The Japanese soldier of World War Two was a formidable enemy.  He had been taught from childhood that it was an honor and, if necessary, his duty to die for the emperor, Hirohito.  If surrounded by his enemy, the Japanese soldier would fix his bayonet and come out charging or he would commit suicide.  But he would not surrender.  Even when defeated, he fought on.

Toward the end of the war, as the Americans drew closer and closer to the home islands of Japan, this resolve to fight on became increasingly fierce.  One problem the Americans had to deal with was a small island that lay southeast of Japan, Iwo Jima.  This island was used by the Japanese Air Force as a base from which to harass American bombing missions headed for the mainland.  So, it was an island that had to be taken.

By the time the battle for Iwo Jima was over (March 26^th, 1945), 5,931 Marines had been killed and 17,773 had been wounded.  As it turned out, this battle was one of the bloodiest campaigns in the Pacific Theater during World War Two.

One of the Marines wounded during the battle for Iwo Jima was Charles W. Lindberg of North Dakota.  (This was not the Charles A. Lindbergh who was the first to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927.)  During the early stages of this campaign, Lindberg was part of a patrol that climbed Mount Suribachi on the island.  He states, “We were the first combat patrol to hike up the mountain.  So we carried the [first] flag to the highest point and raised it.  It was really a proud moment.  The next day I was shot and shipped off the island.”

The sight of this banner was significant.  More than 71,000 Marines were on the island at the time this flag was raised, joined by thousands of sailors watching from offshore.  When these warriors saw it flying on top of the mountain, it boosted their morale during this fierce battle.  To be sure, they needed to be strengthened as they clashed with the Japanese soldier.

In the Bible there was another “banner” raised during another battle; and this banner made all the difference between victory and defeat (Exodus 17:8-16).  In fact, it was so important to the nation of Israel that it was considered one of the symbols of God Himself.  On that day of battle against the nation of Amalek, the LORD came to be known as Yahweh Nissi, “the LORD is my Banner.”

The New Testament Church can make that same claim.  The LORD is our “banner” – our “rallying Point” – from Whom we receive strength to fight our enemies.  Yet, unlike the Amalekite (and Japanese) soldiers, the Church’s war is not a flesh-and-blood fight.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.  (Ephesians 6:12)

The moment an individual is born of the Spirit of God, he joins a war already in progress.  And it will not take him long to realize that this is not a minor skirmish.  What he faces is an enemy that has the ability to shake the very core of his being … “to sift him like wheat” (Luke 22:31).  And it will seize every opportunity it is given to do so.

Often (not always), the believer is confronted with a combative human being(s).  But in reality, the driving personalities behind the conflict are not flesh and blood but, rather, demonic in nature:

invisible … organized … highly intelligent … inconceivably evil … more powerful than any mere man … and consumed with an intense hatred toward those who submit their lives to the authority of the Son of God.

Over time, as the believer’s lifestyle becomes more and more righteous, he will notice that these assaults are not going away.  To the contrary, the opposition he experiences will become more intense … and, perhaps, more frequent … which brings us to a most important and fundamental truth:

• The reason Satan attacks the believer is because of his righteous standing in Christ and because of his righteous influence over others.

These spirit-based hostilities come from an enemy that loathes the Light of God (i.e., both the Living and written Word of God).  And their “bullets” are aimed at those who love that Light (a love proven by an increasingly obedient lifestyle).

It is most certainly true:  this demonic adversary has already been defeated at the Cross of Christ.  It is equally true that these spiritual bull dogs have no intention of waving the white flag.  Their bayonets are fixed; and their goal is to destroy not only the testimony of the Christ-follower but also, if permitted, his very life (saved only by the restraining hand of God).

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert.  Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  (1^st Peter 5:8)

My beloved friends, this world is becoming more anti-Christ, more anti-Biblical by the day.  Those who take their stand for the Word of God are going to experience – firsthand – the power of the demonic realm.  It would be less than wise for the believing community to underestimate the supernatural strength of this enemy.  They are a most formidable foe.

