Brian and Ashley Todd were guests at Bethany Baptist Church, Sunday. They are presently on deputation sharing their burden for souls in Costa Rica. Brian grew up a missionary kid in Costa Rica. He heard the gospel in Spanish and English all his life, but he was not saved until he was eighteen years. After he was saved, he attended a Christian college in the United States, and even though he had not wanted to go back to Costa Rica, he became burdened about a migrant tribe of Indians who pick coffee on the plantations. No one is doing a ministry with these Indians, and since they move so much it will be a challenge reach them. Brian believes that when God calls someone to witness to a certain people, that God will show the way.
Ashley grew up in a Christian home. She was saved at the age of six, just a few months after her mother was saved. When she told her parents that she had just got saved, her dad went through the Bible passages with her, just to be sure. Ashley surrendered to serve the Lord when she was twelve. When she finished High School, she attended a Christian College where she met Brian. After her graduation, Ashley served one year with a missionary family in Africa and now shares Brian’s burden for Costa Rica.
Brian Todd brought a message out of Romans 12:1-21. Paul starts out saying, “I beseech thee therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Paul was begging Christians to do what they are supposed to be doing already. Many Christians are living unhappy unproductive lives because they have convictions that they have not dealt with. The world puts pressure on you to conform to society’s way of thinking and doing, but often that is contrary to God’s will. The world would make tolerance for sin a virtue. The best way to be transformed is to read the Bible.
The book of Proverbs shows that value of receiving the word of God and to apply wisdom and the fear God to our daily walk. The Book of James tells us to be doers of the word and not hearers only. Psalm 119 suggests that we should hide the word of God in our hearts and obey the law of the Lord. Romans 12 tells us to abhor that which is evil, be honest in all our dealings, live peaceably as much as possible with all men. The scriptures tell us how to stand strong for the Lord.
The word of God, the Bible, will bring the lost to salvation and the saved to sanctification. Happy are those who find and follow the wisdom of that Book. If we have a transformed mind, we will also desire to seek out sinners to offer to them eternal life. We will want to show Christ to the world.
