“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Lk. 1:21
It is Christmas in Dinangat! This week the people of Dinangat have heard the story of Christ’s birth as they’ve never heard it before. They understood for the first time that Christ came for THEM! His PURPOSE was to save them! How could He do this? Because HE is GOD! They knew that Jesus was a man who had great power, but they have never heard Him referred to as the ‘Kidaak Amna’, THE MAN WHO SAVES! How awesome it was to be able to proclaim to these precious ones that our God is FAITHFUL, He keeps His promises! This week we went over several prophecies from the Old Testament that were fulfilled in everything surrounding the birth of Jesus, and God’s Word once again found it’s mark!
In the teaching, we shared that the Kidaak Amna was born in a small town in fulfillment of prophecy and later some men from another country to worship the baby. We asked if this was logical and the people quickly responded, “Of course it was right, Jesus is the Kidaak Amna.” And so Gary played devil’s advocate and reminded them of God’s command not to worship anyone but Him, so these wise men must be mistaken. However, they were not shaken, “Yes, but Jesus IS God so it was right for them to bow their knees to him!” Praise God!
While it has been amazing to watch God working and stirring their hearts, we know there is a long way to go. The people are steeped in self righteousness and have been taught that if they do right, they can please God. It seems like through the teaching of the OT stories, they can identify with the sin problem and relate to the children of Israel who just continually could NOT stop sinning. They have personalized this truth, and we are so thankful! We are a bit suspicious now that many of them believe that Jesus’ work was to show them HOW they can obey the 10 Commandments, how they can clean themselves up to measure up to His standard. Epanang said this week that he was “blown away” by this teaching. Well, he has no idea! The best is yet to come! I can’t wait until the truth is revealed that Christ completely satisfied their sin debt, He removed that burden, placing it on His own shoulders, and bought their freedom! THEN, he wil really be “Blown Away”!!
Please keep praying as the Dinangat’s listen to this week’s lessons:
Monday Jesus resisted Satan’s temptations
Tuesday Jesus began His ministry
Wednesday Jesus taught that people must be born again
Thursday Jesus had power to heal sickness and to forgive sins
Friday Jesus foretold His death, burial and resurrection
On a personal note, thank you so much for praying for our health and strength! After 2 weeks of being sick, Jordan developed other symptoms that led to a final diagnosis of, according to our mission doctor “exudative pharyngitis.” I am so thankful for email and the ability to write to someone who knows! It’s so stressful trying to be our own doctor and so often I just feel totally clueless! So, are you wondering what “exudative pharyngitis” is? Good thing for medical books! I looked it up, and found that Jordan has strep throat! And after a few days of antibiotics and pain killers, it looks like he’s FINALLY turned the corner and is on the mend!
For His Glory!
~Jeremiah, April, Jordan, Judah and Alayna
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