The year of 2020 started with good news for our team in Brazil. For two years, we have been doing development work in a community called Terra Nova in the city of Morada Nova, Ceará. We wanted to build up the church and Christian community in this area.
We only have to watch about five minutes of the evening news to see something unjust, infuriating or heart-breaking. These days, nearly every story manages to include all three at once.
“My name is Phim. I am 19 years old, and before accepting Jesus, I was a gangster,” explained one young woman to our partners in Cambodia.
Since March 24th, the Cuban government has shut down grocery stores, with a few exceptions, to ration food supplies throughout the country. For many locals even being able to eat one meal a day has become a struggle.
In Nicaragua, seafood is the second most important national export after coffee. Lobster diving is a major business there, and many of the best hunting spots are concentrated in the Autonomous Regions of the Atlantic Coast.
According to some sources, God’s multiple titles and names included in the Bible are based off of the tradition of ancient rulers to give themselves many grandiose labels. The only problem with this is since when has God ever had any need to compete or adhere to human traditions?
If he isn’t playing along with some human tradition, then, why are these titles given to us?
Chances are good that if you’re a parent, you can quote Ephesians 6:1-3 by heart. “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise), ‘that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.’”
Why would we run from the social difficulties that we’re in now and not run to them? We need to bring the Word of truth, if indeed the Word of truth is resident in our own hearts.
The age-old human tradition of rubbernecking at dumpster fires is a well-documented one and thoroughly practiced throughout all generations, ranging anywhere from the 1897 novel Irene Iddesleigh to the Netflix documentary Tiger King and beyond.
