This update is from HeartCry missionaries Igor and Eliane Días in Barcelona, Spain:
The pandemic that is devastating Spain these last months has left almost twenty-thousand dead. It has also affected our economy and caused the closure of schools, businesses, and churches in every region. For this reason, the entire country is in quarantine, and all people must stay at home. Only essential services and sectors can work. The general population can leave their house only to buy food, and only one representative of the family can move from the house to the supermarket or pharmacy. If anyone breaks this order, they will receive a very heavy fine. Because of this, everything is closed until further orders from the government. Nevertheless, all that has happened cannot stop us from meeting as a church. Even if we cannot get together bodily, we can use the internet and its tools to connect with brothers and sisters, friends and members of the church. In this way, we can continue to teach the truth of the Lord and encourage one another.
In this quarantine, our focus as a church is to help our members to trust in the Word of God and His promises that have never failed throughout the history of humanity. The Lord is faithful and His Word is trustworthy from generation to generation. It works in our hearts to transform us into the image of Jesus, who has saved us through the shedding of His blood on the cross of Calvary. We praise Him who has conquered death and opened a door in heaven for His beloved people, who has redeemed us from our sins and clothed us in white robes of righteousness to live forever with our God.
These are difficult times. We are experiencing the uncertainties of the economy, danger to our health, the sadness of losing so many friends, loved ones, and thousands of citizens in Spain and throughout the world. We are suffering from the disappointment of not being able to do anything ourselves to resolve the problem. We are disappointed with the government, the media, and false information that leads the world to despair and terror. Yet in the midst of this, we must respond biblically and help our brothers to see the world through God’s optics and the current situation through the lens of the Scriptures.
For this reason, in this last month here in Barcelona I have been teaching the youth group through a series of studies about the attributes of the Word of God—its Inspiration, Inerrancy, Infallibility, Sufficiency, and Authority. These studies are to demonstrate that the Scriptures should be accepted because they were revealed to the prophets and apostles, who were moved by the Holy Spirit. And it is through the Scriptures that we find the character of God and the power of His Word working in human history and in all situations.
The one question that is most raised by the young people of our culture and generation. is: “Is the Bible reliable? Is it consistent?” In response we turn to II Peter 1:16-21:
“For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying: ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!’ We ourselves heard this voice when it came from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. We also have the prophetic word strongly confirmed, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you know this: No prophecy of Scripture comes from the prophet’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
Our goal with these studies is to encourage all Christians to take advantage of this quarantine time. We want them to study the Word of the Lord, digging into it as those who are looking for great treasure! We are also encouraging non-believers to believe and pay attention to the warnings of the Word of the Lord. One of my favorite admonitions to unbelievers is:
“We also have the surest prophetic word, to which you do well to be attentive as to a torch that lights in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (II Peter 1:19).
We are also encouraging our people, who now have more time on their hands, to read good books, to participate in good conversations, and most of all, to memorize and meditate upon the Scriptures and upon the faithful promises of redemption and eternal life that we have in Christ.
Please, I ask you to pray for my health. As many of you know, I am still suffering from chronic pain in my back. I am on heavy medication while I wait for the doctors to do a biopsy on my spinal column to find out if the infection is gone. Then they plan to put a prosthesis on the last vertebrae of the spine. I want this ordeal to be over so that I can help others to follow and love Christ in a better way and with more confidence. Pray that the Lord will help each family in our church to think biblically in this time of uncertainty. That each family might come out of this quarantine with greater trust in the Lord’s promises, with more committed to Christ, and with greater boldness to share the truths of the gospel where they are. Also pray that the nations might learn not to rely upon the wisdom and strength of men, but rather, that they might trust in the strength and wisdom of the Lord.
