David Marshall Kealy
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"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to His service."
1 Timothy 1:12 |
David Marshall Kealy
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"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to His service."
1 Timothy 1:12 |
Goals and PaceHere it is already approaching mid year 2021. People who know me they know I enjoy walking. I enjoy walking in every country where we have lived. And I enjoy the training and preparation of competing in organized race walking events. Getting fourth place in a half-marathon in my age group was not rewarding at all. Then a few years later getting third place in the next older age group was a bit better. Still not my goal. So getting a devotional from pastor, missionary friend Bud McCord, really resounded for me. You can read his devotionals on this website DAILY LIVING / Abide International. To make it easy for you, here is the GOALS AND PACE devotional. Take it to heart, I will. "Imagine you decide to walk an entire day with another person. They have agreed that you can accompany them as long as you truly want to do what they do and you understand that they have a busy agenda and a determined pace. You accept the conditions and off you go toward their goals and at their pace.
At first it is easy, but as the day progresses you find that you are being continuously invited to leave the person with whom you are walking and satisfy some other need the way you normally would. Eventually you discover that walking with another person who has a very specific agenda and pace in mind means you must continually submit to their goals and pace or walking with them just will not work. This is how Jesus walked with His Father. When Jesus said he always did what pleased His father He was describing what it means to walk in the Spirit. God’s goals were His goals and God’s pace was His pace at all times. We either walk in the Spirit or we walk in the flesh. We either conform to God’s goals and pace in Christ through the Spirit or we conform to the old goals and pace of our flesh. Over time it has become abundantly clear to me when I am in the Spirit and when I am in the flesh. The fruit just does not lie. The goals and the pace of Spirit are clear. The goals and pace of flesh are clear. As the day moves along and the temptation comes back to fulfill your own desires first, just whisper the words “Jesus, I am entirely yours” and walk where the Spirit is leading at Jesus' perfect pace for you. Today we can make the goal and the pace of Jesus our goal and our pace. When we do this the fruit is true Spiritual Life. To be spiritual is to let the Spirit set your goal and your pace to those of Jesus moment by moment. What wonderful goals and what a wonderful pace await all those who walk in the Spirit."
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While studying the book of Ephesians in our Life Group this year I pulled the Bible I used in those days and the notes are extensive. Listed are side notes and dates taken along with the speakers name. It is actually refreshing, actually exciting to recall the times and places where those notes were taken.
Here it is: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.” It is more common these days to study, to read the Bible using digital devices. Computers and smart phones make it quick and easy to read and find passages, but it is difficult to make notes, to document what we are learning. Make a decision about how you want to study the Bible and remember what you have learned. Taking notes is one way.
ACTION PLAN
This is a day to be comforted and music and scripture will help guide us through each day. Music historically is significant to mankind; more significantly songs are important as documented in the annals of time. Moses, the great leader of the Israelites at the age of 120 years faced leadership changes and penned a song that was given to him from God. “Now write down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for me against them.” See Deuteronomy chapters 31 and 32. At a young age my precious grandmother Archer shared with me her favorite hymn; “Under His Wings”. I don’t recall the nature of the conversation when this came up, but it just might have been a time she noticed my discomfort. Written by William Cushing and sang by Ira D. Sankey (1840-1908) at the D.L.Moody Revival meetings in the US and Europe in the late 1800’s it is a comforting song. Perhaps it is a song for the times we live in today. 2020 and now in to 2021 - a time of Social - Political - Financial - Environmental challenges.
The song has meaning for me because of that conversation. Perhaps it led to my spiritual growth understanding that resting in Jesus is a safe place to be. In a posting in Aril 2015 of these BLOG’s I recalled a verse of scripture that refers to my youth. I talked about Bible memorization; It goes as follows: Actually I need to admit that the first verse I memorized because I wanted to was Philippians 4:4. It was not for a prize or a classroom assignment, but because I choose to memorize it. It is vivid in my memory. Perhaps I chose it because it because it is short. But oh, is it good. “Rejoice in the LORD always; again I will say, rejoice!” What a great verse to tuck away in the corner of your mind. And grow in the verses that follow; “Rejoice in the LORD always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The LORD is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Thru the years the importance of not only knowing about Jesus, but accepting Him as Savior became more of a reality for me. That is what I desire for each one of you. And these verses will help you keep a cheerful spirit. This is a day to be comforted and music and
scripture will help guide us through each day. Information about charitable givingIn 2015 a qualified charitable distribution became a permanent part of the Internal Revenue Code. It makes a provision for an IRA owner over the age of 70 1/2 to transfer up to $100,000 in any calendar year to charity. The transferred amounts are not included in the gross income in that year for the IRA owner. Income taxes are not owed on the amount, even though the distribution may be used to satisfy the required minimum distribution, RMD.
