The Power Is in the Word

About a month ago I reported on the struggle to write this new book--the second book, I called it--on prophetic interpretation to give away on opening night of the NET prophecy meetings. My deadline to finish the book was last week. Well, I have yet to write it. All this time has been spent on research and note-taking. Between travel, NET administration, and lack of a clear pathway where to go with this work, my plans have not turned out as hoped.

Why is this so important now? Because I have not found a book like it in the market. Most of the books dealing with prophetic interpretation are, understandably, scholarly books. But this is a book for regular folks interested in prophecy. Other books deal with the broader issue of revelation and inspiration. Then, others tackle the problem of literalistic interpretation leading so many sincere Christians to believe the nation of Israel today is in fulfillment of prophecy, that a secret rapture will precede seven years of tribulation under the world rulership of the Antichrist, when 144,000 Jews will end up trying to evangelize the world. This Dispensationalist model of interpretation is simply a cancer in Christian circles, the biggest impediment to understanding the truth of what the Bible really says about the end.

We have been raised by God as a prophetic movement at the time of the end--that is, since 1844--to give the world "the entire counsel of God." God has given this church the entire picture, without which so many sincere souls remain deceived, lured by Babylon in the guise of orthodox Christianity. Satan has managed a multi-prong, clever approach at this most crucial time in the history of human beings. Through Enlightenment ideas he has eroded faith in Scripture via critical--faithless--approaches to Scripture. Through evolution-based scientific explanations he has destroyed faith in God and made irrelevant the Sabbath of the Lord. Through Post-modern social attitudes the Bible is now viewed as a quaint book for a minority in the world insistent in tradition. The ONLY counter to this onslaught of clever deceptions lulling men and women to slow perdition is the wake-up truth of Jesus Christ as revealed in His Word! Nothing else will be able to open people's eyes to see things as they really are.

But to make matters worse, who studies the Bible anymore? Even our own members seem to be reading it less and less, and those outside our faith who still look into it do so through the glasses of Dispentationalism, thus end up just as confused as those who hardly know a word from the Word. People inside and outside of Christianity are still interested in Bible prophecy. A number of them will come to hear a lecture on Armageddon or the Antichrist. But they don't know how to read Scripture.

This is why this book needs to be written. But there are so many ways to go about it. And that's where I lack clarity, wisdom, and insight. We often hear that a writer's block is cured by writing, regardless of how good it is or where the writing takes you. Perhaps that helps in some type of writing, but not every type. I need a vision from God, perhaps not literally, but nevertheless just as real, of the steps to pursue. After so many weeks, I believe I'm closer to discovering what it is that has been elusive to this point. But the reality is that I'm out of time. In two days, I'll be speaking numerous times in Alaska, and mere days after I return, I have another commitment overseas. And after that, the schedule is full again, and the publisher wouldn't have enough time to produce it for the NET meetings. The way I figure it, my last chance to finish this will be the week before the overseas trip. So, one week left! What is that to organize the writing, write each chapter, and get feedback from readers to avoid the most glaring misses?!

For some time now I've wanted an I-Pod to listen to Scripture while running in the mornings, something I used to do with Bible cassettes years ago. My tech-savvy kids convinced me to simply get an I-Phone instead, and I'd have everything there already. So, this past Father's Day we did that. What a blessing to my soul has again been the listening of God's Word! It stimulates my thinking, it helps me understand God Himself, it answers existential and/or biblical questions I've had for years, it builds my confidence in an all wise and loving and powerful God. This is the God of the Universe and the God who knows me--even me--by name.

All I desire is for people to give themselves a chance to understand the God of the Bible. The rest will take care of itself. Would you join me praying for this?

Thank you. I know He will do it.

"The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

I opened my mouth wide and panted, for I longed for Your commandments.

Turn to me and be gracious to me,

After Your manner with those who love Your name."

Psalm 119:130-132

Update and Needs

It's July already. Less than 90 days before opening night! Where are we according to plan?

