BCMS UPDATE: DR, Haiti, Venezuela and more.

Greetings friends, mission partners, brothers and sisters in Christ,

Thank you for your faithfulness. For praying, for giving, for remembering.

I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.  – Philippians 1:3-5

Yeison Update

Yeison is getting ready to start school again soon. He is heading into third grade this year! He struggled quite a bit last year, but thankfully I was able to get him some tutoring, which made quite a difference. Please pray for him since he will be starting a new school. Due to the lack of funds, unfortunately I was not able to get him back into the good school he was in.  But Lord willing, he starts next week with the new school opening here near the orphanage. They are starting a little behind schedule this year compared to the rest of the schools due to some finishing touches and furnishing of the building. 

Venezuela Update

From July 21st to August 5th, we had boots on the ground in Venezuela. Although we have helped several people there over the years, this was different. Thank God we were able to raise $2000 dollars to help several families in Caracas and in Maracay. Although the needs were so great, we went over the budget by $400 dollars, but it was necessary. Although we send some aid every month, as of now it has been low. With only 8 more commitments  at  $100 a month we could support a couple of good men and have a decent mercy ministry with much more consistency.

There is a solid brother named Rafael in Maracay that I desire to support on a monthly basis. I have gotten to know him over the years, but much more so recently. He serves faithfully in his local church, he is passionate about evangelism and teaching, but also humble and teachable. He serves in and out of his local church diligently. He has a wife and three young children, one of them a newborn son. But the brother needs a little help. With a few more mission partners, I recently shared an update prior to this one that projects the funds needed monthly for each place. For the $1000 needed here in the DR, so far we have $450 of the $1000 needed. But for Venezuela, so far we have two commitments, one for $100 and another for $50. Please pray about joining as a mission partner and that the Lord would provide for Rafael and the many other needs. 

Haiti Update

I have been speaking with Leonel a lot over the last few days. He and the children are well, but there are things they need, and we wish to help if and whenever possible. The children need school uniforms, school supplies.

For ministry, Leonel is in need of a speaker and microphone for use in and out of the church in Savange Longe. The ideal type of speaker would be the bluetooth rechargeable kind. There is no electricity or running water where Leonel lives, but with a little help, he could pay a small amount to a person who lives near him with solar panels to charge it. Or he can charge it at the church which is not too far from his house. We could purchase him a good quality one that would last for less than $100 dollars and send it from here.

Sadly, for several months now, the Haiti project is low on funding. Very low. When funds are this low, we constantly are in need. Therefore, we share the needs on social media and in newsletters and pray for the Lord would put the desire in some generous brothers and sisters hearts to come alongside and help. Please pray for the Lord to send us more mission partners to provide enough for the $1000 needed monthly for funding the basic needs there. This way, we would not have to spend so much energy and time raising the funds, but able to focus more on getting resources to those already diligently doing the Gospel work, discipleship and helping “bearing one another’s burdens and so fulfilling the Law of Christ”.

Help us support these “faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

Immigration paperwork

I need to get back to the States sometime soon, before the end of the year to file and renew some paperwork for a license renewal and for a visa process. Please pray that the Lord would provide for those and the other needs aforementioned.

Work at the oprhanage

The work at the orphanage is going good. I started teaching a series in Philippians with the staff in the mornings. The turnout is great so far with lots of participation. Pray that it will continue to grow and that the staff would be edified. I’ve been spending a lot of time and energy trying to better things spiritually in the work environment lately. But there is so much work to do that one can easily get distracted from the most important things at times. Pray for me.

I have been recording a couple of video series at the orphanage. Eventually you will be able to see them on their website. But for now, it is being used for the children and adults within the orphanage. One series is more devotional in nature, and the other is a Catechism made for children and the family worship setting. A friend and good brother created it and I translated it to Spanish. We have used it at the orphanage before, when we came as volunteers, and at the church in Hato Mayor. For now, we share the videos that are being recorded onto memory drives for the children to watch on TV at night for memorization. The youth are doing a great job recording. I am very proud of them and their willingness.

