"…we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken."
(Heb. 12:28)
All over the world God is 'shaking thing up' -- or down! He has been shaking up our economy in America. In Europe -- which is in what many call the 'post-Christian era,' He is shaking up entire countries to the verge of total economic collapse. Much of the Moslem world is being shaken up by the 'Arab Spring' that is a grass-roots yearning for freedom and democracy. But sadly, the 'Arab spring' is rapidly turning into an 'Arab winter' as Islamic fundamentalists and radicals take more and more control.
In addition to economic and political shaking, there is ecological shaking taking place on a global scale. Whether through tsunamis, hurricanes, tornados, wild fires, floods -- or earthquakes like Haiti experienced in 2010, things are shaking all over the world. Many years ago the pop singer, Jerry Lee Lewis wrote a song that said: "A whole lot of shaking going on!" While he was singing about the shaking of the body through dancing, there is a more intense shaking going on today! It is a shaking that is touching the farthest corners of the earth and the deepest parts of the human spirit. Many are asking themselves: "What's going on?!"
The Bible gives a clear answer to that probing question. Here it is:
"Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. The words 'once more' indicate the removing of what can be shaken -- that is, created things -- so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe" (Heb. 12:26-28).
So God is "shaking things up and down" so that His Kingdom can come -- which cannot be shaken! That's His agenda through the ages. That's why He has ultimately shaken to destruction every human kingdom that has been contrary to His eternal Kingdom! Egypt experienced it. Babylon experienced it. Rome experienced it. America is experiencing it. Ultimately the whole world will increasingly experience His shaking!
But here's the good news: "Do not fear little flock for your Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom" (Luke 12:32). That's your only hope and security! Our only hope is in God's "Unshakable Kingdom" (Heb. 12:28) and His "Unchanging Christ!" (Heb. 13:8). That's the message we took to Haiti.
Please take a few moments to look at the following pictures and video from that trip in commemoration of the Second Anniversary of the killer earthquake. God is mightily at work there -- and you are a vital part of it through your prayers and financial partnership!
"After Jesus was born…Magi from the east came to Jerusalem…to worship Him."
(Matt. 2:1-2)
Dear Friends & Partners,
Happy & Holy New Year's Blessings to each of you! Now that Christmas has passed and the New Year has come, we tend to 'pack up Jesus' along with the Christmas tree and decorations. We are eager to get back to 'business as usual.' But Christmas was a series of events, not just a solitary one on the night of His birth in Bethlehem that we celebrate on December 25th.
Historically, the church has also celebrated the 'coming of the Wise Men' on January 6th. It is called 'Epiphany' from the Greek word, Epiphaneia, meaning 'manifestation' or 'appearance.' This day commemorates the time sometime after Jesus' birth when He was revealed to the Gentile Magi -- showing that He was not just 'King of the Jews,' but God's Messiah for the whole world.
Matthew reminds us of this 'Gentile Epiphany' with these words:
"When they saw the star they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh" (Matt. 2:10-11).
So Biblically speaking, 'gift giving' is associated with Epiphany more than with Christmas Day. But since Christmas reminds us that God is a giving God,giving is appropriate any and every day of the year!
I am sharing with you Christmas pictures from some of our dear national partners, click here to see them. We have been able to give gifts to them this past year because of the gifts you have given us. So as you look at their pictures, I hope you will have a special spiritual Epiphany – a fresh manifestation of the Lord Jesus, through these precious friends and partners you have invested in through your love, prayers and financial support.
Finally, as you read this email, I will be back in Haiti for a weekend of ministry related to the second anniversary of the killer earthquake. Be watching for my report upon my return next week…
Sharing His Epiphany,
JL
PS: I hope you will also click on a timely Christmas message from one of our Christian partners in Nepal that I just received. I think you will be blessed and challenged as you enter this New Year.
Dear Friend & Partners…As you do your last minute Christmas Shopping, don't forget to also do some shopping for Jesus! In case you missed it before, here is our 'Christmas Shopping List' that has some great buys and bargains for advancing the Kingdom of God! So follow the example of the Wise Men and give some gifts to Jesus by giving to the "…least of His brothers" (Matt. 25:40)…JL
"…they saw the child….and they bowed down and worshiped him.
Then they opened their treasures and presented Him gifts…"
(Matt. 2:11).
Dear Friends & Partners,
As you know, Christmas is about giving. God demonstrated that by giving His Son to the world. Mary demonstrated that by giving her body to carry the Christ Child. Joseph demonstrated that by giving up his plans for God's plans. The wise men demonstrated that by giving of their time to seek and find the Baby Jesus. Then they demonstrated the spirit of Christmas by "...opening their treasures and presenting Him gifts."
While the magi gave their treasures and gifts to Jesus, we usually give them to each other. Certainly there is a place for giving gifts of love to family members and friends. But in the process, we should give our most costly treasures and gifts to the Lord Jesus!
For the last two weeks, it was my joy to be in Kenya, Africa, giving many gifts in the Name of the Lord Jesus. It is how I get ready for Christmas each year. I was there with a group of 6 other men -- and a boy, who were there to give of their time, talent, treasure and technology to the Samburu and Turkana tribes. We did all of this through our partnership with Stakewll Yurenimo.