1. We're resolving the advertising issues. We've taken weeks now to sort this out. The blimp we're planning to use over Nashville presented some logistic and financial issues, but I believe they are finally getting worked out.
2. The guidelines for Archaeology are ready. Something that should have been ready months ago turned out to be a nightmare. The DVDs took months longer to produce than we had planned, and the guidelines for home use had to follow. I believe we have those ready now.
3. 612 churches have signed up. The signing of additional churches after the Creation-Evolution series has been slow coming. My hope is to get at least 1,000 churches by opening night.
4. Several camp meetings have been covered. I've been to Ontario, Kentucky-Tenn, Pennsylvania, and earlier this week returned from the Wisconsin and Arizona camp meetings. I only have Alaska left for this summer. My hope is that a few more churches will join the NET.
5. Prophecy book writing is stalled. Unfortunately, this has been the reality, for a number of reasons. This needs to change radically.
6. Broadcasting will be via Hope Church Channel. Our expectation was to broadcast the NET on Hope Channel and even on 3ABN. However, different decisions were made by both broadcasters which we could not influence. We pray the Lord will still work through these plans.
7. A renewed communication focus began. As of today, I believe the Reach NAD News newsletter coming from Bernie Delafield's office, will dedicate more focused updates on NET 2011. This goes to the entire NAD field.

We need urgent prayer for the following:

1. Spanish Translation. We've been working for months on this, and have finally found a good interpreter (they're not easy to find, especially to do simultaneous translation) able to do it. However, this was not part of our original budget and it will mean a considerable expense we can't cover at this time. We must resolve this issue in the next few days--which means find the finances to pay for it.
2. The Prophecy Book. To be honest, there has been a great controversy between good and evil over this in my life. I need the direct intervention of the Spirit, mostly in my heart. I need the Lord to perform heart surgery in me, and I believe the rest--the writing--will follow. I'm running out of time.
3. More Churches. With such an excellent opportunity to engage in soul winning this fall, it is sad to note so many churches still unsigned. Pray that the Spirit of God may stir the hearts of pastors and church leaders everywhere to sign on to the NET series and see people come to Jesus.
4. Youth Mobilization for Outreach. Later this month (22-24), the Jesus in Jeans Youth Rally will take place in Nashville to mobilize youth for peer outreach. Let's pray that our young people may be powerfully by the Spirit to reach out to others, and that many of them may make decisions for Christ.
5. Better Use of Holy Spirit Book. I have met people all over the country who've found Adventism's Greatest Need a blessing to them. The Lord led me to write this for personal revival and church renewal. Oh, how much we need this! My prayer is that many more can take advantage of this resource, especially as they meet in groups.
6. Guidelines for Creation-Evolution. This is the equivalent of what was done for archaeology. Again, the development of this resource is taking an inordinate amount of time. Pray this may be expedited so members may use the resource in their homes.
7. More Faithful Prayer Warriors. We live in crucial times, with so many people who could turn their faces towards the Lord Jesus. We desperately need more "knee laborers" to press before the Lord His very own agenda.

Please join me in praying for these issues. They weigh heavily on my soul. And pray especially for me. My spiritual health has been on the wane lately, and I need an urgent intervention of the Spirit in my life.

"And He was saying to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'"

Luke 10:2

The Rest of the Story

Thursday I got good news. The Kentucky-Tennessee Conference, local sponsor for the NET meetings in Nashville, approved going out on a faith limb. This took courage, much courage and faith. And that's what the Christian life is all about.

You see, from the beginning, we had two budgets: the national budget of almost $700 thousand and the local budget of just over $300,000. The NAD has largely underwritten the national budget, although I'm responsible for raising about $160,000 of that money. A chunk of that has been raised, for which I thank God profusely. But the local budget called for fund raising about $45,000, and we had zilch to date (I've not been concentrating on that).

Now, before I go on, a word on fund raising. I'm not a fund raiser. I asked for help from the professional people at headquarters but it became obvious they were not used to raising money for evangelism. They deal with education, health, and other objectives. Most of the times, NET meetings are run by media ministries which survive on fund raising and have a network of people they depend on. Obviously, that is not our case, as my team and I teach at the Seminary, instead. The fact we have over $130,000 raised to date is a true and amazing miracle! This money has come from only a half a dozen friends and family members. I simply don't know more people I could ask.

Here is an example of God's intervention about this. One evening, after a weekend in Nashville, I was driving to another town, when the Lord--it was Him, unequivocally--brought forcefully to my mind to call somebody right away. I had seen that person three months before, and expressed our need for financial help, but nothing had come of it. It was mostly a case, I believe, of "out of sight, out of mind." Well, that crisp night, the thought entered my mind with amazing clarity: "Call such and so now." I called.