Boxes and Distribution Update

We received a large box of donations recently, there is also one on the way and another one almost ready for shipping. Hopefully, with the next couple of boxes, we will be able to help some children with their school supplies. It may not seem like much to people back home, but without uniforms or school supplies here, you can’t even go to school. So it certainly can bless some families. Especially those with more than one child. Low income families struggle to provide these basic needs so that their children can go to school.

Praise God for the brother that sends boxes of donations for the distributions. Over the years, has been a blessing to many with sports equipment, clothes, food items and medicine.

Please also pray that we get the vehicle repaired soon to kick that distribution in high gear. I almost have all the parts, there are just a couple more to track down in order to start working on it. It can be slow and dreadful sometimes waiting for parts here. In some cases it doesn’t appear and has to be sought out of the country. I pray that isn’t the case. Praise God for the generous souls that are helping me fix the problem.

As you can see, I have a lot on my plate, and there are a lot of needs. Please pray.

Let’s face it, everyone has problems they are dealing with. And it can be hard, very hard. Whether it be some bad news about your health, a life changing or terminal diagnosis of a child or someone very close to you. It could be behavioral issues of a small child or a rebellious teen, marital strife, loss of employment or some other financial crisis that can seriously compound and worsen any of these issues. To be sure it can happen in the seemingly safest of environments. How much more will it happen on the mission field, in a different context than your own, far from all that was once dear and familiar. Where stress and dangers are multiplied and difficulty becomes a way of life. It  just comes with the territory. Our difficulties at times can be rooted in our own sin, neglect or irresponsibility. Or we could find ourselves caught in the crossfire of someone else’s sin. Or just the effects of a fallen world on those closest to us. It can still affect us deeply.

It can be enough to send someone spiraling into depression or some other unhealthy state of mind or spiritual low that feels like an inescapable dark valley of despair. During those moments God can seem distant and our prayers and groans of anguish towards heaven can even feel to us as if they go unheard. Thank God that is not the case! But if we are honest, it can feel that way sometimes. As believers we can be  truly trusting the Lord through the storm, but it doesn’t always make it easier, humanly speaking. We may even find ourselves at our wits end, crying out in fear like the disciples did on the boat “Lord save us! We are going to die!”

Even though a season of peace and tranquility may be coming afterwards (maybe), at the moment, it can feel crushing and almost too much to bear. Some suffer for a for a season, some deal with it for a lifetime.

“Even when I go through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—they comfort me.” – Psalm 23:4

Many “storms” in life wreak havoc and leave a path of destruction in their wake just like actual  storms. And just like an actual storm, it usually takes a long time to “rebuild” after the damage has been done. Some storms can be life changing and for some, even life ending. Many find themselves in shock and rattled to the core, left only to mourn over their situation  and pick up the pieces as they move forward limping from the traumatic and hurtful experience. This happens every day to some people, for different periods of time, somewhere. We should not be surprised. We should actually learn to expect it eventually if we understand what Scripture says about the fallen nature of the world in which we live and the effects of sin as long as we live here.

God does in fact give us more than we can handle. Please don’t be one of those people who says that He doesn’t, or that He only does so because He knows we can handle it (as if were were actually so strong in and of ourselves). If we could do it on our own and in our own strength, we wouldn’t need Him. Gideon comes to mind. (And may I briefly say, the popular but often misquoted verse in 1 Corinthians does not mean what you may think it means.)

The Lord brings suffering to our lives more often than we like. But He has His reasons and we must trust Him through it. We must. Sure we can know God’s plan and will in general, but His plans for us as individuals in the details of our lives are not so easy to see or understand sometimes. God’s plans for us are often quite different from ours.

But if we find ourselves really struggling while suffering, we should ask ourselves this.  When things get hard, where else can we really go? Where does our help really come from? Sure the Lord will use people as a means to comfort us and help us, but ultimately only He can give us peace. True peace. Where will we find our strength to endure other than in our Lord’s unchanging nature, faithful promises in Christ and loving care?

