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.”
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.
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
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