Since I wrote to you last week, it's been a wondrous whirlwind of activity here in Malawi, visiting our brethren and ministry. We have thoroughly enjoyed being with all on the Sabbath, Passover, Night to Be Much Observed and now the Days of Unleavened Bread. We have become very fond of the brethren in Malawi during the 21 years that we have been regularly visiting here.

A number of significant milestones have been reached. We have two pastors--serving each of the large cities of Lilongwe and Blantyre. The latest is placing pastor Lewis VanAusdle and his wife, Lena, in Lilongwe to care for the congregation here, as well as the group in northern Mzuzu and helping the congregation in Chipata, Zambia. Strong pastoral support is vital for a congregation to flourish.

We are also providing church buildings in both locations for them to meet in. On this journey we wanted to see the progress of both buildings, which will also be the sites for two separate Feasts of Tabernacles. In addition, the property in Blantyre will be the site for youth camp.

Malawi is a very poor country. Most of the brethren live at subsistence levels. Pay is meager. Some jobs pay $40 a month. If you make over $100 a month, that is "good" in this country. Through LifeNets, we have provided humanitarian support in the form of scholarships for learning a profession, food security, boreholes and more.

We are flying today from Blantyre, Malawi, to Lusaka, Zambia, where we will meet with pastor Major Nawa Talama, and then to northern Zambia to be with Derrick Pringle, with whom we will continue to one of our newer congregations in Solwezi, close to the border with the Congo. A number of people are coming from the Congo to meet with us.

We mentioned last week a number of pastors who are traveling to various parts of Africa and other remote locations around the world. In addition to those mentioned, Monte Knudson is also currently in Kenya and David Schreiber in India during these days. Please pray for the safety and health of all of us. You can follow a number of blogs at http://kubik.org/blogs to read the travel reports from some of us who are traveling.

God's Faith in You

For these Days of Unleavened Bread, we begin by first spiritually examining ourselves in a deep and meaningful way. Then we gird up our minds for an entire week of trying to change our thinking and behavior on a day-by-day basis.

Are you truly seeking God? You will be rewarded if you do! That is an unbreakable promise from a God who has deep faith in His Creation.

After going through this, we may come to a point where we feel worthless and defeated. We may wonder why God even tries to do anything at all with us.

We're taught that we must believe in and trust God. We know from the Bible that we are nothing compared to God. We read that we're the ones who need God--God doesn't need us. It is, of course, for certain that we need to have faith in God. Without faith it is impossible to please God--we must believe that He exists! (Hebrews 11:6) After all is said and done, we may feel that if we make it, we'll just barely do so.

Do you ever feel that way? Here's some good news that you may not be thinking of: God has faith in us whom He has created!

Surprised? Let's consider some encouraging facts.

First, God made us in His image (Genesis 1:26-28). We know that fact so well that it can be easy not to fully think about its implications. We physically reflect the best that there is and that can be. God loves us as His children! (1 John 3:1) We are made to be loved.

Second, God invested an incomprehensible amount of energy, time and power in developing and setting in motion a mighty plan that is designed specifically for us! This plan included the astonishing requirement that God's only Son--Jesus Christ--would have be sacrificed and die for our sins so we could be part of God's very family for all eternity.

Third, the mighty work that God has begun in us will be carried to completion! (Philippians 1:6) As we go through these Days of Unleavened Bread, we can be assured that we're on the right track.

What's the main point of all this? Nobody, particularly an all-wise and all-powerful God like our Father, would go through so much effort and trouble to develop a plan like this without having full confidence of its success.

So, what's the evidence that God has faith in us?

• Humanity is unique. We are served by invisible and powerful angels sent from God to help and protect us during this earthly life (Hebrews 1:14).

• God has created a vast, limitless and wondrous universe to give and reinforce hope and confident belief that God is Who the Bible says He is. As David wrote: "The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship" (Psalm 19:1 New Living Translation). The entire universe is but an incubator to help "bring many sons to glory" (Hebrews 2:10).

• The Bible is plain that Jesus Christ suffered horrible torture and a gruesome death solely for us, that we might know and be reconciled to God Himself. No one would allow such a thing unless they were fully confident that the plan would succeed!

• The fact is that Jesus Christ Himself said these marvelous words: "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). That's how confident God is in us--that shows the deep faith that God will help us succeed!

Yes, when we know and understand that all have fallen short, that all have sinned (Romans 3:23), we can feel guilt, even deep guilt. But when we do so, we must not fall prey to toxic guilt that leads to depression and a possible separation from God. The Apostle Paul was inspired to teach us the difference between godly sorrow--the sorrow that leads to positive change, and worldly sorrow--the sorrow and the toxic guilt that falsely says that we won't make it, that we're no good. As we read in 2 Corinthians 7:10: "godly sorrow produces repentance [changing of one's ways and thinking]" that will last. On the other hand, "worldly sorrow [toxic guilt] produces death."

As Paul goes on to write in 2 Corinthians 7:11, godly sorrow produces a healthy response, one that is a great model for the Days of Unleavened Bread. It includes a desire to set things right, a zeal to change. Its outcome is a deep and fuller understanding of how God has faith in us!

Remember when we read earlier the famous faith verse in Hebrews 11, that it is impossible to please God without faith in Him? Here's an important point: we often read the first part of that verse and then leave off the latter. Yes, we must exercise faith in order to please God, but we must also believe this:

"Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists AND that he rewards those who sincerely seek him" (Hebrews 11:6, NLT).

Are you truly seeking God? You will be rewarded if you do! That is an unbreakable promise from a God who has deep faith in His Creation.

God is preparing us to live with Him for all eternity. He has full faith and confidence that we will be there. Let us grasp and order our lives according to that deep divine faith!

At this Days of Unleavened Bread season of the year, I wish you grace and peace from God the Father and Jesus Christ.