May/June 2020 OBB

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, visit our website or call us closer to the time of the event for further updates and cancelations.

BIRTH February 11, 2020 - to Joseph and Moriah (Mohl, Assoc. ’15) Weeks, a son, Isaiah Lee.

Guest Speaker, Dr. J. Ronald Blue is a former missionary and president of CAM International. He has traveled to more than 50 countries. He joined the staff of Dallas Seminary in 1975, winning the Faculty Award the same year, and served as professor and chair of the World Missions and Intercultural Studies department. He helped launch the Seminary’s Spanish Doctor of Ministry program in conjunction with Seminario Teológico Centro Americano (SETECA) in Guatemala. Dr. Blue is the author of Evangelism and Missions. He is married

VacationVision with a

June 28 - July 3; July 5 - 10, 2020

NBBI

God’s Purpose Our Passion

What are your plans for the summer? Would you consider taking a week and joining us on the campus of NBBI for our Vacation with A Vision Summer Program? We welcome individuals, couples

Established 1944 2 Timothy 2:15

@

Check us out

nbbi.ca New Brunswick Bible Institute 2335 Route 103 Victoria Corner NB Canada E7P 1C7 Phone: (506)375-9000 Fax: (506)375-1800 Website: nbbi.ca Email: nbbi@nbbi.ca Editor................................................. Larry Rushton Writers.............Faculty, Staff, Students & Alumni Typist................................................. Brenda Cabral Layout & design...........................................Larry Rushton Copy proof..............................................Rose Meed Printer.................................................Merritt Press

PARTNER WITH US

nbbi.ca/donate

Give online: Click the Donate Now button. Make a one-time gift or choose the recurring option for automatic monthly support.

For additional options: Call us toll-free at 1-800-771-NBBI (6224).

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and families. We will feed you, give you a place to stay and provide opportunities for fun and fellowship along the way. We have an exciting project for this summer.

VOL. 61 NO. 5&6 MAY & JUNE 2020

FOCUS

BY MATTHEW LITTLE

nbbi.ca/vacation/

towards the completion of this project.

Our goal is to complete one floor of the girls’ dorm this summer, which will cost approximately $50,000. This equals $10,000 per room which is much below the cost of a new dorm. We are going to need many labourers and we ask you to consider coming for a week or even a few days to lend a hand. If you are not a carpenter, there are always many more projects taking place and we welcome workers with all skill sets. If you can’t come, maybe God would lead you to give to help us complete this much needed renovation. Our ladies are excited about the possibility of having a fresh, new updated residence and we are eager to complete the project. Would you pray about how God might use you to help us

Over the past several years, we have made many great improvements on our campus. A new library was completed, with the old library being converted into “Bredin Suites,” a residence for many of our female students. Our main office was renovated and is now much more welcoming to guests. And last summer, we renovated two rooms in Liberty Hall (our girls’ dorm).

After seeing the finished result of the updated rooms, we have decided to move ahead and continue working

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to Libby and together they have three children: Lisa, Laurie, and David.

see this project through? Consider making NBBI your mission field this summer.

We hope to see you on our campus!

Bow Down or Burn Up

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Spring Bible Conference May 1 - 3, 2020

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JOHN HOAG May 6, 13 Cornerstone Bible Church Burtts Corner, NB Prayer Meetings

You’re invited...

2020

MATTHEW LITTLE June 17-26 Camp Good News Livermore Falls, ME Christian Youth In Action

Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” The unexpected turns of life can frustrate us and leave us confused and discouraged. Will we trust God and hang on or let go and start journeying on our own? The past number of weeks have put us all on high alert and caused us to examine our lives and contemplate how fragile and unpredictable they are. Man, in all of his arrogance, has been put on notice and forced to admit that we are not in control like we think we are.

Do you feel like you’re at the end of your rope? Have the pressures of life and the unexpected turns that it has taken left you with more questions than answers? These moments have not caught our God off guard.

In fact, they are defining moments of truth in a believer’s life. What we cannot forget is that Satan lives for moments of turmoil and despair in our lives. It is when he does his best work. But it is also when our faith should shine the brightest. In speak-

ing to the divided Corinthian believers, Paul said, “For there must be heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.” 1 Corinthians 11:19. Moments of great trial and testing are when the believer’s light ought to shine the brightest. In Daniel 3:17 the three friends of Daniel chose not to bow to the Babylonian king’s statue and risked certain death by doing so.

They said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”

Notice three qualities of someone who faces life-challenges but refuses to bow down.

First, their motivation for service is not what God does for them but who He is to them. These three Hebrew teenagers said “the God whom we serve is able to deliver us but if he doesn’t deliver us we will not serve your gods.” Many Christians that bow in the moment of crisis or cave when life’s difficulties come

have unfortunately developed a “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” mentality in their relationship with God. Is your willingness to persevere in the Christian life linked to God’s willingness to make the journey light and easy. God forbid.

Second, they will fear the God that loves them more than the difficulties that face them. These three Hebrew men feared the God that loved them more than the king that hated them. Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” They showed an absolute confidence in God and they realized they would do more harm to themselves by forsaking God and having their lives spared than they would by trusting God and losing their lives.

No wonder Jesus said in Luke 12:4-5, “And I say unto you my friends, Be not Continued inside...

Please note: We are continually monitoring all information concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.

In light of this ongoing situation, meetings posted in this bulletin may be cancelled. For further updates, visit our website, call us closer to the time of the event or call the venue of the event.

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...Focus continued afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.” A believer that truly fears God will not allow life’s trials to so easily dissuade him from following the path of righteousness.

