Sometimes, I think, the motivation is for a removal of conviction or guilt.   Hebrews 4:16 tells us to come to the Throne of Grace to obtain mercy.  The word mercy there implies a removal of the burden of guilt.  Have you ever heard someone ask the Lord to not let a certain person have peace until they make things right with God?  As someone has said, “There’s not a more miserable person in the world than a Christian outside of God’s will”.

At other times, I get the impression that some believers respond out of a sense that the Lord will “lower the boom” on them if they don’t obey.  Certainly the Bible is clear that, according to Hebrews 12:5-11, God disciplines and corrects His children.  Proverbs 1:7 declares that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  The way to control the consequences is to make obedient choices.  While we can’t change history, we can commit to letting God change us and control us through His Word now and in the future.

Reward often motives us to make Christ-honoring priorities.  In Matthew 6 Jesus commands us to “lay up treasure in heaven” and to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” with the promise that, “all these things shall be added unto you”.   Isn’t it great to live for a cause that will outlive our earthly lives, to invest in this temporal life toward an eternal treasure?!

I believe the underlying theme in all these motivations ought to be the first and greatest commandment. Jesus said in Matthew 22:40 that on the first and second great commandments hang all the law and prophets.  If we miss the motivation of God’s love for us and our responsive love to Him, we miss foundational truth that will change us.  Understanding that, according to I John 4:19, “we love Him because He first loved us”, we respond in obedient submission as a result of our love relationship with Christ.  Jesus said in John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments”.  As we walk daily with Christ, we will become more like Him, and what and who He loves we grow to love.  As we understand more of Jesus’ love for us, we will more deeply desire to please Him and not  disappoint Him.  As a child I obeyed my Dad because I feared the rod, but as I grew into my teen years and understood more about my Dad’s love for me, and as we drew closer in our relationship I did things I knew would please my Dad.  I also refrained from doing certain things because I knew it would disappoint Dad, would hurt his testimony, or could possibly limit his ministry influence.  I made my share of sinful choices and didn’t serve the Lord as aggressively as I could have, but I made less wrong choices and made more right choices because of my relationship with my Dad.  My close relationship with my Dad also influenced the way I responded to his corrective discipline.  My relationship with my Heavenly Father should, to a much greater degree, influence my life in the same ways.  May our relationship with the Living Word transform our response to the Written Word!

On Monday, January 25 I went to the post office to mail out some orders of our new CD. When I checked our box we had a financial gift sent for our ministry, and since I was already headed to town on another errand I decided to go the bank. After running my other errands, I arrived at the bank at about 4:30, and the lobby closes at 5. It just so happened that I didn’t have any deposit slips left, so I had to go into the lobby to fill out one. As I was filling out the slip, I overheard one of the bank workers ask another, “Why did Jesus have to die? What or who was He saving us from? If God can do anything, then why couldn’t He just save everyone?” After I made the deposit there was a lull in the conversation, and I felt as if someone was staring at me so hard their vision was boring holes in my head. I turned to the woman who asked the questions and said, “I’d be glad to answer your questions.” The other person involved in the conversation said, ” I wondered when you were going to speak up. He’s an evangelist”, she told everyone in the bank. The questioning lady said, “You probably don’t have time to answer all my questions” to which I replied, “I have all the time you need.” (I needed to get home to help Krista get ready for hosting our assistant pastor and his family for supper and an evening of fellowship). For the next 30-40 minutes I answered her questions and gave her the Gospel. Customers coming in for last-minute banking got involved. Every worker in the bank stayed and listened. The moving of the Spirit of God was so real and tangible, and a holy hush permeated the atmosphere of that little lobby. Finally, I left my contact info with everyone for further follow-up, and although nobody called on the name of the Lord for salvation at that time, I have no doubt some will.

When I left, the lady with whom I held the conversation followed me for a ways through the traffic til our routes diverged. God struck me with the thought that even driving in traffic I have a testimony to uphold for the Lord. I thought about the lady’s exclamation, “I wondered when you were going to speak up. He’s an evangelist”. What if I had been in a rush and pretended not to hear what was going on? People are watching, people are looking for real hope and the genuine love of Christ in us. Does my daily living direct people towards Christ and authenticate the message of the Gospel, and how carefully do I look for God’s answer to my prayer in sending me divine appointments? Oliver B. Greene usually ended his prayers on the radio, “And save the soul nearest hell”. May God lead us to them so we can lead them to Him!

This May we will have completed ten years in full-time evangelism. How quickly time marches on, and how much we have yet to do in the service of our Lord! God continues to grow us in His grace, and we look forward with great excitement to what the Lord will do in the time we have left until His return. May the Lord find all of us faithful stewards!

As our ministry develops we want to share some of the changes the Lord is bringing into our ministry. We are excited to watch the Lord open new doors of ministry and equip us to serve Him in those capacities.

Krista enjoys speaking to ladies’ groups for various functions such as Sunday School classes, Ladies’ Retreats, Banquets and other church-related activities for ladies. We have received many testimonies of the helpful blessing the Lord provided through Krista’s teaching/speaking ministry. Krista is also expanding her musical ministry through written music. SacredSheetMusic.com carries several of Krista’s pieces of music, including a two-part Christmas cantata. Soundforth recently published her advanced book of sacred arrangements entitled, Day by Day. Krista has just recorded a demo CD of the music in her book Day by Day, but we haven’t yet finished production. Her first piano CD Whiter Than Snow has recently been remastered, but we still need to finish the copy stage. Please pray with us that the Lord will provide the finances to finish these projects. As you can see in our announcement section of our website, we now have our new CD A Family Journey complete and it is available.

Cameron (9) and Ivy (7) are now singing in our meetings on a regular basis, Cameron is starting to play duets on the piano with Krista (and Ivy isn’t far behind) , and Krista and I are singing duets on a more regular basis. As the children continue to study music we trust the Lord will continue to expand this area of our ministry.

Todd Sivnksty
Karis Ministries
P.O. Box 278
Starr, SC 29684
(864) 356-6928
todd@exceedinggrace.org