Lately we have been meditating on the book of Esdras. The experience of exile shook the nation, evidencing the accuracy of the warnings of the true prophets due to years of moral and spiritual decay among God's people. God's community, including its leaders, had repeatedly refused to acknowledge the preeminent position of their nation's Creator. During the exile, God managed to capture the attention of his people, posing the essential question still relevant for us today: What will it take for the people of God to pay attention to God? Does spiritual blindness persist even as the consequences of disregarding His teachings are evident?
Zerubbabel, aware that rebuilding God's nation involves primarily a spiritual challenge rather than an architectural one, understands that the starting point must be the altar to God and not so much the planning of the building infrastructure. In this context, erecting the altar and reinstating Israel's national holidays is a fundamental recognition of divine intervention in the nation's history.
Ezra understands the importance of focusing on spiritual revitalization as a fundamental foundation for the nation's rebirth. There are situations where we witness people, communities, denominations, and nations walking on the precipice. They have discarded the exclusivity of Christ and the authority of God's Word. Few prophetic voices of warning are raised, but those faithful prophets still warn: Come back from the ledge!
With this understanding, Virginia and I purposely brought the Argentine missionary candidates to a time of healing and revitalization before being sent out. We firmly believe that to plant healthy churches, we need healthy people — not perfect, but healthy. Before buying bricks to plant more churches, we desperately need personal and community spiritual revitalization.
Thanks for being of a part of reaching the lost by training the found
Prayer Requests
--Pray for Wisdom: God’s wisdom and understanding in the process of preparing new material for future training
--Pray for Discernment: Not all open doors are God-given opportunities; we need discernment to be where God wants us to be.
--Pray for Safety: Argentina is going through an incredible time of financial crisis, and inflation has been increasing monthly, causing an increase in crime throughout the country. Pray for God’s protection over us as we travel to minister.
--Pray For Open hearts and Open doors: Pray for us to be even more sensitive to the leading of the Spirit to meet people where they are with the Gospel and pray that unbelievers would be receptive to the message.
--Pray for Sofia: Pray for godly friends to surround her so they can grow in their devotion to Christ together.
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