Posts from 2021 (Page 3)

How many times have you heard the statement, “Freedom isn’t free!”? It’s a statement meant to impress upon us the fact that the freedoms associated with living in this country, freedoms we hold so dear, did not come cheap. Those freedoms cost the dedication, commitment and a great many lives of people who went before us to secure and insure them, not only for themselves but also for all of us who have come along later. The freedoms we enjoy…

A man was cleaning out his desk and found a shoe repair ticket that was ten years old. He figured he had nothing to lose to try to collect his shoes. He presented it to the repairman, who was gone for several minutes. He returned and gave the ticket back to the man, who asked, “Couldn’t you find my shoes?” The repair man replied, “Oh, I found them; they’ll be ready next Friday.” Procrastination is not the result of lack…

Back on the farm, I remember that when something broke down, my father would get out his toolbox and make the repairs. As a child, I was always fascinated by his toolbox and its contents. It seemed my father could fix almost anything with the tools inside. From the beginning, God has designated husbands/fathers as the leaders of the home. Fathers have a great responsibility in making sure the whole family goes the right direction in the name of the…

It is very important that we think about what we sing in our worship to God if we want to be pleasing to Him. God commanded singing as worship, and not entertainment. Paul taught, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16). Since the songs we sing should teach and admonish, we risk…

We were casually on our way to the meeting house one Sunday morning. As far as I could see, we were the only vehicle on the road, at least for a few turns. Suddenly a squirrel came running out from the left side right toward us (which is not unusual), and … well he didn’t make it. Not this time. I thought, what in the world is wrong with these things? I am the only car on this stretch, and…

The Bible often compares our Christian life as a race. There are ways to run a race and ways in which we should not. Like a sprinter who pulls up lame in the 100-meter dash, so is the Christian who does not maintain confidence in Christ firm until the end. The Christian life is a daily commitment to follow Jesus (Lk. 9:23). It is a race which must be completed (Heb. 12:1-2). One cannot stop half-way through the race. We…

From Justo Dorantes Sr. THREE BAPTISMS IN YOBAIN I am excited to let you know that there have been three baptisms in the Mayan village of Yobain. Those people who have been baptized are; the man who rents the palapas, his son and a neighbor. When I met the man, who rents the palapas, he invited me to his home in his village to study the Bible. When I arrived in his home in his village of Yobain, he was…

Toward the end of every year in December there is a group of members at Beltline (English speaking congregation) that brings presents to our Hispanic children. Every year our children wait eagerly that special Saturday in which presents are brought and a breakfast is served for them. On many occasions those recipients of those Christmas gifts are families who have been visiting our congregation. To make them feel welcomed we include them in the list and presents are brought to…

The following is a general description from Justo Dorantes Sr. about his encounter with two men on the beach. Brothers, what I am about to describe is hard to explain. I am amazed at the hand of God in different situations in this world. God continues to share the gospel of salvation with people who are truly seeking him. God puts people like me in the right place to share the good news. Just in the same way that God…

A million, a billion, a trillion, a quadrillion, quintillion, sextillion, septillion, octillion, nonillion, centillion—lots of names for big numbers. I thought the name of the largest number was “google,” but I just learned that there is a new name for the largest number. It is “googolplexian.” These names are based on English. Do you know the name of the largest number in Greek? The Greek word is murioi and is translated in the New King James as “myriad.” In the…

As it was the case with most of the churches, we were also in a way forced to worship online because of the corona virus. We used to upload our audio sermons on audio only and power point. The next step was to upload our worship and sermons on video. We had an unexpected result. We had many hundreds of views and the following weeks we had hundreds of friendship requests from friends of our friends. Our Hispanic members were…

So, who is the richest man in the world? The names of some of them are readily recognized in America—Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Bloomberg, the Koch brothers, the Walton family and the Mars Family. We may not know all of them, but who has not heard of Amazon, Microsoft, Walmart, Mars candy bars or Tesla? It is hard to imagine Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world and the founder of Amazon, increasing his…