Since Alan just returned from Malawi, we are providing excerpts from his weekly report as soon as available in lieu of his normal articles we publish on Saturdays …
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I am now home, sitting in my office reflecting on the final week of the trip. We worked in the Districts of Salima and Nchota Kota which are both near the shores of Lake Malawi. It is a beautiful area with my favorite Bao Bab trees growing sporadically along the roads. But the downside is the heat. It is the warmest area of the Central Region, nearly unbearable in the summer, and even in the winter months, a little uncomfortable for me.
On Monday, we were scheduled to work with a young congregation in Senga Bay which is less than a mile from the lake. Once again the question of fellowship between churches teaching the truth and those teaching human wisdom and tradition arose. After preaching this lesson so many times in six weeks, I have come to rely on Jesus’ words of warning to His disciples, first in the Sermon on the Mount and then in His conflict with the Pharisees.
Not everyone who calls Me Lord
When we stand before Him on the final day, Jesus wanted us to know now, while we can still change it, that not everyone who relies on their confession that Jesus is Lord will be allowed to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Mt. 7:21-23).
Think about the implications of these words. . .
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For more,
1) click on Malawi_2016_Report_6 (part 1) (pdf) to display the full report
2) select the "more… > Malawi" menu item to see the report, associated pictures, and previous reports.
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I am now home, sitting in my office reflecting on the final week of the trip. We worked in the Districts of Salima and Nchota Kota which are both near the shores of Lake Malawi. It is a beautiful area with my favorite Bao Bab trees growing sporadically along the roads. But the downside is the heat. It is the warmest area of the Central Region, nearly unbearable in the summer, and even in the winter months, a little uncomfortable for me.
On Monday, we were scheduled to work with a young congregation in Senga Bay which is less than a mile from the lake. Once again the question of fellowship between churches teaching the truth and those teaching human wisdom and tradition arose. After preaching this lesson so many times in six weeks, I have come to rely on Jesus’ words of warning to His disciples, first in the Sermon on the Mount and then in His conflict with the Pharisees.
Not everyone who calls Me Lord
When we stand before Him on the final day, Jesus wanted us to know now, while we can still change it, that not everyone who relies on their confession that Jesus is Lord will be allowed to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Mt. 7:21-23).
Think about the implications of these words. . .
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For more,
1) click on Malawi_2016_Report_6 (part 1) (pdf) to display the full report
2) select the "more… > Malawi" menu item to see the report, associated pictures, and previous reports.