The Miracle of New Life

We walked down a set of stairs to a small apartment. The room was dark, the walls were brick covered with plaster. Behind us was a shiny blue tarp. It may have covered a hole in the wall. A flat screen TV on a high stand was playing.

We were met with smiling, welcoming faces. Several family members, a young couple and a baby were occupying the room. The young mother took the baby out, but brought her back and let me hold her.

“Do you know this baby is a real miracle?” I asked everyone. “I’d like to tell you about the miracle of Jesus’s love for you.” I described how God is pure and holy. He cannot look on our sin. Our hearts are dark with sin, but God bestowed His love on us by sending His Son to die for us.

 I then went on to explain to them that in the Bible, Jesus told Nicodemus he needed to be born again. I used the pictures on the Evangecube to tell the story. When I showed them the picture of Jesus on the cross, I quoted John 3:16 and continued by relating the story of Jesus’s death, burial and resurrection. Pictured next is the cross spreading out as a bridge to heaven, and I explained to them Jesus provided that bridge.

 Next, I opened the cube to show Jesus reaching down to take our hand.  I clarified how we can be with Him in heaven instead of separated from God forever.

 I asked them if they would like to pray with me to accept Christ as their Savior.  All ten of them prayed with me. We left amazed at how God’s Spirit was touching the hearts and lives of everyone we met. They will now have a new life in Christ. “Thank you, Jesus, for letting me be a part of this miracle.”

 

God's Power Over Spiritualism

We were told Spiritualists lived in the home we were going to visit in Sao Paulo. Spiritualism is a system of belief or religious practice based on supposed communication with the spirits of the dead especially through mediums.  I didn’t really know what to expect. Tom, my teammate, was going to present the evangecube plan of salvation.

The pastor, several members of the church, our interpreter, and Tom and I entered the kitchen. Several birds in cages mounted on the wall began to chirp. As Tom began presenting the gospel to the woman,  her mother, whose gray hair was twisted into a ball on top of her head, stormed up to the door from the hallway outside, and began to holler at us. I guess she was telling us to leave. Her daughter was embarrassed and hung her head and kind of laughed. Just as Tom began showing the cube, her brother came in. Their mother came back to the door and rebuked us loudly and rapidly. You could feel a spirit of darkness in the room. After the mother repeatedly shrieked at us, the pastor moved across the kitchen and gently led the mother out of the entrance way. I was standing behind Tom praying as hard as I could and rebuking Satan from the room. The birds quit twittering, and Tom was able to present the message of salvation. The young man and his sister both prayed to receive Christ as their Savior. We gave them a Portuguese New Testament. The brother said he could use it to show Catholics about Jesus’s love.

The pastor came back into the kitchen. He held the woman’s son and prayed for him, too. Then we all went down the walkway to a basement area, and the pastor prayed with sister and brother again. Our interpreter said he thought the pastor was talking to them about having a meeting at their house. When we left, I saw the mother standing against the wall. She was so quiet, I almost missed seeing her. As we walked back to the church, we talked about how the Holy Spirit had definitely worked at this home.