He is our Strong Tower, our Rock, our Shield and Fortress to which we run to for comfort,  shelter and peace. Only in Christ are we truly safe and apart from Christ we can do nothing.

The Lord is my shepherd;
I have what I need.- Psalm 23:1

I’m reminded of a well known modern hymn that beautifully says:

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

 

Beautiful moving words right? But the question is, do we believe it? Do we really believe Him? Do we really trust Him? Do we really believe that He is good? Do we really believe that He is working out all things for good for those who love Him even when we can’t see it? It is important to remember that regardless of what we believe, He will be glorified. Even through the seemingly most terrible of circumstances. But we must also remember that He is a kind, compassionate, unchanging and faithful Father and draw near to Him. We must learn to abide in Christ. His Sovereign hand and love for his people will be the pillow we rest our weary heads on.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart celebrates, and I give thanks to him with my song. – Psalm 28:7

The unchanging nature of God is an anchor that keeps us clinging to the Rock that shall never fail us or cast us out during those difficult moments, or ever for that matter if you are in Christ. As I write this many people I love come to mind. Close family members and family in the faith who are presently dealing with some of the very things I mentioned at the beginning, or even worse at this very moment. Pray for us and other missionaries close to us that know of these storms all too well. But also pray for those in your church who are suffering. A neighbor, a friend or maybe even someone in your own household.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.- 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

To them I can only say  trust Him,  praise Him, get alone with Him and His Word and pray. He is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our affliction. The Lord is our Shepherd, we have what we need. If we persevere, we will be more like Jesus when it’s over. And believe it or not, we will even be thankful for those difficult but transforming storms in our lives. Pray.

I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.- Charles Spurgeon

Written by Antonio Salgado Jr.

“soportándose unos a otros y perdonándose unos a otros, si alguien tiene queja contra otro. Como Cristo los perdonó, así también háganlo ustedes.”
‭‭Colosenses‬ ‭3:13‬ ‭NBL‬‬ Continue reading “Perdonados y perdonando (en español)”

“Muchos de ustedes saben acerca de la adopción de nuesto hijo Yeison. Muchos de ustedes saben que lo hemos tenido desde que tenía solo tres meses, saben que nació de una madre que presenta una discapacidad mental y que vive en circunstancias muy pobre y difíciles.

Pero aquí hay algo más que tal vez muchos no saben…

Y es que nuestro hijo es un producto de una violación. Su madre fue abandonada, maltratada y violada por un hombre desconocido y más tarde se descubrió que ella estaba embarazada. Esto es trágico y horrible, y todo aquel que cometa este delito debe ser llevado a la justicia. ¡Castrado incluso!

Sin embargo, agradezco a Dios que el aborto no es legal aquí en Rep. Dominicana. Al menos no lo es todavía, aunque lamentablemente puede ser solo un cuestión de tiempo.

Su madre biológica debido a su condición tiene la capacidad mental de un niño de cuatro o cinco años y nunca puede vivir sola y siempre necesitará atención, aun así ella sabe que tiene un hijo, sabe su nombre y tambien lo ama. Al mismo tiempo estoy seguro de que ella recordará lo que le sucedió, y tal vez no pueda procesar todo lo que sucedió durante esa experiencia traumática.

La pregunta es, ¿es culpa de Yeison?

Pues no, por otro lado lo que otros no saben es que Christen (quien es mi esposa) y yo habíamos estado orando durante algunos años para tener otro hijo el cual no podíamos concebir. Es cierto que al principio yo no quería volver a empezar de nuevo. Nuestros hijos estaban grandes y yo tenía mis planes. Pero mi esposa oró por mí y el Señor cambió mi corazón.

Oramos por un largo tiempo, y curiosamente, durante ese tiempo, Dios nos tenia trabajando en un lugar donde no teniamos recursos, solo compartiamos el evangelio, daba estudios bíblicos y predicaba con frequencia.

