HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF OUR PARTNERS IN MISSIONS

On behalf of our entire family we wish you a “Happy & Prosperous New Year!” Our prayer is that every eldership, congregation and individual reading this will be blessed with good health and happy days. We pray for each precious individual and dedicated congregation that you will reap the blessings from your love and sacrifices to give to missions. I believe the Bible is God’s Word and I believe every promise found in its pages. God’s Word says: “Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” This text states that the giving comes first and then the reaping. Notice it says, “give” and then it will be “given.” Not maybe, but will be given to you. What comes first? Yes that is right, the giving. Then following the giving comes the receiving. Who is going to do the giving? God is going to do the giving! Do you have faith that this text means what it states?

That which is given from God comes after we have demonstrated our love for Him and we have ourselves given to Him and His work. What is going to be given to you for your faithfulness in giving? The verse states that the faithful giver will receive, “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.” What does this mean to all of you who have given so generously this past year to help Christ’s message of reconciliation be preached in so many places around the world? It means that you are going to be blessed of God in a marvelous manner. You are going to receive as you have given. We are blessed by God with spiritual blessings as well as physical blessings. God also gives us health and well being. The text states: “For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” I personally believe that this is true, don’t you? Therefore, you who have given so generously this past year will be blessed accordingly.

I am praying asking God to bless every eldership, congregation and individual that has helped us purchase the land, build eight well constructed buildings, furnish those eight buildings and pay for operational funds to operate Philippine Theological college. I am asking God to bless those who gave so generously to build the wonderful church building at Tuschen Guyana, provide a van for daily evangelism, provide funds for a feeding program and help provide the salary for a Guyanese preacher to work and serve at Tuschen. I am asking God to bless those who helped those of us in the Open Door Ministry to work in Russia, the Philippines and Guyana in 2010. May God bless each of you in this New Year! Read Proverbs 3:9-10; Malachi 3:8-10 and embrace the truth that God will not let your giving go unnoticed but will literally fill your barns with plenty and open the windows of Heaven and pour out such blessings that there will not be room enough to receive it.

How will we accomplish the work of the Open Door Ministry in 2011? We’ll accomplish the work by faith, just like we have every year that this ministry has existed. I pray God will increase our faith in 2011. I pray we’ll not hold back and move by sight but rather by faith. The Impala in Africa only stands about three feet tall. However, it can run about 50 mph, and is known for its ability to jump. It can jump as high as 9-10 feet and leap a distance of 30 feet in one leap. But, when they are brought to the US and put in zoos and kept behind a wall about 3 or 4 feet high they don’t jump out. That is remarkable! Why don’t they jump out? Apparently they will not jump unless they can see where they are going to land. Sadly, many in the church today operate in a similar fashion. They will not make a decision to move forward unless they are able to see clearly how everything is going to work out and where they are “going to land.” Faith is lacking in the lives of many congregations and individuals in America today.

I challenge all who read this article to have faith and take the leap with us in 2011. We plan to do in this New Year what we have done the past 20 years of our work and take giant leaps for God without always seeing where we will land. We plan to put our faith in God and His precious Son knowing that everything is going to be all right. We plan to ask God to increase our faith. We have some huge financial challenges facing us in 2011. Some have dropped their support as we enter into 2011. We need to raise $2,900 of monthly support for PTC and I need to raise $850 for my mission fund and those two needs begin in January 2011. We will not despair because we truly believe and know that God is in control and everything is going to be all right. All we can do is request that everyone who has helped us get to where we are today rally and allow God to work through you in 2011. We have some mountain top challenges before us in 2011. Let us all demonstrate a great faith. God will bless us.

Demar, Dixie and “Big John”