The Berthoud Bugle: The Grace of Christ
- berthoudfoursquare
- Apr 1
- 9 min read
Updated: May 10
Volume 2025: Edition 36
Food for thought: A Beautiful Reminder
Hello everyone. We thank you for your love and support for our Church and our family. Please continue to pray for our church, our pastor and his leadership, and our church leaders as we move forward into this year. We are so blessed and grateful for the growth in our church, the ability to share our messages and newsletters with our viewers, and the strengthening of our church family and viewers as a congregation and as individuals. We strive to bring encouragement and connection through this newsletter, which we will continue to post every 1st of the month. So, we hope you will continue to learn and grow in God's word with us.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
(John 1:1-5)
With Easter around the corner, I wanted to share this story that was passed along to me. This story is a beautiful reminder for all of mankind of what God does in our lives and why we should never take our hearts and minds off God or take for granted His grace and mercy towards us. He gives us every breath throughout the day that He made for us, even as we fall deep into a world that wants nothing more than to make us forget who our creator is. So, remember to take every and any moment throughout your day to give thanks to our Lord who saved us all.
And with that, ponder this story for a moment:
Why did God create evil?
A professor at the university asked his students the following question: - Everything that exists was created by God? One student bravely answered:
- Yes, created by God.
- Did God create everything? - The professor asked.
“Yes, sir,” replied the student.
The professor asked: - If God created everything, then God created evil, since it exists. And according to the principle that our deeds define ourselves, then God is evil.
The student became silent after hearing such an answer. The professor was very pleased with himself. He boasted to students for proving once again that faith in God is a myth.
Another student raised his hand and said:
- Can I ask you a question, professor?
"Of course," replied the professor.
A student got up and asked:- Professor, is cold a thing?
- What kind of question is that? Of course it exists. Have you ever been cold?
Students laughed at the young man's question. The young man answered:
- Actually, sir, cold doesn't exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is actually the absence of heat. A person or object can be studied to determine whether it has or transmits energy. Absolute zero (-460 degrees Fahrenheit) is a complete absence of heat. All matter becomes inert and unable to react at this temperature. Cold does not exist. We created this word to describe what we feel in the absence of heat.
A student continued: - Professor, does darkness exist?
— Of course it exists.
- You're wrong again, sir. Darkness also does not exist. Darkness is actually the absence of light. We can study the light but not the darkness. We can use Newton's prism to spread white light across multiple colors and explore the different wavelengths of each color. You can't measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into the world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you tell how dark a certain space is? You measure how much light is present. Isn't it so? Darkness is a term man uses to describe what happens in the absence of light.
In the end, the young man asked the professor: - Sir, does evil exist?
This time it was uncertain, the professor answered: - Of course, as I said before. We see him every day. Cruelty, numerous crimes and violence throughout the world. These examples are nothing but a manifestation of evil.
To this, the student answered: - Evil does not exist, sir, or at least it does not exist for itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is like darkness and cold—a man-made word to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not faith or love, which exist as light and warmth. Evil is the result of the absence of Divine love in the human heart. It’s the kind of cold that comes when there is no heat, or the kind of darkness that comes when there’s absence of light.
(Author unknown)
“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”
(John 8:12)
It is amazing how God spreads His grace and mercy throughout a fallen world.
He paid the ultimate price to save mankind, and all He asks of us it to believe and follow Him.
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.”
(Psalm 1:1-6)
As we end this month's newsletter, I want to end it with a monthly Q &A with our pastor Esteban (Steve) Salazar jr. I hope you enjoy.
Q&A with Pastor Stevie
Me
Pastor Stevie
With Easter just a few weeks away now, and as Christians knowing the deep importance of our Lord's death and resurrection,
1. What would you say as followers of Christ, should we be doing in the lead up to Easter?
What is the true meaning of Easter? And what does it mean to each one of us? It’s a time to remember the sacrifice that Christ made for each and every single person. A reminder that the blood that was shed on that cross was the ultimate and pure sacrifice for all of us to enter into His kingdom, which granted us free salvation.
2. Shouldn’t our Daily lives be a reminder that Easter and Christmas are not just to be remembered every holiday season, but in our hearts and minds daily?