That is why the saints must rally around Yahweh Nissi, “the LORD, our Banner.”  He is infinitely stronger than these evil spirit-beings; and He has provided His people with an offensive weapon needed to win each battle.  What is this weapon the Commander-King has placed into the hands of His true and living Church?  It is none other than

the Truth of God

How to use this spiritual weapon to fight this spiritual war is the subject of The God of Our Lives, chapter 4:  “Our God is Truth.”

Click here to view this course:  THE GOD OF OUR LIVES

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Click here to read the 1^ST chapter of The God of Our Lives:  YAHWEH, OUR GOD IS OUR CREATOR

To the readers within the believing community:  My wife and I would greatly appreciate your prayers, that we would respond to adversity with grace and righteousness.

In loving memory of my father, Henry Martin Puryear, Jr., an honorable man

Who taught you how to drive?

My father taught me how to drive.  And I learned on a country road.  My father was of the opinion that if my sister and I could drive a straight shift then we could drive an automatic.  So, we both learned how to drive using our family Volkswagen.

Over the course of time, I learned how to coordinate the use of the accelerator and brake pedal with my right foot, the clutch with my left foot, the gear shift with my right hand, and the steering wheel with my left hand.

“This is a piece of cake,” the 15-year-old said to his father as I put on my sunglasses, turned on the radio, hung my elbow out the window and settled back in the bucket seat to get comfortable.  (That was a mistake.)

Next, Dad decided that it was time for me to learn how to slow the car down using the gears, instead of the brake, to do so.  I was coming up to a stop sign, and he wanted me to shift from 4^th gear to 3^rd gear, and then from 3^rd gear to 2^nd gear.  For some dumb reason, I did not feel like learning how to downshift that day; so I told him “Not today.”  (That was another mistake.)

He said to me, “Yes, today,” and I said back, “I don’t want to learn how to downshift today.”  (As I write this, I cannot believe I said that.)  He looked over at me and said with all the gentleness and tender care of a drill sergeant (you know what I mean), “YES, TODAY!”

Well, in the heat of the moment, Dad failed to tell me that when you are going 45 miles per hour, and you shift from 4^th gear to 3^rd gear, you are supposed to eassssssse the clutch out slowly.  So, I shifted from 4^th gear to 3^rd gear … and then I “popped the clutch.”  (That was my third mistake.)

As the VW’s four-cylinder engine shrieked with a shrill-like scream, the driver and his passenger lunged forward.

My father was one of those people who loved to drink coffee.  Every time you saw him, he would have a piping hot cup of coffee in his hand … which is what he had in his hand when he said to me, “Yes, today!”  He was already hot (i.e., red in the face) before I popped the clutch.  After I popped the clutch he was hotter.  And wet.

Well, thanks to my father I got my driver’s license.  And thanks to me, my father got gray hair.  But that is what it took for him to ensure that his son could drive a straight shift.

On the day I got my license and was about to get in the car for my first solo spin, he said to me, “Son, if I ever hear from someone around town …” (and he had a lot of friends around our small town) … “If I ever hear that you are driving recklessly, you can wave ‘Good-bye’ to that license for about a month.”  And that is what it took for him to ensure that his son become a safe driver.  My father wanted me to remain alive to write this story.  My wellbeing (as well as that of other motorists) was at stake.

But that was not the only reason he told me that.  His name was at stake.  My father’s reputation was important to him, and he did not want me messing up the honor associated with it.

There is another Father Whose Name is important to Him.  And He wants His children to represent that Name well.  Indeed, those born into the family of God will eventually come to realize that their Father in heaven is dead serious about protecting His honor.  So much so that He uses “all things” in the routine of life to cause His children to reflect His character:  all its wonderful delights … all its bitter trials … and everything in between.  Even the most mundane of days He will not waste.  As gently as possible but as firmly as necessary, our sovereign God

causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.  (Romans 8:28-29)

The Father wants His children to become like The Son.  And He will spend the rest of their lives working toward that goal.  The reason He will do so is because there is a great deal at stake:

• In the first place, a changed life presents proof to a despairing world that Jesus Christ can – and does – redeem ruined sinners.  It gives hope to those who have no hope.

