MINISTRY OF GIVING.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. – 1 Corinthians 9:8

It was very obvious to Paul that he was a hardworking servant of the Lord. He was a tentmaker, working so hard for him not to be a burden to anyone. He always mentioned in his writing that he worked/toiled hard day and night for him not to be a burden to anyone. Besides being a tentmaker, he is known well in bringing the good news to every people. He wrote many books in the new testament, whether for churches or as personal letters, his writings and letters are really inspiring to read and give sound doctrine and great instruction on building Christian character and church leadership.

That is why I highly respect how he boldly teaches about giving. In the way I read and understand his letter to the Corinthians, he commended the generosity of the people in the Corinthian church. Knowing Paul worked hard to not be a burden to anyone, he has this kind of strong conviction commending people’s generosity and urging people to keep on giving generously. This idea blew my mind. At first glance, I sense some irony - if he doesn’t want to be a burden, how come he asks for a collection of giving for his ministry? I am sure you will agree with me that this idea is ironic.

But as I was digging deep into the word and starting to read between the lines, I understood what he is trying to prove with his letter to the Corinthian churches. He is explaining the ministry of giving. Yup! Giving to the work of the Lord is a ministry that we shouldn’t take less serious compared to serving the Lord with our talents and callings. The ministry of giving is equal to the works of pastors and missionaries, leading the prayer and intercessory ministry, teaching kids in Sunday school, taking care of the finances of the church, and any other ministry work in the churches.

Giving to the work of the Lord is like investing in eternity. It is planting the seeds in the field of the harvest for the Kingdom of God. And in time, we will reap what we sow in the field. God blesses the work of our hands because God found us faithfully sowing the seeds. Not only do we faithfully sow the seeds, we generously sow the seeds, for when the time for us to harvest the seeds comes, we will reap bountifully.

Paul said in his writing to the Corinthian people, “God is able to make all grace abound to you”. Isn’t that a great thing to hear that? You will surely jump when you hear someone say that to you. God who made the heavens and the earth, rich in every way, is able to make all grace abound to you. That sounds to me like immeasurable blessings are on my way. Next, he said, “in all things and in all times” that means wholly, fully and timeless. Next is, “having all that you need”, which means to me that what I have right now God is able to multiply so that it will cover all I need. And the last line goes, “you will abound in every good work”. This mean to me that what God blesses my hands to have is for me to be able to do good work.

If I would summarize that in one idea, it would mean to me that God is able to bless the work of my hands. This could be my means of earning, whatever it will be, or this could be my works in the office, my business and any other things that God allows me to earn - the things God blesses for me to abound, in all things at all times. These blessings will abound so that I could do good work. Good work like giving, investing into eternity, giving to church ministries, supporting someone that’s doing the work of the Lord. This is just like the Corinthian people supporting the work of the Lord through Paul’s ministry.

As for me, I am doing the work of the Lord full-time. I have faith in the Lord that He is able to provide for the needs of our family. I am thankful that God brought you into my life and ministry, and I am grateful for your generous support both prayerfully and through your finances. I am keeping you in my prayers, like Paul, as I am praying that God will continue to bless the works of your hands. May God bless your business, your work in the office, and every way that God allows you to earn your living. I am praying that God blesses you tremendously. As I read and study how Paul talked to the Corinthian people, I remember how you are faithfully supporting me. I am so overwhelmed that I have you in my life. Your support is like seeds that have been planted in the field of God’s harvest. You are investing into eternity to the works of the Lord through my life. I am sure, we will harvest bountifully.

On this note, I want to thank every one of you who is faithfully and generously supporting me. I am thankful to the Lord for your life, love and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. I want to encourage every one of you to keep on working for our Lord, even in our work place, businesses, and ministries. Having faith in our hearts, let us continue moving forward for the glory of our God. In the end, as we keep our faith in Him, He is faithful to reward our good works for Him and in Him.

Many challenges will arise, conflicts will arise and trails are everywhere but let us continue to hold onto Jesus. He is faithful and rich in love and grace. Again, He is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

Two Important Things!

1. Lerma is pregnant again with our second baby. She is now four months pregnant and her due date will be in the third week of November. I am so excited that I am going to be a daddy again. Micah is so cute and we know the next one will also be as cute as her. We pray that the baby will be healthy and have no complications in Lerma’s pregnancy. Also we hope this time it will be a boy. Please keep us in your prayers for Lerma and for our second baby! 2. There is a great privilege coming up for us to bless communities in Indonesia this October. The Youth Mobilization partners with an Indonesian missionary whom we work with International Teams to bless communities in Indonesia. We will bring youth to connect with Muslim youth and children through a hygiene clinic and sports games. I am excited because this will be my first time to go to a Muslim country. Also, I am excited to bring youth with us. These are youth from different churches who attended our youth missions conference last year. We know that this trip will impact the lives of youth and children and their families for them to be connected to the ministry we have there. Each of us needs to raise about US$500 for our airfare, food and accommodations. This is a great way to invest to the lives of the people in the community in Indonesia. I want to extend this privilege to you and hope you could partner with me in prayers and though financial giving. For supporting me though prayers, I would love to send you updates regarding this mission trip, just let me know if you are interested to receive updates. And for supporting me though financial giving, you can send an email impressing your desire to invest to the lives of people in Indonesia. Any amount you can extend to me will be highly appreciated. For more details regarding how you will be able to help this missions trip, you can either send an email to me: mackie_youthmob@hotmail.com and I will get back to you at the very soonest.

Bonding with my daughter Micah

Micah is growing so fast and I am enjoying every moment of it. Micah is now a year and a half. She likes to climb everything in our house - chairs, tables, stairs and even our TV rack and closet. At times she is way crazier than my wife Lerma could manage. That is why we decided to bring her to a kids’ play place. A safe place for her to climb, play with the balls, slides and everything. When we were there, Micah with her eyes wide, she was very excited to come in even though I have no pass yet. It was funny to see her that excited. As soon as they gave me our passes, she grabbed my hands and wanted me to bring her inside. And as I was expected, she enjoyed playing inside. She climbed and played with the balls and the slide. I could see in her eyes that she was really having a great time. And I have to admit that I also enjoyed that time. I enjoyed seeing her having a great time. It was fun to have some quality time with my daughter. She is truly a gift from God that I will treasure forever. She is really a bundle of joy to my wife and I. We really thank God for an opportunity to have a daughter like Micah. We are so blessed!

Family Day

I am still overwhelmed and very happy to see many people came to our church’s Family Day last June 12. I am very glad to see families having great quality time together. Parents are enjoying a warm swim with their children. It was a great scene to see from the families attending our church. Knowing, they have limited time and resources for them to escape from all their work and studies and to have a venue for them to relax and enjoy some family bonding was truly a success. What really touched my heart was the realization that we have a huge family. In our Worship Service every Sunday, we usually have around 30 people coming regularly. And in our Family Day, there were about a hundred people who came. This was a big enough crowd for us to need to rent a huge bus and a jeep and besides that we had a car and two family vans to transport all of us to a resort where we held our Family Day. What really amazed me is how God put us in our own family to bring our family to Christ. All of our members have connections to their families and that is a great potential to lead them to Christ. So I could say that the family we have right now in our church is growing. I am praising God for the opportunity to be with families in our church. It was truly a great time.