The spiritual world...is it real?

This is an attempt to put into words some of the experiences that God is allowing me to see here in Brazil.  He is teaching me daily how to walk by faith & how to rely on Him.  It's a lot easier said than done!

Yesterday, I was privileged to take part in a group of churches coming together to go into the community & share the Hope that is within us with citizens of that town.  Let me remind you that all of this was done in Portuguese.  I mean, we are in Brazil!  Let me also say, that at the end of the day (almost 10 hours total) I had one of the worst headaches of my life!  There is only so much of a foreign language that a guy can take in one day, you know.

However, God rewarded us for doing as He has commanded each of us to do...share the Good News of Jesus & make disciples.  We were able to see 3 Brazilians pray to receive Christ yesterday.  It was awesome!

God taught me 2 things yesterday:

1.  That I need more language!  :) 

2.  We don't always recognize & confront the spiritual world.

Here in Porto Alegre, the biggest "religion" among the people is that of worshiping many gods & often making sacrifices to them daily.  One of the young ladies that came to know Christ yesterday tried to find answers by praying to these gods & visiting the witchdoctors.  She began to hear voices talking to her.  They began to haunt her mind & she soon fell into a state of depression, even attempting suicide.  We were prepared as we entered her home...praying many times on the way to her house & even before we left the vehicle.  Nonetheless, we didn't know what or who was behind the door.  But we did recognize Who was within us.

It's something we see very often in the Bible, yet we dismiss it in our minds because we don't know exactly how to address it.  We often think of it as something that happened in "Bible Days."  Trust me...it happens still.  As we began to share the Gospel, I noticed many "idols" lining her shelves.  A statue of Mary, some small idols, a Bible, etc.  You see, the enemy wants us to believe that as long as a person has belief in something, then it's all good.  At the critical time of decision for this young lady dogs began to bark, her daughter began to scream from the other room, people started yelling outside, etc.  

You see, one of the other things that we often forget & don't give credit to is the One Who lives within us.  The God of this world, Maker of heaven & earth, the Almighty, the Lamb, the Holy One, the Rock, my Best Friend lives within me!  His power is unknown, his strength beyond words, & the ability to overcome the evil one has already been taken care of when He rose from the dead.  He reigns.  And He reigns in me.  Words leave me right now trying to capture this thought...

I pray that I will never forget this young lady who accepted Jesus yesterday.  I pray that the Lord will bring mature believers alongside her to grow her in Jesus, in His Word, & in prayer.  I pray that I am able to have a part in reaping a harvest ready to come to know the Almighty One.  Lord...I pray that you send laborers into Your harvest.