“The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands.  He has watched over your journey through this vast desert.  These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.”  (Deuteronomy 2:7)

Dear Friend & Partner,

I am writing this special blog entry on “New Years Eve” - which is also my 66th birthday.  By God’s grace, I have come to the end of another full and fruitful year of travel and ministry.  In the last 12 months of travel and ministry the Lord took me to Nepal, India, Hong Kong, Mali, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Haiti and Andros, Freeport and Abaco in the Bahamas.  And I was in most of these countries more than once in 2007.  Also, when I was not out of country, I was traveling and speaking domestically.  So it has been a very busy year of travel and ministry for the Kingdom - all made possible by your prayers and partnership spiritually and financially.

I especially spent a lot of time on the African Continent this past year because of all God is doing there.  The Twenty-First Century is already being called the “Century of the African Church” because of the incredible growth of the church there – as well as the counter-challenges of radical Islam.

And as many of you know, I also spent 5 days in the hospital in September from Falciparum malaria – which is the number one killer of people in the world today especially children.  I apparently contracted it in Sudan – where I will be traveling again in mid-January.  Even though I have had malaria several times before, this was by far the most serious case – which almost took me home to heaven!  But because of the prayers and intercessions of friends and partners in America and around the world, God was pleased to raise me up to continue to “fight the good fight of the faith” (I Tim. 1:18; 6:12).  And He did the same for my friend, Kelly Cantrell, who had a far more serious case than I had – and spent 15 days in ICU.  Both of us are now back to our full schedules – well almost, as a result of your prayers and God’s sovereign grace!

During my recovery from malaria, Stuart Briscoe wrote me an email of encouragement which said: “J.L., think of it as being laid aside for stillness rather than laid aside by illness!”  Only Stuart could express it that way!  So Patt and I thank all of you for your prayers for both of us this past year.  Because of God’s incredible grace and goodness, we have now experienced our 65th and 66th birthdays respectively – as well as our 43rd wedding anniversary!  God is good – and marriage is too!

This has also been a strategic year of ministry transition for me as I have moved from being “Founder and CEO” of NDI to being “CMO,” or Chief Ministry Officer.  My son, Joseph, is now the CEO and has capably been at the helm of NDI since last January 1st – leaving me freer than ever to travel and minister as God leads.  And I have been ANYTHING but retired – which my travel, preaching, teaching, writing and mentoring schedule shows!  That word is not in my vocabulary!  I intend to keep traveling and preaching as long as God gives me health and strength.  I feel as intently as ever the words of the Apostle Paul: “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!” (I Cor. 9:16).

At the beginning of this New Year I want to remind you that 2008 is another historic year for us because it is our “40th Anniversary” as a ministry.  We are awed and humbled over God’s graciousness to us for these 4 decades.  As I have pondered these many years of ministry, God’s words to the Children of Israel that I shared above echoed over and over in my mind.  I have chosen them as my theme verse for this anniversary year.  While it is only one verse, it is pregnant with implications for the Children of Israel – and for us at NDI.  Let me unpackage that verse with you word by word and phrase by phrase…

