We are in the Christmas Season and for missionaries on the foreign field this can be a tough time. Christmas means different things to different people. Some people dream of a white Christmas (growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, I have only had one “white Christmas”). Some people look forward to the different family Christmas parties where cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents, children, and grandchildren all come together to enjoy food, presents, and passing time together. Some people look forward to a special tradition that has happened every year for as long as they can remember. For some missionaries on the foreign field, these things are very hard. For one, some missionaries are in an area where the “feeling of Christmas” is totally different. In Argentina, Christmas is in the Summer. That means a sweaty, hot Christmas. Hot chocolate is out of the question. Dreaming of a white Christmas is just that, a dream. By far the hardest thing to go through is knowing that you will not see your family. That being said, it can also be a special time for the missionary and his family. I can say as for us, we had a great time during the Christmas season last year in Argentina! It was totally different, with fireworks and summer fun. Even so, others really do have a hard time during this time of year.

This all being true, I encourage you to reach out to the missionaries you support and let them know that you are praying for them and that you love them. Just a small email can really bring encouragement. I am not one to whine about how hard it is on the field, and I have already stated that we loved it, but others are not the same way. This Christmas season, remember and love on your missionaries.

Trusting Jesus and Advancing

We are on a quick furlough and will be back in Argentina in January. We look forward to getting back! While we are in the States the church continues on. This month definitely has been the most trying. I received a text message from a missionary who is there on the field studying the language and serving in our church (Jason and Ashley King, who are doing an incredible job!). He informed me that directly after the Sunday morning service that a couple of guys walked in and held everyone up at gunpoint. They robbed the church. One of them was caught but the other man got away. While this was a horrible event, I do believe God has used it to embolden some of the men who are faithfully attending the services. Please pray for Faith Baptist Church, that we do not allow Satan to stop what God is doing!

Serving Together,

Patrick, Leslie, Lily, Piper, Ivy, and Isla Henry

• Pray for David as he preaches at the church each service.

• Pray for our church to be emboldened to serve Jesus through the robbery.

• Pray for those attending to continue to be faithful and grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus. 

• Pray for more souls to be saved.

Why memorize Bible verses? That has been the subject of the past few posts. This post comes from a different angle. Up to this point it has been all the individual’s personal walk with Jesus. Now we are going to look at how memorizing Bible verses will help you as a believer help others.

Have you ever been discouraged? You are not the only one. Have you ever lost your job, received bad news from the doctor, had marital problems, dealt with a rebellious child, or lost a loved one? All of these things are part of life. There is no getting past it. When co-workers, family, neighbors, and friends are going through these times, there is nothing quite like having a follower of Jesus in their lives to share a verse from the Bible to encourage them. The Bible is powerful and has a way of touching a heart like nothing else. We can use the Bible to encourage, challenge, give insight, guide, and comfort others.

Lets attempt to use the Bible, not only in our own lives, but in the lives of those around us. The world cannot offer what God offers through His Word. Read the Bible, learn the Bible, memorize verses from the Bible, use the Bible in your life, and use the Bible to help others.

We are continuing a series of posts about the importance of memorizing Bible verses. Our previous posts were about memorizing verses to help us in the battle against sin and discouragement. This post dives into an entirely new topic.

We have a wonderful privilege as Christians, we get to praise God! Praising God isn’t something that will end once we die, we will be praising God in eternity as well. He is certainly worth our praise and much more! But what does this have to do with memorizing Bible verses? We can memorize Bible verses to help us praise the Lord. How? There are a few verses I think on from time to time that fill my heart with praise to the Lord. I am going to share a few of them with you now.

• “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth his handywork.” Psalm 19:1. There is much more to this Psalm than just this first verse, but it is what starts my mind on the amazing power of God. This verse comes to my mind whenever I see anything in creation that I see as beautiful. Sunsets are one of my favorites. The autumn leaves are something else I love to see! A snow covered landscape (being born and raised in Georgia, this is not something we have ever seen a lot of), majestic mountains, deep green valleys, creeks and rivers, a clear starry night, etc. When I see and take in any of these things or things like them, my mind almost immediately goes to this verse. All of creation declares the glory of God, and thinking on this verse brings us to praising God for what He has done.
• “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. We go from a general verse that touches my heart to praise God to now a very personal verse that touches my heart to praise Him. This verse is all about reconciliation. It can be confusing at first reading due to all of the pronouns, but once I understood what God was telling us in this verse, it filled my heart with praise for God! It still does today! The verse is saying that God the Father made Jesus to be sin for us (all mankind). God made Jesus to be sin even though before this point Jesus knew no sin, meaning Jesus had never sinned. Why? Why would God make Jesus be sin? The answer is for us! That we might be made the righteousness of God in Jesus! So in other words, when God the Father sees us, He does not see sinner, God sees “the righteousness of God” in Jesus! How can this not make you want to praise the Lord!?!?
• “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17. This verse is in context to the rapture, when Jesus comes back for His own. The dead in Christ shall rise first and then we which are alive shall be caught up (raptured) together with them in the clouds to meet Jesus in the air. This is a great promise, but the end of the verse is what I would like to draw your attention to. “and so shall we ever be with the Lord”. That means “FOREVER”. We are talking about the future, about eternity. We will be with God forever! What does this do in your heart? It ought to bring us to praise Jesus!

There are many more verses that can be cited, but I think this is all very clear on how memorizing specific Bible verses will propel us to worship and praise God. Creation, salvation, and eternity with God are just a few examples. Use God’s Word to fill your heart with Praise for the God who made you and loves you!