Thank You!

(Audio version; Music: "Thank You Jesus" by: Hillsong and "Oceans" by: Worship)

A Personal Message

            In Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth, he reminds them of all he endured as part of his ministry—abandonment, shipwrecks, beatings, imprisonment, hunger, thirst, false accusations and many other perils. Yet time and again he opens up his various letters with a word of thanks. Primarily, Paul thanks God for the people who make up the Church and their faithfulness in following his instructions and continued obedience to God even in the face of hardship and persecution. It can be hard to be thankful when life is falling apart around you and based on how Paul described some of his harrowing experiences, it would certainly seem like his life was constantly falling apart around him. But Paul stayed focused on his calling and when those to whom he was sent responded to his message, it kindled his sense of thankfulness because it made his struggles worth it.

            Whenever I tell people that I’m a pastor, many of them assume that I’m in it for the money. However, as most of you already know, I neither solicit nor do I accept any financial support for what I do. I work as a carpenter and use my own money to fund this ministry. What I do ask of those who visit this website is that they share it with others. This year will mark the fifth year for this ministry. There are now 224 lessons available in written form and many in audio form as well. For the last couple of years, the number of people accessing the lessons has remained fairly consistent. However, at the end of last year a number of people told me that they were planning on being more intentional about sharing the website with family and friends. I think what many people fail to realize is that sharing information across the internet has a compounding affect on how quickly that information spreads. Over the last three to four months, traffic to the website has tripled! Since the beginning of this ministry in 2011 until now, lessons have been accessed more than 30,000 times in 110 countries! While I believe that God is sovereign over how this ministry is used, I also believe He is using those of you who have taken the time to share the website with others. Of course none of this even includes the number of times people print the lessons and hand them out to others, which is also effective.

            I get a sense of why Paul was so thankful for the churches who were faithful to follow his instructions. I invest a significant amount of time and effort every week to prepare and publish lessons with a solid biblical and academic foundation and I thank God that He gives me the strength and clarity of mind to do that on a weekly basis. However, I get a great deal of satisfaction when the people who access the lessons, share them with others. I know it can be an uncomfortable thing to do and for some of you it is probably very dangerous. For those of you who access the lessons regularly and especially for those of you who then intentionally and diligently share the lessons with others, I would like to say Thank You! in the manner Paul thanked the church at Thessalonica:

Thank You!

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

            ²We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. ³We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

            It seems clear that God has moved in some of you to share the weekly lessons with your family, friends, co-workers, classmates, and neighbors. I thank God for you because you make me feel like all the research, writing, late nights, and hate mail is worth it even though I know I’m doing exactly what God has called me to do. I nevertheless derive great joy from your faithfulness in supporting me through your prayers and by sharing the lessons I work so hard to prepare for you each week.

A New Look

            Last year I teased that I was planning on making a number of changes to the website. I’ll be honest with you, it was a daunting task because I am far from being computer or internet savvy. I know that seems strange for someone who has launched a ministry that is entirely dependent on computer and internet technology but I have always said that this ministry was God’s idea not mine. And God was once again faithful to send someone into my life to modify the website to be far more user-friendly to navigate all the information contained on the website. But God didn’t just send anyone, He sent me someone very special.

            I have often shared the story with you of my best friend Dave who died unexpectedly 14-years ago this month. Dave left behind a beautiful wife and two beautiful, young daughters, the oldest of which, Erin, is now 24 years-old (the same age as my oldest daughter, Meagan). We have all remained close friends to this day. This past week Meagan flew home from Los Angels and Erin flew in from Virginia at the same time to stay with us. Well Erin happens to be a brilliant and successful computer programmer and she very graciously took the time to re-design the website for me. What was a stressful and daunting task for me was child’s play for her. What, perhaps, she failed to realize is that God used her to participate in something that her dad started but never had the chance to witness. You see, Dave was one of the three people who encouraged me to attend Seminary and become a pastor. Dave died before I finished Seminary and started this ministry, which has always been hard for me. So God in His boundless mercy and love allowed Dave’s daughter to be part of something Dave couldn’t be, and that has brought me great joy and peace this week. God always finds a way to remind me that He is in complete control of all things.

            Therefore, I invite you to tour the website and see how everything is now organized and what has been added. The new design will also allow me to easily add more and more information and resources in the future. And finally, if you haven’t done so already, I ask again that you share the website with anyone and everyone whenever you can. For those of you who have so faithfully prayed for me and have diligently shared the weekly lessons, I Thank You! and I thank God for you always.