2016-winter-v12

Global Harvest 29
Living by Truth
Daniel J. Araujo
My motto:
“Take heed unto thyself, and unto the
doctrine; continue in them: for in doing
this thou shalt both save thyself, and
them that hear thee” (1 Timothy 4:16).
Since I converted from sin and
was baptized into Christ I have made
it my personal mission to follow our
Lord’s commandments and doctrine,
not only to be saved myself but to aid
others who would follow Christ. For
awhile I was being misled into wrongness
by sincere men who just weren’t
obeying God. What I had gotten from
their teachings was a feeling of quiet
numbness, something that Jesus
warned us about in Mathew 24:11-12:
“Then many false prophets will rise
up and deceive many. And because
lawlessness will abound, the love of
many will grow cold.”
Since being numb wasn’t my idea
of a Christian life, I started searching for
the Truth through reading and studying
Scriptures. I didn’t settle and I didn’t
stop. I found World Video Bible School
on the Internet and began to watch their
YouTube videos. One on the subject of
Premillenialism convinced me that I had
found the right teaching. I asked for help
in locating the church of Christ in my
area, met with one of the preachers, and
my wife and I were baptized into Christ.
So now, truly saved and truly in the
church of our Lord, I want to serve and
help others to understand what Jesus has
done for us and what He is offering to
everyone: Salvation and eternal life.
Where I live — Porto Alegre
in Brazil — there’s a lot of work to
be done. There are only a couple of
churches of the Lord in a city of almost
2 million people. What can one
man do? One of two things: Give up or
fire up. In 2 Timothy 1:6, Paul urged
Timothy to “... Therefore I remind you
to stir up the gift of God which is in
you...” We don’t have the miraculous
gifts of the first century, but we do have
the gift of salvation and the knowledge
of God’s word and His promises. We
need to be fired up with zeal for telling
others about these gifts.
And if Christians are supposed to
be happy in the Lord, cheer up! I’ve decided
to not think in terms of 2 million
problems, but of 2 million possibilities,
2 million souls the Lord would be glad
to add to His church! And of course I
can’t do everything by myself, but that
doesn’t mean I can’t do something.
I have a few projects in place: a
couple of internet blogs with studies
and reflections; and a couple of ideas for
the future: teaching teenagers from the
church (already in the way) and starting
a computer school at the church building
to bring people in and to spread the
love of Jesus. No, those projects probably
won’t reach 2 million people who
will understand and follow Christ, but
that’s not the point, is it? No, the point
is in doing something, to keep working,
to continue reaching out for people who
are in need of salvation. I think living in
truth is this: Doing everything for others,
and very few things for oneself.
I hope these words find many
like-minded hearts willing to live and
work for the Lord. I hope I get to count
on your help, through prayer, and I
hope you’re encouraged to do the same
where you are.
God bless you — and know
there’s a brother in Brazil who is praying
for you. Cheer up, fire up. Don’t
settle, and don’t stop! >
Daniel J. Araujo lives in Porto Alegre,
Brazil. His email address is araujojcdaniel@gmail.com