Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
Read: 1 John 4:7-16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. (v. 16 NIV) It was a cold afternoon when Maria came, carrying her three-year-old son on her back, with her five-year-old daughter trotting along […]
Trust and Don’t Be Afraid
Read: Psalm 34:1-10 He delivered me from all my fears. (v. 4 NIV) I was in a hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan, scheduled to have another lump removed from one of my breasts. Each previous growth had been benign, but as I prayed, I felt sure this one would be malignant. We had three small […]
A Good Reputation
Read: Proverbs 22:1; 1 Peter 2:12-17 A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. (Proverbs 22:1 NIV) During the Zapatista uprising, rebels often seized farms in Chiapas, killing or driving away the owners. One night some young Tzeltals in the village of Living Water decided […]
A Blanket of Fog
Read: Acts 12:5-11 Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. (1 Kings 8:28 NIV) It was the late-1990s. Zapatista rebels had seized the Tzeltal Bible Center in Chiapas. Martin and Rosa’s small ranch shared a boundary with the school that was invaded by the Zapatistas. This […]
Forgive and Move On
Read: 1 Peter 2:19-25; 3:14, 17 But if you suffer for doing good . . . , this is commendable before God. (2:20 NIV) Construction of the Tzeltal Bible School in Chiapas began in the early-1960s. A Tzeltal carpenter, Martin Gomez, accepted our invitation to help with the construction. He worked so enthusiastically and so […]
Garhwali Christian Programs
Ishaan was a religious man. He carefully studied Hindu texts to learn more about God. As he searched in his books, he came across stories of Jesus. Many Hindus know about Jesus, but they do not believe that he is God. Instead, they regard Jesus as a holy man and a pious teacher whose example […]
Worshiping in the Woods
Read: Psalm 95:1-7 You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power. (Rev. 4:11 NIV) Thomas’s parents arranged his marriage to Maria when they were both teenagers. Maria was an orphan raised by her non-Christian brother. She was happy to marry Thomas because she knew his family was Christian. She […]
The Unexpected Mechanic
Read: Psalm 33:12-22 We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. (v. 20 NIV) It was ten o’clock at night. We were driving on a lonely two-track road in Tojolabal country. We had climbed up out of the deep valley on the narrow winding road, but were still miles […]
God Restores Peace
Read: Psalm 97 He guards the lives of his faithful ones. (v. 10 NIV) Every Wednesday evening we picked up our Tojolabal language helper, Francisco, and any other Tojolabal Christians who wanted to go with us, and joined the ten to twelve Christians in the village of Madero for a service in their chapel. Often […]