Buscad a
Jehova Mientras Pueda Ser Hallado
That is the theme of the 2016 celebration at Berea Church. In English it can be found in Isaiah 55:6 and
says, “Seek the Lord while he may be found.”
The church and Debbie, my pastor’s wife, have been talking about this
for weeks. I almost cancelled my trip to
Samaipata to make sure I was here. I am
glad now I did both.
Usually Berea has two services, one at 8:00 and one at
10:00. Today they combined both services
and started at 8:00. It was a three-hour
long service, but did not feel like it was that long.
As usual, they began with the praise and worship. Probably you would define both as the same
thing, but in my mind they are different.
The praise is to get you, the individual, into a state of joy before
God. It is a time of reminding ourselves
what God has done for us and celebrating.
Berea truly does celebrate. As we
would shout or jump for joy at a football game, Berea shouts and jumps before
God.
From there you move into worship. It is deeper, more reverent, and often
quieter. It is meant to be
God-centered. We are moved out of the
picture as we concentrate on God. I am
one of those people, if I get where I am supposed to be during worship, that I
will cry. I usually can’t explain why I
cry. I think it is because I discover
once again where I am supposed to be.
After the worship, Berea had a time of sharing in music and
drama. Gustavo, one of the worship
leaders, sang a beautiful song accompanied by the guitar, followed by Erika,
another worship leader, and another girl singing a song in English. Debbie and Shekinah, past and present
students, sang a beautiful duet. There
were so many songs, I lost track of who all sang.
My favorite song was a group singing accompanied by music of
the mountains, the sounds of the Quechua and Aymara Indians. They have the most haunting melodies that
seem to be something born of the mountains.
Here are some of the words of one song:
Si no tienes dinero (if you don’t have money)
Y no tienes
quien te dé (and no one cares for you)
Clama a mi
dice el Señor (call to me, says the Lord)
Yo te responderé (I will answer you)
En el tiempo de gozo (in the time of joy)
En el tiempo de dolor (in the time of pain)
Clama a mi, dice el Señor (call to me, says the Lord)
Yo te responderé (I will answer you)
That was my translation.
I would be glad if anyone corrects it for me. It had me in tears.
But those tears were wiped away with the funniest 20-minute
skit I might have ever seen. Noel,
another one of the worship leaders, played a fierce pirate. While drinking with his pirate buddies, they
decide to go on a quest to the mysterious island to find vast amounts of
treasure of the Aztecs. They sail across
the sea and land on the mysterious island, only to have one sailor after
another captured. Finally, they do
discover the treasure, but it is guarded by women warriors. The remaining three defeat the warriors, but
as soon as they do, two of the pirates turn on the captain and steal the
treasure. Once he sets himself free he
meets a woman with a box. She says she
has the real treasure. Inside the box is
a book. He begins to read about God
sending his only son to save sinners. He
recognizes he is a sinner and repents.
He realizes he must seek for God while he is able to be found. He finds his buddies and convinces them to do
the same.
The theme of this beautiful event, and the theme of Berea
Church this year is “seek the Lord while he may be found.” My friends, Jesus is returning soon. We don’t want to see the signs around us, but
they are there. This world is crumbling
around us. Wars are raging or threats of
war more vast than the two World Wars.
Sin and depravity abound. Jesus
said He will return. He is returning
soon. And soon there will not be a day
you and I can seek Him. Heaven is not
the default; Hell is the default. All of
us are destined for Hell, unless we seek they Lord while he may be found, and
we find Him.
Have a blessed week, my friends.
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