January 4, 2023

Hau Oli Makahiki Hou! Happy New Year!

 Hau Oli Makahiki Hou! Happy New Year!     



We pray you and yours experienced the blessings of the Advent season – hope, peace, joy, love, from Jesus! We took advantage of the freedom we have to share Him with our new island neighbors. We hosted four dinners/Advent services in our Kalahikiola Church, considering Luke’s anticipation of Jesus’ coming through the lives of Zechariah, Elizabeth, John, and Mary. The local community center invited our church to have a children’s craft program for their Christmas Fair! We thought it good to hand out Gospel tracts, like we did at their Halloween Fair. This time I decided to write one, comparing the king born here with the King born in Bethlehem. Hope you enjoy it too! See it below.


IDEAS Micro-Communities Multiplying

We continue to meet with our IDEAS colleagues around the world via Zoom. We are leading two book studies with two groups of workers scattered around the world, “Crazy Busy” by Kevin DeYoung, and “Thoughtful Caregivers” by Rebecca Hecking. We are appreciating DeYoung’s honest, God-centered, reflections on living with balance and hope in His service. Kevin is a father (9 kids!), pastor, seminary professor, blogger, and author – so he knows busy! And our IDEAS group that zooms from Hawaii to Virginia to North Africa to the Middle East has lots of busy people. But we are finding our time of connection helpful as we encourage one another to balance practicality and spirituality as we labor for Him.


Our caregivers group carries the concerns of elderly parents – living on opposite sides of the globe. One colleague in North Africa had an opportunity to share some tips from the book we’re reading with a Muslim woman who has been housebound for several years caring for both her parents. She advised her new friend that her care for  parents would be even better if she also cared for herself. So, they made a coffee date where our colleague shared the love of Jesus in word and deed.


Grandchildren for the Holidays

We are very thankful to have our grandchildren here – along with their parents! Our eldest son, Nathan, wife Heather, and their sons Kekoa (7) and Makana (5) are with us for Christmas and will stay into January. And our granddaughter, Maylee (18) is coming for a couple weeks from Almaty, Kazakhstan soon. She has a winter break from her first year of University in Almaty. Her Dad, Josiah, is busy working for Tersane in Istanbul, Turkey. Aaron had a good Christmas in Eugene, Oregon and hopes to visit in 2023.  

 

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A Kid from Kohala who became King  …and how he points to Jesus!

 


Thousands of people from around the world come to see the statue of Kamehameha I in Kapa’au. It is one of the most visited tour stops in our state. In a similar way, millions of global-citizens flock to the Holy Land to be where Jesus of Nazareth walked two-thousand years ago.



We might not know the exact spot, but we know for sure that a mighty King was born right here in Kohala. His mom and dad grappled with many of the struggles of life that we do. When I visited Bethlehem, I was surprised to learn there is some uncertainty exactly where the Virgin Mary labored for her Lord on that first Christmas night. Yet we know those boys made a deep impact on our world.


Like any King, there are legends about the exploits of Kamehameha I, some of them are true. Surely he grew to be a respected leader. Men followed him at the cost of their lives. Families invested their future on his decisions.


There is one story about the boyhood of Jesus in Scripture. Christians believe in the accuracy of the Bible that focuses on Jesus’ life and ministry. Every religion in the world has admiration for Jesus of Nazareth. Millions strive to follow Him today, sometimes at the cost of their lives.


After King Kalaniʻōpuʻu of Hawaii died in the spring of 1782, a group of chiefs endorsed his nephew, Kamehameha, to be the next king. Fights with a couple wanna-be successors lasted for most of the 1780’s. By 1791  Kamehameha I ruled the island of Hawaii and sought to extend his rule across the islands. He was victorious in the Battle of Kepaniwai, defeating Maui's army, led by the Chief Kahekili. King Kamehameha’s most decisive battle was in May 1795, fought along the cliffs of the


 Koʻolau Range at Nu‘uanu Pali. Kamehameha assembled the largest army these islands had seen, about 12,000 men and 1,200 war canoes. Thousands died in the battle for Oahu. His victory was so convincing that king Kaumualiʻi of Kauaʻi  submitted to Kamehameha without a fight, giving him control over all the Hawaiian Islands.


Jesus Christ fought the most decisive battle in human history all alone.  There was just one gruesome fatality. Jesus taught with authority never heard. Jesus healed the blind, deaf, lame, and afflicted. He even raised the dead. Jesus met every confrontation with kindness, absorbing every insult. Three shameful trials declared Him innocent and none of His enemies could find fault with Him. Nevertheless, He was sentenced to one of the most grotesque forms of torture – crucifixion. By the Sovereign decree of Almighty God, Jesus Christ, the Son of God and God the Son, suffered and died. His battle determined the eternal destiny of every human being – heaven or hell.


The Bible teaches that Jesus was the substitute for all who put their faith in Him. He died because we should die. Our sins deserve the punishment of death, so in mercy and grace He died for us. And He rose from death, and now lives forever.


Kamehameha I imposed his rule by force. If Hawaiians wanted to survive they obeyed. Jesus subjects bow to His rule by faith and follow Him who first loved them.


Kamehameha’s reign ended with his death. Our Risen Lord Jesus lives forever. One day He will return to this earth, in fact He reigns over it already!


Kamehameha’s rule was visible. If Hawaiians violated his kapu laws, punishment was swift and severe. Jesus’ kingdom is invisible. By faith we belong to Jesus who fills the heavens and inhabits our hearts.


Jesus’ followers come in every color, from every culture, and live in every country. It has been two thousand years since Jesus walked the earth, yet more than 60 million people join His tribe every year.


Everywhere we have traveled around the world when we say we are from Hawaii people smile. Kamehameha I forged a kingdom that is still envied around the world. Lucky you live Hawaii!


We have seen orphanages, hospitals, schools, Universities, libraries, farms, and factories founded and funded by followers of King Jesus. His Church serves with the joy of His presence and the freedom of His forgiveness.

Jesus offers you the best gift ever - eternal life, forgiveness of sins, peace with God and man, hope, perseverance, and purpose. You are invited into His eternal and invisible Kingdom by faith.


Check Him out in the pages of Scripture – start with the Gospels


Follow the King who came as a kid!


Mark Blair, Kalahikiola Church, 2022


www.kalahikiolacc.com

Sources: Kamehameha I – Wikipedia;   Jesus – The Bible

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Thanks for joining us in prayer that people will read this Gospel message and the Holy Spirit will draw them, to Jesus! 


We are grateful for your years of friendship, prayer, and support. May the Lord help us all to reach out with the truth and grace of Jesus this new year! 


 In Him who holds 2023, Mark and Dayna Blair 


 IDEAS, 7852 South Elati Street, Suite 202, Littleton, Colorado 80120  www.ideasworld.org

https://ideasworld.org/associate/blair-mark-and-dayna-support-0471


Phones Mark 808-218-4872 / Dayna 808-218-3698


Emails blairstan2@gmail.com / mark.blair@ideasworld.org / dayna.blair@ideasworld.org


Blog http://blairstan.blogspot.com


Web Site https://pastormarkblair.org/



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