To my surprise, he answered the phone, and after talking for a few minutes, we agreed to see each other the next morning. Due to our schedules, our window of opportunity was open for only 15 minutes: a series of things would have to work just right for us to meet. Amazingly, all worked flawlessly, and we had our 15 minutes together, after which he promised me, clearly moved by God, to help me with a substantial contribution.

Back to KY-TN. I had not even began to raise funds for our local needs, knowing we'd have time as we got closer to the meetings, and during them as well. Now, keep in mind that large amounts are also budgeted to come in through offerings and material sales--a much larger amount that most would expect. So, it wasn't only donor money that was expected, and needed, to come in.

The conference treasury, understandably, got a bit nervous because that money not yet raised would be the only way to pay for some planned advertising. And we had no guarantees offerings and sales would reach our hopes and expectations. Should we, then, scratch those advertising plans now? They are already making a larger-than-ever-before financial commitment to evangelism this year. This already shows their conviction and courage. But in addition to mass mailing handbills throughout the metro area, we were considering the use of a blimp--yes, a blimp, like the Goodyear blimp--to float around the major Nashville freeways several hours each morning for two weeks! Tens of thousands of motorists each hour would see our website on the sides of the blimp that would lead them to check Prophecies Decoded, and perhaps register to attend. We'd even expect some press attention to it.

After having a candid discussion with all the officers, and ending with prayer as I boarded a plane to the Pennsylvania camp meeting last Tuesday, the decision was made to go for it, and trust the Lord would provide in His time. That's the news I received from the ministerial man on Thursday. This was a very difficult and courageous decision by the conference, and in my heart, I'm convinced God will repay their trust in Him with great dividends.

Now, we'll use mass mailing, the blimp, and two large billboards along a key interstate highway. Please pray that those efforts may bring many interested guests to the doors of our churches. I'm convinced once there, the Spirit of the living God would move powerfully in many of those hearts. And pray, of course, that we're able to raise the necessary funds to pay for it all.

So, the lesson today is that we must live by faith and not by sight. This is what pleases Jesus. His heart is warmed when we put Him to the test. Is it His will for us to do everything possible to share the Three Angels Messages with the world? Of course it is. Then, we must act accordingly. I never forget the many miracles our Lord made when on this earth, which included the caveat: "let it be done according to your faith."

"And without faith is is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him."

Hebrews 11:6

The Second Book

Writing a book is a real challenge, I imagine, even to those who write books. For the rest of us, it can be overwhelming. I'm getting there fast these days.

Several times I have thought about how amazing it was to end up writing the book on the Holy Spirit last December and January in such a short time. I gave it my best, and I believe the content has the potential of really changing people's lives, if read carefully, prayerfully, and with others of like mind. But there is a major difference between that one and this one: I had been living with the contents of the subject of the Holy Spirit for years already. I just needed to write it.

The present challenge, however, could undo me. The book is meant to be a primer on how to study Bible prophecy. It is intended to be the gift book for opening night or the first night people come to the NET prophecy meetings. It is a needed little tome because nothing is available from our presses to date that fits the bill. Now, I figured since this would be at least half the size of the other one, that a few weeks (the only ones I have to work on it!) would suffice. Alas! How wrong was I!

The biggest obstacle has been the fact I'm not an expert on the subject, and neither have I lived with the subject for the last decade plus, such as it was in the case of the previous book. That means I've had to amass any number of books by the real experts on the subject, but since what I have in mind is rather unique, I have found no true models to pattern any type of writing after.

The second challenge is the actual format and flow. I have key subjects in mind, for instance, the need for a Christ-centered hermeneutics (interpretation), dealing with Matthew 24 as a template for other prophetic portions, and the necessity of chipping away at that most noxious of theologies--Dispensationalism--which has been the bane of so many otherwise sincere Bible students. But exactly what to say and how to say those things has proved very tough.

The scary challenge is the fact that time moves on unabated. The last two weeks have been the most clearly dedicated to book-writing and yet the progress has been, quite frankly, dismal. Next week, I begin camp meeting travels again (PA, WI, AZ), and by the time I return my writing should be done. Well, I have barely began.

