October-November 2022. The LORD is God; there is no other. 1 Kings 8:57-60
The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways … that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other. 1 Kings 8:57-60 When all the work for the temple was finished, the Ark of the Covenant had been positioned in the Holy of Holies, and the glory of the Lord had filled the temple, Solomon led the people to worship Him. He began with giving thanks and praising God for His provision of time, talents, and resources. He continued recognizing that God had provided in the past, and he asked for direction for the future. His request was not self-focused but instead, that God’s name would be proclaimed to all the world. Much more important than Solomon’s earthly temple, Jesus is building His Church, and nothing can stop it. The past two months in Tepic and surrounding villages have been filled with examples of that marvel in action. In the first week of October, more than 30 leaders and workers from the Huichol church at La Bendición left at daybreak to head for Guásima del Caimán for a 4-day discipleship conference. They traveled in the back of a pick-up and in two rented rural transport vans as far into the mountains as a vehicle can, then they got down and started hiking the remaining hours to the village. That’s so easy to say, but the doing is quite another story. No one asked them to go, no one bankrolled their transportation expenses, and no one covered the days of missed work this mission trip required. They love their Savior, they love their ex-persecutors who had previously banished them from their natal village, and they understand and obey the biblical mandate to make disciples. Three weeks later, some of them returned to Caimán with a truckload of materials to get started laying the foundation and building the walls for a building in which to meet. The Lord is God, and He will build His Church!
Also, in the first week of October, IBBM-Tepic celebrated our 31st anniversary. God has faithfully provided in the past, and we can be sure that He will provide for the building of His Church in the future. Pastor Phil from NVBC-Phoenix and ITMI’s Steve Evers shared the importance of Trusting God for the Impossible so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God.