… in the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name, for it is good.
Psalm 52:9
Such was the feeling in the hearts of over 1200 members from Venezuela who crossed over the border to Colombia to experience the divine service with the Chief Apostle. For the past 10 years, due to the nation’s political situation, the American District Apostles and Apostles have been unable to serve the members in this impoverished nation. The only solution has been to invite the district leaders to the border city of Cúcuta, Colombia for meetings and divine services with the Apostles.
But now at last, our brothers and sisters could migrate across their country, some over 35 hours, to join together with our Colombian brethren for this unique event on Saturday, February 15th. The Chief Apostle’s message of enduring trials and God’s deliverance focused on the three men in the fiery furnace found in Daniel 3:28.
The Chief Apostle’s visit continued with a divine service in Bogotá, Colombia on Sunday attended by almost 900 believers. The sermon was based on Psalm 100:2, emphasizing the call to serve the Lord with gladness. The Chief Apostle encouraged the congregation to share the gospel and help others, regardless of their circumstances. He reminded them that serving the Lord is not about receiving something in return, as if it were owed to us. Instead, we serve because we have already received everything—the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
During this service, Bishop Rangel from Panama was ordained as an Apostle who will be responsible for the spiritual care of the members in Panama, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico.
Divine Service excerpt - Cúcuta
“Brothers and sisters, God is with you in the furnace. That’s the experience these young men could have because they had decided to remain faithful. God abided with them in the furnace. And that’s the message for all of us and for each one.
Maybe today you are in this fiery furnace. It’s dangerous, it’s difficult, and you are suffering. But you have to know God is with you and you can and you will experience His presence at your side...
They did not even have the smell of fire on them. That means once we are in the kingdom of God we won’t even remember what we went through on earth. Even the smell will disappear. We won’t even remember because what God gives us is so great that we forgive even the most awful situation we have to go through. God abides with those who want to remain faithful. Those who remain faithful can experience the presence of God on their side. And through their example they become a blessing for many. Here on earth, today, already in your country, in your situation, brothers and sisters, you are a blessing for your country and for your people. You show them that it’s possible to do God’s will in awful situations...
Thank you for all of you who came from far away. I admire you, I am thankful to know about your faith and your love for God. Maybe you are not aware of it, but I tell you that you are an example and a blessing for many worldwide...”
Divine Service excerpt - Bogotá
“We can serve the Lord also in helping, doing good to our neighbor. We know that Jesus wants to do good to our neighbor, but Jesus is in heaven and to do concrete things, He needs us. Remember this image of Apostle Paul. Jesus is the head and we are the members of His body. So, the head decides I want to do good to this one. But we are His hands. We on earth, the body on earth. So, we have to do the good to the neighbor. The head decides and we fulfill. So, that’s also an aspect of serving...
To prepare for Holy Communion, we begin with praying the Lord’s Prayer. And then we express the wish and goal, ‘Your kingdom come.’ That’s the goal of our life. We want to enter Your kingdom. That’s what we pray all together... But then we realize, yes, but in His kingdom everything is according to His will. So we ask, okay, we have to do the will of God as it is done in heaven, otherwise we cannot enter heaven... that’s the consequence... And then very soon we are aware, oh, we haven’t done the will of God as it’s done in heaven. And so, we come to the conclusion, please forgive us. The Lord’s Prayer makes sense. We want the kingdom to come. The kingdom is perfect. We want to do the will, we cannot do the will, please forgive me. And now Jesus Christ comes and says, ‘If you are sincere and repentant, I forgive you.’ And through Holy Communion He gives us the confirmation, ‘I’m still waiting for you in My kingdom. Nothing has changed. You are invited.”
