He came not to a throne,

but to a manger.

He lived not as a king,

but as a servant.

He chose not a kingdom,

but a cross.

He gave not just a little,

but everything.

by Holley Gerth

This year the children will be doing a Christmas program for FBC, Roquetas, a Nigerian church here in Spain. They will be saying this famous Christmas poem…

What Can I Give Him?

By Christina Rossetti

What can I give Him,

Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd,

I would bring a lamb.

If I were a Wise Man,

I would do my part,

Yet what can I give Him?

Give my heart.

Welcome to Our World

At Christmas time we remember the birth of Christ. This profound song by Chris Rice helps me to focus on, and worship the King who came as a baby to save the nations.

Welcome to Our World

by Chris Rice

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking

How we need to hear from God

You’ve been promised

We’ve been waiting

Welcome holy child

Welcome holy child

Hope that you don’t mind our manger

How I wish we would have known

The long awaited holy stranger

Make yourself at home

Please make yourself at home

Bring your peace into our violence

Bid our hungry souls be feed

Word now breaking heaven’s silence

Welcome to our world

Welcome to our world

Fragile fingers sent to heal us

Tender brow prepared for thorn

Tiny heart whose blood will save us

Unto us is born

Unto us is born

So wrap our injured flesh around you

Breathe our air and walk our sod

Rob our sin and make us holy

Perfect son of God

Perfect son of God

Welcome to our world

Abandon & Surrender

In our church in Almeria Spain, our Pastor, Isabel M. Sanchez, preached from Joshua chapter 6 on Sunday, September 13, 2009. Following are some thoughts from the sermon…

Abandon your own will.

Surrender to God’s will.

At Jericho the Israelites didn’t depend on their own will or strength; they depended on God’s will and strength. Hebrews 11:30 says, “By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.” By faith, in Spanish is, por la fe.

The well known verses Proverbs 3:5-6; “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not in your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Our pastor said, “Does God have the right to change my plans? There mine. But we have given our hearts to him.” She explained to me after the service that the word ‘trust’ in this verse in the Spanish version means to put our trust and confidence in God and to want what God wants more than what we want. The all powerful God is in us; it is not for us, but for God.

In the story in Joshua, the Israelites walked around Jericho for 6 days. On the seventh day they came together again, and verse 16b says, “Joshua commanded the people, ‘Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!’” Each day we “walk around” our cities and towns. We come together on the 7^th day, Sunday, and with one voice we ask the Lord to tear down the walls of our cities, to tear down the walls in the hearts of people who don’t know Him – for Him – that they may know Him.

Facedown in Reverence

In our church here in Spain, our Pastor, Isabel M. Sanchez, has been speaking from the book of Joshua. On August 30, 2009, the text was Joshua 5:13-15. “Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, ‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’ ‘Neither,’ he replied, ‘but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.’ Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, ‘What message does the Lord have for his servant?’ The commander of the Lord’s army replied, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.’ And Joshua did so.” In the Spanish version, the last phrase says “Y Josué le obedeció. (And Joshua obeyed.)

Our pastor went on to talk about how people of the Muslim faith whose God is not a personal God bow facedown 5 times a day to pray. They pray "Allah is great. Allah is the only God. There is none worthy of worship except Allah." Yet we as Christians who have a personal God who died for our sins, how often everyday do we pray? How often do we praise God and tell him that we want to do His will and not ours, that we are His servant?

Standing in the Gap

Ezekiel 22:30, 31- “’I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none… declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Ezekiel is prophesying about God’s wrath on Israel because of their many sins and idolatry. God was looking for someone to stand in the gap on behalf of the people. God is still looking for someone to stand in the gap. Who will stand in the gap for the people around the world who do not know the Lord? Who will stand in the gap for the immigrants around them who need help and do not know the Lord? Who will stand in the gap for people of different religions? People whose faith is Islam do not have a personal God; they do not have a God who is their refuge and strength or ever present help in times of trouble. Who will stand in the gap with their prayers for these people? God is calling men and women to stand in the gap. Some are answering His call only to be told that there is not enough funding to send them to their place of service. Who will stand in the gap with their giving to support ministries around the world and at home? Who will stand in the gap with their time to reach out to those around them who need to know a personal God?

Will you stand in the gap?

Prayer

The power of prayer
Prayer is the key.
Prayer puts the power with God and not with man.
Prayer helps us get out of the way and puts God in the forefront of the ministry.
Prayer helps us focus not on ourselves, or the ministry, or the people we are ministering to.
Prayer helps us focus on God and His will for us, the ministry, and the people we are ministering to.
Prayer: the essential element!

A long time ago I heard this story of a missionary and the power of prayer…

This missionary lived and ministered in a country that was divided by a large river. He lived and ministered on one side of the river. One day he felt that God was leading him to begin to pray for the people on the other side of the river. So he began to spend the mornings ministering on his side of the river, and the afternoons he spent praying for the people on the other side of the river. After about 20 years of ministry he had only visited the other side of the river a few times and other missionaries had only visited a few times as well, but he had continued to pray for the people to come to know the Lord. After these 20 years he was amazed to find on the side of the river where he lived and ministered quite a few people had come to know the Lord, but on the side of the river where he only visited a few times but spent each afternoon praying for the people, many, many more people had come to know the Lord. It is amazing what God can do through the prayers of his people!


James 5:16b: “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

Thank you for praying for the ministry to African immigrants in southern Spain.