• Furthermore, a purified life presents proof of that believer’s faithfulness when he bows before the Judgment Seat of Christ.  Eternal rewards await “the good and faithful slave.”

All of this is true.  But there is something else at stake that far surpasses these reasons:

• A transformed life highly exalts the Name of the one, true God far above every other name, in heaven and on earth.

Truly, the Father has transformed His children into brand new creations … raised in Christ to walk in newness of life.  And He did so to prove to all creation that He – and He alone

“… is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords … eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, to Him be honor and glory forever and ever.”  (1^st Timothy 6:15, 1:17)

In the Bible God is known by several Hebrew names.  One of them is Yahweh Meqaddishkem.  He is “the LORD Who sanctifies” (His people).  How He does this is the subject of The God of Our Lives, chapter 3:  “Our God is Holy.”

Click here to view this course:  THE GOD OF OUR LIVES

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Click here to read the 1^ST chapter of The God of Our Lives:  YAHWEH, OUR GOD IS OUR CREATOR

To the readers within the believing community:  I would greatly appreciate your prayers, that the Master-Teacher would be the Author of these writings.

Do you keep up with world news?  If so, does it seem to you that something worse-than-usual is taking place?  It’s getting meaner out there:  more violent … more wicked … more, perhaps, like the days of Noah.  The entire world seems to be rushing pell-mell into chaos.  It’s as if something evil – and intelligent – has been turned loose upon the world.

• Unbridled sexual perversions are turning the world into a global Sodom and Gomorrah.
• Terrorism – often in the name of a false god – continues to gain momentum, leaving its swath of murder on every continent.
• Identity thieves and computer hackers threaten everything from an individual’s checking account to international security.
• Wars:  In July of 2014, there were ten “wars” (1,000⁺ battle-related deaths / year) and eight “serious armed conflicts” in progress throughout the world.

Certainly, not all of this instability is moral in nature.

• Financial markets are driven today by real-time news and digital transactions.  A downward swing in the economy of a single region can panic all the other markets around the world within a matter of minutes.
• Earthquakes:  Over the last 60 months (June, 2010 – June, 2015), there have been 124 earthquakes throughout the world measuring a magnitude of 6.0 or higher on the Richter Scale (89 of these registering 7.0 or higher).
• Global warming:  Scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate predict that the average global temperatures could increase between 1.4⁰ – 5.8⁰ Celsius by 2100.

This turmoil of the nations is not only global, it is also out of control.  No human agency or government seems capable of restoring order from the chaos.  The issues are just too large … too complex … too intense to be solved by the cleverness of man.  If it were not for the restraining hand of our sovereign God, events would spiral completely out of control on every front.

But there is something about this encroaching darkness we should not overlook. With each news report, God’s many promises to the true and living Church grow brighter and brighter.  As the world continues its reckless race toward destruction, let those redeemed by the blood of the Lamb lock their attention on these assurances of God:

His promise of an eternal life

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  (John 3:16)

His promise of an eternal residence in the Father’s palace

In My Father’s house are many dwelling places.  If it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.  (John 14:2)

His promise of the Savior’s return for us

If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.  (John 14:3)

His promise of a body changed from clay to glory

We will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.  (1^st Corinthians 15:51-53)

His promise of a new earth

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.  (Revelation 21:1)

This blueprint for our future is not some wishful, pie-in-the-sky dream.  It is a bedrock fact based upon the integrity of God’s Word and confirmed by the resurrection of His Son. Every one of these promises awaits the re-born follower of Jesus Christ.  Do you believe that?  We should.  Our God is faithful.  He keeps His Word.

So, while everyone else is wringing their hands in despair as they watch their world come apart at the seams, let those of us who cling to the living God walk through our days with confidence in Christ … and with courage in Christ … and with a sense of stability in Christ. Let those who reject the Cross of Jesus pace the floor at night.  But those who have fled to the saving grace of God … let us all get a good night’s sleep.

After all, the dazzling promises of a faithful God make for a soft pillow.

Your lovingkindness, O Yahweh, extends to the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.  (Psalm 36:5)

[Click over to the course, The God of Our Lives:  chapter 2, “Yahweh:  Our God is Faithful”].

