Last night, I was teaching a class on Soteriology (hope I spelled that correctly for all of you theologians). Here the class is called Soteriología. Anyway, it was the second of nine weeks at the Bible Institute in this specific class. I was teaching on the reason for Salvation (the class is the doctrinal study of salvation and divine healing), on repentance, and on faith. When the class was coming to an end, the Holy Spirit began to move when I started discussing with them degrees of faith like small faith, big faith, tested faith, proven faith (at least that's how I translated them). Then, when I went into talking about active or inactive faith and how we maintain our faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit prompted me to ask them why they were at the Bible Institute or why they were attending Bible school.
I began by asking them their reasons for attending. Are you here to find a spouse? Are you here to earn a degree or title? Are you here because you think it will give you a name or make you into someone important here in Paraguay? Are you here to study and learn? Although that last one is a good enough reason to attend, I pushed a little further and told them that they are attending a place where they get to spend time with God in each and every class and chapel. They should be taking advantage of the next four years to ask God to speak to them, to minister to them, to teach them, and to show them His will for their life. They need to be here for the best reason: to see God, to know Him, to know His works, and to draw closer to Him and allow Him to reveal His plan for their lives.
As I was talking to them about faith and allowing God to give them more faith and them to receive it, tears began to fall on several students' faces (and mine). Several slipped out of their desks and went to their knees before a presence so holy that we all knew the Holy Spirit was ministering to us. I fell to my knees and began to thank God for meeting us in a small Bible school classroom with 14 students in Asunción, Paraguay. It was amazing!
We have been back "home" now for a month. There has been a lot of news of severe cases of abuse, neglect, murder, rape, and other serious crimes. Most of them are committed by fathers and mothers to their own children. Also, many of the young people of Paraguay have lost all hope and are taking their own lives. There has been such a feeling of sadness and despair in this nation that it has been difficult to break through this barrier. I have been asking God to help me break through this in some way. Last night, it was (at least to me) as if God was saying that He had everything under control. All I need to do is depend on Him, and He will help me get the job done.
Maybe you are struggling today with the feeling that God is not near you. He can't hear you, or He isn't answering your prayers. Instead of worrying about it, begin to praise Him and thank Him for saving you, for blessing you, or for something good in your life. Begin asking Him to give you more faith, then receive this free gift from Him. I promise you that the same Holy Spirit, the same God who met a small group of Paraguayan students listening to a gringo teach them about faith, will meet you wherever you are physically, emotionally, and spiritually!
Blessings to you all,
Charley
