6 January 2019
Dear Phyllis,
It is common that many people make new year resolutions to do better in the new year than they did in the last. Joe Carroll used to say that
life is a series of new beginnings. That is a very wise statement. Rather than making an ineffective new year resolution it is better to get up each morning and determine that today will be a new beginning. In flying, to see a plane pass through the
sky, it looks like he is going straight. But in the cockpit the stick is constantly moving correcting minor errors. You can't drive a car without constantly moving the wheel. That is the Christian life.
It is generally agreed that the greatest hazards for pastors and missionaries are money and women. Of the two, Paul set money first and warned that love of money is the root of all evil (Tim.
6:10). And this has probably brought more dishonor to the Lord than any other subject. I had only been saved a year and a half when I first went to Japan and was awed by missionaries. But then I noticed that the number one subject they talked about was support.
This seemed to be their main concern. It was shortly after this that I was reading Luke 12:28-31 and saw where Jesus said, “Seek not what ye shall eat..., but
seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you”. I was a little taken back by that and replied, “Lord, this is missionary support. This is the main thing they are seeking.” Jesus clearly said to me, “That
is not for you. If you will seek My Kingdom first, I will take care of your support.” I stood in front of my desk, raised my hands and vowed, “Lord, if You will take care of that, by Your grace, I will try to stay off that subject”. Sixty years later, in retrospect,
the best I can say is that I have falteringly tried to keep that vow, but Jesus has proved Himself utterly faithful.
November was one of the most challenging cliff-hanger months I have had in Thailand. My Thai visa was up on the 21st, and it looked like I was going to have to leave the country
with no place to go. Miraculously, two hours before the dead line I got a 60 day extension on my visa. This took the immediate pressure off, but as things stood, in order to get a spouse visa, it looked like I was going to have to go to Laos to get a new one
year Thai visa, and that was going to cost well over $1000. That was a figure totally beyond of our budget.
About that time two brothers who have never sent me support wrote that they had some money for us and wanted to know how to send it. I wrote back, “I don't know. I don't have a US bank account,
and, outside of Western Union, I don't know how to send money”. Wayne wrote that there was some USAA deal that was available to veterans and he would try to set up an account for me. As the new dead line in January was approaching I was going to write Wayne
and ask him when he thought the new system would be opened. I had no idea how much money these two brothers were thinking of sending, but hoped it would fill some of the gap of the $1000 needed for our trip to Laos. Before I wrote to Wayne I thought I would
first check my email. I was stunned to see a notice that a bank transfer had been made with an enormous amount of money. This is the second largest gift I have ever received. That night when Pammy came home I asked her if she had checked our bank account recently.
A sly smile broke over her face. She said the day before she had drawn 500 baht ($17) from the account. She knew we were low but before coming home she checked the account again. She was surprised that there was only 100 baht ($3) left. Then she saw there
was a coma and three zeros. There has never been that figure in our account. Oh hallelujah! That covers our Laos trip, my Thai visa, and a whole lot more.
Samuel Rutherford wrote, “I can't swim in water any deeper than where I can touch bottom”. Jesus knows that I am a man with very shallow faith and has kept me from the deep end of the pool
by allowing me to see His provision two weeks before the crisis. But it sure feels good to see that money in hand so we can now make plans for our trip next week.
A month ago Singha told me that his brother-in-law was hours away from death. He had been in an ICU in a coma. A few days later I asked about his brother-in-law. Shockingly, Singha remarked,
“Oh, he's fine. He is going home tomorrow.” I asked, “What happened?” In an amazing attitude Singha replied, “Jesus told me to pray for him and He would heal him. I did and Jesus healed him.” This illustrates a principle that is seldom emphasized.
When we say, someone is gifted, that usually means he is good at it. But gifts are not given to enhance the person like ornaments on a Christmas tree. A gift is not given for decorations but
as something to be given to another person. The Lord gave Chet and Wayne a little extra money. That money was not for them to keep but give it to us. Gifts are to be given, not to keep. The Lord gave Singha the gift of faith to pray for his brother-in-law.
He did and the man was healed.
I have a different problem that has been bothering me for three years. For three years I have had an infection in my left eye. I have used six different types of eye drops but nothing has
helped. Significantly, for about the same length of time I have had a small sore on my left cheek that has never healed. It is a running sore, it heals over, and then starts all over again. Apart from looking bad it has been more of a nuisance than a serious
problem. But recently the both problems have taken on a new dimension The eyelid on my left eye is drooping to the place where basically I am looking out of one eye now. I can only open my left eye part way. It is really looking bad with that eye half open.
And the sore on my cheek is getting bigger and more noticeable. I bought some sun glasses so that people wouldn't stare at my odd eye. I have been to two doctors about this problem but neither one helped. My body belongs to Jesus and I have spoken to Him several
times about this problem, but, so far, no change.
Watchman Nee said in the early days of his work with Little Flock he was always trying to up-grade the level of the prayer meeting. Some people were able to pay with such fluency and other
– unspiritual brothers – were not so eloquent. He was critical and trying to get the unspiritual brothers to be more spiritual. Then he had a serious sickness. Strong pleadings and spiritual prayers were of no avail. Then the Lord said to him, “Why don't you
have some of those unspiritual brothers pray for you?” When he did, he said, for the first time. he noticed the sincerity and simplicity of their prayers. More than that, God heard their prayers and he was healed.
The purpose of this letter is to put out a general appeal to any one that the Lord might give a gift to pray for me. You don't have to be Benny Hinn. A gift is not to keep, but to give to
others. Singha certainly is not a healer. In one case God gave him a gift to pray for his brother-in-law. Singha is not going to start having healing campaigns. I have had times when the Lord gave me faith for a specific need, but that did not apply for the
next crisis. Each crisis is different. Sometime it works and sometimes it doesn't. If there is anyone that the Lord speaks to with a word for me, or a prayer for me, I would be very grateful. We are all dependent upon other members of the Body of Christ to
supply the needs of one another. It would not be true to say that I don't care what happens to my eye sight. Actually the eye sight in my left eye is stronger than in the right, but I can't open the eyelid.
During the 2nd WW there was a Korean girl in a Japanese prison. As she was losing her eye sight due to malnutrition, they offered her a release. Her Christian mother came to the
prison to meet her. The loving mother asked, “When you gave Jesus your all, did you except your eyes?” The girl turned to the guard and said, “Please take me back to my cell.” I have given my entire body to Jesus and, in that, I have not excepted my eyes.
Ann did survive the war and never lost her eye sight. What Jesus wants to do with my eyes is His matter, not mine.
Oh thank God, for Wayne and Chet, and thank God for anyone that the Lord may use to be a channel to help me with this health problem.
Here we are in 2019, let's make it a good one for Jesus.
bill
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