Honor The Gifts God Gives To You!

September 2014

Dear Friend,

Normally I write a monthly letter that I hope is a blessing to you, the Reader. I've been stirred to write an additional one as we enter October in less than a week.

It may not be known to those of us living outside the U.S.A but apparently October has been recognized by churches in America as "Clergy Appreciation Month" where (I assume) ministry workers and pastors are recognized for their work towards caring for their congregation and the people who they reach out to.

The Apostle Paul, in his writings to the church in Ephesus, writes about the ministry gifts given by Christ to them (the church); and the purpose for those gifts. Read Ephesians 4:7-8 with me:

Eph 4:7-8 (NKJV)
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.8 Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He (being Jesus) led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men."

When Jesus ascended back to the Father, it's an obvious statement to make that He gave us the Holy Spirit, who is our primary or main Teacher. But at the same time, He also gave us other gifts; men and women specially called, separated and anointed by Him to be a blessing to us! Read also Ephesians 4:11-16:

Eph 4:11-16 (NKJV)

11 And He Himself (being Jesus again) gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,

12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head -- Christ --

16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

The two main purposes I can see why He gave us those gifts are:

1. To equip us (the saints) to do what we're called to do.

2. To build (edify) us up (the Body of Christ).

And by doing so, I see three things coming about as a result:

1. We come into maturity as sons and daughters of God. (v13)

2. We don't get carried away by deceitful doctrines designed to stumble us. (v14)

3. We are more than able to build each other up in love, adding our individual supply to further edify the body. (v15-16)

Paul writes of himself and other workers, addressing themselves as we read in 1 Corinthians 3:9

1 Cor 3:9 (NKJV)

9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building.

Not only should we remember that these gifts are given by God to us; we should also remember that these gifts are also people; men and women who give their all so as to do what they're called to do: Follow God, Preach the Gospel, Teach the Word, Love People.

We can say that when they serve, they serve God and not men (Ephesians 6:7). Sometimes we see them as infallible, and we expect them to be perfect. We should remember this however: They're still human. They still have feelings, tough situations like the rest of us! Some of them have to bear not just their own burdens, but other people's burdens too (especially the pastors!) But they still carry on, doing what they're called to do in spite of it!

So as we enter October, take time to just honor these gifts; these men and women who God has placed into your lives. Love them, appreciate them, be a blessing to them!

Paul encouraged the church in Galatians 6:6:

Gal 6:6 (NKJV)

Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.

Context wise, it could be referring to helping meet the financial needs of those who teach and preach the gospel; but it's MORE than just money (although it helps!).

You could do some of the following:

1. Pray for them

2. Call them up and tell them just how much you appreciate them (or use social media like FaceBook!)

3. Help out more in the church  (my recommended one as it makes life easier, having more hands helping out!)

4. Bless them financially (sticking to context - it doesn't have to be a big sum)

I'll close with an instruction Jesus gave His disciples in John 15:22:

John 15:12 (NKJV)

12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

To those of you who choose to follow the call God has for you, I just honor you for who you are and pray for you; that you will not only run that race set before you with joy, but that at the end when you stand before your Father, you'll hear, "Well Done". I'm believing that your needs will be met as you follow Him and His call.

Love,

Ken

> P.S: I'm just a layman, so I can afford to wax eloquent in this letter. I'm dependent on God to meet my needs as much as anybody else is, whether in ministry or not. So this is NOT a letter aimed at appealing for money for my own personal needs. Thanks!

You Are Greatly Loved, Dearly Prized!

September 2014

Dearly Beloved,

It may seem odd to you that I address you; the Reader, so intimately, though I may not know you personally but I have a perfectly valid reason for doing so, as you will come to realize.

If there is one core thing that people continually search for, no matter which part of the world they are in; whether they be American, Chinese, Middle Eastern, or any other race: it's to be loved and accepted.

I strongly believe that this lack of genuine love is the core reason for the aching void that is ever present within us; and we seek to fill that void using any means possible. We search for love in all the wrong places, somewhat hoping that if we found 'The Right One', we'll fill that hole. In this fruitless search, we go from relationship to relationship, from one bed to the next, only to be thrown back into despair at our failure to obtain love, or what we perceive to be love

The truth of the matter is this: we ARE LOVED!

By using the Bible as my point of reference, I see it as a story of God's Love towards us, His creation. As we look at it through His eyes of Love, we'll get a clearer picture as to the depths of His Love for us personally, as a father has love for his children!

In Genesis, we see Man's fall from grace as a result of disobedience. Judgement follows as a result of that fall. However, we still find the love of God even in the midst of Man's Fall. Read Genesis 3:21 with me,

Gen 3:21 (NKJV)
21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

For God to make tunics of skin to clothe Man, the blood of animals had to be shed. In this, we see a shadow of what was to take place almost 4,000 years later at Calvary, where Jesus shed His own blood once and for all, that we too could put on clothes; robes of righteousness as was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 61:10:

Isa 61:10 (NKJV)
10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

The word 'Righteousness' is a heavy word in theology, but I like to simply define it as 'right standing'. We have right standing with God because of what was paid for us 2,000 years ago on the Cross!

The Son of God came to die for all of us; as frail as we are; that we could be reconciled back to God. John 3:16 is the most familiar passage in the Bible:

John 3:16 (NKJV)
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

I really like how the Amplified Translation renders John 3:16,

John 3:16 (AMP)
16 For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ( unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.

You and I were (and still are) so greatly loved and dearly prized by God that He was MORE than willing to give up Jesus for us! A Divine Exchange took place: He (Jesus) took our sin and we received His right standing with God, where we are righteous because of Him, as the Apostle Paul write in 2 Corinthians 5:21

2 Cor 5:21 (NKJV)
21 For He (God) made Him (being Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

What was the main motive behind all this? LOVE.

Read John 15:13 with me, where Jesus speaks to His disciples:

John 15:13 (NKJV)

13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.

He, being Jesus; laid down His own life willingly in order that you and I could live, loved by God as His very own children. Paul expresses it passionately in Romans 5:8,

Rom 5:8 (NKJV)

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, CHRIST DIED FOR US.

Because the New Testament was written in Greek, there are a number of meanings for the word 'demonstrates', where some of it means to show, prove, establish, exhibit. 

I like that! It tells me just how much my God loved you and I, that He not only said He loved us and left it at that; He made a public display (exhibit) of it! He set it up on a firm and permanent basis (establish) that can't be denied! He PROVED His own Love for us by having His very own Son die for us!

So know this; that you and I ARE LOVED by God! We have a privilege to be called 'Dearly Beloved'; because that's how God see us: as His Beloved!

My prayer for you as we enter October in less than a week is as Paul prayed for the Church in Ephesians 3:18-19 (I'll use the Passion Translation for this one), that:

Eph 3:18-19

..you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences - the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is His love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement, beyond academic knowledge - this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with all the fullness of God!

Know that you are deeply loved by God.

Love,

Ken