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| Dear Supporters, Rather than recounting what we are doing or accomplishing, this is the time of year to be particularly thankful for our Savior, who saved us and continues to save us. I still remember the first Christmas after I became a Christian in my third year of college. Our Savior saved me from a self-centered life, which was going nowhere. In its place was the wonder of a new life, a new direction, with many new lessons to be learned and a Savior to begin to know. That first year, having been born again, I thought salvation meant I would be wrestling for God for many years to come. You see, I was a wrestler at the University of Northern Iowa, and had lofty goals for my wrestling carrier. My Savior had other ideas. One year after having received the Savior, I was married to Deb, going to Bible college, and Deb and we were expecting our first child, William Henery. Instead of living life for my glory, our Savior was training me to live a life for others—pleasing to God. Deb and I are still on that wondrous journey of trusting our Savior as He leads us along and cares for our souls. Through this last year Deb and I have experienced a rerun of those first days of experiencing our Savior’s care. There have been mammoth change in our lives, which we did not foresee. And yet our Savior is reminding us to trust in Him, and we do. We know He is our portion, and the only One who is trustworthy. He leads us. He saves us. We are not able to save ourselves. We are thankful today for the journey on which our Savior is leading us. We are thankful for our five children, their spouses and our grandchildren with whom we journey together. We are thankful that our Savior has allowed us to join Him in the building of His church and the rescuing of souls. We are thankful, that while we aren’t always sure where our journey is taking us, we are sure our Savior will lead us, and will continue to care for our souls. We love our Savior and our God. We love Him, and are so thankful, Bill and Deb Bill and DebSupport Information For more information concerning our monthly support needs, you can go to Bill and Deb’s Website for Supporters and click on the Financial Information tab. |
Faith is not Perfection
Heb 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.
32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again. (NKJV)
Me: Having faith is not the same as being perfect. Faith is the disposition of our heart towards God, but perfection involves bringing our whole being into submission to God, which never quite gets done until our Savior comes.
Notice how Rehab, labeled a harlot, is, nonetheless, declared to be an example of biblical faith. If you think through the list of the examples of faith listed in Hebrews 11, you will see that Rehab is not the only imperfect person commended for her faith. In fact, there are not many in Hebrews 11 whose life stories do not bring to mind many major behavioral inconsistencies.
This should give us hope, helping us not despair as we fight the battle to live holy. As we fail, repent and start again, we can still be, and should be trusting in the Savior.
If we do this, we can also be examples of faith.
Keep Fear in Perspective
Hebrews 11:23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.
27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.
28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.
29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.
NASB Hebrews 11:23-29
My Comments:
Verse 27 may be a summary of verses 28-29, or it may be a statement concerning Moses flight from Egypt after his slaying of the Egyptian was discovered. But I think it may as well be a summary of Moses dealing with the Pharaoh in general. As such it fits well with verses 24-26. Moses learned to trust God gradually–like all of us.
Somehow Moses came to the place where he seemingly had all kinds of confidence in his Jewish heritage and in the God of Israel. However, Moses confidence took a sever blow when he realized that Pharaoh was likely going to kill him for the crime of murder.
It took 40 plus years for Moses to grow-up enough in the Lord to be able to lead God’s people out of Egypt. The man who lifted his arms over the Red Sea was not the same man who fled Egypt fearing for his life. Yet, even when young and perhaps foolish, Moses chose fear of God over fear of Pharaoh–he did fear Pharaoh.
We travel along the path of life in the same way, sometimes overconfident, other times fearful. In the end, may our love and respect for God (our fear of God), lead us to trust Him in the big moments of life.
Mop-up Time
Hebrews 9:23–28 (NAS): Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
Thought; This passage is full of intriguing hints of celestial truth. I will just touch on some of these. Just notice, again, that the earthly tabernacle is only a type of what really exists in heaven. Jesus really was presented as our sacrifice for sin before the Father in the heavenly holy place. Notice also that it was at the culmination of the age. This means the battle of the universe, the real Super Bowl, if you will, has already been won. This reminds me of the Tampa Bay-Kansa City Super Bowl. Remember how it felt, Tampa Bay won that game quickly. In retrospect we came to realize there was no chance for KC to win—it just wasn’t going to happen. So it is in this age, as we look around at the contemporary struggles, we wonder as we did throughout the game—when would the vaunted KC offense take off. Then it was over. Today, in the real world, there are real and profound struggles in the trenches of life, as mammoth forces wrestle for control, but why do the nations rage and imagine a vain thing. It’s over, Christ has won. We eagerly await Him. So cool.