Please take a few moments to enjoy these "African Christmas Gifts" through the pictures in the above slideshow. Many of you made these many gifts possible through your prayers and giving. So please take a few moments to unwrap the gifts you sent to Africa through us. It will bring added joy to your Christmas week.
When you receive this latest email blast, I will have just blasted off for Africa! So start praying NOW! This is my last mission trip for the year. And what an exciting way it will be for me to end my 2011 year of travels. It is also my favorite way to prepare for Christmas! It really gets me into the true spirit of Christmas. In fact, God has already given me a great Christmas gift from Africa. He literally bought this gift with His own blood -- in one of the worst shopping areas in the world! It is called Kibera. God does His Christmas shopping in some of the worst places on earth!
Kibera is a sprawling, smelly, sewage-strewn hell-hole located on the borders of the City of Nairobi. It is considered the first or second largest slum on the African continent.In Kibera, 1 million people are crammed into 1 square mile! No running water…no sewage system…no drainage…no paved roads… little or no electricity. Virtually all of the homes and buildings are built from sticks and mud covered in canvas and cardboard -- or tin for the lucky ones.
In Kibera, unemployment is off the charts. People live from hand-to-mouth. Most go to bed each night with empty stomachs. It is a breeding ground for poverty, ignorance, disease, witch-craft, prostitution and crime of every sort. HIV and other STDs are rampant. So are pregnancies out of wedlock. For many, the only temporary escape from their poverty and hopelessness is through alcohol, drugs, glue-sniffing and sexual promiscuity. And the only consistent education or medical opportunities available are made possible by private NGOs (Non-Government Organizations) -- but mostly by Christians working through the "slum churches" that dot Kibera.
Over two decades ago, the Lord led me into Kibera. In the natural, I wish He would never have taken me there. I was invited to Kenyatta Market where a sister-in-Christ was trying to feed 12 street children a cup of gruel and piece of bread each day around noon. It wasn't much, but it was better than the scraps of food the kids would find by foraging through garbage cans and dumpsters. This sister was out of money. She asked if I could help. I knew I could not walk away. So by faith I told her "Yes."
Before long we were able to move those 12 children from one meal a day to 3 hot meals a day. And in the following months the numbers grew: 50…100…200…300…500 -- 1,000! The feeding program soon evolved into a church. Then an informal school. Vocational programs were started to provide job skills and income. Later a medical clinic was established. All of these growing programs stretched me beyond my limits. So I turned to my associate, Larry Warren, for help. He quickly put his head, heart and hands into the project. When he put his hands to the plow, he never looked back -- to this very day.
This following testimony, by a young man named Vincent Missigo, will thrill your heart. He is a 'trophy of grace' from Kibera. We met him about 18 years ago when he was a young boy. He was one of those "street boys" God sovereignly connected us with through our partnership with Pastor Timothy Mulehi. This month, Vincent will graduate from Kenyatta University in Nairobi -- with honors! While this education and degree is his golden opportunity to leave Kibera forever -- he has gone back in. He now lives back there with 16 street boys who were just like him! Listen to how he recently expressed his desire to me in a email:
"My current and major plan is to give back to the community. Just the way I have been assisted, I would like to assist others from the slums to overcome the slum challenges by being firmly rooted in the Lord. I would like to work with the youths and the young ones especially from the slums.
Right now, I am working at a boy's hostel started by Mr. Larry Warren at Huruma slums here in Nairobi. These boys come from very pathetic conditions, just like I did. At this hostel, I act as their mentor and also their teacher of History and Kiswahili. They are 16 wonderful boys and we stay with them in a single room made of simple iron sheets. We basically share everything with them! When I shared my testimony with them, they were amazed and their hope in life was rekindled again! I feel so lifted when working with such people."
My friend, that's pay day for me! That's my MO. That's what gets me out of bed in the mornings. That's what gets me on airplanes to fly to countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. That's why I keep writing partners like you for continued faithful prayers and generous financial support -- even if sacrificially!
So that's my "African Christmas present" -- wrapped in the flesh of a graduating college student known as Vincent from the slums of Kibera! And his following story is my Christmas gift back to you because your spiritual and financial partnership made it all possible! His one life has been worth it all! Our God is still the only God who can bring both salvation and transformation in the slums of Kibera -- or anywhere else in the world! After all, since He was born in a cattle shed and laid in a manger, slums are His turf! He still loves to do His Christmas shopping in places like Kibera!
In His saving love and transforming compassion,
J.L.
PS: Update on Larry Warren: After a dozen years of ministering with me through NDI, Larry started African Leadership, which he led for the next decade. Under his leadership, it became the largest informal training program for pastors and leaders on the continent. He has recently started a new ministry, Leadership International, and I serve on his Board. It is primarily focused in Africa with a priority of evangelism through holistic community development. Larry and I continue to work together as closely as our busy travel schedules permit.
JLWilliams.org is where Patt and I will share our personal views and perspectives on a wide variety of issues from the Bible, to politics, to world events, business and entrepreneurial issues, to my international travels. We hope you will find them provocative, challenging and edifying.
