November/December 2018 "...a new heart and a new spirit..." Ezekiel 36:26, 27

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you.” Ezekiel 36:26-27 

Nothing is ever the same after the very Spirit of God performs a divine transplant of the heart of one who in humble repentance accepts the Gift He offers. Life is never again the same, possessions are not the same, goals are not the same, and momentary affliction is certainly not as significant as preparation is made for an unseen, but very real, eternal weight of glory. Following is a small sample of multiplied dozens of transplants of once rock-hard, cold hearts that recently in Tepic have been converted miraculously to vibrant ones of flesh, now-inhabited by God’s Spirit, discipled by His obedient followers, and prepared to seek out and share the life-giving Gospel with other broken hearts of stone.

Julio was the shaman of the Huichol village of Guásima del Caimán a dozen years ago when José López and his team of five missionaries first made contact there with the Gospel, and 36 rebellious hearts were replaced with hearts of flesh. Instigated by Julio, the determined and relentless persecution of the new believers began, never once letting up, especially when Mauricio, Julio’s son and next in line to become the shaman, believed. Eventually, the persecuted believers relocated to La Bendición. Mauricio’s siblings, all but one (who is in the state penitentiary), and Julio’s wife, their mother, gave their hearts to the Savior, as well; but Julio refused to listen to the Gospel…until this past September. At long last, he was persuaded, repented, and invited the Spirit to inhabit his obstinate, hardened heart. Just two short months later, Julio died. Pastor Martín, Erén, and I traveled to La Bendición for Julio’s funeral. The same brothers and sisters whom Julio had so stubbornly persecuted made the arrangements, bought the burial plot, paid his medical and funeral costs, dug the 9-foot hole for the casket with picks and shovels, and sang songs of praise as his body was being lowered into the ground. And I will put My Spirit in you.

The children from the OANSA club in Zapote de Picachos have reason to celebrate! They have learned that God Himself sent His only Son, Jesus, to be born of a virgin, live a perfect life, and give Himself as a ransom so that their disobedient, little hearts of stone, now hiding God’s Word, may be transformed to the dwelling place of His Spirit. Their lives, and those of their leaders, are fresh and meaningful.

The children from the OANSA club in Tepic also have reason to celebrate--lots of reasons to celebrate! Yeimi, a 9-year-old girl in my little group called “Flames,” came from a complex, dysfunctional, amalgamated family, with little hope. But Yeimi has been faithfully hiding God’s Word in the heart of stone with which she was born, and not long ago, she made the choice to invite the Savior to be her Lord. She has consistently asked her father to help her review her memory verses, and in time, Juan Antonio, along with the rest of her family, believed.

Yeimi told Pastor Martín that she wanted to prove her commitment to Jesus and be baptized like He was, even though the water is quite cold right now. Her father, as well as four other OANSA students, Rigo, Christian, Antonio, and Teresa, followed Yeimi’s example.

This year’s Christmas Celebration at IBBM-Tepic was the best ever. Every single actor was one whose heart of stone has been wondrously transformed into a Spirit-filled heart of flesh. See their 9-minute dramatic presentation here.

The little band of mother-tongue-translators, dedicated, persevering, and faithful servants, has been at work for 11 years on the laborious task of translating the Old Testament of the very Word of God into Huichol. That precise Word of God has penetrated their once stone-hard hearts with life-giving Truth to such a degree that they, along with some others from their villages, enthusiastically gave up their Christmastime at home this year to travel to various remote mountain villages to share the Good News with Huichols who are just now hearing and learning its Truth and experiencing the miracle of new birth, a saving relationship with its Author, and hearts of flesh inhabited by His Spirit.

May we not lose sight that it is only the living Word of God, Whose birth we have celebrated just this month, and the written Word He has left us that replaces hearts of stone with hearts of flesh and accomplishes His miraculous work by means of His very own Spirit within. This is grounds for celebration today, and every day of this new year.

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you.” Ezekiel 36:26-27 

See more November/December Tepic activity pictures here.