I guess I'm opening my heart here, in case someone is willing to be a strong prayer partner with me on this great challenge. You see, other NET issues don't wait, they don't stop until I get this book written. Phone call after phone call, e-mail after e-mail, project after project keep demanding my daily time, and this is after much of it has been filtered by my able coordinator, Russell, and preciously willing NADEI staff. In other words, these are the MUST things I need to deal with.

This is not about the loss of face if I don't get the book written, it is much more about the loss of a clearly God-given opportunity, a door He Himself has opened, for potentially thousands of Bible students to benefit from a little help deciphering how to study Bible prophecy. And that is really the issue.

More than once, I have concluded this entire NET 11 project is larger than what someone like me should have tackled, and yet, I have, and others have, also concluded that God has not left us nor forsaken us, but that He has given us multiple evidences He is still in control. God is in this!

Please pray for me over the next 30 days. Please pray, first of all, that my heart be surrendered to God each and every day, so that my great desire would be to honor Him and love Him above anything else in the world. Pray, secondly, that the Holy Spirit may illumine my mind in ways unknown before, that a real miracle may take place in my mind. That thought and text and concept may come together as only God can make it possible. And last, pray, as Joshua prayed in chapter 10 of his book, that time may stand still, as it were. That, somehow, this can be accomplished in time to be published, and thus be of help to the NET churches that wish to use it as a necessary resource.

This blog should not be understood as fodder for discouragement. This is my cry for help before the Lord, and I fully believe, all things are possible with Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.

"Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think,

according to the power that works within us,

to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus

to all generations forever and ever. Amen."

Ephesians 3:20, 21

Providential Leadings

This blog should have been written last Monday or Tuesday, but, oh well. Now, here is a story.

Months ago, Marvin Lowman, from the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference, the sponsoring conference for the NET 11 meetings, asked me to speak at their camp meeting for this weekend. At the time, I already had a commitment elsewhere, and offered to come the previous weekend (last weekend). That was not possible because they already had a speaker lined up for some time (three years, as it turned out), for that weekend. It seemed important that I had exposure at this camp meeting since it is less than an hour away from Nashville, and it is so critical to have good support in the Nashville area for good NET meetings. But it was out of our hands.

A few days later, Marvin offered I do a seminar on evangelism Sunday afternoon. It was not the prime time spots of Friday night and Sabbath, but at least it was something. As the weeks went on, a couple of extra appointments were added, such as speaking to the pastors Monday morning, the retiree workers Sunday at lunch time, and an 8-minute evangelism feature for Saturday night.

God, however, continues to work in mysterious ways. Last Friday, already packed and ready to go to the airport to fly to Nashville, Marvin calls with an emergency. The speaker planned for so long for the weekend is stranded in Brazil, his airplane struck by lightning (nothing happened to anyone). Could I come and speak in his place? I had to smile at the turn of events. Evidently God still wanted that exposure to the largest possible number of people for that camp meeting during prime time speaking slots. I also teased the Lord a bit, saying that it would have been a bit easier to prepare four sermons with a few weeks of advance notice rather than the time it takes to fly to Nashville. The truth is, God probably figured I wouldn't take too much more time than the one I did in this emergency.

So, I arrived 20 minutes after Friday night's program started, yet in time to speak. I spoke four times on Why, Who, and How of Revival. It gave me the opportunity to study and arrange new material for at least two of those sermons. And the Lord, as usual, blessed beyond our limited expectations. Everyone seemed to sense God was in this change of plans.

Even though there have been a number of challenging things regarding the planning and preparation of this entire NET 11 package, this past weekend developments remind me of a number of interventions by the Almighty.

Last January, I don't think I shared this yet, my wife and I were traveling to the airport for appointments in California and Alabama. The flight was early in the morning, it was dark, had snowed, and was a bit windy. As soon as I turned in to the freeway access ramp, I lost control of the GMC, even though it was on 4-wheel drive, and we went careening down the embankment, landing with a significant thud 50 feet below the on-ramp. After checking we were unharmed, Lisa said, "I guess we're not going to the airport today." I thought to myself of the trouble that would mean, missing the chance to speak to significant communities, including pastors, about NET 11. We thanked God we were OK, and asked His intervention. The thought of spending the morning trying to get help to pull my car out of the ditch was enough to discourage me. I couldn't afford wasting time like that.

