t's All About God's Glory!

Well this is it! The month of "Miracle Week" is upon us and we enter August on our knees in prayer (along with a scrub bucket and dirt shovel) while our hands are raised in praise (using a paint brush and lifting lumber). Our church family humbly and gratefully will receive a host of strangers from the Southwest Pacific Region of the Disciples of Christ during the week of August 16-20. These missionaries, who are paying their own way, are coming for the sole purpose of improving our campus, ministering to our community, and sharing the energy of God's love.  I know all who love our church join us in prayer for their safety and effectiveness. My prayer is that the week will be God-centered and Spirit-empowering. The seeds have been sown for months now, and while we have experienced a time of draught, this "rain" is much needed and greatly appreciated. Thank you Jesus!

In my time of prayer and study, I have come to rely on Isaiah 55. What a magnificent jewel of scripture, so beautifully written, and hopeful in tone. For “Miracle Week”, I am especially drawn to verses 10-11, and have claimed them as God’s truth for this month. (10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.) Our missionary guests are snow and rain, here to water and make our bud flourish, so our church can yield future seed. However, we see God’s ultimate desire is not about agriculture, or property, but the words of our mouths and the production of changed hearts…these are the purposes of God, and what I hope is the outcome of the mission. I am asking all who read this to join me in claiming Hebrews 55:10-11 as the objective of “Miracle Week”. I thank God already for the “produce” to come.

I am writing in gratitude for the many donations received, including food, paper items, hardware, and of course, money. However, we are still collecting donations and each gift is recorded, not only for your purposes, but also for our praise list. Perishable items such as fresh vegetables, ice and milk, etc. will need to be donated or bought during or shortly before “Miracle Week”. My heart-felt thanks goes out to Alan, Tamara and Lorna for their many months of organizing, collecting, recording, and making sure our responsibilities are met. This has been no small task and your church is grateful.

I also urge you to turn your prayers toward our sister churches as well. The Wahiawa Christian Church and Christ Church United of Kailua will also be recipients of “Miracle Week”, and will share with us the blessing of visiting missionaries. Their churches are also excitedly anticipating this week for their congregations and mission in their communities. I join Past Elaine and Pastor Wally in praying that life-changing events will occur, as well as gratitude for the kindness shown by others. Glory to God for the work He will do around Oahu in the name of the Disciples of Christ.

One hundred and sixteen years ago, the first Disciples of Christ missionaries began a small church on a remote South Pacific island called Oahu. Ever Sunday since that first Sunday in August of 1894, the First Christian Church of Honolulu has opened its doors wide and offered all who enter the grace and love of Jesus through His Word, His table, and His people. This month a new generation of missionaries will descend upon that same remote island, not to establish a church, but to build and increase the work of the church that is already there. Thus we live in an historic time in the life of our church. We pray that God will use the effectiveness of these missionaries to produce an outcome that will carry the work here for another 116 years.

I’ll check back with you in 2117. Until then, I’ll…see ya Sunday!

Pastor Jimmy

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