Luego el Señor orquestó las cosas de tal manera que no solo contestó nuestras oraciones, sino que nos puso en una posición para ayudar a Yeison, a su madre y a la hermana quien cuida ahora de ella. Yera (su madre biológica) está en una situación mucho mejor hoy que el día en que la encontramos con el bebé Yeison, por la gracia de Dios.

Probablemente habría muerto si el Señor no hubiera cruzado nuestros caminos. Yeison estaba malnutrido y deshidratado cuando lo encontramos. La madre de Yera se estaba muriendo a causa del cáncer y Yera no tenía idea de cómo cuidar de él. Ella ni siquiera podía cuidar de sí misma.

Pero esto me hizo pensar y realmente me horroriza pensar, ¿qué hubiera pasado si el aborto fuera legal aquí?

Estoy casi seguro de que tendríamos un hijo menos de lo que tenemos hoy. Me rompe el corazón solo en pensarlo. Incluso en casos de violación, como con nuestro hijo, el niño nunca debe ser quien pague el precio. Nunca está bien asesinar a un niño en el vientre de su madre.

Si Dios quiere, Yeison podría ser el primero de su familia en estudiar y tal vez en ir a la universidad. Hoy en día es bilingüe y muy brillante. Lo amamos tanto y realmente no podríamos imaginar la vida sin él el día de hoy. Sus hermanos lo aman y lo cuidan. Él ha traído tanta alegría a nuestra familia y Dios nos ha enseñado mucho a través de él durante los últimos cinco años. Estoy muy agradecido de que el Señor le haya permitido a Yeison nacer en un país donde el aborto todavía no es legal, o él no estaría con nosotros hoy. Solo pensarlo hace que mi corazón se ponga pesado. El aborto es asesinato, y aunque debemos ser amables al abordar el tema, los cristianos deben trabajar juntos para ponerle fin. Ministrar y dar esperanza a quienes hayan tenido un aborto y que ahora sienten la profunda pérdida y el dolor.

Cuando veo a Yeison me veo a mí mismo. Él es un recuerdo constante del Evangelio para nosotros. Porque cuando no éramos hijos de Dios, Cristo vino a rescatarnos y a través de Él, podemos ser ADOPTADOS en la familia de Dios.

Para mí, aparte del matrimonio, la adopción es una de las imágenes más hermosas del Evangelio.

El Creador Todopoderoso se convierte en nuestro Abba Padre. Pasamos de ser enemigos perdidos y rebeldes a convertirnos en hijos e hijas privilegiados. Esto hace que mi corazón se regocije y sea extremadamente agradecido.
Esto debería motivarnos a adorar apasionadamente y vivir para él. ¡Alabado sea Dios de quien todas las bendiciones fluyen!

Que vivamos y actuemos de tal manera que las personas puedan ver el Evangelio en todas las áreas de nuestras vidas y que de ningún modo sea de palabras solamente.”

By: Antonio Salgado

Ministerio: Salgado D R Mission
web: www.salgadodrmission.com

Dear mission partners, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ,

The month of March was somewhat difficult, but by God’s grace we are feeling refreshed and much better than last month. In good news, the work at the school has gone well. Well in the sense that there constant opportunities to share the Gospel with teachers and students alike.

I began meeting again with anyone who will come on Tuesday nights for a Bible study. It resulted that a large group of youth began showing up although it was open to everyone. So pray for those who are coming and others at the school who have heard the gospel as well as for me, that God may continue to give me boldness and love and that He would continue to give more opportunities to serve.

The other side of the coin is the sad and utter depravity we experience and deal with in ministering in hard places. Just below and around the school is a very tough area. The school goes through teachers pretty frequently. It is hard work, stressful, emotionally and spiritually tolling work. Very few children and youth there are easy to deal with, they challenge your authority and call you vulgar things, the older ones fight a lot and bring weapons to school,  but we are patient to correct and love them.