After the quick prayer, it occurred to me to put it on reverse (it was obvious we could not move forward), even though behind us was a significantly steep hill. As I did, the vehicle simple shifted SIDEWAYS about 45 degrees, so the hill behind us was no longer there. Slowly, we backed out of there, then put it on drive, making a wide circle on the snow, and steadily climbed up the ramp as if that was the most natural thing in the world. I went outside to appraise the damage, and hardly saw any, so we decided to go on the airport. I made all my appointments. The whole incident had taken but five minutes.

No one saw us that dark, snowy morning, but my wife and I sense our angels did something special at God's command to help us out of there. Another confirmation that God is in this NET 11 project. Every time we go by that embankment, we look down it and raise our thankful hearts to our great Protector and Deliverer.

And I could share many more interventions, such as getting Russell Burrill to join our team and become coordinator when it was his inclination to say No. Or getting Tim Standish to join me for the Creation-Evolution series when his schedule seemed prohibitive. Or getting the NAD to approve a budget larger than ever before in NET history.

There are still challenges ahead--the writing of the prophecy book (more on this next time), fund-raising, communication with the field, guidelines for archaeology and creation DVDs, etc.--but God blesses us each step of the way. All we must do is trust Him with all our hearts, and He will bring it to pass.

"Trust in the Lord and do good;...

Delight yourself in the Lord;

And He will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him, and He will do it."

Psalm 37:3-5

End of the World Musings

Back last night from Toronto, where this weekend I spoke and provided evangelism training for the college church in Oshawa. It was a pleasure to work with Pastor Edgar Nunes and other pastors whose churches are part of the NET 11 process.

Last Sabbath, as I'm sure you know, was supposed to be the rapture and the start of the Great Tribulation. Well, it sure didn't happen in Toronto, and apparently neither did anywhere else. Seventh-day Adventists knew this (and most of the world suspected it), but the whole affair leaves us thinking about how this may actually impact NET 11 plans for this fall.

You see, Harold Camping, head of Family Radio and the originator of the Judgment Day May 21 debacle, as of today, has changed his tune--slightly. What he shared through radio was picked up by the secular media, and here is the new scenario: the whole thing was "spiritual." The rapture and the series of earthquakes were spiritual, not physical happenings. October 21 is still the end of the world. And that will be the real thing. (He had always maintained that the desolations of the world would culminate on October 21).

Camping begins with typical Dispensationalist/futurist thinking: the rapture, the tribulation that follows, disasters everywhere ushering Christ's return. But he goes beyond most by extrapolating dates, basically out of the air, to calculate the dates for these events. Whatever little credibility he had before anyone other than his closest followers is now gone altogether, after the May 21 non-event. However, this makes our work harder. Or does it?

Let me explain.

On the one hand, this May 21 non-happening, with all the billboards and the surprisingly large secular media coverage it received, has created a lot more skeptics out of those who already had second thoughts about religionists who focus on end-time issues. Secondly, it has turned secular people into plain, open mockers of the whole thing. Talk shows on radio and TV have derided the non-event and poked serious fun, not only at Camping and his followers, but, by extension, at religious people in general. There are pro-Bible people who will now make sure they don't say much about the Bible, to avoid any more trouble. Tragically, the May 21 fiasco has brought discredit on the Bible itself, as many see it.

This is a serious challenge to our mission. We firmly believe that Jesus is coming soon, but now more people will be bound to laugh the whole thing off since they have fresh evidence nothing did happen when it was predicted. I guess it shouldn't be surprising that Camping's new interpretation of the non-event was made to be "spiritual." That is exactly how a number of Millerites explained the fact Jesus did not return physically on October 22, 1844. Those people made the life and ministry of young Ellen White very grievous.

What we face is the possibility that, as the prophecy series approach, the media will also begin to focus on October 21, fully convinced it will also be a non-event, poised to mock again all who might think it is. Camping promised no one will be passing out tracks or using billboards this time. However, the use of billboards is something we're considering just as I write these lines!! Will we be grouped with these false prophets for drawing attention to the end times?

What gets to me more than anything else, is the real possibility that we may pull back advertising plans because Camping and co. has brought disrepute to the whole issue. What shall we do?!