See your tax advisor for more information about this type of giving. Cost effective giving is enabled by Reaching People far from God by using bank transfers (ACH) rather than credit card processing. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 1 Corinthians 3:7 NLTOur ministry is a five step process1 Pray; 2 Listen for the LORD’S leading; He 3 Leads; we 4 Follow; 5 He Blesses. That Blessing is seeing God fashioning the seeds we planted grow into lives changed for eternity. We enjoy reading reports where we followed God’s leading. Yes, He is Blessing. We reflect and share with you reports of our being planters and God is making the seeds grow. INDIA Praise God that radio is taking the gospel to some of the neediest and most remote people in South Asia. Response from a man, Pradeep in India. “I have been so sad since I lost my Job, as there is no income to take care of my family. On my mobile phone, I received the word of God from you through WhatsApp. I wasn’t going to play it, as I was so vexed and was murmuring against God. My son took my phone to play games, and he unintentionally pressed the button in the notification center. It played your message, and that message was just for me. It said, ‘don’t give up. God is on your side.’ It was like an angel of the Lord coming home and speaking to me. I am now regularly listening to the word of God.”
We were honored to receive a visit from the Minister of Social Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Mrs. Grace Batubara regarding the Submitting Ministry of Social Assistance in the form of Food Packages for the prevention of Covid-19. This event was attended by the wife of the governor of Bali, as well as the wife of the Mayor of Denpasar. During the visit, Mercy Indonesia was trusted to distribute 1,000 relief packages to people affected by the Pandemic. Some of these packages went to the Orphanage in Atambua where we placed a fresh water well. NEPAL Praying for the application process for a new Christian radio station in Nepal. This station will be focused on an unreached and marginalized people group in the country. Reports regarding the coronavirus indicate lockdown continues throughout the country. Central Asia "I wanted to say that you have great radio programs. I've been listening to you for two months. Surprisingly, your radio gives power. May the Lord protect you. I came to Christ in 2017. I am the only believer in my family. I have suffered a lot because of my faith in Christ. I was fired several times after co-workers learned that I’m a believer. They even tried to kick me out when I was studying at the institute. It was painful. But the worst part was that we were caught by the national security service, while we were studying the Bible. The case did not come to court, but we were forced to pay a large fine, which I could not afford. They are still trying to persuade me to give up this belief. But I will not do this. I already enjoy suffering for Christ.” Your gifts continue to make a difference as our partner ministries in Indonesia, Nepal, Liberia, Ghana and a restricted access country are actively watering and reaping souls with the saving Grace of our LORD Jesus Christ.
One way you can give is by making a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) gift this year. When planning your IRA withdrawal strategy, you may want to consider making charitable donations through a QCD. See your financial advisor for information to enable you to make this tax advantaged gift. David and Sharon Kealy Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.“ Proverbs 22:6 NASB
Often over the years I have quoted preachers and friends who have been an influence on my life. Perhaps it is about time I share something by one of our sons, Dwight. He writes about a personal journey. His personal faith journey as follows: Recently I have come to think about my understanding of God as we think about colors. The color spectrum is infinite—as is God—but we label the spectrum with different color names so that we can discuss the infinite. I grew up in a committed Evangelical Christian home. In kindergarten I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. I answered, “A Christian or an ambulance driver.” My parents tried to explain that I could be both. I was not convinced. I knew Christianity like I knew the color blue. Blue was a thick wax crayon that left its mark across the coloring books, papers, or on whichever wall I might drag it. I knew blue. I was looking at study abroad programs in high school and one day my dad asked me, “How would you like to study abroad and live at home?” What did he mean? How was this possible? It turns out that my parents had always thought about being missionaries. Six months later we were on a plane to Ecuador where I ended up graduating from high school. In this experience I learned more about my faith like we learn more about the color blue. There is blue before the dark storm clouds and blue in a clear sky at noon. God loves us. And God is good. There was a great pastor in Ecuador. I learned much from him about the Bible. I also learned through his daughter that he was a pastor in Ecuador because he had had an affair with the church secretary at his former congregation back in the Midwestern United States. Evidently his wife decided it was a good time for the family to become missionaries in South America. There is blue that is azure and aqua. Closer to darkness there is cobalt and navy. There is sin. There is forgiveness. And God has a plan. I was a religious studies major at Westmont. I did graduate work in Archaeology in Israel with Harvard