Weekly Bible Verses: Luke 19:1-10: For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost

Luke 19: He entered Jericho
and was passing through it. ²A man
was there named Zacchaeus; he was
a chief tax collector and was rich. ³He
was trying to see who Jesus was, but
on account of the crowd he could not,
because he was short in stature. ⁴So
he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore
tree to see him, because he was
going to pass that way.⁵When Jesus
came to the place, he looked up and
said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must
stay at your house today.”⁶So he hurried down and was
happy to welcome him. ⁷All who saw it began to grumble
and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who
is a sinner.” ⁸Zacchaeus stood there and said to
the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will
give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of
anything, I will pay back four times as much.” ⁹Then
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this
house, because he too is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰For the
Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

Weekly Bible Verses: Mark 9:30-37: Who Is The Greatest?

³⁰They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; ³¹for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” ³²But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

³³Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was
in the house he asked them, “What were you
arguing about on the way?” ³⁴But they were silent,
for on the way they had argued with one another
who was the greatest. ³⁵He sat down, called the twelve,
and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be
last of all and servant of all.”³⁶Then he took a little child
and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said
to them, ³⁷“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name
welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me
but the one who sent me.”

From Our Missionary: Hearing the call in Costa Rica: A tale of two Ruths and you

Just this past week I met with Costa Rican Baptist Federation leaders and was reminded of how important it is to hear the call.

I have recently arrived in Costa Rica and was meeting with Ruth Vindas, president of the Baptist Seminary.  The program has been going through a major overhaul, mostly because churches were not finding that the training responded to the needs in their congregations.  As we spoke about the hoped-for launch of a Christian Education certificate program in which I would be teaching, the president shared about her call to ministry.

“Ruth Mooney (IM missionary in Costa Rica) was instrumental in my call to ministry,” Ruth Vindas stated.  She had been an active member of a new church start and then heard Ruth Mooney share about the Bible study materials that a writers group was preparing for the churches.  Ruth V. spoke to Ruth M. about participating in this group, even though she had no writing experience; Ruth Mooney encouraged her to join so she did!

“Those were eight years of enrichment and learning in my life as we studied the Bible together and then wrote materials for different age groups.  I wrote for the children´s level,” Ruth V. added.  It was during this time that Ruth Mooney challenged Ruth V. about God´s call on her life, sharing that she (Ruth M) saw her (Ruth V) as a person with pastoral gifts.

Now, some years later, Ruth Vindas has graduated from the Baptist Seminary, pastored a church and then gone on to get her bachelor´s degree from the Latinamerican Biblical University (UBL).  Ruth Mooney currently teaches at the UBL and serves as Ruth V´s faculty adviser as she writes her thesis, the final step to earning her licentiate degree.

About a year ago, Ruth Vindas was named the new president of the Baptist Seminary and has completely revamped the curriculum, based on needs the churches have expressed.  It was exciting to see how practical all the courses are.  Ruth V told me that she planned the courses based on two viewpoints:  “As a leader taking the courses, what kind of training would I like to have; as a pastor, what skills would I like to see in a graduate so they could be part of a church ministry team.”  I am thrilled to join in this ministry, of helping those who hear God´s call on their lives prepare themselves for service.

I was so encouraged to see how God´s call on Ruth Mooney´s life translated into God´s call on Ruth Vindas´ life.  Both of these women heard God´s call and have impacted others´ lives, especially in the area of spiritual growth.  But neither of these women´s ministries would have been possible without your support of missions, including the World Mission Offering.     

American Baptists give to the World Mission Offering, the bulk of which goes toward missionary support, including myself (Sue Hegarty) and Ruth Mooney.  Another part of this offering goes to assist our partner groups in different countries, one of which is the Costa Rican Baptist Federation, with whom Ruth Vindas serves.  Your gifts translate into real transformation in people´s lives as they respond faithfully to God.

How about you?  Do you “hear the call” to serve God in a special way?  Do you “hear the call” to give to the World Mission Offering so that others may hear God´s call on their lives?  Now is a great opportunity for us all to hear God´s call on our lives.

Please pray:

That the Costa Rican Baptist Federation will be able to kick off the Christian Education classes in October

That I will be ready for the classes which will train church teams for ministry

That the World Mission Offering will bring in the support necessary to maintain and expand ministry around the world in Christ´s name

Weekly Bible Verses: Proverbs 1: 20-33: Wisdom

Proverbs 1: ²⁰Wisdom cries out in the street;
in the squares she raises her voice.
²¹At the busiest corner she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:
²²“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools hate knowledge?
²³Give heed to my reproof;
I will pour out my thoughts to you;
I will make my words known to you.
²⁴Because I have called and you refused,
have stretched out my hand and no one heeded,
²⁵and because you have ignored all my counsel
and would have none of my reproof,
²⁶I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when panic strikes you,
²⁷when panic strikes you like a storm,
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
²⁸Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently, but will not find me.
²⁹Because they hated knowledge
and did not choose the fear of the Lord,
³⁰would have none of my counsel,
and despised all my reproof,
³¹therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way
and be sated with their own devices.
³²For waywardness kills the simple,
and the complacency of fools destroys them;
³³but those who listen to me will be secureand will live at ease, without dread of disaster.” 

Weekly Bible Verses: Mark 8: 27-38: Who Do You Say That I Am?

²⁷Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”²⁸And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” ³⁰And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

³¹Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo 

great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and 

the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³²He said 

all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to 

rebuke him. ³³But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked 

Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your 

mind not on divine things but on human things.”

³⁴He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any 

want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take 

up their cross and follow me. ³⁵For those who want to save their 

life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for 

the sake of the gospel, will save it. ³⁶For what will it profit them 

to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? ³⁷Indeed, what can 

they give in return for their life? ³⁸Those who are ashamed of me 

and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them 

the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory 

of his Father with the holy angels.”