June 26th, 2005

RED

New Member
Preaching and Praying

Read Joshua 1:1-9

The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
-Habakkuk 2:14 (NRSV)

A few years ago I made my first journey as bishop around our island of Cuba. We decided to visit the towns on the east where we had not planted any churches yet. When we stepped into those places, we greeted the people of the town and walked from street to street. While dust collected on our shoes, we prayed the Bible verse from Joshua 1:3, "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses."

Three years later, I passed through one of the towns that we had visited. A man with a smile on his face approached me and said, "God bless you, Bishop."

I asked him, "My son, who are you?"

His reply was, "I am the missionary of the Methodist church here, and we are having service in a few hours." I realized that this was one of the blessings of our earlier trip and others as well. Every place we visited on that earlier trip, we preached and prayed. Now often we hear that we have a new church in that location. Wherever we go to serve, to preach, and to pray, God goes with us.
Ricardo Pereira (Havana, Cuba)

Prayer:
Companion God, thank you for watching over us all the time. Help us to share your love and grace with everyone we meet. Amen.
 
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