You have to understand their world and be merciful. People raised there, and other places like it are regularly exposed to acts of debauchery and even perversion in some  homes and neighbors homes. They begin to imitate and speak about these things from a very young age. It is hard for them to even see or better yet even imagine above and beyond the horizon of their immediate context and the only little world they know. A lot of these kids are basically raising themselves and their younger siblings. Pray for them, that at some point the Lord would graciously allow them to hear the Good News, and respond in repentance  and faith in Christ.

The church in Hato Mayor has several members who need much prayer. Sister Arelis who cared for her husband Pedrito who needs lots of help himself after his stroke, is now down herself after a knee surgery. Their daughter is there helping and caring for them both. Another sister in church has had a string of difficult trials after a bout with cancer, please lift up sister Fidelina.

Unfortunately we have had to make several expensive trips to the mechanic for maintenance and repairs. The amount spent was very significant and unexpected so it hit us pretty hard. We have only a few more repairs to do that are necessary.

But, our overall health has improved greatly, praise God that we are healthy now, aside from a few stress related symptoms, we are very thankful. But many brethren here are not so fortunate and are suffering from illness that have no near end in sight, please pray for them.

There is always a tension one feels as a missionary when the needs are overwhelming and people fall between the cracks because time and resources are so limited. I want to encourage the brethren back home, that within your own circles of influence, to not go throughout your day (work, school, home, next door, or out somewhere) without being intentionally praying and seeking for someone to help and share the Gospel with. We miss too many opportunities to bless others and be faithful to our calling in announcing the Gospel, often times because we get too consumed with…ourselves. May we remember the words of John the baptist, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

But praise the Lord, that in even spite of much temporary suffering, the brothers and sisters of Hato Mayor are united and committed to move forward in the work of the Lord and soon, Lord willing, I will be helping evangelize and bring in some brothers from other places (apart from those currently helping us with preaching, among those is Daniel Toribio) and help organize some activities with other churches that we fellowship with to help encourage the brethren as well. Pray.

We are financially supporting (and will be for a while) the work in Hato Mayor as a local church, who are not near being ready to financially be independent. As we begin supporting national pastors and evangelists as BCMS, we will need the help, prayers and resources of our brothers and sisters back home. We are praying for more mission partners to come alongside of us in order to teach and equip these men with the resources they need.

We have begun officially supporting one Dominican brother, Daniel Toribio  and will begin supporting a Haitian brother, Leonel Riviere now in this month of April, both of which we have known for years. As the Lord provides the funds, we desire to support other like minded and faithful men,  who can teach or preach.  It is important that we or other trusted brethren can also testify of their walk and integrity.

This is a huge but very important  task and commitment of equipping, discipling, encouraging, praying for and visiting these men. Doing what we can to help them become men of God who can properly handle the Word of God. We want to encourage and help them to be effective right where the Lord has placed them, proclaiming the Gospel and faithfully teaching the saints.

But in order to do this well, and enable us to come alongside other men that the Lord is raising up, we will definitely need your help. We are presently completely stretched as far as we can be financially each month. But this is a project you can take on as an individual or as a church.

We want to help poor or financially struggling candidates who really cannot afford anything, but truly desire to serve the Lord and can teach others.  Some we will help on a monthly basis with $8000 Dominican pesos , which is the equivalent of only $160 US dollars.

For example, a church can support two men for $320 dollars and know the money is going directly to them, or to help purchase things they absolutely need like resources such as bibles,  some online seminary, good books, tracts, or a laptop to mention a few. All in an effort to elevate the quality of  the teaching and preaching to be more biblical right  in the places these men are presently ministering for the glory of God, and in the context of their local churches of course.

There is much work to do and this is an opportunity to help invest in the men the Lord is raising up to work in His harvest, to care for His people. Please pray about helping. The new website with the men’s profiles and backgrounds is in the works. Pray.

“Those who give and pray for missions, play a role just as important as the missionary on the field.”

We purposely do not use a sending agency with large overhead costs that retains a significant percentage of the money donated, so you can be sure that your gift goes directly to the mission field.

