The Beautiful Gate

Act 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
Act 3:2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
Act 3:3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
Act 3:4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
Act 3:5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
Act 3:6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

Randy and I have passed this old gate several times during our prayer walking in the early morning hours. On each occasion we approach the gate, I can't help but spend several seconds gazing at it's beauty. Yes it's old, weathered and starting to show evidence of wear and tear from the elements attacking it constantly, but there is still beauty in the gate. It is one of my favorite sites in the city, not elaborate or elegant; but to my eyes and soul it is lovely. When I am standing at this gate, in my spirit of prayer; it is as though I am in a different location completely. For a short time, I have entered a place of refuge, peace and welcoming.

Act 3:7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
Act 3:8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
Act 3:9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
Act 3:10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.

I doubt that anyone has ever been healed at this gate on this little insignificant street in Galati. If it did happen, there certainly would be many filled with wonder and amazement.

Act 3:12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
Act 3:13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.

The truth of the matter is the city of Galati is full of wounded, crippled and hurting people. I am not referring to the physical body, but rather to the spiritual condition. They are lost, eternally lost.

As children of God it is our responsibility to pray for the lost of this world. If we do not pray for them, they have no hope for salvation. The lost are in the same condition as the lame man in the scriptures above, he needed "fixed" spiritually and physically. Jesus Christ is the only one who can do that. We must be lifting the lost up in prayer to Our Heavenly Father for their salvation. We can never give up! Each time I pass this old rugged beautiful gate I'll be praying for the lost, please join Randy and me in prayer for the thousands lost in this city.

Marius and Mihai

Today Marius was out with Ene, Mihai and me as we were doing Share Jesus Without Fear on the streets of Galati. Marius tells of a meeting with two older men.

F.A.R.M. Team

We worked with the F.A.R.M. guys this week . That is far and away Roma missions. In the photo the two F.A.R.M. guys are Floin, in the red shirt, and Eni, in the white shirt in front. Eni was here last summer too.
They told Mihai that they were having trouble getting into new homes in the valley, so he started working with them after work. Marius, Unati, Costel, and I joined them on Wednesday and they have several people to visit now.





In this picture we had just finished giving Troy our reports after a couple of hours in zone 4, near the center of town. No more then everyone was done reporting in, then Mihai, Marius, and Unati were at it again Sharing Jesus Without Fear.
We had a good evening and have several visits to be made in this area as well.

Jewish Synagogue in Galati

The Jewish Synagogue


The Star of David on the Jewish Synagogue


Ten Commandments on top of the Jewish Synagogue

Luk 2:25 At that time there was a man named Simeon living in Jerusalem. He was a good, God-fearing man and was waiting for Israel to be saved. The Holy Spirit was with him
Luk 2:26 and had assured him that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's promised Messiah.

We have been told there are only a few men who attend the Synagogue in Galati. One of the men is a former neighbor of Troy's. Most of you are familiar with Sarah, also a former neighbor. As a matter of fact, many of you pray for Sarah on a regular basis. Sarah has lived well up into her 90s, she has lost her sight and has great difficulty hearing now days. A few of you from the team with LWBC visited with Sarah on one or two of your trips. Her health is failing, as to be expected, and there is doubt that she can comprehend what is being said to her. On one of the last visits that she did respond coherently, she made it clear her Messiah had not returned.

Randy and I are asking that you continue to pray for Sarah. The confusion and lack of comprehension she is experiencing is probably due to her age. Even Medical doctors are not sure how much is understood by someone suffering from a coma, this is not the case with Sarah. The Bible tells us that God's word does not return void. Pray that the Holy Spirit would speak to Sarah and that she would respond before it is too late.

Luke 1:18 Now this is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph. But while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. GNB
Luke 2:23 So they went and lived in town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophets concerning the Messiah: "He will be called a Nazarene." GNB

Strait is The Gate and Narrow is The Way

Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it KJV

A few weeks ago Randy and I were in Athens, Greece. Even down in the city there are many ruins still standing of the ancient city of Athens. Like so many times, different scenes bring scriptures to my mind. As Randy and I walked past the remains of an entrance to an old ruin, I thought of the gate. Making our way up the narrow street readily reminded me of "narrow is the way". Matthew 7:14 seemed to jump off the page when I looked again at these snap shots.

The heart gripping part of that verse is "and few there be that find it". As children of God, we are given the responsibility to do everything we can to help the lost find their way.

We live among people who are searching for something, they don't know what. They really are clueless as to what can bring them real joy, peace and security in this life. Please pray for Randy and I that we might be a lighthouse, putting forth a bright beam in order to help these precious people find the narrow way.

Excuses, Excuses, What's Yours?

Luk 14:18 But they all began, one after another, to make excuses. The first one told the servant, 'I have bought a field and must go and look at it; please accept my apologies.'
Luk 14:19 Another one said, 'I have bought five pairs of oxen and am on my way to try them out; please accept my apologies.'
Luk 14:20 Another one said, 'I have just gotten married, and for that reason I cannot come.' GNB

It is our pleasure to introduce Florin Ene to you. Florin is a young man who works with our team. His only way of communication is by sign language because he is deaf. This disadvantage does not hinder Florin from letting his love for Jesus shine.

In the picture above you see him handing out tracts on the sidewalk. Florin goes full steam ahead, letting very few get past him without putting the Good News in their hands. Occasionally he will get the opportunity to sign with another deaf person on the street. There is a large number of deaf living in Galati.

Florin could use his disadvantage as an excuse to stay home in his comfort zone and never work for Jesus. However, praise the Lord that's not what he has chosen to do. Florin has proven that God can use anybody that is willing to be used! What about you, why don't you follow Florin's example and be obedient to God's command.

Luk 14:21 The servant went back and told all this to his master. The master was furious and said to his servant, 'Hurry out to the streets and alleys of the town, and bring back the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.'
Luk 14:22 Soon the servant said, 'Your order has been carried out, sir, but there is room for more.'
Luk 14:23 So the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the country roads and lanes and make people come in, so that my house will be full. GNB

As a Deer Longs For a Stream of Cool Water

Psa 42:1 As a deer longs for a stream of cool water, so I long for you, O God. GNB

This is Wednesday, July 29th. Randy and I left the apartment at 6:30 a.m. to prayer walk in the cool of the morning. During our prayer walking this entrance gate caught my attention. Randy just happened to have the camera in his pocket and snapped this picture. I really like the gate, as I stood admiring the craftsmanship and artwork, the scripture in Psalms 42 came to my mind.

I also recalled a song we sung in church: "As the Deer Panteth For the Water". This is a beautiful song, it shares some blessed truths. God alone is our strength and shield. He should be our hearts desire. God is our friend and brother as well as our King. We should love Him more than anyone else, more than anything. God is more valuable than gold or silver. He alone can satisfy. God is the real joy giver, and the apple of our eye.

As a born again believer, this is the way you should feel about God. When you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you became a new person with a new heart. Your desires changed. You should have a burning desire to worship God. Just as the deer panteth for the cool stream of water, as a child of God you should have an unquenchable thirst for God.

Psa 42:8 May the LORD show his constant love during the day, so that I may have a song at night, a prayer to the God of my life.