Sunday, November 27, 2011

I got up at about 8:15, did my devotions really quickly, and got ready for church. We left at 9 and got there about 9:45. Church doesn’t start until 11:30, but some of the girls attend a Bible Institute called Adullam, which starts at 10, and some people need to go with them so that we minimize the number of van loads going to church.

In the van on the way to church, I started memorizing Romans 1 in Spanish. I’m hoping to be able to memorize the whole book. I got about 7 verses down. 

We waited around in the cafeteria until it was time for church to start.

I really enjoyed the message—it was Oscar, a different speaker than I had heard before, and he was my favorite one I have heard so far. He shared from Acts 1:8 “And ye shall receive power…” and related it to 2 Tim 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” He spoke on these three points (Power, love and sound mind), and during the part about love, he had a woman come up and give a testimony. She told the story of how her husband had gotten shot and killed while he was closing up the store where he worked. She expressed how she found the Lord after that, her grief, and her process of coming to forgive the killer. It was a powerful, moving testimony, simply stated, that left many of the audience in tears. The pastor also gave a memorable illustration from Rev. 5:5-6. The elder says to John, “Behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah,” but John looks, and he sees “a Lamb as it had been slain.” He said, “The lion and the lamb are two aspects of the character of Christ, and for every Christian, these two aspects should also be reflected in our lives. Many times when we have guys in the centers, when they face temptation to do drugs or chase women, they go to it like a lamb. They’re just led along like sheep to the slaughter. That’s not how it should be. In those times, they should be like a lion, like Christ when he cast the moneychangers out of the temple—strong and bold and able to withstand. In other cases, when the guys are in the house, we have a fight. The guys are behaving like a lion. But in those cases, they should be using the “lamb” character—to yield their rights and be meek and forgiving.”

After church, they had a funeral for P. I didn’t go, because I was in my boots and I knew I couldn’t walk that much, so I went home in one of the vans with the girls.

A is amazing…she must be grieving, but she doesn’t show it. Her strength and resilience amaze me. She has continued ahead, serving God and living for him in the midst of the most difficult of circumstances. I have tremendous respect for her. 

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