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Belgium UBF
January 16, 2014

Back to the Lord their God

Key Verse: Luke 1:16 – “He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.”

1. Bible study
Until the beginning of April we studied the book of Romans through chapter 16. In the 2nd part of Romans, I had a picture of the house church among the Christians in Rome. I learned also about the Apostle Paul’s vision to reach out to the land of Spain. For this reason, I had a desire to study the book of Acts from April. In my mind there was direction how to approach the book of Acts: it is to discover how the Spirit of God leads the apostles and the Church after Jesus’ ascension. With a learning mind about the work of the Holy Spirit, I could release myself from a kind of burden that I should do something from my side. This attitude helped me to follow the movement of the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures. One important focus I’ve found in this study is how the gospel has been spread throughout the world based on Jesus’ world mission command. When a church is established, the Holy Spirit moved to a new place and new environment and testified there the work of the Gospel. When the Holy Spirit is with him, one obedient person can be used preciously in this work.

In July at the French Conference, we studied John’s Gospel with the title of “the Light, the Truth, and the Life”. The life testimony of shepherdess Beatrice was like a beautiful drama which showed us her first 20 years without the words of God and her second 20 years with the words of God. By the grace of God’s words, she was healed and established as ancestor of faith in the women’s ministry in France, as a mother of 4 children and a good employee. In the middle of July, Missionary Kaleb and Sarah Hong of Heidelberg visited us and we studied 1Cor 12-14 and Galatians 5. In this Bible study, we’ve listened to the voice of the Holy Spirit that we may edify the Church of God. There are so many kinds of gifts and works of the Holy Spirit among us. But we, all of us, should maintain one common direction and prayer topic: that is to edify the church of God. With this direction and attitude, I went to the USA international conference and I could find there the prayer topics.

One of the distinctive aspects of this conference was new faces as messengers. At first, they received personally and digested in themselves the words of God. They delivered the message after much training. In this way, the gap between messenger and the public is much reduced. And many people listened to God’s words very personally. We still have several open issues to be discussed prayerfully such as the way and the process of program and the world mission night. But globally the conference was graceful with the work of God’s words and spiritual fellowship. In September, there was a German staff conference with the objective to prayer together for the coming EU conference. We studied the Book of Acts 1-4. During summer time, I had four consecutive Bible conferences which enabled me to dwell deeply in the words of God. In my 1st half of year, I still had back pain. But by the grace of God words and spiritual fellowship during summer time, I was much released from back pain and restored surprisingly.

In December, we studied Luke’s Gospel to prepare Christmas. Jesus was born as the light in the most obscure time of Israel. God prepared Zechariah and Elizabeth for his birth. Though they had no child and were old, they lived before God and prayed. God was listening to their prayer and answered.

2. Mission for local students and house church ministry
We thank God who has led our house church continually during last year, especially brother Romeo and sister Gael to study the Bible. We met them in 2006 on the campus of Brussels University (ULB) which was established with an idea of “human liberal examination.” Since then we studied the Bible with them and had fellowship until now. It’s really the grace of God. In this year, both of them were busy with their jobs. And I felt very tired after work with back pain. Missionary Sarah was also busy with her school studies. So it was hard for us to do Bible study during the week. But it was God’s grace to do Bible study with them, even if they came on Sunday one time per 3 or 4 weeks. Sister Gael confessed that she finds the meaning of life in Bible study. Romeo confessed that he receives peace and rest in his heart after Bible study. We pray that the words of God may work in them, without pushing them from our level or our direction, so that they may live as people of God.

In USA International conference 2013, I and Jr. Joshua (Economics 1) and Timothy (high school 1) participated. It was a great burden for preparation from a financial point of view. But this participation was important to show them the work of God and to plant in them the identity of God’s people. They participated with sincere attitude to Bible study by writing testimony and receiving grace. In particular Timothy found himself as a new creation with mission through Genesis Bible study with Sarah Little of Chicago. He was in the most difficult period of his adolescence. But the Bible study in the USA conference and through the good environment of Chicago HQ brought him a good result. Based on the words of God, he wrote his testimony, made the confession of faith and received water baptism by Mother Barry at Michigan Lake to be declared as God’s nation. After coming back to Brussels, he keeps Bible study and testimony sharing with Sarah Little by Skype.

Joshua Jr. did not pass his first year of economics study in the university and is now doing it over again. I encouraged him through Friday Bible study and prayer. He’s now studying for the glory of God instead of seeking human glory. I gave him a direction to learn shepherd life that gives. He is praying to invite his lonely friends to Bible study. Missionary Sarah also did not pass the third year of her child education study. Therefore, she is repeating her third year and last year of study, but in another school. Her prayer topic is to overcome the French language and to learn European education methodology which promotes children’s participation. Next semester, she will give her time mainly to practices and to her thesis. We pray God may give her victory next year to start as a pre-school teacher in a local school.

3. Spiritual direction for 2014 and prayer topics

Studying Luke 1 to prepare Christmas, I received the grace from the couple Zechariah and Elizabeth who were used in God’s redemptive history through their Bible study and prayer in the most obscure time. Without a child and being advanced in age, they wouldn’t be useful from today’s pragmatic point of view. But God was giving his attention to their prayer and preparing the birth of the Messiah, which was the most important event in his redemptive history. Their prayer was more powerful than all the armies of the Roman Empire and remarkably transformed the epoch. Next year, 2014 will be a very significant year for me and for European UBF. It will be the 30th year since my first year of university when I accepted Jesus and his mission. And the next EU conference will be prepared and hosted by a local shepherd who was born and has grown through our missionaries’ prayer and sacrifice. “He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.” (Luke 1:16) In this key verse, I have hope and vision that many Europeans will come back to their God. These days, Missionary Sarah and I are praying for European mission and the next EU conference. We believe that God accepts and uses preciously our prayer like Zechariah and Elizabeth. May God accept the prayer of all coworkers in Europe and may God do a great work so that many Europeans come back to their God in 2014. Amen.

One word: The work of God that they come back to their God

Joshua Lee