Brothers & Sisters in Christ/Family & Friends,
Greetings in the name of Jesus.I hope everyone who receives this had a Merry Christmas and will have a Happy New Year. Be blessed in all that the Lord has for you. His ways and plans are always the best, and He will bring those who seek Him into alignment with His will so that we are able to see the fulfillment of His visions and plans for us as we obey Him by His grace.
As I have been saying to you in these updates for the last few months, we are looking in different directions as to what the Lord wants us to do here for His name. Really, here in this area, there are many churches doing good works for the kingom. So there is no great value in duplicating something that is already being done. So we are looking in different directions to come into the Lord’s plan for us.
We’re not here to just live our lives in this country and seek financial success in the context of life here. But for there to be effective ministry here, we need to have enough success financially so we can focus on ministry. And if a person or group is struggling financially, it is often a sympton of something being out of alignment with the Lord’s will. Doing secular work on the mission field can be a big distraction from the work of ministry, but Paul himself did it. So if missionaries legally can work in the country where they minister, they will if they need the extra income.
These are some of the factors we are living with here at present as we seek to come into better alignment with the Lord’s will to fulfill His calling. The Lord is faithful, but for there to be a work established here that will continue until the Lord returns, there must be the right combination of factors that are operating together. So as friends who have stood with us and prayed for us for these years, we are asking that you pray over these issues with us. God’s calling is sure, and we know that He has called us here. But for the work He wants done to be realized, a number of factors have to be in place. So please pray with us that these things will come together in such a way that we can see the fulfillment of the work that He wants to accomplish.
A verse that the Lord gave me that I think is for you is Phil. 3:12. It says, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. (NKJV) Something about us has caused Jesus to lay hold of us, and for us to lay hold of that thing that caused Jesus to lay hold of us is valuable. We come into alignment with His eternal perspective for us, and in the process we can come into an aim that strongly helps us in whatever the Lord has for us both in this life and in the age to come.
Be blessed. PLEASE PRAY FOR US AS I WAS EXPLAINING ABOVE TO COME INTO BETTER ALIGNMENT WITH WHAT THE LORD HAS FOR US.
As always, thank you for all your prayers and support until now. We love you in Jesus.
Joseph, Cristina & Hadassa
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