June News from Bill and Maria Teresa

Dear Friends,

[dropcap4]W[/dropcap4]e’ve had some requests for news and current prayer requests, and are happy to have people who want to pray specifically. So, here we go…

We spent this week, Monday-Friday staying at our son Steve’s home, here in Rome with Simmy and Eliza, while their parents were in Naples getting a special entrance visa to theUSfor their mother, who is still a German citizen. Every thing went fine.

You’ve probably seen the news about the earthquakes in Italy.  There are numerous evangelical churches in that area, but we have not heard of any Christians being killed or injured.  Some have had to leave their houses, and some are out of work, since their factories were damaged.  Our church has offered to send personnel or supplies, according to requests from local churches.

As for prayer requests, we continue to need the Lord’s help to keep our energy and strength up, in order to keep rolling on.  Last week I went back to a dermatologist, a young lady with a masculine hair cut and blazing red hair, whom I had seen a couple of weeks before for a skin irritation.  When I went that first time, as I walked into her office, she took one look at my face, where I have had several moles, and asked if I came for that, but I told her “No”.  Then, after I left, I wondered if she had wanted to tell me that I should have them looked at.  So, on my recent appointment, after she saw that my skin irritation had passed, I wanted to ask her if she thought I should do something about the moles.  She didn’t wait for me to finish the question, jumped to her feet, grabbed a cylinder of gas and started freezing the moles.  I had had one removed several years ago in the U.S. and it cost me $150.  This time, she burnt 14 in very few minutes, at no cost, since I had come for another reason.  This is nationalized medicine in Italy.  Often hard to get and slow.

At our first visit, when we explained who we are and what we do, she told us that she was Jewish.  So on this visit, Maria Teresa gave her a list of prophecies from the Old Testament, with their New Testament fulfillments, and told her that we love the Jewish people.  Her eyes were moist, as she planted a kiss on Maria Teresa’s cheek.  A seed was sown, pray that someone else may water it and bring salvation to this energetic, efficient doctor.

Tomorrow our church will have a picnic, if it doesn’t rain, and they will have a worship service on the picnic grounds, while we are having one at the church for those who cannot go for one reason or another.  After the service, we will go to the picnic, which is in the pine forest near the sea, at Ostia.

Next Sunday, the 17th, I am speaking in L’Aquila, the city in the mountains where they had a bad earthquake two years ago.  The building in which they had held services was completely destroyed, and now they are meeting in a community center.  Then the following Sunday, the 24th, I will be speaking on the return of Christ, in our church.  We will show a film Saturday night and Sunday afternoon on this subject, with invitations distributed throughout the neighborhood of the church, and I will follow up the film with an evangelistic message, trusting that we will have some unsaved present.

Then, the 25th, Maria Teresa and I will go to the seashore for a week of rest and relaxation.  That is our vacation plans for this year.  I usually take some serious Christian books to read and spend the morning doing that, since I seldom get the time while we are inRome.  Then, in the afternoon, we get some rest and have a long walk along the seaside before supper.  We always come back refreshed.

After that, our summer will be filled up with preaching and teaching, writing and correcting manuscripts.  This is the ministry we love and which the Lord is continually blessing.

It is a tremendous challenge and blessing to hear from so many who have read our books or articles, or who heard us speak in conferences and camps and have been helped spiritually, some to understand salvation by grace through faith, some to understand God’s standards and will for their family and work.  Many, who know us, but whom we have often forgotten since the time years ago when they attended a conference in which we were speakers, phone to us asking for spiritual help, concerning family problems, or spiritual problems, or doctrinal Bible questions.

Thanks for praying for us,

Bill and Maria Teresa Standridge —Rome, Italy

 

Commit Your Work to the Lord…


 

Commit your work to the LORD…  and your plans will be established. —Proverbs 16:3

[dropcap4 variation=”coprper”]W[/dropcap4]hen we set out to serve God, we often have ideas or limitations that have already shaped our plans and desires. And then when the outcome and our plans do not match, we are tempted to question if we are really serving God!

We have struggled through thoughts like this over the past year, though we are most thankful to God for His wonderful, loving care for us, and are very grateful for our Pastor Jerry Wragg and for the leadership of our mission. We realize that our lives are a journey of service, and although we have desires and plans, our foremost desire is to follow God’s directions. We had originally thought about going toItaly full time, but we are content in knowing that for the time being we should stay and minister from theUS.  As we have found peace in this new plan, God has been kind to clarify, through our leadership and circumstances, what our next steps should be.

David is now working full time in a secular job, as well as working part-time for The Expositors Seminary and continuing his responsibilities with Cornelius Ministries. As you can imagine this has been quite a transition, since he is also still teaching Bible studies in two different groups ofGraceImmanuelBibleChurch. Loredana is also being faithful is her responsibilities, discipling various women of the church, volunteering at the church and working one day a week.