and earned my Master’s Degree in Religion from Yale. This is like becoming an expert in blue and spending all my time with people who know the difference between indigo and lapis lazuli. One time we heard someone call the sky blue when we all knew it was really cerulean, and we laughed. With education and experience it is easy—and common—to become increasingly critical in describing the world around us. How else do we describe a blue except to distinguish it from other blues? Certainly one blue must be better and one must be worse than the other, and by stating this, one can establish himself as the experienced, lonely, expert of blues. At times we discussed God like serious wine-tasters describing wines. We look at the hue. We smell it. We loudly sip it, swirl it in our mouths, hold it on our tongue for a moment…and then spit it out. God is real and exists not just to be discussed or tasted, but to indwell in our bodies and change our lives. I heard that there was no God. It was like hearing there was no blue. I checked. I scooped up the blue sea in my hands. It dripped through my fingers, clear. I grabbed at the sky. It slipped through my fingers without leaving a stain. Doubts. But even on cloudy days I know the sky is blue. This faith comes from a history of trust. As a child in church we would sing, “Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him, How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er…O for grace to trust Him more.” I trust in God and he has proved that he is faithful over and over.
I heard that the reason is economic. It takes too much time, money, and effort to make a wrapper for each color. At some point we decide, for laziness or economy, that we understand the infinite well-enough. We wrap a label around it and stop.
And so, I tell you now, “The sky is blue and God is faithful, just, and loves us.” I know that sounds simple, but don’t laugh. It’s true. I have argued about the shade and saturation. I have waited for clouds to pass and the dawn to come. I have trusted in Jesus, and he has proved himself to me over and over again. The beginning of FALL happens one time each year. Today is a special day in the neighborhood where we live. Our Postal ZIP Code is 92220; and today is September 9, 2220; commonly know as 92220; How often can that happen you ask? Only one time and that is TODAY! More important to us than this fact is the documented fact of Jesus' LOVE.How to Stay STRONGLet’s be perfectly clear I am a Christian. I am not a racist, I am a Christian. So your question might be, “What is the Christian Life?” And you just might ask, “Where is the Christian Life?” And you might go on to ask, “Why does the Christian life exist?” These three questions are asked by my missionary / Pastor friend Bud Carlos McCord who lives and ministers in Brazil. He was our beloved pastor when we lived in Florida in the 1980’s. I am a Christian and I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God. It is my guide to help me to be more like Jesus. Why do I live to be more like Jesus? Because that is the answer to the first question above. Jesus is the Christian life! “This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus." I John 4:13-17 Jesus is the Christian life! And the Christian life is in me and this is more fully documented in the book of Colossians, chapter three (3). In the same way my physical DNA in me makes me like my father and my mother, my spiritual DNA is like Jesus who indwells me. Every believer in Jesus Christ enjoys a special relationship with God our creator. In the Epistle by Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians he writes; “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." This is the summation of the whole letter to the believers, the Christians in Colossae. In this letter to the church Paul makes the relationship we have in Jesus pretty clear. Where is the Christian Life and Why does the Christian life exist? McCord answers; “it sets the stage to help us realize the Christian life in me is to expel my fear and to perfect my love.” Last month I mentioned I have lived in the best of days. Since then I have given this comment a lot of thought. My question, why do I feel this? Recall my DNA comment. My family was Christian, believers and followers of Jesus. This chart indicates the decline of religion in America started in 1962. Blessed I am indeed that most of my parents and my wife’s parents and grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversaries. Christian, yes spiritual DNA runs in our families. Commitment to marriage is an indication of stability and although during my youth there was social conflict in America, through the lens of my life, centered on the church and my focus on becoming more and more like Jesus, my hope was for resolve of divergent opinions and conflict in America. That is still my hope while remaining focused on being personally responsible for the relationship I have in Jesus. It is my desire that those I come in contact with come to know and accept Jesus Christ as Savior. I stay STRONG by knowing I have Jesus, do you? Perhaps the decline of religion in America is happening because of a breakdown of the family unit. The two statistically seem to go hand-in-hand. We are thankful we have been able to share our faith in Jesus as our Savior in many different countries and cultures. We still are connected and support partner ministries through this ministry Reaching People far from God. Spend some time on this site to see what God is doing as they share their faith in culturally effective ways . . meeting spiritual and physical needs.