1. The Person of God: Moses begins by reminding them of the Person and nature of the God who was leading them.  He uses the word Eloheem, which is the first word of God in the Bible (Gen. 1:1).  It means the Supreme God…the Creator God…the Covenant making God – the only true and living God.  So the most crucial question for all of us is: “Which God or gods are we believing in and following?”  Are we being deceived by the “god of this world” who has “blinded the minds of the unbelieving” (II Cor. 4:4).  Or are we following the One true and living God?
2. The Providence of God: Next Moses reminds them that they have believed and followed a benevolent God who “has blessed you…” The very first book of the Bible reminds us that God is a God who delights in blessing His people.  Immediately after creating Adam and Eve, “God blessed them” (Gen. 1:28).  This is the same God who said to Abraham: “I will bless you…and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:2-3).  Through your partnership with NDI this same God is continuing to bless needy “families of the earth.”  What an exciting confidence for ’08!
3. The Purpose of God: But Moses goes on to remind them that God “blessed you in all the work…”  Since God is a God who works (Gen. 2:2), we are to be like Him in constantly doing “good works” just like Jesus did (Acts 10:38).  So while we can never be saved by our good works, we are saved for good works that God created for us to fulfill (Eph. 2:10).  I trust that ’08 will be another fruitful year for you in fulfilling the good works that God foreordained just for you!
4. The Partners of God:  Moses then reminds them of their partnership with God and with each other.  He says that God has “…blessed you in all the work of your hands.”  The word ‘hands’ here is plural and not singular.  Just like we have two hands to work with, God calls us to put our hands into the hands of other like-minded people to accomplish His good works.  And all that NDI has been privileged to accomplish over 4 decades has not been the exclusive work of my hands but our hands – yours and ours together.
5. The Protection of God:  And as they carried out the multifaceted works that God raised them up for, Moses reminds them that God has protected them.  They have not had to ‘go it alone.’  God has “watched over” them.  In like manner, God always watches over those who are His (Ps. 1:6; 33:14; 121:3-5; 145:20).  What security it gives each of us as we enter ’08 to know that nothing ever touches us that does not touch Him first because He “holds us in His hands” (Jn. 10:28) we are “hid with Christ in God” (Col. 3:1-3).
6. The Plan of God:  But note that Moses reminds them that God had “…watched over your journey…”  This reminds us that the Christian life is not a destination but a journey.  That’s why we can never totally “arrive” spiritually in this life!  God always has much more for us if we will just keep “pressing on the upward way,” as the songwriter said.  The plan of God for all of us is that we stay on a journey for His Kingdom and glory.  And the greatest journey of all is the Great Commission that takes us from “Jerusalem to Judea, to Samaria to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).  The only question for each of us is this: “Am I actively involved in that journey?”  Just like the Apostle Paul had faithful and generous Christians who “helped him on his journey” (Rom. 15:24), you have done the same for me.
7. The Place of God:  Contrary to the false doctrine of the Prosperity Preachers, God’s journey does not always take us to the lush green valleys of delight.  No.  The Children of Israel’s journey took them through a vast and dangerous wilderness.  And as you study the Bible you will see that God led almost all of His people into a wilderness experience – Moses, Joseph, Elijah, Paul, Jesus.  So don’t try and avoid the wildernesses of life.  That’s God’s Bible School and Seminary to teach us – just as it taught them (Deut. 4:5-15; 8:1-2).  Certainly the Lord has led me and NDI into some of the most difficult wildernesses of life – slums, ghettoes, refugee camps, to minister His love and compassion.  So don’t avoid the wildernesses because that is where God is at work!
8. The Period of God:  Moses reminds them that God has led them “…these forty years.”  In the Bible that was generally considered the time of a generation of people.  After that there would be a transition from one generation to the next.  Tragically one whole generation fell in the wilderness because of their unbelief and carnality (Num. 14:29).  The majority of the Jews of Jesus day, just like the ones Moses led out of Egypt, were an “unbelieving generation” (Mark 9:19).  As a result, they never entered into the rest God has for His people – even in the wilderness (Heb. 4:3).  My highest desire is to faithfully serve him all the days of my generation here on earth – and then finish strong for His Kingdom and glory.
9. The Presence of God: Moses reminds them that they have never been alone because “…the Lord your God has been with you…”  Here is where you and I have an advantage over them – and over the disciples when Jesus was with them.  He said that when He would go back to heaven after His death, resurrection and ascension, He would send His Holy Spirit who would not just be “with them” but rather “in them” (Jn. 14:17).  I can certainly testify that the Lord has not only been “with me” these past 40 years of ministry – He has been “in me” through His Holy Spirit empowering me for service.  That is my sole confidence for ’08 – knowing that He will never “leave me or forsake me” – even to the “end of the age” (Matt. 28:20; Heb. 13:5).
10. The Provision of God: Lastly, Moses reminds them that because of God’s gracious presence “…you have lacked nothing.”  We can certainly say the same thing at NDI.  That’s why I love the promise of Psalm 34:9-10: “fear the lord you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing…those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”  So while God does not always meet our greeds, He does always meet our needs “according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:3; Phil. 19).

So beloved, we look forward to our continued “partnership in the Gospel” in ’08 (Phil. 1:3-5).  We believe this “40th Anniversary Year”  will be our greatest year of ministry for His Kingdom and glory yet!  And we thank God for the part you will play in everything we do!

In His Faithful Love,