[pullquote1 quotes=”true” variation=”mossgreen”]For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
—Ephesians 2:10[/pullquote1]

Italy is still on our hearts and we continue to strive for the proclamation of the Gospel there. We have had the opportunity to speak in a few churches in the last few weeks and are excited to know that more of God’s people are aware of the need there and are praying for us and forItaly!

We are involved in the literature ministry in Rome, as David gives direction and help to the ministry that Bill and Maria Teresa Standridge continue to do faithfully there.

We are also excited for the possibility of mentoring three couples who are preparing for ministry inItaly. We will share with them from our own journey,that they also need to be faithful to serve where they are, as they wait upon God for clarity for their futures.

We should never forget that serving God is our duty and that we need to be faithful in whatever situation God places us. We are not disappointed in our new season of life and we certainly covet your prayers, as we diligently minister where we are right now.

Another of our goals is to continue to provide books and literature that will be useful both for the local churches in Italy and their leaders. David is working on a booklet he wrote on the 23rd Psalm that is now out of print, but has been a useful, both as an evangelistic tool and  an encouragement for the believers. We would like to translate and publish other books, as God makes the funds available.

We are sincerely and deeply grateful to God for the privilege we have of being His children and His servants. We encourage you also to be faithful wherever God has placed you, knowing that is where God wants you to minister faithfully.

David and Loredana

 

What a Wonderful Savior

   …Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a
servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a
cross. Philippians 2:5-8

As Christ came on earth His journey was a daily giving up His rights and embracing humiliation

It was humiliating …
… becoming a man, no one could make him do but He chose to do it!
… living among men that had no respect for His father and for Him.
… being treated like a sinner when he knew no sin.
… being around the disciples that continually had to be corrected.
… being kind to those that would betray Him.
… knowing that the ones that were exalting would also be the ones ask for His  crucifixion
… taking the journey to the cross knowing that He would carry the sins of those He loved and experience the separation and wrath of the Father.

A life of humiliation by choice while having the power to stop it all.

Jesus chose to die on the cross and to bear the full weight of it. John 10:17 “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

Philip P. Bliss penned the wonderful hymn

“Man of Sorrows,” what a name For the Son of God who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim!  Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude, In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood;   Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Guilty, vile, and helpless, we, Spotless Lamb of God was He;
Full redemption—can it be? Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die, “It is finished!” was His cry;
Now in heaven exalted high; Hallelujah! What a Savior!

When He comes, our glorious King, To His kingdom us to bring,
Then anew this song we’ll sing Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Why did Jesus do it? What a Savior!

Hebrews 12:2 “…looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

We know Jesus rose the third day victorious! What a Savior!

1 Corinthians 15:14 “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”
Philippians 2:9-11 “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Today we stand on the other side of the cross living our lives because of Christ’s finished work on the cross are we willing to give up our rights and embrace humiliation for the progress of the Gospel?

Our lives should be lived with three goals in mind:

  • The progress of the Gospel in us – Sanctification
  • The progress of the Gospel in our brothers and sisters – Discipleship
  • The progress of the Gospel in the world – Evangelization

Scorning the work of Christ on the cross is the way of life for many today:

Those that call Jesus just a prophet
Those that call Jesus just a god
Those that add works to salvation
Those that call themselves Christians and don’t submit to Christ
Those that look at Christ as just a man
The list is without end!

Jesus came on earth fully aware of the humiliation He would encounter – fully aware of the scorn that would continue for thousands of years – fully aware of the cost – He did it by choice knowing that it was the ONLY way to provide salvation for those that believe in Him.

What a Savior!

We rejoice in our Savior, but let’s not forget that when we sin we choose to forget the cost for our salvation – when we do not love our local church we forget the cost of the bride of Christ – when we do not witness we forget that we are ambassadors for Christ begging the world to be reconciled with God.

We live our lives grateful that is God that has begun a good work in us and will bring it to completion! He chose us when we had not interest in choosing him!

What a Savior!

 

Never Disappointed with God

 

 

[dropcap4 variation=”coprper”]O[/dropcap4]ur attitudes, responses, words and actions reflect our attitude towards God Himself. At the time, we may feel we are responding to people or circumstances, but in reality we are always responding to the hand of God in our life. We are so grateful for the work God is doing in our lives and for the way He is using us in ministry. We need to remember that all ministry is God’s ministry and depend on Him for both the opportunities and the results.

We are also grateful for our board members Ron Pierre, Don Mitchell and our pastor Jerry Wragg, as they shepherd us. All are recognized leaders in their respective churches and are serving faithfully. Their hearts for ministry in Christ was evident during our last meeting, in February. Cornelius Ministries also acknowledges the leadership of the elders of Grace Immanuel Bible Church. Our mission depends on the leadership of the local church and is committed to only taking part in ministries that are local church orientated, as well.