If the Lord so lays on your heart to give back to Him by supporting this ministry,  you can send your tax deductible gift to:

CENTRAL MISSIONARY CLEARINGHOUSE
P.O. Box 219228
Houston, Texas 77218-9228
1-800-CMC-PRAY (1-800-262-7729)
Office: 281-599-7411
Fax: 281-599-7511

You can also donate to this ministry online with Paypal. Click the donate button below and you can send support of any amount directly to the ministry. You can choose the option of doing a one-time donation and in emergencies this is the fastest option to get funds to us.

Unfortunately through Paypal we are not set up for receiving recurring donations at this time. But the other online giving option above does the recurring monthly donation option. Simply register one time and that’s it.

For tax exemption, you must send your donation through Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) at the address above. 

Again, we do not use a sending agency that gets a percentage of the money donated, so you can be sure that your gift goes directly to the mission field.

Whatever you decide, thank you so much for praying for us and helping this ministry. God Bless You!

“I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1:3-5‬ ‭

 

 

“Those who give and pray for missions, play a role just as important as the missionary on the field.”

 

Greeting friends, mission partners, brothers and sisters in Christ,

Now that our donations will be handled through Central MIssionary Clearinghouse, you can now give to the ministry here in the DR online through the new giving solution called “click and give” at the CMC website.

To get started you just need to click on the link below and register the first time. Just a simple click on the donate button on their page (see link below), and then click the “click and give icon/button”.

You will then have a private giving solution that comes with many benefits to you the donor. If you have any questions please call the office (tel:1-800-262-7729 or 281-599-7411), and they very kindly will walk you through what you need to do.

Thank you for the prayers and support, God bless!

https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate

 

“I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭1:3-5‬ ‭

 

“Porque ellos dicen: “Sus cartas son severas (pesadas) y duras, pero la presencia física es poco impresionante, y la manera de hablar despreciable.””
‭‭2 Corintios‬ ‭10:10‬ ‭NBLH‬‬

 

Pablo era un hombre de tremenda inteligencia. A él se le habia revelado los misterios de Dios. Cosas que en los tiempos de antes fueron ocultas. Sus cartas y sermones eran de profundidad y de gran peso teologico.

 

Sin embargo, se decía de el, ¨la manera de hablar era despreciable¨. Aun con el conocimiento que tenia, muchos no le gustaba su forma de hablar o de predicar. Decía cosas verdaderas si, puras palabras de Dios, nada que era no biblico. Pero no era tan elocuente como otros predicadores, o aun los filósofos de su dia. Debemos recordar eso cuando juzgamos a nuestros pastores, o cualquier predicador de la Palabra.

 

Dios ha dado pastores y maestros a Su iglesia como regalos para edificar. A la vez, igual a los diferentes autores de los evangelios, cada uno tiene su forma distinta de comunicar las mismas verdades. Unos suenan mejores que otros, unos tienen mas pasión que otros, unos mas elocuentes y académicos de otros, cada uno es una persona individual. Y ninguno va complacer tu estándar de preferencia, opinion, o tradition o preferencia perfectamente.

 

La pregunta es ¿si están predicando la Biblia o no? ¿Aman la Palabra y el Señor y la iglesia? Tal vez no predican de la manera que es su preferencia. Tal vez fallan en un punto o se les escapa un detalle de un texto. Pero la pregunta es si ¿Dios esta edificando Su pueblo o no por medio de ese hombre? ¿Tiene sus debilidades? ¿Tiene sus luchas y pecados? ¡Claro! Van a tener algunas diferencias teologicas con lo que tu entiendes de las Escrituras en ciertos aspectos tambien, si!

 

Casi siempre, por lo menos en algo por seguro. Pero esta bien y normal mientras que no son cosas fundamentales de la fe en donde ellos fallan.

Debemos siempre tener unidad en lo principal, libertad en lo secundario, pero amor en todo. Y hay verdadera hermosura en esa diversidad.

