Eastertide 2026

Greetings in the wonderful Name of our Risen Lord Jesus!

 

Blessed Eastertide! That’s not a word I’ve used very much in fifty years of rejoicing in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. But this year that word has brought renewed focus to the wonder of what He has accomplished by His cross-work for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our RECLAIM Director of Staff Care reminded us of the word Eastertide as she wrote for our April Concert of Prayer,

 

The Great Fifty Days of Eastertide

 

“Why 50 Days? Its actually quite simple. After the resurrection, Jesus spent forty days on earth before he ascended, and then there were ten more days after that before the Day of Pentecost. Luke writes in the first chapter of Acts that Jesus “presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.” In chapter two, we find the followers of Jesus gathered for the Day of Pentecost, which actually means “fifty”…So the Great Fifty Days are a celebration of the Resurrection of Christ and all that means for us, leading to the launching of the Christian Church and its mission on Pentecost.”

 

 

 

 

 

As a pastor I can be so busy getting stuff ready for the big celebration, my day is more about activity than adoration. Easter is over and I rarely have time to sit and ponder the wonder. Even after we have taken down our Easter banners and packed up our fancy dress are we still rejoicing in all that our Mighty Champion has achieved for His Church and the world!? I am trying.

 

Another thing that perked our Eastertide joy was today’s arrival of our local newspaper, the Kohala Mountain News. They printed two articles that I wrote about our community Easter activities….(yes, that's our son, Josiah, taking his turn carrying the cross in the above picture)

 

 

 

 We were encouraged to be highlighted in this month’s RECLAIM Community News, they wrote….

 

“Mark and Dayna Blair praise the Lord for bringing them together to love each other and invite people into their lives. Dayna brings God’s aloha of kindness and giving, Mark offers Calvinism with a California chill.

 

In 1983, Mark and Dayna moved to Arua, Uganda after one year of marriage, to teach in St Paul’s Theological College (Ringili) of the Church of Uganda (Anglican). From Africa their family of five returned to pastor Dayna’s home church – where they met – in Hilo, Hawaii. Seven years later they moved with their teenage sons to Almaty, Kazakhstan where the boys graduated from high school. They served the first Christian theological seminary offering courses in Kazakh language! During those years they discovered the beauty of international Christian fellowship as Mark was asked to pastor the ICF Almaty.

 

After eleven happy years they moved from Almaty to Beijing, where they served in one of the English language churches in the university district – surrounded by 82 universities! Worship there was a taste of heaven “from every nation, tribe, people, and language.” Twelve years passed quickly! Five years ago, they moved home to Hawaii. A small church that supported them for many years invited them to come and live in their beautiful corner of the Big Island. They are seeing the Lord work even there.

 

Today, Mark and Dayna serve as part of Reclaim’s Staff Care team, using their experience as overseas workers and pastors to encourage Reclaim’s global staff.”

 

 

 

Many thanks for your friendship, encouragement, and support as we walk in witness with our Risen Lord,

 

Mark and Dayna Blair  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark and Dayna Blair, P.O. Box 159, Kapa'au, Hawaii 96755  USA

 

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

 

Email blairstan2@gmail.com

 

Blog http://blairstan.blogspot.com

 

Web Site https://pastormarkblair.org,

https://www.amazon.com/author/markfblair

 

 

RECLAIM, P.O. Box 630027, Littleton, Colorado 80163

 

 https://www.reclaimwithus.org/

 

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

 

 

 

Our mailing address is:

P.O. Box 159

Kapa'au, Hawai'i 96755

Lord Among the Lampstands

Aloha, from Kapa’au, Hawaii,

We pray this year of our Lord has begun well for you! We are grateful for the wonderful time we had with family from Oregon and Kazakhstan! Here we were the first Sunday of January after our service at Kalahikiola Church.

Last Saturday I had the great joy of baptizing two of our grandsons, Kekoa and Makana. We have been enjoying their family’s visit very much. They return home to Portland this week. As we chatted around the dinner table one evening, the boys asked about getting baptized. We had a great discussion about the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ as they affirmed their faith in Him. What a privilege to live to see this special day.

Growing old gives us an ever-wider vantage point to rejoice in the faithfulness of God. Before our son Nathan, our first, was born, we prayed the promise Peter proclaimed on Pentecost,  “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself” (Acts 2.38,39). What an amazing privilege to stand in the Hawaiian Pacific with Nathan, born in Uganda and baptized in Kazakhstan, to baptize his two oldest sons. We  praise the living God for His saving mercy to our family.  Trust Him for yours too!

