January, 2015
Dear friend,
Happy New Year! It is with great joy in our hearts that we are in touch with you again this new year. We trust that you and your loved ones are well in God's divine care. We are really excited about being alive and starting the new year with you as well. God be praised for giving us more days to continue this work of reconciliation. For us here at PFC, to live is truly gain! We are committed to continuing this work as Christ's messengers (Philipians1:21), helping you grow in your relationship with God.
For many people a new year is a new start. The expectations of people are usually very high. I do not know about you really. What thoughts do you have about the year? For the average religious Christian who is reading this letter now, your thoughts might be sometime like ' I am going to serve God better' I'm going to go to church more often', I'm going to stop sinning' , 'pray more regularly', I need to get more serious with God, 'I need to stop those bad habits' etc. Sounds like the resolutions or thoughts you had at the beginning of 2014, right? Yes they sound very familiar. We do not need to even start reminding ourselves of how woeful we did at achieving all that. Perhaps we achieved some but was God impressed?
Thoughts like this remind me of the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-41. Jesus, the Almighty God in flesh was in their house. This is the same Jesus who had raised their brother, Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus had been dead for four days before Jesus raised him up from the dead in a true demonstration of the power of God. This same Jesus was a guest in their house.
I would like you to honestly answer this question: ‘what would be the most important thing to do when Jesus visits your house?’ In the most sincere pious voice, I can here you say 'serve Him' or 'worship Him'. Surely that sounds right and proper. Martha was doing just that. She was making sure that Jesus was really comfortable in their house and that He would be served the best food. Mary on the other hand sat at Jesus feet listening to Him! Really?
Please note that if we had only Mary’s in the house, Jesus and his disciples were going to starve that day but Jesus didn't seem to mind. He not only continues to talk to Mary but He tells Martha that she has done the 'one needful thing'. Jesus said only one thing was needful. In other words only one thing was required- listening to Jesus. Mary sought to know His heart. She sought relationship! It always amazes me that Paul who had such a great revelation of the new covenant, still desired to know God (Philipians3:10). This is eternal life. 'And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ' (John 17:3 ASV).
God has been misrepresented grossly today in our society. He has been painted as one who cause us pain, who is always angry at us when we sin, who is very keen to punish sinners, to mention but a few. The truth is that these lies are more rampant in churches today than in the world.
We need to know God- discover His true nature which has been revealed to us in Christ Jesus. Jesus died to reveal to us the true loving nature of God. God is not angry at mankind. Yes he is not even in a bad mood. He has lavished his love on you and me (1John3:1). All we need to do now is receive his love and grow in our relationship with him. I encourage you dear friend to come on this journey of rediscovering the true nature of this loving God. Be reconciled to him!
Here at PFC, we consider it a privilege to be on this journey with you of uncovering the true nature of God, which results in tremendous growth in your relationship with Him. Once again, here is wishing you a blessed year. I believe this would be your best year yet, for the path of the righteous only shines on brighter and brighter (Proverbs 4:18).
Please do not hesitate to send us questions regarding this letter or any other questions you might have. We always look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Izeiru Weli
For Pens For Christ.