The Official Newsletter of Kingdom Builders of Central New York
Jan 14, 2023 6:01 am
Mission Statement:
Kingdom Builders ministry exists to serve homeowners in the greater Oneonta area by providing quality labor to address construction needs that they are unable to accomplish by their own means. Although the practical focus is on construction, the spiritual focus is on building relationships with those served, with the end goal of demonstrating the love of Christ through ministry.
Campaign Corner 
We are into our second month of the campaign and closer to our goal of raising $50k.
We have received $9,400 (this includes the “matching donation” of $5,000) and $1,000 has been paid out for the deposit.
Thank you for being on this journey with us to help “keep this ministry rolling”!
Praises:
Blessings flow from God, but they don’t stop with us. They come to us and then flow through us.
That we can be showered with spiritual blessings: deep compassion, amazing love, kindness and grace, His forgiveness, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and His multitude of promises.
Prayers:
In a world that encourages us to just look out for ourselves, help us find ways to be radically generous to the people God has placed in all our lives.
Throughout this year we allow the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, wisdom, and conviction to lead us towards using the mind and attitude of Christ that lives inside us.
In the seasons where we find we are waiting on God, or not experiencing blessings, that we can rejoice in everything He is doing for others.
We are blessed, so we can be a blessing
JANUARY 2023
Wow! What a year it has been. Because of how the Lord is leading you all, Kingdom Builders was able to bless many in our community. It’s an honor to be able to serve our Lord and our community this way.
It has become very clear to us how God is pleased with our ministry. He continues to bless us and others beyond what we can imagine is possible. We came to Him recently in prayer about a new van for us and He went to work. Funds started showing up before we went public, and He continues provide those funds. The ETA of the van is about mid-February and I know He will provide all the funds needed when it arrives - cuz that’s how He roles when we are faithful and obedient. Praise Him!
Because of weather and the holidays, we didn't do any projects last month. But now as the New Year has come, we need to get busy for God. We have another bathroom remodel for an elderly woman who is in need of a new shower. Because her mobility is challenging, she needs a shower she can get in and out in with ease. And we are just the gang to be able to serve her needs. We have other projects in the cue and hope to “keep on keep'n on”.
We continue to be thankful to God and you.
We hope and pray that you this new year brings many blessings to you. Let's do this!
Andy
Message from The Board
Greetings and a blessed New Year to all. At this time many people make New Year’s Resolutions. Quite often these declarations are the same as have been sounded annually, repeatedly, even from the same mouths. With that in mind I wanted to share some thoughts on the concept and break it down, word by word, to help understand why we fail so often with these.
The word new appears in the Bible 150 times, that depends on which version you are using but that is a fairly round number. Webster’s defines the word new as something not existing before; something made, introduced, or discovered for the first time, pristine, original. It can also mean something already existing but seen, experienced, or acquired for the first time. For example, her new bicycle or my car is new to me even though it may be a used vehicle. Renew means to resume an activity after an interruption or to extend for a further period the validity, such as a license or agreement. Biblically renew means to make new spiritually or regenerate. The Kingdom Builders mission is to repair, replace, renew portions of a dwelling for those that may be struggling to make this happen on their own. In renewing portions of their homes, and with our conversations during that time, we open ourselves to others in hopes of renewing them spiritually. After all, we are God’s children. Every one of us is created knowingly and with a purpose. God’s ultimate goal of renewal is to become perfectly united with His people, as things were in the Garden of Eden. The truth is, with God, you are new, we are new. 2 Corinthians 5:17- Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
A year for us is 365 ¼ days. Some researchers and scholars will say that the biblical year was 355 days or 360 days. Some may question whether a year in biblical times compares with today’s year. Scientifically, it has been shown that there is such insignificant change in the Earth’s spin and revolution around the sun that the times and seasons have remained the same for the last 6000 years: 24-hour days and 365-day years. If the Bible tells me Methuselah was 969 years old, he was that old. If the Bible says Noah was 950 years old, I believe that.
A year is a year is a year. Whether in the financial world using a fiscal year for taxation times, or the business world where corporations have annual spend metrics their budget year is the calendar year. We on Earth today sometimes look at years as markers, birthdays, anniversaries, or of passages of time. The New Year’s Holiday is a similar annual marker. Billy Graham once said, “A new year is only a mark of time, a turning of the page. Mankind was not established on earth just to be preoccupied with self, our own problems and pleasures… If this is all there is to life, then it truly is “meaningless”. Ecclesiastes 1:14-The Teacher, son of David, King over Israel says “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. This is a reminder of how insignificant our time on this Earth is compared with eternity.
Now having touched on “new” and “year” the cause of failure may be the resolution part. The prefix “Re”, which means again, back, or indicates repetition, doesn’t apply here. “Re” in this case is not a prefix but a part of the word resolution so that can’t be why we repeatedly fail our resolutions. By definition a resolution is a firm decision to do or not do something. There is a quality of being determined or resolute. To resolve something means to settle or find a solution to a problem, issue, dispute or to decide firmly on a course of action. It can also represent one’s firm determination to accomplish something. In this sense Kingdom Builders makes resolutions on completion once a project has been approved. Still unable to define why humans fail so at resolutions I sought another Billy Graham quote, “People by nature build, tear down, and rebuild. We build our hopes, get disappointed, and then search for renewed hope. That is why we are fond of New Year’s resolutions… Faith in God calls for building from the inside out. There is no sense in working on the outside if the inside is rotten. The most important resolution you can make as another year approaches is this: to open your heart and life to Jesus Christ, and commit your life to Him. Don't waste your time on resolutions that don't ultimately matter; resolve instead to live for Christ.”
By attempting to “break down” New Year’s Resolution, word by word, leaves us not breaking it down at all. We just need to break it apart some, drop two letters and focus on a solution we can achieve, garner, grab hold of. Let’s have our New Year’s reSolution be Jesus. With him all things are fulfilled, resolved. As we at KBCNY embark on another year of helping area families we also look to renew our relationship with him and be able to share with those we are helping. We hope to spark conversation and renew their faith and trust in Jesus, to help guide them back on the path home, the ultimate home. The board graciously thanks you for your support in prayer, hands on help, contributions for materials and construction costs, and also the great support we are witnessing on our capital project to replace Andy’s overworked van. Progress on this capital project can be seen by clicking the “About” tab at the top of our website home page. Thank you and may God bless you.
Bill Rogers
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