about these things I am able to talk about the temptations Jesus faced and explain what I mean by ‘The joy of the Lord is my strength’ and by ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’. I am able to share with them about the idea of quietness and intimacy with Jesus. A fast and a period of abstinence is a time to draw close to Jesus, not to earn brownie points with Saint Peter for when I stand at the pearly gates. It is so that I can be so close to my first love, Jesus, that I am able to forgive when my brothers and sisters are persecuted, when I am not given full rights as a believer, when I must suffer for the Gospel.
De ves en cuando re-visitamos fotos de cosas pasadas para los que no las han visto antes. En esta galeria vemos un viaje misionero a Senegal. Hay muchisimas fotos que no pudimos poner en la galeria pero espero disfruten las que estan. La galeria de Senegal esta aqui en este link y pueden para que tengan una idea de lo que veran les doy unas cuantas fotos aqui (haz un click en las fotos para verlas mas grandes):
El tema del dinero y la iglesia es uno lleno de dificultades y controversias. Evangelistas en la TV y predicadores de la prosperidad han dejado un mal sabor en muchas bocas porque muchos han tomado ventaja de la gente. Con todo, no hay razon por la cual manejar nuestras finanzas (es decir, la provision de Dios) sea una experiencia negativa.
Estas son algunas preguntas con respecto al dinero y las respuestas dadas por Billy Graham:
Porque las Iglesias piden dinero todo el tiempo?
Respuesta de B. Graham: La Biblia nos dice que hemos de dar porque queremos y no “de mala gana ni por obligacion, porque Dios ama al que da con alegria.” (2 Corintios 9:7). Al mismo tiempo las iglesias y otros ministerios de la iglesia necesitan el dinero para poder funcionar; en otras palabras, sin ese dinero dejan de existir.
Jesus y su pequeño grupo de discipulos tenian un tesorero y la Biblia menciona que habian “muchas mas que los ayudaban con sus propios recursos.” (Lucas 8:3).
En nuestro propio ministerio siempre hemos tratado de informar a la gente de las oportunidades que estan delante de nosotros y tambien los incentivamos a ayudarnos si Dios les guia a hacerlo.
Tiene un cristiano que diezmar? Que es el diezmo?
Los cristianos que desean agradar a Dios a veces tienen preguntas hacerca del diezmo. El diccionario define el diezmo como la “decima parte de algo pagado voluntariamente como contribucion o impuesto comunmente para apoyar un establecimiento regligioso.” Esto era una practica comun en el Antiguo Testamento y requerido de los miembros de la nacion de Israel.
Muchos cristianos creen que el principio de dar un diez porciento se debe continuar en el Nuevo Testamento en dar a la iglesia y otros organizaciones cristianas. Billy Graham queda en esta categoria y dice: “En nuestro nuevo hogar, al igual que miles de otros, hemos encontrado que la bendicion de Dios sobre los nueve decimos cuando diezmamos va mas lejos que los diez-decimos sin la bendicion de Dios.”
El tema de dar es personal y se lleva a cuentas entre tu y Dios. El siempre toma en cuenta tus circumstancias. El sabe los que esta en nuestra capacidad de dirijir y controlar. Lo importance es que veamos las cosas como un privilegio y no como una obligacion. No deberia ser por deber sino por amor a Dios y el deseo de ver que avance el reino de Dios.
No es el diezmo solo para los ricos? Que si no me alcanza el dinero?
Dar el diezmo es una meta en nuestras vidas y algo que vale la pena. Y no solo es para el rico. En una ocasion elogio la accion de una viuda que dio todo como dice en Marcos 12:44: “Éstos dieron de lo que les sobraba; pero ella, de su pobreza, echó todo lo que tenía, todo su sustento.” Ella lo dio todo por amor a Dios.
En el Antiguo Testamento, el diezmo era una parte importante de la alabanza a Dios y Dios prometio bendecirlos si el pueblo obedecia su mandamiento de diezmar. La Biblia dice en Malaquias 3:10: “Traigan íntegro el diezmo para los fondos del templo, y así habrá alimento en mi casa. Pruébenme en esto —dice el Señor Todopoderoso—, y vean si no abro las compuertas del cielo y derramo sobre ustedes bendición hasta que sobreabunde.” Pensemos cuan grande impacto tendriamos como cristianos si todos siguieranos este mandamiento.
Alguien alguna vez dijo que la manera que damos es una medida de nuestro compromiso con Dios — y es cierto. Que es mas importante: el dinero en el bolsillo, o que el dinero se use para la obra de Dios? Pongamos a Cristo primero en nuestras vidas y pidamosle que nos permita usar los recursos que el nos ha dado para su servicio.
Entre mas amamos a Dios mas vamos a querer dar para avanzar su trabajo a traves de dar.
Este uno de los videos que hicimos para el campamento. La idea original era de dar la historia de un niño exigente y egoista a un extremo. En cierta manera por medio del niño desagradecido demostrar las tendencias de nuestra generacion a ser siempre auto-enfocados. El video que resulto require esa pequeña introduccion por que el resultado es una simple y divertida comedia y espero la reciban asi. Y ahora presentamos en spanglish:
