A letter from one of our contacts in Guatemala (English translation)
To: The President of Global Infusion
“All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen.” (Titus 3:15) “Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother Jonathan, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.” (Philemon 1:7)
Like these verses, my family and I greet you.
I want to tell you a great testimony, for the glory of the Lord. I was very sick, I had no money to buy medicine and I could not go to the doctor., One night I awoke at 2:00 AM to pray, and I remembered Global Infusion, and thought “they can help me, I am going to ask them for help”, because I needed $370, and I kept praying.
God told me, "Do not ask them, ask Me" and so I kept praying. He said "I am your God, and I am going to touch their hearts." I was amazed, and waited for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and of the prophets Elijah and Elisha.
You sent a group from Global Infusion, which to my surprise brought the answer God had spoken about. The group brought me a gift and said "Pastor Eliub, Global Infusion sent this." I told them thank you and we said good-bye. I closed the door and opened the envelope. It was more than what I had asked God for. I fell on my knees with my family crying and we prayed a lot for you and your family that God would keep you in good health so that you can travel to many parts of the world with your great ministry. I have a lot of gratitude and I can not write (describe) it.
Sincerely,
Pastor Eliub Gutierrez and family
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The Final Breath
Over the last few weeks, the world has been buzzing with news of many notable deaths. The truth is, people die every day - it just so happens that several famous celebrities, sports figures, and entertainers have made the headlines.
One pattern I have noticed in the secular media is that for some reason, they feel compelled to spotlight all the “good” these people have done in their life, and sweep any “bad” they have done under the carpet. Understandably, our Western culture believes that it is disrespectful to speak ill of the dead when they are not around to defend themselves. But while I should not be shocked at this revelation, I still find it both disturbing and saddening how opposite the world is, to the way God operates.
Revelation 20:12 says, “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.”
At the end of a person’s mortal life, when they transition from this world to the life after, there is no heavenly memorial service for those who have rejected Jesus. In fact, the only thing on the agenda is judgment. God will review the actions of a person’s life based on everything they have done. If they have lived their entire life without accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, they will be “thrown into the lake of fire.” (v.15).
Sounds a little harsh, right? It’s not the side of Christianity that will attract sinners or fill churches, right? But it is the truth. So we must live holy lives. We must intentionally seek out those who have unlimited access to the Gospel, and tell them that they need a Savior. We need to go now.
One pattern I have noticed in the secular media is that for some reason, they feel compelled to spotlight all the “good” these people have done in their life, and sweep any “bad” they have done under the carpet. Understandably, our Western culture believes that it is disrespectful to speak ill of the dead when they are not around to defend themselves. But while I should not be shocked at this revelation, I still find it both disturbing and saddening how opposite the world is, to the way God operates.
Revelation 20:12 says, “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.”
At the end of a person’s mortal life, when they transition from this world to the life after, there is no heavenly memorial service for those who have rejected Jesus. In fact, the only thing on the agenda is judgment. God will review the actions of a person’s life based on everything they have done. If they have lived their entire life without accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, they will be “thrown into the lake of fire.” (v.15).
Sounds a little harsh, right? It’s not the side of Christianity that will attract sinners or fill churches, right? But it is the truth. So we must live holy lives. We must intentionally seek out those who have unlimited access to the Gospel, and tell them that they need a Savior. We need to go now.
Monday, June 1, 2009
A True Revelation
Buildings have doors primarily because the person who owns the building wants to control who or what comes in and out. Some doors are securely locked; others just swing open when you push on them.
You have a door. A door that leads to your heart, mind, and spirit. You, and only you, can control what comes in and out. Many people or opportunities may knock at your door, but only you can open it.
In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and dine with him, and he with me.”
Today, many people are searching for significance, or for purpose. Young people are sometimes just looking for something to do. Here’s a revelation out of the book of Revelation: Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart, will you let Him in? If you’re reading these words, there is a great chance that you have already accepted Him as Lord. So what more does Jesus want? In the verses before this, Jesus was explaining that if a person is lukewarm in the faith, He will vomit them out of His mouth.
So how does one become “hot” and not lukewarm or cold as a Christian? Read the Bible and pray every day? That just keeps you spiritually breathing, unless, it is hours of intercession for the lost. Your body gets hot when you DO something. Jesus wants to draw all people to Himself. They will not find Him on their own. We must go. We must tell people about Jesus and His love. We must go to countries where people do not have virtually unlimited access to the Gospel. You can pray, you can give, and you can go. What will you do today?
You have a door. A door that leads to your heart, mind, and spirit. You, and only you, can control what comes in and out. Many people or opportunities may knock at your door, but only you can open it.
In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and dine with him, and he with me.”
Today, many people are searching for significance, or for purpose. Young people are sometimes just looking for something to do. Here’s a revelation out of the book of Revelation: Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart, will you let Him in? If you’re reading these words, there is a great chance that you have already accepted Him as Lord. So what more does Jesus want? In the verses before this, Jesus was explaining that if a person is lukewarm in the faith, He will vomit them out of His mouth.
So how does one become “hot” and not lukewarm or cold as a Christian? Read the Bible and pray every day? That just keeps you spiritually breathing, unless, it is hours of intercession for the lost. Your body gets hot when you DO something. Jesus wants to draw all people to Himself. They will not find Him on their own. We must go. We must tell people about Jesus and His love. We must go to countries where people do not have virtually unlimited access to the Gospel. You can pray, you can give, and you can go. What will you do today?
Friday, May 1, 2009
The Wonder of it All
I am extremely happy to report that over the last week, Global Infusion staff and interns have trained over 50 college students for the mission field. We have just returned from Sterling, Kansas where we facilitated a Ropes Course missions training event to get our teams ready for the foreign mission field. They will be going to India, Ghana, Egypt and Thailand. It was the first time Sterling College had ever had such training for their missions program. Additionally, we held services nightly that continued the encouragement and preparation for their trip. The times of worship were absolutely amazing! While the “band” was made up of exclusively GI staff and interns who had never played or sang together even once, God truly showed up.
With 50+ students going on mission trips for several weeks at a time, there will be literally hundreds of hours of ministry, outreach, evangelism, teaching, and medical work occurring this summer. These students could have opted to work, go on vacation, take summer school, or just do nothing at all. Instead, they answered the call of the Great Commission, and as a result, lives will be touched and changed for eternity. Turn off the news feeds into your house, your mind, and your heart. God’s economy has nothing to do with the state that America is in. In the midst of a “recession,” college students raised thousands of dollars, and made a cognizant decision to do something meaningful and significant with their lives. You can do it too! Age is of no consequence to the calling of God. There is always a way to get plugged into Global Infusion, and reach out to people with Gospel of Jesus Christ. Time is short. The harvest is plentiful. God’s supply will never run out. Pray. Go. Invest. Now is the time.
With 50+ students going on mission trips for several weeks at a time, there will be literally hundreds of hours of ministry, outreach, evangelism, teaching, and medical work occurring this summer. These students could have opted to work, go on vacation, take summer school, or just do nothing at all. Instead, they answered the call of the Great Commission, and as a result, lives will be touched and changed for eternity. Turn off the news feeds into your house, your mind, and your heart. God’s economy has nothing to do with the state that America is in. In the midst of a “recession,” college students raised thousands of dollars, and made a cognizant decision to do something meaningful and significant with their lives. You can do it too! Age is of no consequence to the calling of God. There is always a way to get plugged into Global Infusion, and reach out to people with Gospel of Jesus Christ. Time is short. The harvest is plentiful. God’s supply will never run out. Pray. Go. Invest. Now is the time.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Fear Not
This past month, I was in the country of Mexico. A border town. With a missions team. If you have been getting your news from the well-educated anchors and reporters on TV, you would surmise that violence is sweeping that nation. I was in Mexicali, Mexico, and during the week I was there, I literally did not see one police officer, Federal official, or anyone from the Mexican Armed Forces. Customs agents and border patrol officers were at the border crossings, but that was to be expected. I am not naïve enough to think there is no criminal activity in this region, but according to the news media, and U.S. government websites, Mexico is a danger zone.
Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10). One of the most repeated phrases (or variation of the phrase) in the Bible is “fear not.” Many people in this world attempt to appear tough on the exterior, but inside, they are fearful. However, if we allow fear to overcome us, we will never do anything for God. Fear brings paralysis. Faith brings liberty.
Jesus said in Mark 2:17, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” When I hear bad news happening in a country, my first reaction is, “What can I do about this?” It’s not people who have their pick of a hundred churches in town, and access to government assistance programs that need the most help — it’s those who have not heard the Gospel, or those who live in anti-Christian persecution, under governments that seek to destroy them, and in environments that deprive them of the basic necessities of life. God has not given you the spirit of fear. He has given you power. He has given you love. He has given you a sound mind. It’s time to do something with it.
Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10). One of the most repeated phrases (or variation of the phrase) in the Bible is “fear not.” Many people in this world attempt to appear tough on the exterior, but inside, they are fearful. However, if we allow fear to overcome us, we will never do anything for God. Fear brings paralysis. Faith brings liberty.
Jesus said in Mark 2:17, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” When I hear bad news happening in a country, my first reaction is, “What can I do about this?” It’s not people who have their pick of a hundred churches in town, and access to government assistance programs that need the most help — it’s those who have not heard the Gospel, or those who live in anti-Christian persecution, under governments that seek to destroy them, and in environments that deprive them of the basic necessities of life. God has not given you the spirit of fear. He has given you power. He has given you love. He has given you a sound mind. It’s time to do something with it.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Sacrifice
What does the word “sacrifice” mean to you? Does it mean doing something you don’t want to do? Does it mean going without something you want? The dictionary defines sacrifice as the “surrender of something for the sake of something else.” Sounds a lot like Jesus’ life, doesn’t it? He left Heaven to experience all things human so He could be our perfect example for living. He was beaten so we may be well. He died so we might live eternally.
Jesus said in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” But as Paul writes in Romans 5:6-8, Jesus went one giant step further: “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Would you lay down your life for an ungodly person to demonstrate God’s love so they might have an opportunity to receive Christ? Death could be considered the ultimate sacrifice a person could offer. In our Western worldview, the thought of dying for someone so they might receive the Gospel is not even a consideration. History shows that the act of martyrdom, while great in number, is small in percentage compared to how many Christians have lived since the resurrection. So what is God asking you to sacrifice? It is our mandate as Christians to reach the lost. I’ve heard it said that Americans (Westerners) give out of abundance, while the rest of the world gives out of sacrifice. Are you waiting for retirement to have the time and money to reach the world for Him? If you are, I can almost promise you that it will never happen. Global Infusion needs you. We need people to go with us to other nations. We need financial resources to spread the Gospel. Don’t wait. Do something today to reach the ungodly, even if it means sacrifice.
Jesus said in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” But as Paul writes in Romans 5:6-8, Jesus went one giant step further: “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Would you lay down your life for an ungodly person to demonstrate God’s love so they might have an opportunity to receive Christ? Death could be considered the ultimate sacrifice a person could offer. In our Western worldview, the thought of dying for someone so they might receive the Gospel is not even a consideration. History shows that the act of martyrdom, while great in number, is small in percentage compared to how many Christians have lived since the resurrection. So what is God asking you to sacrifice? It is our mandate as Christians to reach the lost. I’ve heard it said that Americans (Westerners) give out of abundance, while the rest of the world gives out of sacrifice. Are you waiting for retirement to have the time and money to reach the world for Him? If you are, I can almost promise you that it will never happen. Global Infusion needs you. We need people to go with us to other nations. We need financial resources to spread the Gospel. Don’t wait. Do something today to reach the ungodly, even if it means sacrifice.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Just Words
There are many people in this world who are blinded by Satan and his lies. They have been offered false gods to worship, they are enticed with sin, and they are surrounded by governments and media that proactively diminish, distort, or refute the very existence of God. With no moral or spiritual compass other than their own finite minds, they are easily captured by the enemy.
God’s Word is not just a book. Its verses are not just words. The Bible says in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” What an amazing concept: the Word of God is alive, and it is powerful! When we travel overseas with mission teams, we are going for the purpose of telling others about Jesus; what He has done for them; His plan of salvation; and how they can be set free from the bondage of sin, death, sickness, and an eternity apart from God. The unreached need to hear the Word of God because they are spiritually dead, and God’s Word is life. They need to hear what some believe are “just words” because they are weak, and His Word is powerful.
I’ve heard people, even Pastors, question the purpose of mission trips, saying that they are a waste of money. When I stand on foreign soil watching our teams interact with indigenous people and share the Gospel, I wish Christians, who think they are somehow exempt from foreign missions, could see the impact and results that I see. If the Bible and our testimonies are just words, let me remind you that God created the universe with “just words.” Lazarus was raised from the dead with “just words.” A stormy sea was made calm with “just words.” Jesus could have come down from the cross using “just words.” Lives are being touched and changed for eternity all over the world because GI’s teams are opening their mouths and allowing the Spirit of God to use them, and their words.
God’s Word is not just a book. Its verses are not just words. The Bible says in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” What an amazing concept: the Word of God is alive, and it is powerful! When we travel overseas with mission teams, we are going for the purpose of telling others about Jesus; what He has done for them; His plan of salvation; and how they can be set free from the bondage of sin, death, sickness, and an eternity apart from God. The unreached need to hear the Word of God because they are spiritually dead, and God’s Word is life. They need to hear what some believe are “just words” because they are weak, and His Word is powerful.
I’ve heard people, even Pastors, question the purpose of mission trips, saying that they are a waste of money. When I stand on foreign soil watching our teams interact with indigenous people and share the Gospel, I wish Christians, who think they are somehow exempt from foreign missions, could see the impact and results that I see. If the Bible and our testimonies are just words, let me remind you that God created the universe with “just words.” Lazarus was raised from the dead with “just words.” A stormy sea was made calm with “just words.” Jesus could have come down from the cross using “just words.” Lives are being touched and changed for eternity all over the world because GI’s teams are opening their mouths and allowing the Spirit of God to use them, and their words.
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