 

Tenemos varios ejemplos en las Escrituras de hombres que predican o cuentan historias correctamente, pero de diferentes maneras. Muchos adoraban a Apollos por su elocuencia …. mientras que otros despreciaban a Pablo. Algunos incluyen detalles que otros no y vice versa. ¿Pero estan predicando la Palabra del tal manera que se ve claro lo que ellos dicen en el texto, y los hermanos en la congregacion estan siendo beneficiados y edificados por medio de las enseñanza? ¿Estan gozosos y te lo expresan de como Dios les ha hablado y enseñado algo que ahora entienden deben cambiar en su vida, dando gracias a Dios por esos mismos sermones que otros desprecian y juzgan?

 

Miran a los hombres que Dios ha usado grandemente en el pasado y compara sus sermones. Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, Whitfield, Pink, Tozer, Piper, MacArthur, etc. Todos predican la Palabra, y con excelencia! Algunos con diferentes metodos, algunos con mas pasion. No solo en la comunicacion del mensaje, sino de de la forma de organizarlo tambien. Es algo hermoso como Dios, por medio de diferentes hombres y de diferentes maneras siempre hace Su voluntad por medio de Su Espíritu para hablarle a y edificar Su pueblo.

 

Los sermones de Spurgeon sonaban mas como poesía que cualquier otra cosa.

 

Cuando nos aferramos a un solo metodo, y en nuestra inutil manera tratamos de limitamar el Espiritu Santo de Dios por decir que solo de tal manera debe se un sermón, y si no es asi, el pueblo no va ser edificado, estamos mostrando nada mas que un orgullo profundo en nuestros corazones e inmadurez.

 

Lo mas importante en cualquier mensaje de un predicador es que Dios es glorificando, …pero también hermanos, hay mucha sabiduria en el siguiente versiculo.

 

“Esto, hermanos, lo he aplicado en sentido figurado a mí mismo y a Apolos por amor a ustedes, para que en nosotros aprendan a no sobrepasar lo que está escrito, para que ninguno de ustedes se vuelva arrogante a favor del uno contra el otro.”
‭‭1 Corintios‬ ‭4:6‬ ‭

 

Es verdad hay metodos mejores y mas exactos que otros. Hay maneras de predicar mas eficaz académicamente que otros, pero cuando nos ponemos como el juez de estas cosas, especialmente cuando no somos pastor, no conocer la luchas interiores de cada hombre, o cuando no estamos apreciando el tiempo y esfuerzo que da ese hombre para poder predicar ese mensaje lo mejor que el pudo en ese momento, estamo haciendo lo que La Palabra prohíbe. Quejándonos….

 

´ “Hagan todas las cosas sin murmuraciones ni discusiones,”
‭‭Filipenses‬ ‭2:14‬
(Para los teólogos- si entiendo el contexto inmediato de este texto, sin embargo esto se puede facilmente aplicar a cada aspecto de la vida cristiana)

 

Cuan facil es juzgar el otro en vez de amarlo y recibir lo bueno del mensaje que se predico. Cuan facil es desear mas a otra iglesia, otro pastor, o un mejor metodo especifico de predicar, EN VEZ de amar la iglesia que tenemos, amar el pastor que tenemos, y buscar lo bueno en lo que se predicó en vez de juzgar con brazos cruzadas como el experto que ni somos.

 

Cuidado como tratamos a los hermanos, Filipenses 2 nos enseña que la humildad de Cristo es lo que trae unidad en Su iglesia. Y la falta de humildad en cualquier miembro de la iglesia por cualquier razon, solo traerá division y lo contrario de lo que Cristo desea de nosotros.

 

“Sobre todo, sean fervientes en su amor los unos por los otros, pues el amor cubre multitud de pecados.”
‭‭1 Pedro‬ ‭4:8‬

“A los necios no les interesa tener entendimiento; solo quieren expresar sus propias opiniones.”
‭‭Proverbios‬ ‭18:2‬ ‭

“El que retiene sus palabras tiene conocimiento, Y el de espíritu sereno es hombre entendido.”
‭‭Proverbios‬ ‭17:27‬