 

 

I happy to have a second book on Amazon – reasonably priced in both paper and Kindle format – “Lord Among the Lampstands - A Study of Revelation 2 and 3.”

https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Among-Lampstands-Study-Revelation/dp/B0G9RJXBH7/ref=sr_1_1?crid=22NRXJ8S69TAZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yISvMwfya33wAlncKZtrOSEyRUmDB6WaOAAYlHiBeDzGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.qwCKIW0sHXsUDdb_rTD65axjouZUeM8ZZNfSScFBdJ4&dib_tag=se&keywords=lord+among+the+lampstands&qid=1770707444&sprefix=lord+among%2Caps%2C216&sr=8-1

Can we know what Jesus thinks about the church? We can know what He thought about seven First Century churches scattered across what we call Turkey and what the Romans called Asia.

Many Christians speak nostalgically about the Early Church as truly alive and real - far better than churches today. But chapters 2 and 3 reveal the good old days of the church were not that good! The church in Ephesus would rather fight theological battles than display love. The church in Smyrna was seen as aloof and rejected by their neighbors. Church leaders in Pergamum climbed into bed with political and social leaders. Secret sexual scandal spread across the congregation in Thyatira. The church in Sardis had an impressive image but no true substance. The few members in the church of Philadelphia struggled to hold on to Him in a city that hated them. The church in Laodicea trusted in their own resources and ended up making a mess of things. Having started with Jesus they tried to continue in their own strength. Our Church today can learn much from what Jesus said to these early churches.

I wrote this study guide for small groups when I served as one of the pastors of Beijing International Christian Fellowship. This study guide provides historical background, helps explain the meaning of the biblical text, and offers practical application for believers and churches today. We are praying that God will use this simple tool to grow His Church and glorify His Name.

 

As we enter the year of our Lord 2026, Dayna and I and our Reclaim Associate Care Team are leading our organization in monthly Concerts of Prayer. These Zoom gatherings – 12 hours apart on the first Tuesday of the month to gather our global team – harken back to a global prayer movement birthed in 1744. At that time a group of pastors in Scotland covenanted to “united extraordinary supplications to the God of all grace…earnestly praying to Him that He would appear in His glory…by an abundant effusion of His Holy Spirit…to revive true religion in all parts of Christendom…and fill the whole earth with His glory.” This on-going movement, which came to be called “Concerts of Prayer” by Jonathan Edwards, has sparked intercession for Kingdom advance in many nations and denominations for several centuries. Within a couple years, Concerts of Prayer, spread across Great Britain, and to New England.

Here in Hawaii, our Christian movement was launched by Concerts of Prayer. The first missionaries to these islands participated in the monthly meetings that were held around the world in their New England churches in the early 1800’s. On the night before they first landed on Hawaiian shores – after almost six months as sea – happened to fall on the day of the concert. God heard the petitions from around the world and they were welcomed warmly! They continued participating in the global concert of prayer for as they watched the Kingdom of Hawaii become more than 90% Christianized within 25 years!

In our Reclaim Concert of Prayer last week we focused on the Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, which begins on February 17, 2026. It is one of the most important traditional holidays in China. We have all seen pictures of the massive migration of Chinese people moving in droves on every form of conveyance to get home for this special meal with their family. In this lively holiday, every household prepares feasts to welcome relatives and friends, sharing the joy and blessings of the past year. For Christians, this is not only an opportunity to reunite with family and practice hospitality. Followers of Jesus have special concern to be there show true respect and share their redeemer. Thousands of brothers and sisters have come to faith during the year since their families gathered. So, it is their time to testify to God’s transformation – which is often quite difficult among family members. Pray for our Chinese brothers and sisters – scattered through nearly every nation of the world – that they can show and speak the saving power of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to their families during this Chinese New Year 2026.

My first book, “The View from Under the Bus – Uganda” is still available on Amazon – in both print and Kindle.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G1LZTHTC/?bestFormat=true&k=the%20view%20from%20under%20the%20bus&ref_=nb_sb_ss_w_scx-ent-bk-ww_k0_1_17_de&crid=1TZWIAT8UNLOR&sprefix=The%20view%20from%20und

And, for those who miss hearing my voice, it is now also an audio book. Four hours of me will surely cure any insomnia! Seriously, I do hope this book will encourage and advance the work and workers of global Gospel mission. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9.37,38 ESV).

Serving with you in the Harvest, Mark and Dayna Blair