Live as one who knows the victory is won.
The Obvious Observation
Hebrews 9:16–22 (NAS): For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives. Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you.” And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood. And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Thought: In-order for us to live, Jesus had to die. So, we should live as Jesus desires we live.
Sacred Chores
Hebrews 9:11–14 (NAS): But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Thought: “to serve the living God” The sacrifice of Christ our Savior allows us to serve the living God. He is alive and walks with us as we live in fellowship with Him moment by moment. He is involved with our daily occupation, a copartner in our daily decision making. He is living and moving and acting, and He acts through us and with us. He is intimately involved as we go about your weekly routine.
Understanding this adds meaning to our daily chores.
Be Expedient
Hebrews 9:11–14 (NAS): But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Thought: Certain phrases strike me as particularly significant: 1) once for all, eternal redemption and through the eternal spirit. The sacrifice of our Savior for our sins is completed “once for all” and it accomplished eternal redemption. Trust in the Savior activates this eternal redemption.
“Through the eternal Spirit” is a profound utterance. By this, it seems, eternity is attached to the sacrifice making it eternal in its’ moment to moment application. It is once for all forever moment by moment applied to us. This is why we are free from the law. And as Myron Houghton taught me that now all things are lawful but all things are not expedient. Sin is not expedient. It will hurt us. Sin is unwise to partake in, but we will never be condemned by it, for Christ has removed it.
From my studio study,
Be expedient
Onward Christian Soldiers 2021-05-01
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
Dear Supporters,
Since our last letter, we have experienced an exceedingly rich time of ministry. On Saturday April 17, Deb and I traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota to attend Family Baptist Church where we had a brief opportunity to explain Boston and Beyond to the inner-city congregation. It was instructional to listen as Dr. Lee Ormiston challenged his beloved congregation of mixed ethnicities to bear the banner of Christ. This was especially interesting since unrest in the streets of Minneapolis was likely to erupt latter in the week, a time when other banners would be raised. It was edifying to hear this godly pastor, lovingly and tenderly, but at the same time sternly, admonish his congregation to not let contemporary events diminish the unity we have in Christ. What was particularly exciting is that we were able to introduce a younger couple (Jamie and Adison) to this veteran couple (Lee and Pam). After lunch Deb and I left the Ormiston’s home, but Jamie and Adison stayed until after 6pm.
The report we received was one of intense interaction. It included laughter and weeping. The battle-toughened, but not hardened, couple began mentoring this younger, but very engaged couple, on what to expect and how to handle the trouble, which will surely come. Deb and I have known Jamie and Adison for several years now, and we meet every other week online to pray and share what is happening in our ministries to our city communities. This is part of what it means to network Boston and Beyond.
That Sunday night, Deb and I attended Jean Tsen’s commissioning service at All Nations Baptist Church in Minneapolis. At the service I (Bill) had the opportunity to explain Boston and Beyond to those gathered. I took the occasion to tell Jean, “Well done!” She completed her deputation in the midst of the covid crisis—impressive indeed. Jean will be laboring in the UK. In fact, Deb and I “per chance” ran into Jean at the airport on Tuesday afternoon of that week. Providentially, her gate was across the hall from our departure gate.
Between Sunday and Tuesday afternoon of that same week, we attended two classes and one chapel at Central Seminary. We had the privilege to speak about various aspects of the Boston and Beyond ministries. We also had the occasion to interact extensively with several students and professors at the seminary. One result of this is several potential connections with Jewish pastors in Israel. This is significant, since we intend to study Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as potential places for global ministry extension.
