'It is finished' & Santo Domingo, part 3

John 19:30-'When he had finished the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.' With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.'
What does this verse mean to you, especially the statement 'It is finished?' Many simply think these were Jesus' last words and he was saying, 'This is it; I'm out of here.' Others might even think it was a statement of defeat. However, in reality, Jesus was saying-mission accomplished! He was saying the work of salvation was finished, that the job of saving those that believe was done. This is why it says is Ephesians 2:8-9, that we are saved by grace through faith...basically, we cannot add anything to the work of salvation. The work of salvation has already been completed.
Here at this time of year, there are processions celebrating Good Friday. At these processions, people beat themselves with chains or whips. Others carry crosses. In this, there is an idea of penitence. A lot of this is done in an attempt to have their sins forgiven or receive blessings from God. Sadly, the people are doing all of this in vain. Again, the work of salvation has already been completed. The only thing we can do is to accept it and allow it to change our lives. Romans 10:13-'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' We can confess our sins that have separated us from God and repent of them. We believe and accept Jesus' death on the cross for our sins and his resurrection that gives us hope for a resurrection. This is the way to receive faith and a work that has already been done. I suppose this is all for now. Because this writing went a bit long, I will write a couple more later this week. Now, here are some more pictures from our time in Santo Domingo. We really want to thank you for praying for us in our time in Santo Domingo. We really had a good time there and saw some real victories and miracles.
Here are a couple of friends that we met there. Their mother had decided to return to work as a prostitute but then decided to leave that line of work. We have a friend there now that is helping her get a job. That is one miracle we saw.
Here's another friend with a couple of her kids at the orphanage.
The next picture is of David, Marta and their son Joshua. They became really good friends and really helped us out a lot. David is from England and he met Marta there, who is originally from Ecuador. They manage the hotel we stayed at. It was great to visit and fellowship with them and really nice to speak English with them and watch and talk soccer with David. We had a lot of fun with Joshua as well. Please pray for them that they will grow in their relationship with the Lord and with each other. Most of all, pray that God will continually teach and use them. The next picture is of me and Joshua in our Liverpool soccer shirts. I already had mine and I got this one for Joshua. Sadly, David is a West Ham supporter...he needs prayer on this too.
The last couple of pictures are of Bernardo and his family and another one of me and him. I wrote about him last time. Again, I ask that you would pray for him and his family. Pray for him in his work and service to the Lord. Pray that others like him would come up as well. Pray that he could train others and involve others in the work that he is doing. Pray for other friends that we met in S. Domingo as well. There was another lady named Tibi that accepted Jesus in salvation and her husband is on the way. They have 5 daughters and 1 son and live out in the country with no electricity. This was another beautiful testimony. I suppose this is all for today. Take care and God bless. Happy Easter!
1 Cor. 15:20-22-But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.