Girl on a Mission

"Therefore, gird your minds for actions, stay sober in spirit and fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Christ Jesus." I Peter 1:13

During the time this letter was written, there were a lot of things that distracted Christians from serving God. Idolatry, worldly lusts, and persecution often caused believers to turn away from and deny Jesus. Peter writes his first epistle to those Christians scattered throughout the world to encourage them to stay strong in the faith, because Satan would like nothing more than to distract them from the Christian's final goal of salvation.

This letter has become very dear to me. I have become distracted from the work at hand. I have allowed personal emotions and physical ailments come between me and my end goal of salvation in Christ. It isn't that I don't appreciate Christ's sacrifice or that I no longer want to go to heaven. But I have allowed earthly, temporal things to come between me and my heavenly goal.

No more. As Peter states in chapter 1 verse 13, I will gird my mind for action. I will constantly study God's word so I may be ready for any attack. Nobody will catch me without my sword sharpened and ready for battle!

I will also stay sober in spirit. I will not allow fleeting things or giddy emotions cloud my judgment and distract me from the purpose at hand. I must remember that my "Adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (5:8). I cannot let my guard slip, even for a second, because Satan is waiting for any opportunity to destroy me.

I will also fix my hope completely on the grace brought to me by the revelation of Jesus Christ. I will allow my thoughts to dwell on the gospel and what that means for me and my fellow man. I will allow my heart to dwell on Christ's revelation throughout the New Testament. By fixing my hope completely on Christ, nothing else will come before my sight or cloud my judgment. I will allow myself to become saturated with God's word.

In short, I will be a girl on a mission.

Does God Exist?

Chances are that you believe in God. So why am I writing this? Certainly not to convince you, because you already believe there is a God (I hope). The truth is, many Christians today believe in God but don’t know exactly why they believe in God. It is incredibly important that a Christian be able to give a solid defense for his or her faith in God, and not just say ‘because the Bible says so’ (I Peter 3:15).This blog will explain why I believe, and know, God exists. Hopefully by the end of it you will too!!

1. Evil exists.
   Everyone agrees that there is evil in the world, right? One only has to look at tragedies like the Holocaust and 9/11 to know evil exists. If evil exists in the world, it stands to reason that absolute right exists as well. Since there is absolute right, there must be someone who enforces the natural laws of what’s good and what’s evil.
2. Everyone has morals.
   Every individual in the world is born with a basic sense of what’s right and what’s wrong. Everyone knows it’s wrong to cheat, lie, steal, murder, rape, and so on.
   Who put this inherent sense of right and wrong within us? Who but God?
3. There is a moral authority.
   Since everyone has morals, it stands to reason that there is someone to enforce those morals. Otherwise, what would be the point of those inherent morals?
   Thomas Warren stated, “If the conduct of a society, individual, or specified group can come under criticism, there is a God. If there is no God, then the behavior of anyone anywhere cannot be criticized.”
4. There is a design.
   The universe and the earth and every living creature has a design. It is clear in the organization of planets in systems, systems in galaxies and galaxies throughout the universe. It is clear in everything on earth from the food chain to the water cycle to the tilt of the earth in relation to the sun. It is clear in every study of every system and every cell in the human body there is a design. A design demands a designer. It could not have happened by accident.
   Evolutionists theorized that the smaller the organism they studied, the less information and the less organization the organism would have. They have found the exact opposite to be true. Carl Sagan says of the smallest single- celled organism, “There is enough information in the paramecium to fill one hundred million pages of the Encyclopedia Britannica.”

There are many more reasons why God exists, but these are the ones that convince me the most. Have they convinced you? What other evidences of God can you think of?

Bearing Fruit in Chimala

One of the main focuses of the Chimala Bible Institute is evangelism.

Every weekend, a group of students goes out to a different village with an established congregation for the purpose of evangelism. The students go from house to house encouraging people to come to the Saturday night gospel meeting. They also hold Bible studies and invite the villagers to the Sunday morning worship service.

In January, the students visited Sumbawanga and baptized a total of ten people. In Ilemi, three people were baptized. Two people were baptized in Welu and one person in Mbuyuni. A total of eighteen people were baptized from January 7th to January 30th.

In February, three people were baptized in Vwawa and three people in Matebete. One person was baptized in Uzinje and five people were baptized in Sumbawanga. A total of fourteen people were baptized from February 4th through February 20th.

A typical Wednesday evening is likewise evangelistic. This past Wednesday, for example, the short-course teacher, Brent Smith, Garry Hill, the CBI administrator, Atupikisye Mwakyasima, a woman student at CBI, and I went down the road to visit the Chosi A congregation. Lai, a CBI instructor, preached a sermon on the oneness of baptism while Atupikisye and I taught the children. Fifteen children were present and eager to listen. Atupikisye masterfully taught the creation account in Genesis 1, thoroughly engaging the young children in her lesson. It was her first time teaching a children’s class.

It is evident the students’ work in evangelism and their application of their studies at Chimala Bible Institute is very fruitful. Continue to remember us in your prayers as the preachers and teachers of the next generation are trained at the college.