January/February 2013 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

January/February 2013

That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:5

Praise God for the faith He gives, the strength to carry on, and the power to overcome. An immeasurable dose of that divine power has been evident these past two months in Tepic as He has softened and transformed hard hearts, comforted and refreshed hurting hearts, and reinforced and energized committed hearts. This outpouring of His power could never be attributed to human wisdom.

Huichol students of Theological Education by Extension from the village of La Quemada studied Personal Evangelism the week before Christmas. The seven mother-tongue-translators working on the Huichol Old Testament also agreed to meet at La Quemada during the week of Christmas to continue the task of revision and in the process, to encourage the believers of that village. In addition, Huichols from several neighboring villages converged on the little church there to celebrate Christmas together.  By the end of the two-weeks filled with non-stop activity, eight new believers whose hearts were softened and transformed by the power of God were baptized in the frigid river just outside the village.  

The power of God that comforts and refreshes hurting hearts has been especially evident at a personal level lately. Jacob and Kiki’s 18-month-old son, David, was diagnosed 29 days ago with pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). David is my 7^th grandchild. This new trial is not an easy one; it will include days, weeks, months, and even years of surgeries, biopsies, chemo and hospitalization, but we are determined to glorify God through it. Kiki summed up our feelings well: It is definitely not the path I would choose, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is sovereign and in control over every cell in David's body. It's still hard, but I pray that David will be a trophy of His grace (as we all are) and that God will use this trial to bring Himself glory, salvation to some, and strengthen the faith of those who believe. David has had more discomfort in the past month than I have in a lifetime. It's hard to watch, but comforting to know that the God who wouldn't spare His own Son for me loves my son more than I do. We have been so blessed by the prayers, encouragement, practical gifts/help and kindness from the bride of Christ. Without her coming along side us to bear this burden, it would be unbearable. Thank you for bearing it with us. Love, Kiki.  This summarizes the power of God that comforts and refreshes hurting hearts. That same power of God was also extended to Julián’s family this month.

Julián was among the group of 20 believers that pastor José López baptized on Good Friday in 2010.  They are from the remote village of Guásima del Caimán, but they came to be baptized in the village of La Bendición (The Blessing) where their brothers and sisters had relocated after Julián and his coconspirators had made their lives miserable, persecuting them with all their might. When the first believers fled the village of Guásima under the weight of the persecution, Julián later told us he was so furious he drank non-stop for an entire week, pausing only long enough to regain consciousness after blacking out. The testimony of those persecuted believers, now in their new village, The Blessing, has been spread far and wide, and many from neighboring villages have believed the Truth as a result, including at last, Julián. His hard heart was softened and transformed by the power of God, but his body suffered the consequences of his former lifestyle. Julián died of complications of cirrhosis of the liver on February 4. While Julián is experiencing the power of God in person, his friends and family are experiencing the power of God that comforts and refreshes hurting hearts left behind.

Guest Helpers, a group of 20 retirement-age workers from Santa Ana, California, opted to leave comforts of home behind, give generously of their resources, and use their God-given talents and gifts to serve sacrificially for a solid week. They set an enormous example working alongside their Mexican brothers and sisters at IBBM-Tepic to put in insulation and a drywall ceiling in order to combat the intense heat that radiates into the church. They also crafted a beautiful new pulpit, did cement work on sidewalks and floors, electrical work, painting, and garden work.  The best job they accomplished was demonstrating God’s love in action and their dedication to His service proving that nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something. The power of God reinforced and energized committed hearts in ways human wisdom never could. For assorted pictures of the teamwork click here. 

That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:5

“… the quickening of dead sinners, the enlightening of blind eyes, and unstopping of deaf ears; the softening of hard hearts, the delivering of persons from the slavery of sin and Satan, the transforming and renewing of them both inwardly and outwardly…the comforting, enlivening, strengthening, and establishing of the saints…can never be ascribed to the persuasive language of men, but to the power of God…:” ~John Gill