One thing that I have become so thankful for throughout this trip has been God’s grace. I have definitely always appreciated this grace and what Jesus did for me on the cross but talking to so many of the Guatemalan people who rely only on a works based salvation has made me even more incredibly thankful. We talk to so many of the people and they know the story of Jesus. They know about God, and they even believe in having faith in Jesus. The thing that they just can’t seem to understand is grace. When asked how to get to heaven they reply saying good works I’ve done. Or when we ask if they are sure they are going to heaven or not they almost always say “only God knows”. Both of these responses always break my heart, because I want them to understand what Jesus has done for them and I want them to have full confidence in Jesus Christ. One of the main verses we try and share with them is Ephesians 2:8-9 that says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast”. The Bible says it so clearly that it is by faith that we are saved. I pray that the people here will not just hear these words from the bible but that they will understand them and apply them and allow them to change their lives.
Another verse we have been sharing a lot is Colossians 2:13-14 which says “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” They can’t seem to understand that there is nothing we can do for ourselves when we are spiritually dead. Only Jesus can make us alive. And our debt is paid for and don’t have to try and pay it on our own, because only Jesus can pay it.
It is often really discouraging when the people we share with don’t understand the truth of the gospel. But we trust that it is God who changes hearts, and who opens eyes. He has a plan for these people and our job is to share the gospel and show the love of Jesus to them. It is so exciting for me to have this opportunity to share with the people, and to plant a seed in their lives. Even if we don’t see the fruit immediately, we trust that God is in full control!
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” -Ezekial 36:26-27
We are all so excited for the week of work ahead of us. We have formed really good relationships with many families and are hopefully going to be able to revisit them. We have already shared the gospel with some of them so we are excited to talk further about it with them. And we are hoping to continue to rebuild the relationships so that they will be able to see the love of Christ in our lives, and to see the joy we have because of the spirit in us. please continue to pray for our visits and that their hearts would be opened to the truth of the gospel.
E3 Global Teams 