Hi, this is a photo of Bicento and I taken at Camp Washington - a place very special to us. I worked here for 12 years as Camp and Youth Center director; they were wonderful years, unforgettable and rewarding. Today a young couple is living there and taking up management and we are so thankful to God for providing workers for this much needed ministry.

We invite you now to follow with us in a short message about the:

THE WAY OF THE CROSS

During this past Lent Season, we all saw either on television, in the movies, or out in our streets different activities pertaining to the “Way Of The Cross”.  Even here in Aruba people were invited to come and take part in: following the,  “ Way Of The Cross” on different days and places.

Usage of the cross goes way back in history. Many criminals and slaves were crucified on crosses before the time of Christ; it was considered a humiliating and cruel way to die. Even for all the humiliation of a death on the cross, we need to try and understand the victory that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ accomplished for all humanity on the cross! This victory includes our God, and Father, the Lord Jesus Himself and the Holy Spirit of God. When the Apostle Peter wrote to the believers about the power of God, which is a part of the Gospel, he writes the following” “Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, to the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia and Bithynia, who have been chosen and destined by God the Father, and sanctified by the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ, and to be sprinkled by His blood.” (1 Peter 1:1,2)

We would like to encourage each one of you to read this letter Peter wrote, and take time to read it slowly and meditatively, depending on the Holy Spirit to help us understand what we read and then obey.

In our most recent Blog, we endeavored to explain the true meaning of the words CHRIST and MESIAH, indicating that the two words n fact have the same meaning in relationship to the Holy Spirit of God. Therefore it is important to pay attention when you read the letter written by the Apostle Peter, by noticing how many times the word, “Christ” is mentioned with its due and proper meaning, so that we may understand, with the help of the Holy Spirit the great and costly price that was paid for all of humanity. And this great salvation is offered to all people everywhere, even including the many precious souls living on our islands here. We give this short and emphatic message very clearly based on God’s word and it is: “There is no salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among man by which we must be saved.” ( Read Acts 4: 8 -12)

Now then, since it is the Holy Spirit that inspired the Apostle Peter to write these words, that: there is no salvation in no one else, in no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. We here in Aruba and surrounding islands should understand that this truth is for us today as surely as it did at the time Peter wrote these words to the dispersed believers, and that goes for all people everywhere all over our world today as well.  And may I repeat? “There is no salvation in no one else” – only in the name of Jesus. Do you believe?

Dear friends loved by our Lord JesusChrist Himself, we can see and we can hear how people are dying all around us everywhere: men and women, old and young, poor and rich. It is appointed unto men once to die and then comes the judgment.  According to the Scriptures there is coming the day of the resurrection of the just and the unjust. And as to who the just are, and who the unjust are, the Word of God is absolute and emphatic.

Take your Bible and read the entire Chapter 3  in the Book of Romans. Pay attention to these words: “There is no one who is righteous, not even one.” Continue reading and notice that in 3:21 it says, “But now apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.”

We encourage all of you who have read this short message today, but are still living in darkness and uncertainty as to the work of Christ, Who came to this world to seek and save sinners -  then know  that the Spirit of God through His servants have told us, “ at an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of salvation I have helped you. See, now is the acceptable time; see now is the day of salvation.”

This means, dear friends young or old, that we are actually living today in that “acceptable time, the day of salvation”, of which the Scriptures call our attention to. We just wanted to remind you about the: the way of the cross, talked so much about in these last weeks; it is easy to take part in dramas depicting the way of the cross, act very religious for some time preceding the resurrection of our Lord, denying ourselves this and that, and yet ignore and make light of the true meaning of Christ’s death on the cross in our daily living. According to the Scripture, “He Himself (Jesus Christ) bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24). That is why repentance is absolutely necessary on our part, and faith in the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, otherwise all outward gestures like wearing crosses, taking part in the many “walks” following a cross, etc., etc., as we witnessed on television, on the streets around the world, and here in Aruba, are in vain. Repent and Believe.