Click here to view our website:  STEWARD OF TRUTH PUBLICATIONS

Click here to view this course:  THE GOD OF OUR LIVES

Click here to read the 1^st chapter of The God of Our Lives:  OUR GOD IS OUR CREATOR

To the readers within the believing community:  I would greatly appreciate your prayers, that the Master-Teacher would be the Author of these writings.

On October 3^rd, 1960 CBS television network aired the first episode of a series that has since been ranked by TV Guide magazine as the 9^th-best show in American television history.  The Andy Griffith Show is about a small rural town, populated by a host of lovable citizens, whose comical mishaps are kept in check by the watchful eye of a home-spun, but wise, sheriff.

If you have ever watched this show, you are aware of the special relationship Sheriff Andy Taylor has with his young son Opie.  This father has invested a lot of time in his son’s life to the point that Opie trusts his “Pa” almost without question.

In one episode there is a scene that demonstrates this trust.  Opie is in Sheriff Taylor’s jailhouse office.  He has just finished lunch and is about to return to school.  But before he leaves, he looks up at his father and says, “Catch me Pa?”  And Andy says, “Well, OK; but just once.”  So Opie climbs up on his father’s desk, Andy backs away from the desk about three feet, holds out his arms, and Opie jumps.

It is such a simple scene that, if we are not paying attention, we will miss a wonderful illustration of faith:

• First of all, when Opie positions himself on the edge of the desk, he does not look down at the floor and hesitate.  No, as soon as he climbs onto the desk, he immediately jumps.

• Nor does he ask his father, “You are going to catch me, right Pa?”  Opie knew that his father would keep his promise to catch him.

We have not seen the many times this young boy had jumped into the arms of his father standing three feet away; but we can assume that this “jump and catch” routine has been repeated often.  (Andy has to set a limit on the number of times he will play this game just to get his son back to school on time.)  And every time Opie jumped, Andy caught him.  This father had proved his faithfulness to his son over and over and over.

The Bible reveals another Father’s faithfulness, One Who remains true to His Word over and over and over.  He is a Person Who keeps His promises.

The question is, Do we trust our Father to keep His Word?  We should.  If He says He is going to do something, He will do it.  Our God is faithful to His children … but not because His children are faithful to Him.

Why would God remain so faithful to us when we are so often unfaithful to Him?  It is to protect His reputation.  He has something to prove … to the nations.

[Click over to the course, The God of Our Lives:  chapter 2, “Yahweh:  Our God Is Faithful”].

Click here to view our website:  STEWARD OF TRUTH PUBLICATIONS

Click here to view this course:  THE GOD OF OUR LIVES

Click here to read the 1^ST chapter of The God of Our Lives:  OUR GOD IS OUR CREATOR

To the readers within the believing community:  I would greatly appreciate your prayers, that the Master-Teacher would be the Author of these writings.

When I was growing up, my family would always pray before a meal.  I cannot remember a time when we did not thank God for the food before us.  Even when I was quite young, I was given a “turn to pray.”  And this is what I would say:

“God is great.  God is good.  Let us thank Him for our food.  Amen.”

Do you believe that?  Do you believe that God is great … and good?

I don’t believe I have ever run across a person who said he believed in God … but thought that He was weak.  “God” and “great” just seem to go together.  These two words seem inseparable, whether in times of joy or (especially) in times of pain.  Indeed, one of the best places to observe a person’s belief in the power of God is in an Intensive Care waiting room.  There, even those who are not all that religious will often turn to God because they believe He is able to help them when no one else can.  For those who believe in Him, the greatness of God is a given.

The goodness of God, however, is a different matter.  “God” and “good” do not always go together, at least in the heart of the one who is suffering.  I have known more than a few people who were bitter toward the God they said was great.  And most of the time, the reason they resented Him is because they believed He had let them down in some way:

• He had “cheated” them from having something He should have given them … but didn’t.

• Or He had “robbed” them of something they used to have … and should still have … but no longer have … because He took it away from them.

