NTM

Mario, Guanano Bible Teacher

Mario, along with his brother Getulio, are Guanano Bible teachers. They are teaching an evangelistic Bible study to their unsaved friends and realtives, including Mario’s in-laws. Ouch! You can imagine how delicately he must tread sometimes! The chronological presentation of the Gospel (from Genesis through the life of Christ) takes time. Mario is encouraging the group to hang in there long enough to understand the whole message. He said it like this:

“These pages that we are studying are God’s talk, where he explains what he desires for us. It’s all here in his Book. Perhaps we don’t read it during the week. If that’s so, it’s hard for us to understand what God is saying. We get it mixed up with what others are teaching and the worthless opinions of others. When we do that, we don’t get a clear picture of what God desires for us. God wants us to know answers to important questions, like, Why are we living in this world? Where are we going? Where have we come from? God wants us to understand these things. We ARE NOT like animals or fish. Fish just swim around without thinking about anything. When we throw a hook with bait in front of them, they eat and die. Animals are like that too. Walking around, they only think about what they are going to eat. When they find it, they eat. When they find something to drink, they drink. When a shotgun suddenly appears, that’s the end of them. We people aren’t like that. God desires something else for us. We are SPECIAL in God’s eyes. One day when we trust in him, we will go to His place and understand all of God’s plans for us. That is true happiness and joy.

“That is what we want for you. We are doing what God has told us to do. This wasn’t our idea. We prayed and asked God what he wanted us to do, and we asked for the courage to do it. We also asked for his help. This is God’s teaching. You may look at me and say, `This is Mario’s teaching.’ No it’s not. God is the One who is working using me. God in the One who desires these things for us. Let’s listen to what he has to say. Maybe we ARE like animals if we ignore what God is saying and do only what we feel like doing. How is that going to end up? We die and the great fire awaits us. That’s what happens to those who go through life without thinking. We have to think! God’s teaching opens our eyes. It’s like a flashlight lighting up our path. God’s message is the Light of Life. It makes blind people see. God’s message helps us choose the right way from all the different wrong ways out there. This is what God has given to us. So let’s listen every week.”