They should be daily reminders for each person to remember that what God intended first was the birth of a king that would rule over mankind. People cried out to God for a ruler, not realizing that He would be the king of kings and the savior of this falling world. That’s what makes Easter so powerful and important to humanity: that God came in the flesh to walk among them. Yet they still couldn’t believe that He stood before their very eyes. He was performing miracles, and they still didn’t believe. So they had him crucified because of their man-made traditions. He was nailed to a cross for the religious beliefs and traditions of man, but then He did the most powerful and extraordinary miracle yet: he rose from the dead after 3 days in the grave. That’s what makes Christmas and Easter so powerful and special. It’s not about what these holidays represent to the world, but it’s what they mean to the believer. It means the gift of eternal life to those who believe.
3. What do you, as our pastor, do to prepare for the Holy Week and Easter Sunday?
I treat the week leading up to Easter with gratitude, humility, and thankfulness. I know what Christ went through was a journey that nobody else would have ever done, but He did it for us all out of love and gave us hope in this fallen world that we live in. I thank God every day, and I am grateful for all that he’s done in my life. That’s what makes Easter so important to me. That’s what makes this time so special. We all should take time out of our lives and reflect on what Easter means to each one of us
The last question is more of just asking you to please end this newsletter for us with a verse that is on your mind to help us prepare ourselves for celebrating Easter Sunday as true believers.
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
(John 11:25-26)
May we all open our minds and hearts to the creator of the universe. To our savior and redeemer. For His Holy Spirit to continue guiding our ways.
For His continued mercy and love.
Thank you, Lord, for saving us, Amen.
As this newsletter continues to grow and expand, please don’t be afraid to let us know if you are in need of prayer or support. And feel free to share your stories, your testimony, or just a quick question in the comments section below any of our links. We truly want to hear from you and do what we can to help because we are meant to be here to love, encourage, and support one another.
We are grateful to have you with us as readers, church members, and interested guests and we are always open to any suggestions and volunteers for our website, newsletter, and future activities. We hope to see you at our Sunday service and stay tuned for our coming newsletters and updates at church, at bible study, on Facebook, on our YouTube Channel, on the Wix App, and on the website.
Upcoming Events:
Special Prayers:
Pray for Rachel Salazar that the Lord provides her with comfort, Love, and peace
Pray for Lucy that the Lord continues to watch over and protect her
Pray for Jessie Salazar for his mental state and overall health
Pray for Melissa Anderson for healing and strength
Pray for Brandy Salazar for the healing of her kidneys
Pray for Nicole Rodriguez for her upcoming Kidney Transplant Surgery
Pray for Jax and the healing and strengthening of his body
Pray for Gloria and her family for guidance and strength
Pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ in the Bangladesh Education Program for slum community children, where both parents and children are engaged with the Good News. Pray for the provision of all necessary resources to support this program and for their ministry.
Pray for our Newsletter that we can continue to write through the Holy Spirit
Pray for our Pastor and our church that we may be blessed to continue to grow and share the word of God
Weekly Devotional: The Kingdom and the Cross
Verse of the Week:
" Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him."
(Isaiah 53:1-3)
Announcements:
Starting this month, we will be having a fellowship meeting after the first or second Sunday service of every month. This meeting is an important time to have fun together and get to know each other as a church family. If you would like to lead a Fellowship meeting for this year, please sign up on the Church Bulletin board.
Saturday April 12th we will be doing a deep spring clean for the church as a group. If you haven't yet signed up to help for the clean-up, you can still sign up on the Church Bulletin or show up on the morning of April 12th to help. Breakfast and Lunch will be provided to all who come to help.
Easter is on its way! If you would like to participate in Easter service this year by presenting one of the 7 words, playing/performing a song special, reading a poem or speech, or helping us to prepare and set up breakfast; please let Pastor Stevie or Taylor know by April 13th.
We are excited to say that we are now printing and mailing our newsletters to our subscribers. All active Church Members will be mailed the newsletter, but they will have the option to opt out of mailed newsletters with the slip sent in each month's mailed edition. If you are not an active Church Member but would like to join our mailing list, please
We would love to send out the newsletter personally to every member as well as pray for and celebrate birthdays and anniversaries together as a church family. We are asking for all of our members to fill out the member information card either in church or through the mail after they've received their mailed newsletter.
Questions?
For any questions or suggestions regarding our newsletter please email berthoudfoursquarechurch@gmail.com
Dear Pastor,
Warm Greetings in the Name of the Lord Jesus. Thank you so much for the news letter. This news letter publish our prayer request and I believe that your continue prayer will be help to increase God ministry in Bangladesh. Thanks & best wishes. Pastor Jagodish Karmokar, Bangladesh