-Philippians 1:3-11 NKJV-
“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ: just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my chains, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and in all discernment; that you may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”
Dear Friends and Family of the Faith and to readers tuning in from all over the world: I am eternally thankful unto the Lord our God for you. When I think about this year, being the 10th anniversary year of Lifted Vision Mission, I am filled to the brim and humbled with gratitude to the Lord our God for the way He has established this ministry, grown this ministry, and impacted thousands of people for Christ through this ministry, since it was first founded in 2015. By the grace of God and for everything that has been accomplished in Asia and all over the world through this ministry; to God alone belongs the Glory. Additionally, if it was not for each and every one of you; the fellow laborers in Christ, the Body; the countless salvations that have taken place, the planting of the home church in Osaka, the hundreds of outreach events and thousands of people who have been reached for Christ; none of this would be possible without you!!! It is a labor of love from God Himself and I am truly thankful this Thanksgiving day for each and every one of you!
-1 Corinthians 12:12-27 NIV-
“There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so we are formed into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. So the body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts. Suppose the foot says, “I am not a hand. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop you being part of the body. And suppose the ear says, “I am not an eye. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how could it smell? God has placed each part in the body just as he wanted it to be. If all the parts were the same, how could there be a body? As it is, there are many parts. But there is only one body. The eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” In fact, it is just the opposite. The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are the ones we can’t do without. The parts that we think are less important we treat with special honor. The private parts aren’t shown. But they are treated with special care. The parts that can be shown don’t need special care. But God has put together all the parts of the body. And he has given more honor to the parts that didn’t have any. In that way, the parts of the body will not take sides. All of them will take care of one another. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part shares in its joy.
You are the body of Christ. Each one you is a part of it.”
When I read these words from 1 Corinthians, I can’t help but be encouraged by knowing that the Lord has a unique place and Kingdom role for each and every one of us!!! This passage confirms again and again that no matter what our earthly limitations are, what family we were born into, what our financial situation looks like, what degrees or qualifications we have earned; that All are called and chosen to the Body of Christ for a specific reason: YOU HAVE A PURPOSE AND GOD CAN USE YOU RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE AT; RIGHT NOW!
I want to close today by reminding you of who you are; you are God’s chosen, God’s elect and God’s holy people; and together we function better as the complete Body of Christ Himself! Thank you so incredibly much for being the hands and feet of Christ with me, and for fulfilling your extremely important and distinguished role for the Kingdom of God with Lifted Vision Mission. I am so grateful to God for you! I pray that this Thanksgiving Day was a blessed one! Please leave a comment here or feel free to email me with your comments and thoughts, I would love to hear from you! I am always praying for you.
Be blessed dear ones!
Lifted Vision Ministry 