The Season of Hope
December 1, 2021
Merry Christmas from the Tates, everyone!
This Christmas of 2021 marks the second Christmas marred by a general feeling of world-wide fear and trepidation. For some people, the words “Corona Virus” bring feelings of imminent threat. For others, it is more a feeling of caution but also uncertainty because of the way world governments are dealing with the situation. For some there is fear; for others there is angst. For some there is fear of disease, suffering, and even death; for others there is fear of corruption, oppression, and tyranny. Either way, there is more shared world-wide distress than I have ever seen in my adult lifetime.
I love how the Psalmist in Chapter 4 of the Book of Psalms says to God, “Hear me when I call…You HAVE relieved me in my distress.” David prayed because he was in need of relief, but he talked as if God had ALREADY given it. David assumed it; it was a foregone conclusion to him. He prayed with an expectation of hope. Not a “hope so,” but a “hope KNOW.”
Sometimes I’m not sure what specifically I need – I just know there is this anxiety, this longing…this emptiness that needs filling. This…dis-satisfaction with this world. It’s a longing for Hope – for the end of futility…the end of sin and its effects both around me and in me…the end to brokenness, disease, and death…the end to evil, poverty, and oppression…the end to division, hate, and violence…the end to suffering of all kinds.
But God teaches me through His Word that He has ALREADY relieved me in my distress. He has ALREADY sent His answer – in the greatest, most complete, and most comprehensive manner possible.
IMMANUEL.
GOD WITH US.
JESUS.
God IS the God of all Hope, and this is the Season of Hope because Jesus is our “Hope Know.”
This season especially (right now in 2021) is given to us as a reminder – a refocus.
“Take heart,” Jesus said, “for I have ALREADY overcome the world.” It’s done. It’s finished. Now we are simply waiting for it to work its way through – but it’s done – it’s a foregone conclusion.
All the suffering, the hate, the disease, the oppression, the death – it has ALREADY been dealt the death blow and lies writhing on the ground fighting for its last gasp of oxygen. The answer has ALREADY been given – the healing medicine ALREADY applied. It’s been done in the birth, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus. We long for peace, and the Prince of Peace has come.
So, God, hear us when we call. Have mercy on us. You HAVE relieved us in our distress. Now, fill us with the Peace You have ALREADY provided so we can love others with the love with which You have loved us. Help us be satisfied in our dis-satisfaction, knowing we hope (KNOW), along with all of creation, for the full coming of Your PERFECTED Kingdom.
The King is Coming!
Love,
Julie
CONTACT INFO
Roger & Julie Tate
P.O. Box 96
Kitale, Kenya 30200
rojuta@gmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280 | Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online.
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Teenage Girls Surrender to Christ
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser have served the Lord as church planters in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since 1985.
April 2, 2020
Dear Friends,
Fortunately, Charlene and I are doing well. As in most of the nations of the world, Brazil is also going through tremendous turmoil due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but no one from our works has been infected, so far.
Just before our schools were closed because of the virus, our evangelism team was ministering in a small town in the interior of our state. There were over 1200 students in the schools that participated in our evangelistic presentations. Of those who attended, 23 made public professions of faith in Christ and another 15 rededicated their lives to the Lord.
After one of our gospel skit presentations, a teen girl talked with one of the volunteers, telling her that she was seeing a psychologist because of depression and thoughts of suicide. The volunteer evangelist shared God’s word with the girl and she surrendered to Christ. Later that night, at a presentation in the town square, the girl and her mother came to talk with the same volunteer about how God had replaced her depression with joy. That same afternoon she had gone to her psychologist’s appointment and, there, she had shared with him how thrilled she was knowing that God loves her and had forgiven her of her sins. She said that even the psychologist got all choked up with the transformation that he saw in her.
On Saturday afternoons our team offers community services such as haircuts, blood pressure checks and family counseling. During these activities, a different teenage girl listened as the worker shared the gospel. She asked to speak privately about what was going on in her life. Both of her parents had died and she and her siblings were living in a children’s home. There, she had to take care of her younger sister and her niece because her older sister was involved in drugs. Although she had heard of Christ before, she had never come to know Him personally. She said that she felt abandoned in this world. The volunteer who was counseling her had a very similar life story and was able to share with her how true God is to receive those who humbly come to Him in faith and surrender. The teen girl did that and confessed that Christ was her Savior and Lord.
Now, with the Coronavirus pandemic disrupting all areas of activities and events, we are having to find creative ways to reach out to people and minister. I have never been too fond of tech stuff, nor appearing before a recording camera, but I am having to get out of my comfort zone and learn how to share the love of Christ through social media. As a pastor, I am also learning how to shepherd my own members through phone calls and social media. Since I am a “hugs and touches” person, this isn’t ideal for me, but I can also see the Lord doing some amazing things through these quarantine measures that wouldn’t have seemed possible just a few weeks ago. The people seem to be much more aware of their mortality and emotional frailty. We are so thankful that we have God’s word to guide us during these times of human uncertainty. We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but we do know Who holds tomorrow and we are resting in Him.
We have received several alerts from the American Embassy here in Brazil advising us to either get out of the country now or expect that the window of return will be closed for an indefinite period. Charlene and I were expecting to return to the U.S. later this year to give a report to supporting churches and also get to see our kids and grandson. We do not feel, though, that now is the right time to go, so that visit may be put on hold for a little longer than what we expected. We know that God has all this under control and that He will take care of us and those we love. We will seek to be faithful while we wait for His good timing.
We greatly appreciate your faithful prayers and faithful support.
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Bobby and Charlene Wacaser
Rua Laudelino Ferreira Lopes, 279
Sobrado 1, Novo Mundo
81050-310 Curitiba, PR. Brasil
Phone: 55-41-99899-2333
bobbymichael_1[at]hotmail.com
For ministry donations:
Pastor George Sledd, Treasurer of BFM
P.O. Box 471280
Lake Monroe, FL 32747-1280
or click here to donate to BFM online
Read more
