Dear friends,
Happy New Year! It’s such a joy for me to step into the new year with you. For many of you, we have ushered in many new years together, and I am thankful. You are God’s biggest blessing.
The new year brings to mind fresh beginnings, an imagery of a bright new seedling emerging from the dark earth, or even from rubble. In the heat of our Australian summer, I am reminded that this seedling could very well be emerging from the aftermath of a bushfire. Fire is in fact crucial to trigger the germination process.
It is a fitting image of how God brings forth life out of incredibly devastating circumstances. Out of Jesus’ crushing crucifixion, horrific death on the cross, we can join Jesus in a resurrected, eternal life.
Across FEBC offices around the world, God is similarly at work. Out of COVID-19, sickness, extreme lack, and war, more have come into the light and life in Jesus. Read the amazing stories in the latest edition of Skywaves.
Then there’s this other truth: Jesus is with us in the fires of life. We emerge unscathed, just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did. And then the people will believe, just as King Nebuchadnezzar did.
“Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God… Therefore, I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.” (Daniel 3:25, 29 NKJV)
I know many are still in fiery trials, still suffering from the effects of world events. We, for example, are still facing inflation and a housing crisis. Know that Jesus is with you. My heart goes out to the people of Ukraine, including our dear FEBC family, who have endured the war for a year. I ask for sustained prayer for them. As we pray, give, and share, I look forward to witnessing, together with you, the new life that God will germinate this year.
In His Service
Kevin Keegan
National Director, FEBC Australia