We left Minneapolis for Boston where we are presently. However, Deb leaves in the morning (actually on Tuesday of last week) for Iowa. While here in Boston, we had dinner with a young couple who are learning to minister in the city. Supper was culminated by a long discussion on the pros and cons of online global ministry. We also continued our friendship with another couple to whom we have ministered to for years—now ministering to one another. One evening found us at the climbing gym, where we continued to build relationship.
The important thing to remember is our relationships in Boston will not go away, even though we live in Iowa most of the time. Lord willing, we will be able to travel to Boston enough to continue to build on the extensive foundation, which has been established over the last 22 years. Iowa City will be added to the mix, which means we will now be ministering in two global cities. When you add to this the vastly improved opportunities to network throughout the Midwest, you begin to see how our God has had His firm had on this move all along. We are feeling better, even excited, very excited about life and ministry.
Life giving Words
From a prayer supporter,
“I want you to know I fully trust in your commitment to the Lord’s leading – it’s exciting to take such steps in obedience to his leading. It’s faith going all the way!!! As you honor His word. Amen! Still praying for you in love,”
I responded that it may well be an act of faith, but it was also the only thing a reasonable person could do. The wonder of this move is that our multi-tasking God meant it all for good, so that through this move Boston and Beyond will blossom—so cool.
Prayer Requests
- Continue to pray as we form new relationships with not-yet-believers from the global community, (90 language groups!), of Iowa City and Iowa University, and as we maintain ministry relationships in Boston.
- Pray as we get acquainted with team members in Iowa City who are already ministering on the campus of Univ. of Iowa.
- Pray for a ministry team coming to Boston from FBBC this summer. Pray that we are able to give them a good introduction to city ministry.
- Pray for us as we seek to schedule meetings in all of our supporting churches to report and explain our move to Iowa. I now have several, and will continue to contact others.
- Please pray that our churches will understand the move to be of the Lord and profitable, not only for family, but also for ministry—the fulfillment of the Boston and Beyond ministry plan.
- Pray as we invite new supporters to our financial team.
We love you,
Bill and Deb
“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1Tim5:8 NASB)
We Can Live Free
Hebrews 9:11–12 (NAS): But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
Comment
“of the good things to come” Referring primarily (Jewish Readers) to the complete fulfillment of the New Covenant, when all will know and obey from the heart) but also to the day of Pentecost when the Spirit of God indwelled the believers. Jesus, by His blood entered the authentic Holy place, which I believe is a literal place and my be seen in Revelation 4, where the 24 elders fall before the throne of God. Jesus accomplished our eternal redemption.
So, we can live free. This World’s tribulations are simply ripples on a sea of peaceful sailing. All will be good, all is good.
From my coffee house in Boston,
I Yelled at God but I wouldn’t recommend it
I’m not sure why it happened. I thought I was handling our change well–maybe not happy but content to do God’s will. I guess it must have been the result of reading old prayer letters and editing our supporters website, which is full of global city strategy and detailed plans.
It came crashing down on me how after 20 years, Deb and I having had finally it into the center of Boston and were poised to flourish in the middle of a global potpourri of the nations–a missionaries dream, but then a year of pandemic and then suddenly relocated into a small rural community, our dreams seemingly gone with the wind. All I know is that I was unexplainably weeping and yelling out in anguish–I needed to get a grip.
After sanity returned and repentance occurred, God began to remind me of things that are true and righteous and lovely and just. Our magnificent God gave us 22 years of glory in Boston. Oh, there were tough times to be sure, but mostly I remember the many, many gospel encounters and evangelistic relationships that came our way. The victories despite what seemed like insurmountable odds–the obvious miraculous activity of our awesome God. And God taught me how to walk with Him. He showed me many wondrous truths about Him.
Then God reminded me of who I am. Often times I have read the account of Philip the evangelist and felt he was a kindred spirit–never more so than now. Philip had a successful city ministry but then was whisked off the scene by the will of God and was lead to a wilderness place. Do you remember why? The similarities are beyond coincidental.
After all my years of strategizing to reach the multitudes, God has reminded me of the importance of one soul. And to be used of God at all is an immense privilege, especially for an old cantancerous sinner like me, who doesn’t know better than to yell at God.