Vacation is actually not the right word, since I'm still answering key e-mails, making NET decisions, and will have some work to do that cannot wait. But it is as much of one as we've had in a long time.
Over the years, I've been to over 50 countries and just about every major city in the world, except Rome, curiously enough. My several trips to and through Italy never included the Eternal City, but I wanted to check this out before the prophecy meetings got going.
It is very hot here at this time, and there are kazillion tourists from all over the world. The closest thing I remember is the number of tourists at the Grand Canyon.
One thing really strikes the well-informed visitor about this city: the total unity between the pagan and the religious. You see it in the architecture, the historical details, the landscape. So many times a pagan site from imperial Rome was converted into a house of worship by a pope years later. The tour guides say it with certainty: When imperial Rome collapsed, the city was ruled by the popes until the start of the republic. Do you know when that is? The 19th century. It all coincides with the biblical view of the conflict between good and evil.
St. Peter's Basilica is something to behold. Inside is that famous sculpture of Peter which is probably the god Jupiter, and many other items of interest. Peter himself called this city Babylon (2 Pet 3:15). So, I'm taking mental as well as real notes of what I'm seeing; plus as many suitable pictures as I can.
This morning, Lisa and I traveled from our hotel to worship in the largest Italian church in Rome. It is the one at the Union office, and for those coming from America, it is striking to see how small it is. Maybe 75 people were worshiping there today, and the church was full. We have yet so much work to do!
We look forward to traveling along the Waldensian Valleys next.
So, where are we in terms of prayer needs?
1. Pray for More NET Churches. We believe this will be a very good series, and wish more churches would take advantage of this opportunity. There is a lot of supporting material to conduct a successful meeting, and churches can use as much or as little of it as they wish. Let's pray that even though it's only a month away, more churches would choose to use this as part of their evangelistic initiative.
2. Pray for the Promotion. This includes the social media approaches we're engaging in, the handbills a number of churches will use, and the various other forms of advertising. Of course, the key piece of advertising will always be the personal invitation by a caring church member.
3. Pray for Church Revival. Oh, how much we need the churches to fall in love with Jesus! A key to that objective is the commitment and heart of the pastor him/herself. If the leadership is focused on Christ and His mission to the world, it'll be easier for the congregation to follow. So, please pray for the pastors involved in the NET series, and for the congregations to develop an earnest desire to reach out to others as Jesus has reached out to us.
4. Pray for the Archaeology Meetings. Dr. Hasel and I are looking forward to these meetings starting Sept 14. We hope and pray that many may come to them, and that many guests may choose to come to the prophecy meetings because of their experience with Astonishing Discoveries in the Land of the Bible. A new website about it should be up any time now. This is a great mini-series to invite friends, neighbors, family, and co-workers.
5. Pray for the Equipment. My personal computer may be on its last dregs, and that makes me think of the various bad things that can happen when equipment you rely on suddenly stops working the way you expect. We have a lot riding on this.
6. Pray for the Broadcast on HOPE. We weren't able to convince 3ABN to carry this NET series, which was a personal disappointment for me. However, there is a good chance now that Hope will carry the series on Hope TV, not just on Hope Church Channel. This means that for the first time ever evangelistic meetings may be before a potentially large secular audience across the country. We need the guidance of the Holy Spirit for every word we say, every song we sing, and every Bible explanation we give. God must be in control of everything, for His glory!
7. Pray for the NET Music. Due to a limited music budget, it has been more challenging to get well-known Adventist artists to give their time to the NET meetings. They want to do it but they live off their music ministries, and that's understandable. We have a lot of excellent local talent (after all Nashville is Music City USA), but some are untested when it comes to performing for live television. Pray Jesus will guide our music coordinator, Gale Murphy, to bring on those who'd most clearly honor God and be a blessing to those coming to the meetings.
8. Pray for the Local Fundraising. Fund-raising has depended on me, and we haven't had but one chance to do this work in the Nashville area. We need to raise at least $45,000 to cover our basic budget. Play pray the Holy Spirit may convict men and women of good will to invest financially in the work of the Lord.
Thank you so much for your prayers on behalf of the prophecy book. The title of it is Decoding Bible Prophecy and will be published by Pacific Press. It will be made available to the churches at a very low price. Our plan is to give the book to everyone coming to the prophecy meetings at least six nights. It'll be our incentive for first-week attendance. We now plan to give the Andrews Study Bible to them after attending twelve nights.
Let us not grow weary in doing good. The Lord will sustain us. Thanks for much for your prayers!
"Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy,
and keep those things which are written in it;
for the time is near."
Revelation 1:3
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