Meanwhile, we are embracing the publishing ministry in Italy that we have been involved in for many years. David will continue to manage the ministry that Bill and Maria Teresa Standridge started almost 60 years ago: The Associazione Verità Evangelica, which has published and distributed many books. Some have been written in Italian by Bill and Maria Teresa, and many have been translated by them from English to Italian. And as a result, the works of authors such as John MacArthur, Jerry Bridges, Steve Lawson, Jay Adams, Larry McCall and others have been of great help to the local churches all over Italy. There is great and ongoing need for such translation of sound pastoral books because of the lack of these very useful resources in Italian.

Our desire to come alongside the local churches in Italy continues, and we are excited to begin our plans and prepare materials to help the elders of these small churches learn how to study the Bible and how to draw out its implications for their flocks.

God opened an opportunity for us to go to Haiti for five days in February. What a privilege to see the Gospel-centered work that Baptist Haiti Mission is doing, and to be able to encourage the missionaries that are laboring there. Watching the work of God in a country so different from Italy was both an encouragement and a motivation to be faithful in the ministry to which God has called us!

Would you like to know how to pray for missionaries? God gave David the privilege of preaching the closing message at Grace Immanuel Bible Church’s Annual Missionary Conference in early March. We invite you to listen to it online, as you pray for us. The message is titled “Support for the Missionaries Begins with Prayer”. You can listen to it HERE.

We do, indeed, need your prayers as we depend on God for wisdom in ministry and for our needed additional monthly financial support. We trust God to continue to direct us and to direct you, our faithful prayer partners.

Serving Christ, the Lord,

David and Loredana

 

God is at Work!

In his letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul continues to rejoice for the progress of the Gospel. He begins by reminding the leaders that any kind of spiritual progress is accomplished by the work of God. He is the one who begins it and he is the one who brings it to completion. As we look back over this year, we, too, have seen the progress of the Gospel and we invite you to rejoice with us.

First of all, we have seen the wonderful work of the Gospel in us. When we moved to Jupiter, Florida, we did not know what a blessing it would be for us to become part of Grace Immanuel Bible Church. In these ten months we have been blessed by the teaching of the word of God, coupled with the example of the leadership that permeates the whole church body. We realize today how much we needed God to work in our lives and how we needed to grow in our walk with the Lord. Years of ministry and work can make you dull to the need for spiritual renewal and continuous reevaluation of your personal walk with God. As the months went by, our gratitude to the Lord for our new life in our church has grown.

We have seen the Lord work through us in the lives of other believers, by God’s grace. We are amazed at the ways God has used our lives to encourage others. Loredana has had wonderful opportunities to walk alongside other women of the church and share the work that the Lord has done in her life. God is encouraging Loredana in her growth as she sees God using it in the lives of other women. Loredana was able to translate good Christian material that God was using during our hard times and send it to women in Italy who have been blessed by it. For David, it was a blessing to just enjoy the work of God in his life for the first few months. Now the Lord is using him in the lives of some men: God has given David opportunities to teach on how to witness to Roman Catholics. Right now he is teaching a 12 hour course in the Institute of Grace, that GIBC has for those who want to grow. Together, we have been able to have a discipleship study with four couples, meeting every two weeks in our home. In January we will also begin a new home Bible study for the Sunday School we attend.

We continue to see the great need for the Gospel to reach out to the unbelievers. During our trip to Italy, the great need for the Gospel there was as evident as ever. This needs to be remediated, not only by reaching out to the unsaved, many of whom are under the stronghold of the Roman Catholic Church, but also to the evangelical churches, to train the men in the faithful preaching of the Word of God. We continue to be involved in the literature ministry that David’s parents started 55 years ago. As we traveled to a little town in Sicily we were greeted by a local ceramic artist and his family. They live in Santo Stefano di Camastra, a town where there are no evangelical churches or other believers. Biagio told us that his family depends on the material that the Associazione Verità Evangelica publishes for their spiritual growth. There are still today over 33,000 towns and villages where there is no Gospel witness in Italy!

 

We know that it is God who causes the Gospel to progress.

Will you continue to pray for us?

That God will work in our own lives first of all?

We also desire to be used in the lives of other believers, that their faith will grow and their desire to love the Lord.

That God will continue to use the seminars on witnessing to Roman Catholics to move believers to witness faithfully to the many earnest people who are entangled in that false religion.

That God will provide the needed funds so that we may dev developing Cornelius Ministries.

Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support!

We are rejoicing, as we anticipate the progress of the Gospel in us, in the believers and in Italy.

David and Loredana