On Saturday night, we received a visit from another woman leaving the church over the pants issue among other things. I preach too hard. All I do is preach about what they do wrong. (I thought that was what preaching was all about.)
She was much disturbed about Thursday's message of the life of Joseph. (Since the beginning of the church, I have been preaching/teaching through the book of Genesis.) I thought it was an uplifting message on going through trials and not being bitter. She saw it as another attack (obviously on her bitterness).
Although it hurts us to see another person refuse to submit to the teaching of God's Word and go by the way side, I know it is best for the church and another step toward revival. There has never been a revival without hard preaching. Some people have a warped idea of what revival is and what is the nature of preaching.
Yesterday was the big national holiday here in Mexico, Virgin of Guadeloupe Day. We took our Bible Institute students to the Basilica of Guadeloupe where tens of thousands gather to worship the virgin Mary. We passed out 6,000 tracts I had written 3 years ago. It is titled, "What the Sacred Bible (their Catholic Bible) Teaches Us of the Virgin of Guadeloupe. On the front, it has a Bible superimposed over what looks like the old Basilica of the Virgin of Guadeloupe.
It begins telling the story of how the Mexican traditional story how the Virgin of Guadeloupe "appeared" to the famous Mexican Indian, Juan Diego, to get their attention. Then, written from the point of view of a Catholic Mexican questioning their own tradition, I quote from the Catholic Bible verses on the inspiration of the Scriptures, the second commandment, the verse in I Timothy of one mediator, the verse from Isaiah how God is jealous and will not share his glory with another, Christ's statements in Mark 7 about invalidating the commandments of God by following traditions of man, and Deuteronomy's injunction to not follow prophets with visions that distract from the worship of God to follow after another.
The tract ends quoting Christ's words in John 10 of our Bible how he gave his life for the sheep, how we should follow Him as the only one that gives eternal life so that we never perish.
The tract is very respectful, logical, but brutally honest. It always gets the ire up in people as they call us and chew us out, but we hope that it will create doubt in their hearts about their own beliefs and that the seed planted will bring forth fruit to salvation.
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