Third, they will be content to

leave the outcomes in the hand of God. Daniel 3:17 starts with the words “If it be” as they spoke of God’s ability to deliver them from the fiery furnace but verse 18 starts with “But if not” speaking of the possibility that God could allow them to perish in the fire. How could these men maintain such an attitude? The answer is found in verse 17 which once again states, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out

of thine hand, O King.” (Italics mine).

Did you catch it? Whether these men escaped death by fire or were subject to it, they were already delivered because they belonged to God and they were safe in His hands. No human circumstance or action could ever change that.

COVID-19 UPDATE

Remember, it is better to suffer than it is to sin. These Hebrew men knew it was better to die with their integrity than to live with sin. They would rather burn up than bow down.

These past weeks have brought changes to our lives that we did not anticipate. Fortunately, Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” As a child of God I trust that you are clinging to the security and stability that only our Saviour can bring.

As a ministry, we want to outline for you what has happened at NBBI as a result of this recent pandemic and how you can more affectively pray for us during these days ahead. As the students’ March break was drawing to a close, the coronavirus was beginning to spread in both Canada and the United States. Our Board of Directors opted to extend the March break another week (March 16-29) to give the school time to assess the situation and

FIELD TRIP

BY ISAAC ORTIZ To Mexico

Seventeen of us got on a plane to the largest city in North America. Then, after nine hours on the road, we visited Ejutla, a small town in the state of Oaxaca where the church in Mexico City plans to start a small mission.

Planning a missions’ trip entails many months of meetings, prayers and sometimes even some tears. There was much uncertainty about this trip, but God remained faithful. One of the things that I kept reminding my fellow students was that the main purpose of this trip was to learn and to encourage.

I am Isaac Ortiz, a third-year student from Mexico. By God’s grace I had the privilege to go, alongside many wonderful students, to my home town and other places in warm Mexico.

There were many difficulties getting to Mexico. Many of us struggled with resources and it seemed, more than once, that the trip would have to be cancelled, but the faithful prayers of the believers and the riches of our God got us there.

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If I had to choose a key phrase for the trip, it would be “a feeling of inadequacy.” Many of us encountered the harsh reality of our obvious limitations. Stepping out of our comfort zone was a challenge in itself, but also the reality of ministering to others with deep needs revealed, in a raw manner, our lack of preparedness. This has inspired me and others to prepare better to present ourselves as workers that need not be ashamed.

That was the learning part of the trip but God did not just want to teach us something. In His infinite mercy, He allowed us to see the youth in Mexico being encouraged by their brothers and sisters from other parts of the world who were not idle but working hard for Christ.

During our time there, Josue Castillo, as a young man from Roca Eterna Baptist

Church in Mexico City, dedicated his life to the service of God! If this was all that came about from our trip to Mexico, it would be worth it, but our good Lord had more in store. A few came to know Christ, the seed was planted in the hearts of many, and the Church in the City is now, more than ever, committed to starting a mission in the colourful state of Oaxaca.

Continue to pray for Mexico, the students that went on the trip, the youth in Roca Eterna and the mission that will be established.

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 15:58

BY MATTHEW LITTLE

see how things would further develop.

In the meantime, we also cancelled our March “Encounter” teen retreat that had close to 300 teenagers registered. We also canceled our College for a Day. As the extended March break week came to a close, we realized the harsh reality that our students would not be returning to our campus at that time. Our staff and faculty worked hard and the school implemented an online learning platform that would enable our students to continue their studies from home. This platform involved two live classes a day, where students logged in and a teacher lectured from the school. The system we used, webex.com, was introduced to us by one of our board members. Along with the two live classes, students had two recorded lectures that they had to listen to throughout the course of that day, along with their usual assignments and

exams. Even with this online platform up and running, our goal was still to have our students back at NBBI in the classroom. On Tuesday, March 24, the Board of Directors met and made the hard decision to suspend on-campus classes for the remainder of the academic year. Our online platform would continue. At the time of writing this article, our Spring Conference has not been cancelled but we ask you to visit our website, nbbi.ca, regularly for updates regarding this. This coming Spring Conference was to be our 75th anniversary celebration and we are sad that the on-campus school year had to end. Having said that, we are confident that God has a plan in all of this and we are trusting Him and waiting patiently for His will to be revealed. I am certain you feel the same as COVID-19 has disrupted the normalcy of your life also.

Here are a few things we would ask you to earnestly pray about.

Pray for the financial needs of the school. Many ministries have felt the financial blow of this recent pandemic and we are no exception.

Pray for enrolment for next year.

We had to cancel our “Encounter” Teen Retreat and our “College for a Day”. We have also cancelled our music tours for this Spring. These events are all times in which there is a heavy emphasis on recruitment. We are trusting God to bring students to our campus for the fall of 2020 even though many of these recruitment events were canceled.

Pray for our current students who have been confused and had to wrestle with what became the new norm, studying from home. They will be finishing up their year as you recieve this bulletin.

They would all prefer to be here with their friends and classmates.

Pray for our staff and faculty as we adjust to these uncertain times.

Thank you for being such a crucial part of this ministry. Your interest, prayer and financial support are so appreciated.

We also want to let you know that we are launching something exciting during this time. We have included a link below which will enable you to keep even more up-to-date with our ministry. If you visit the site below you will receive weekly updates from the school, articles, short devotional videos, pictures of recent

events, old archived messages from past speakers and current prayer requests.

We will seek to update the site every week and provide new content. nbbi.ca/connect Let’s remember the words of Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” God has good in store for us and He has a righteous end that we are all journeying towards if we know Jesus as our personal Saviour. Give Him the wheel and trust Him to lead the way.