The Bible knows nothing of a God that “cheats” and “robs.”  But the God of the Bible does withhold.  And He does remove.  The Father does allow the pain of loss and helplessness and brokenness to enter the lives of the children He dearly loves.

The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away.  Blessed be the name of the LORD.  (Job 1:21)

Why would He do that?  There is an answer to this question.  When God decides to crumble the self-reliant spirit of a self-assured person, His purpose in doing so is for this crippled life to become more dependent upon Him.  IF faith is the response of this weakened one, the gaping hole in his life can now be filled, not with the power of frail men but with the power of almighty God.

It becomes a life that can glorify more fully the God of his redemption.

It becomes a life that can represent the Savior more accurately to a spiritually-bankrupt world that is hopelessly groping in darkness and sentenced to an eternal death.

It becomes a life that – throughout all eternity – will share more fully in the radiant glory of the Son of God …

… all of which are infinitely more important than his own health, prosperity and well-being,

… and all of which are infinitely more important than the health, prosperity and well-being of those he loves,

… but none of which would have been possible apart from this painful – but priceless – gift of brokenness.

So, do you believe in the goodness of God in the good times … and the bad?  To truly appreciate the value of suffering, we must have the same perspective God has.  We are not weakened because God failed in His responsibility to keep us happy.  We are weakened because He loves us enough to share His glory with us … an eternal glory that demands that we first be emptied of ourselves so that, through faith, we might be filled with the power of a great God.

Dear friends, when we can truthfully say in the midst of pain,

God is great and God is good,

then – and only then – will we be able to say,

Let us thank Him for our weaknesses.

For when we are weak, then we are strong … in Christ Jesus.

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.  (2^nd Corinthians 12:9-10)

Click here to read the 1^ST chapter of The God of Our Lives:  YAHWEH (OUR GOD IS OUR CREATOR)

Click here to view more information about this course:  THE GOD OF OUR LIVES

Click here to view our website:  STEWARD OF TRUTH PUBLICATIONS

(To the readers in the believing community:  I would greatly appreciate your prayers, that the Master-Teacher would be the Author of these writings.)

Have you ever been on a committee whose task was to find a new pastor for your church?  I would like to invite you to join us on our pulpit search committee for about five minutes.  We are looking over the resumes of two candidates and watching the videos of their preaching.

According to the resume of the first man, we read that he won a medal at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.  He served in the United States Army as a Green Beret from 1973 – 1976.  He later attended seminary where he earned his doctorate in Old Testament languages in 1984.  He is married with two grown children and three grandchildren.  He has written three books on church growth.  And he would be coming to us from a church with 1,200 members where he served as senior pastor.

As we watch this first candidate’s video, his grammar and articulation are perfect.  His delivery is flawless.

According to the resume of the second man, we read that he was born with a birth defect and, as a result, has lived his life confined to a wheelchair.  He attended Bible College where he received a bachelor’s degree in Bible in 1984.  Since then, he has served as an assistant pastor in four churches, mostly smaller churches in the mid-west.  He had been married; but his wife died suddenly when they were both in their early 30s.  They had no children.

As we watch this second man’s video, we notice that he has a slight stutter.  His Biblical understanding is very good.  But there is something else in this second man’s preaching that was absent from the first man’s preaching … and that is what catches our attention.

The first man obviously believed what he was saying; we could tell from the tone of his voice.  But there was more than mere emotion behind the second man’s preaching.  Although he was not an energetic speaker, there was something that permeated his words, something that drew us in to listen with absorbing interest.

The first man had credentials … and zeal.  But the second man had something more than credentials, something more than zeal.  Saturating his words was power, a power generated by the Spirit of God.

How could a crippled man … with only a little Bible training … with limited exposure to large crowds … and who spoke with a stutter … how could this man possibly radiate more power than an Olympic medalist, a Green Beret, a Doctor of Theology, and a published author?

Perhaps the power behind his words has something to do with not having healthy legs, with not having the continued companionship of a beloved wife he greatly misses, with not having experience before large crowds, with not having clear speech.  Perhaps weakness itself has prepared the second man to be and do what we as a church are about to ask our future pastor to be and do.  Extended pain has cultivated within the heart of this broken man a deep and abiding dependence on almighty God.  Crushing sorrows have prepared him well for the responsibilities of a caring shepherd.

