B.A.S.I.C. NEWSLETTER #240
B.A.S.I.C. NEWSLETTER #240
I Cor.. 16:9 ‘For a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
May 15, 2013
Uganda
Pastor Nathanael Mayhew had been working with Pastor Samuel and we pray that fellowship can exist between the CLC and his people. Here is a recent report on the work in Uganda from Pastor Samuel.
Oh thanks for your encouraging mail!!
Pastor Nathanael Mayhew had been working with Pastor Samuel and we pray that fellowship can exist between the CLC and his people. Here is a recent report on the work in Uganda from Pastor Samuel.
Oh thanks for your encouraging mail!!
I had travelled to Northern region -Lira for mission encouragement trip to our people mostly, and to pay a visit to Pastor ociti who lost his daughter 25years, last month, and also pay a pastoral visit to the hospital to pray and share with another Pastor Rev.Obong who is suffering from high blood pressure!!
Two days ago , we were sharing with Christians about how to identify a healthy church ,I mean the indicators and that is what we want our confessional Lutheran church to be in Uganda !
We were formerly with The Lutheran Church mission in Uganda,LCMS and I was their president in 2004 within 6 months with other Pastors , and had to resign due to persecutions and tribalism in the church!
With our group since 2004, with the grace of God we are having 5 congregations in Lira,Apac, Gulu, and worshiping in a house in Kampala!!
We are having 1000 Christians , 3 Pastors, 5 evangelists!! With me I hold a diploma of vocation for ministry from Lutheran Seminary Ghana 1998-2002.T.E.E-1995-1997CERTIFICATE. The rest of the Pastors are TEE graduates from 2000-2006. Our plan is to continue with church planting and training of pastors program for the next five years to come in our own seminary in kampala or Lira in Uganda!! Keep us in your prayers!! Pastor samuel Uganda
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HOPE
Introduction– Charles Dickens, the English novelist, wrote a book entitled“Great Expectations” about a young boy named Pip. This child goes through much turmoil and difficulties in his life but with great expectations. We as Christians have the greatest of expectations, though now our life may be filled with toil, turmoil and trouble. Our end though is beyond all our expectations in bliss and glory. The word translated as ‘hope’ in both the Old Testament and the New Testament means ‘expectation’. In this study we Christians look ahead to what is guaranteed by the concrete reality of Christ and His victory, even though now at times we may be beset as Pip was with situations beyond his control. Of course for us nothing is beyond God’s control and ultimate giving of good to us. The Communists mock the Christians about their ‘Pie in the sky when you die.’ Our adversaries will be so disappointed in the end but we will be gaining all that was promised and more than we can comprehend.
My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand. TLH 370 st. 1
Love
“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His steadfast love.” Ps. 33:18 Our expectation is based on what great love our God has for us. His love does not diminish over time, nor should our hope. There is no rust that covers it over and obscures it. There is no mildew and mold that distorts how it looks in our faith view. As a matter of fact, the longer we are a Christian and steadily approach our end, the greater does it shine in our mind’s eye.
“For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Rom. 8:24-25 We cannot see completely what is in store for us in heaven, but we can through the Scriptures see the concrete reality of Jesus on the cross and arisen from the grave. This we can understand from the divine record, while what is awaiting us in heaven is delightfully beyond our ken. Just as we see God’s love for us on the cross, so we know He will not fail us with what awaits us in heaven.
“Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Art Thou not He, O Lord our God? We set our hope on Thee, for Thou doest all these things.” Jer. 14:22 As Jeremiah also says elsewhere, God’s mercies are new every morning even in the midst of judgments falling on this earth. In the little things of everyday life we see God’s hand of love protecting, giving, guiding. As with the little, so with the great He does all things well. Here we in our weakness want a bird in the hand which the saying goes is worth more than two in the bush. Ah, but hope tells us what is unseen and awaiting you in heaven is worth far more than what you have now. In our weakness we like to see, feel, touch, hold and possess. Faith in the unseen God means based on His love we anticipate what is laid up for us in heaven. When we refocus on heaven in hope we find we are far better able to cope here. When we focus on this earth things begin to fall apart and crumble. How much better to live in hope looking back to the cross and forward to eternity with Him!
It is in the Word of God that we read that our hope is laid up in heaven. Col. 1:5 This is why we need to read and study the Word of truth day after day to keep our focus and to treasure and enjoy our life now in anticipation of greater treasure and joy there, the riches of the glory of the mystery. Col. 1:27 And now when we have Christ Jesus in our heart, we have that hope of glory. What a joy it is to be a Christian!
When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on his unchanging grace;
In ev’ry high and stormy gale My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand. 370 st. 2
Joy
Everybody wants to be happy, but so few know how to be. For us even in the face of toil, trouble and turmoil our anchor holds and we rejoice. “…we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, know that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.”Rom. 5:2-5 As we contemplate what awaits us in heaven, the difficulties we face here pale and diminish in comparison and in importance.
“Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God…” Ps. 146:5 Our Lord taught about the two men; one who built his house on the rock, and one who built his house on the sand. What a difference in results: blessing or disaster, joy or sorrow. “The hope of the righteous ends in gladness, but the expectation of the wicked comes to nought.” Prov. 10:28 Some gladden their heart with wine and food. Some gladden their heart with the accumulation of wealth and property. We gladden our heart knowing the treasure in heaven cannot be affected by anything on this earth. Crop failure can affect wine and food. Economic downturns can affect property value. But our treasure is in heaven where moth and rust cannot consume and where thieves cannot break in and steal.
Do people see us as ones whose anchor holds in storm and gale? Can people see we are different from the worldling? You are those“having eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints…” Eph. 1:18 Let us keep our eyes open to the Word that details our treasure in heaven that we expect though it will surpass what human words can only partially describe.
His oath, His covenant, and blood support me in the whelming flood;
When ev’ry earthly prop gives way, He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand. 370 st. 3
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Pastor David Koenig