We hear a lot these days about staying STRONG. It is a phrase used in times of deep distress, especially to a community, a city, a group of people. A phrase of encouragement at a time where things seem to be falling apart. a bit of HistoryA general contractor friend’s company was named PLUMBLINE. It is a perfect name for a construction company. It references the importance of things being straight. He helped me build a house that remains straight, plumb. The Holy Bible has a reference to a plumb line. In Israel during the long reign of Jeroboam II 793-739 B.C. the prophet Amos lived in the time of material prosperity. He received five visions from God and the third was one of future judgement that would occur because God’s chosen people had turned away from honoring him as their God. As reported in the Bible Knowledge Commentary, edited by Walvoord and Zuck we observe “the testing plumb line” as follows: “For the third time the prophet was shown a vision of judgement. This time the sentence was unalterable. In Amos 7:7-8 the LORD held in his hand a plumb line. A plumb line was a cord with a lead weight used by builders to make sure the walls were constructed straight up and down. A plumb line was also used to test the walls to see whether they had settled and tilted, needing to be torn down. God was setting a plumb line (possibly the covenant Law and its requirements) among His people Israel. The nation had been built ‘true to plumb,’ but now was out of line and needed to be torn down”. “This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, ‘Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.’” Amos 7:7-9 So you ask why is this important? In chapters 3-6 Amos documented the reasons for God’s judgement against Israel. There was legal injustice, economic exploitation, religious hypocrisy, luxurious indulgence, and boastful complacency. These were violations of the covenant they had with God. I see some of the same characteristics in our society and world today. For 15 years the post WWII America when I grew up was absolutely great. But things have changed. Is there now “legal injustice, economic exploitation, religious hypocrisy, luxurious indulgence, and boastful complacency?” Is there no turning back before disaster? I don’t know, but I have often said, “we have lived in the best of times!” a bit about TODAYOn to something more current that consumes us every minute of every day in 2020 America where I live; actually Riverside County East of Los Angeles and things are terrible. COVID-19 pandemic is a global tragedy of huge proportions. Our ministry in April of this year realized the impact the virus was having on everyone we know, love . . . and ministries we support in a variety of ways. One is financial and the reserve fund we set up 10 years ago had never been touched. God led us to set aside money for such a time as this. We sent undesignated money to five ministries we support. The response was overwhelming. They used the money to provide food to those on their staff or those in the realm of their ministry outreach. It was the right thing to do and we are blessed to have been prepared to help at such a time as this. Yet there is much more to do. Recently I heard Robert Woodson Sr. say, "in America we, spontaneously respond to need!” I like that and I see it all around me these days as people respond to those truly in need. You can help ~ Donate todayHelp during a time of need.Providing a helping hand in a real time of need is something, we with your help, are able to do. Your gifts are sent to support our Partner missions during this COVID-19 pandemic. We were able to support five different ministry mission partners in April and May and June for them to spend where needed most. And the need remains great as the pandemic continues. Their response was tremendous and heartwarming. You give, ministries are blessed.People are fed at a time when pastors are without work because they cannot go to work at the jobs they hold. Their churches are small and they work sometimes several jobs to make ends meet. Businesses are closed and they cannot feed their families. Indonesia"Praise the Lord. I am in tears reading your email. We just finish praying with staff to help 1,000 pastors who lost their income due to covid 19. Your email is the answer of many thousands. Pastors. Thank you very much for your heart to help." Liberia“I need you to understand that you did not only provide food to these needy people, but you also gave HOPE at such a critical and uncertain time caused by the Coronavirus outbreak. There were no extra funds in our budget to meet this unexpected need, as residents of this community called upon VOX Liberia, urgently asking for food assistance . . . . we are doing another batch of food supplies to families in need and also supporting those families of volunteers who help during our relief outreach. This would not have happened without the prayers, encouragement and instant financial support of friends like you.” God bless you. Here is what Pastor John K. Somu, one of the beneficiaries had to say: ’This is something I didn’t expect! I am very thankful to the (VOX Liberia Christian) radio station for this help. I now have what I need to feed my family for a couple of weeks. We as pastors are going to meet and commit ourselves to provide fuel for VOX Radio station every month.’ |
1 Timothy 1:12 is a life verse that led to our creating Reaching People far from God
David M. Kealy Archives
April 2024
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