We, as members of the pulpit search committee, choose the second man.  Why?  Because we decided that the pastor we call is going to need a lot more than the credentials of man to be what we need for him to be, and do what we need for him to do.  We decided that

The power of God is more important than the polish of man

We are about to watch this truth unfold through the life of Moses, an extraordinary life with three very distinct phases:

the exalted life of Moses between the ages of early childhood and 40 years,

the broken life of Moses between the ages of 40 and 80,

and the fruitful life of Moses between the ages of 80 and 120.

From this life we can learn a very important truth:  that before one can bear spiritual fruit, he must first be pruned by the hand of God.

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(To the readers in the believing community:  I would greatly appreciate your prayers, that the Master-Teacher would be the Author of these writings.)

To the readers of The Shepherd’s Staff:

I would like to thank each of you for your kind (and patient) interest in our ministry’s newest venture:  online publishing.

Years ago I was given a wonderful opportunity to receive a Biblical / theological education at a very fine seminary.  And to this day, I continue to personally benefit from that training.  But attached to that great privilege is a great responsibility:  a calling to prepare both unbelievers and believers for eternity.  Most surely, this Great Commission is focused upon the Living Word of God, Jesus Christ, as revealed in the written Word of God.  It is a stewardship I do not take lightly.

You and I live in a very unique time.  The Church of the 21^st century is able to offer and explain the Scriptures to the world with unimaginable speed.  One way to do so is by means of a “blog.”  To be honest, blogging is a brand new trick for this old dog.  In fact, I had to look up the word.  When one writes a blog, he is using the internet to write a journal.  He is using the “world-wide web” (www.) to “log.”  Hence, a blog is a “world-wide web-log.”  It is an electronic journal … able to encircle the globe … in a matter of seconds.  The 1^st century authors of the New Testament letters would have been astounded at its potential.

This blog site, The Shepherd’s Staff, has a specific purpose:

“To nurture Christ’s Church with the Truth of God’s Word”

It is an honor for me to be a part of this quest for His Truth with you.

Starting next week, I intend to post one blog every two weeks.  The first series of blogs will be taken from our course, The God of Our Lives, a study of the character and works of God.  (This course is published in its entirety on our “Main Site,” www.stewardoftruth.com.)  If you would like to be notified of these (usually brief) articles, please send your email address to martinpuryear.author@gmail.com.  Your email address will never be sold, rented or shared with anyone else.

And now I need to remind us all of a sobering reality, one that has placed our home on high alert.    To write about God to a world-wide audience is to place one’s neck on a thousand chopping blocks.  The fact is, the Bible is an affront to the world’s value system.  And when God’s Truth confronts the world’s lies, it is striking at the jugular of spiritual darkness.  As this blog site remains true to the Scriptures (which is our prayer), it will not go unnoticed by those who love that darkness.  Nor will it be tolerated by them.  Even when offered in love and with grace, the Light of God will be rejected – often vehemently – by those who hate the God of Light.

Father, I (Jesus) have given (My disciples) Your Word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.  I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.  (John 17:14-15)

That warning will play itself out in this ministry.  Anyone who teaches the Word of God should expect opposition.  It is a resistance that can – and often will – grow hostile.  (Consider the Crucifixion.)  Nevertheless, by God’s help, these blogs will be backed by the authority of God’s Word … motivated by God’s love … generated by God’s power … in accordance with God’s wisdom.  I trust that it will be a fruitful work, all to the honor of His reputation.

Carol and I would appreciate very much that you pray for us:  that we would remain faithful to our Lord in times of both peace and adversity.

We also ask that you would please pray for these writings:  that the Master-Teacher would guide the choice of each word.  His answers to your prayers will ensure that the materials are accurate … and simple … and clear … and rich … and powerful … and relevant.

Pray for us that the Word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified … and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith.  But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.  We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what (He) commands.  May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.  (2nd Thessalonians 3:1-5)

Standing – by God’s grace – in the strength of Christ Jesus,

Martin

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