Where to begin.
This week has been amazing, encouraging, edifying...I'm at a loss for words (adjectives really). Last Friday my phone rang while at the ER of the Hospital Padre Billini during my shift, it was Flora. She had called to remind me that Don and the gang where coming back to Robert Reid and that I should be there Sunday at 3:00pm sharp. She was actually wondering if I remembered, I had it written down already in my calendar since last they were here, Don insisted we both be there and I wouldn't have missed it for the world. A chance to go witnessing and share the love of Christ with children who get the exact opposite, who would pass on such an opportunity?.
So Sunday morning I went to church, afterwards spent some time with my mom, and finally the time had come to head to the hospital. Around 3:30-45pm we meet up with the gang, a group of 57 people lead by Don Coords, and other leaders such as Tom Mckenna and his wife Debbie, Tania, Juan Velasco his wife Lynn, Janet, John and others. We split up into group as we are accustomed to, and each group had 2 translators, there were 5 groups.
My group was composed of Pastor Tom, Debbie, Juan, John, Tom and Debbie's sons, and I, we got to go to the Pre-Surgical and head trauma floor.
"Armed with a bag of goodies and hand puppets, we stopped at every bed and told each child and their parents of God's love for them. We also prayed. We prayed for healing, we prayed for comfort, and we prayed for their families" - Thomas Mckenna
As always there were some more delicate patients who I know for sure will not make it, and its always so heartbreaking but I know the Lord is in control, and that even in those situations He is glorified.
After the day was over Don invited us (Flora, Marysel, Marisol and I) over to dinner at the Lina, we accepted his kind offer. I was so glad to see everyone there, its a joy when you get to felloswhip with brothers and sister in Christ from other parts of the world. We had a wonderful time talking about our experience at the hospital that Sunday and about what they've been doing in Catalina. When we finished having our meal Don invited us over to their after-dinner meeting they usually have each day. We accepted as well although it was getting rather late.
I was overwhelmed with the kindness and attention they had given us, its amazing how the love of Christ and the love for Christ and His cause joins peoples from different nationalities and tongues. In light of that Marysel stood in front of us and sang a few familiar songs, two of them in english. It was a lovely worship time in thankfulness to our Lord for His abounding Grace and Love.
Afterwards we had a Q and A moment, talked about some of the patients, the situation with the hospital, the ministry Flora leads, our Church and how Don and Flora met and eventually both ministries came together. It was an edifying moment, for me it was great to learn how the Lord orchestrates His plans and blesses those that are walking in His ways.
Sadly the night came to an end, many hugs and kisses were shared, numbers and emails were exchanged to keep in contact.
I was touched deeply by this experience, all I could think was "Lord thank you for allowing me to be a part of this", I'm so unworthy of all the grace He has bestowed upon me and yet He has given me the privilege to work for His cause for His glory, by being a part of the ministry Flora leads and by playing a small part in Don's missionary ministry and the gang at Stonecrest.
I was awestruck as well by how much love can sprout in such little time for such wonderful people. My prayer is that the Lord may continue to be glorified through all of us, that the kingdom may be forwarded and that the Gospel may continue to be proclaimed!
In Christ,
Rita M.
In the first paragraph Edwards poses three questions(well two of those questions are basically the same only posed differently):
1. “What are the distinguishing qualifications of those that are in favor with God, and entitled to his eternal rewards? Or, which comes to the same thing,
2. What is the nature of true religion?
3. And wherein do lie the distinguishing notes of that virtue and holiness that is acceptable in the sight of God?”
Then he basically explains why these questions need to be answered. The importance of knowing the difference b/n True Religion and False Religion. As someone explained, since there were great “revivals” going on back in the day it is important to discern if such revivals were an act of God, or if they were Satan’s way of causing division among the brethren. Because amidst these revivals much false religion prevailed and multitudes of hypocrites sprung up among true saints.
He describes the way Satan has caused strife, damage and division in the Church:
By the mixture of Counterfeit religion with true, not discerned and distinguished is that the devil has:
- Prevailed against all revivings of religion.
- Hurt the cause of Christianity (even more than by all the persecutions of both Jews and Heathens)
- Prevailed against New England, to quench the love and spoil the joy of her spousals.
And says that it will continue to be that way in the Church until we learn to discern between true and false religion, between saving affections and experiences. He says than when these revivals occur and we don’t distinguish between true and false religion, between saving affections and experiences:
The devil is gratified by making us think that the way these revivals occur, that what we are doing is pleasing and acceptable to God when in fact it is abominable to Him. And so it is that the devil deceives many about the state of their souls, making them think they’re saved when they are not.
And finally describes the consequence of said lack of discernment, the devil:
- Damps and wounds religion in the hearts of the saints, obscures and deforms it.
- Causes their religious affections woefully to degenerate, and to be like the manna that bred worms and stank; and dreadfully ensnares and confounds the minds of others of the saints and brings them into great difficulties and temptation,
- He encourages the hearts of open enemies of religion, and strengthens their hands, and fills them with weapons, and makes strong their fortresses; when, at the same time, religion and the church of God lie exposed to them, as a city without walls.
- he brings it to pass, that men work wickedness under a notion of doing God service, and so sin without restraint.
- he brings in even the friends of religion, insensibly to themselves, to do the work of enemies, by destroying religion in a far more effectual manner than open enemies can do, under a notion of advancing it.
The worst consequence of it all is that the devil manages to scatter the flock of Christ, and sets them one against another, and in this way religion, “by degrees degenerates into vain jangling; and during the strife, Satan leads both parties far out of the right way, driving each to great extremes, according as he finds they are most inclined, or most easily moved and swayed, till the right path in the middle is almost wholly neglected.”
If there would be a keyword to describe the introduction, the keyword would be discernment, as someone else mentioned in one of their post I believe. The importance of discernment would be the theme. At least that’s what I understood from what I read and re-read in the introduction.