But here is an alternative thought. What if God, somehow uses this mess for His glory? The weeks leading to May 21 clearly showed that a lot of people are interested in end-time scenarios, otherwise the secular media wouldn't have gotten so deep in it. Would the nearness of October 21 be a catalyst for people to come out to our meetings? Or would they stay away fearing association with extreme people devoid of common sense?

If there is a time to think about this it is right now. We're making important advertising decisions RIGHT NOW, and we need the guidance of the Spirit of God about them. Only God knows what will happen this coming September and October. Only He knows what the mood of the world will be at that time.

"O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before his great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You."

2 Chronicles 20:12

Survival of the Unfitted

The Creation-Evolution mini-series is over (I've been so busy, I couldn't write for this blog!), and a certain chagrin hangs over my soul. I supposed we worked so hard on the series--mistakes and imperfections not withstanding--that it's a bit like losing a loved one you've known for a long time.

But let's review. Working with Tim Standish, GRI biologist and co-presenter, has been a real pleasure, as well as with Matt Lucio, my graphic designer, who can work under pressure. Russell Burrill, my right-hand man and NET 11 coordinator, has also been a blessing. And Lisa, my wife, continues to be long-suffering with her busy husband. God has blessed our efforts, though I'm fully (and somewhat painfully) aware of the things that should have been better. This is a first in the Adventist Church, and we can draw a few conclusions:

• There is a lot of interest out there on this subject, and meetings like these reach a demographic not reached before by the church: smart, thinking, mostly well educated people. I spent each night talking with some of them--beautiful people.
• At least in Nashville, three fourths of the non-SDA guests that came had a Christian background, along with a science background. One fourth were secular people with little or no Bible background.
• In general, the guests were thrilled about what they heard, and many members were also quite excited.
• We probably should hold back before live audiences the fact this is on TV or Internet; it's too easy to stay home the next night.
• Outreach continues to be hard to do, perhaps increasingly so, in Adventist churches. Most members simply do not reach out to others. In general, we are a seriously Laodicean church exempted only by a very small minority of faithful members whose lives belie Jesus is first in their lives.
• When it comes to outreach, process is important. Little by little, more members are tuning in to what we're doing, and more guests are finding out about Adventist offerings to the community.

Since last November, this NET 11 journey has been the survival of the unfitted. First, putting budget and planning team together and getting appropriate administration approval. Second, developing equipping and promotional calendars plus materials for the churches' Early Bird packages. Third, writing and getting published Adventism's Greatest Need. Fourth, planning and broadcasting Jesus in Your Church. Fifth, fundraising over $135,000 for NET 11. Sixth, writing the NET 11 Manual plus conceiving a number of other equipping pieces. Seventh, preparing and broadcasting In the Beginning. All this in addition to full-time teaching responsibilities at the Seminary. 

I look at this and wonder, not at my ability to accomplish it all, but at God's willingness to work with such a frail vessel and trust him with so much. At every juncture we've made mistakes, and yet, they seem rather inconsequential compared to the gains for the sake of the gospel.

So, here we are, only four and a half months from Prophecies Decoded's opening night, and here is a new list of prayer requests--seven, for good measure:

1. For the 575 churches so far engaged in NET 11 to not lose track of new friends made over this past weekend, and for them to maximize every opportunity for outreach this summer;
2. For pastors to carefully read the NET 11 Manual so they can be better prepared for what's coming;
3. For my research and writing of the book on prophecy, the gift book churches are to use for opening night. Unlike the previous book, I'll need to do more research for it, and only have a few weeks to do it;
4. For God to bless my summer travel--camp meetings, training events--and even open a door for what I consider a needed trip to Rome on behalf of the upcoming meetings;
5. For more donors to have a burden to give to NET 11--we need financial help;
6. For the Holy Spirit to use Adventism's Greatest Need to awaken dormant churches and people; and
7. For my health (I know many have had this burden--thank you), especially my spiritual health.

I don't know if I'll ever have the privilege to meet most or all the NET 11 prayer warriors, but that would be an enormous treat for me. I want to thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your dedication to this cause. I am absolutely sure we could be nowhere where we are today without the faithful and faith-filled prayers that each of you offer. To God be the glory!

God bless you more than you can imagine.

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now."

Philippians 1:3-5