Dear Lighthouse,

 

            Well, I had a very nice time at the class party.  I want to thank Joe and Amy and all those who helped organize the event.  It was fun.  I meant what I said before we ate that evening - you all make the Lighthouse Fellowship a success.  I appreciate the sincerity and openness in our group.  I have taught many classes of all sorts of students in my life so far.  I am sort of able to “read the room” by now and get some sort of gauge as to the interest and attention that the group has to whom I’m speaking.  As I look out at your faces and as I sit back right now and think of individuals I see a genuine spirit of eagerness to learn.  You are not in Church, Sunday School class, or a fellowship group to “put in your time” with God.  Instead, I see people that are wanted to know more about God and what He desires from His people.  I see you reading His Word and trying to figure out the more difficult spots and contemplating how to apply it to your lives.  In this way you are all like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 “…of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.  Many … believed…” 

            I have been blessed to be a part of several conversions this year.  I cannot describe how fun it is to sit and talk with people who are really eager to begin a genuine relationship with the Father.  I would spend countless hours talking about that subject!  It is so cool seeing the Holy Spirit of God at work in peoples lives.  The changed life of a sinner to a saint is a miracle that we often overlook.  But that is power!  That is unusual.  To deny oneself out of reverence for God shows a commitment and a passion to worship.

            I have further been blessed to spend time answering questions from many of you about all sorts of things from the Word.  Hopefully you were not disappointed if I did not know the answer, but several times we worked through it together.  It led us to look at other sources of insight and put together new facts with current understanding.  Each time I know I was drawn closer to God because of diving in His Word a little deeper.  I love being snagged after Sunday School to answer some follow up questions!

            I have received thanks and encouragement from a number of you.  You have supported me and my family in prayer just as much as we have supported you.  You have been kind, forgiving, and attentive.  Because several of you serve by doing the tons of things that make our ministry function it has freed me up to concentrate more on lesson preparation and shepherding.  You make and send the meals to the sick, you organize parties for fellowship, you fill in teaching when I’m sick, you send the gifts, you write encouragement cards, you plan months in advance what new strategies we’ll try to keep us all growing in spiritual maturity.  You are the Lighthouse and I appreciate you.

            And why do you and I do all this?  Simple: to glorify our God and Father and to share the good news with others that need to hear it.  Praise God, He has blessed us.  We don’t get paid for it in dollars, but we receive payment in full in the satisfaction we have of being useful to Him and being used by Him.  It is awesome to think that we are being used to further the Kingdom of the Living God one person at a time.  It may seem small, but not to those being saved because of our faithfulness.

            Can you see the results of our efforts?  Growth.  Normally I don’t try to inflate our egos, but in light of some discouraging words that we sometimes get hurled at us, it is okay for those faithfully serving Him to get encouraged.  Therefore, I encourage you to keep up the good work!  You are making a difference.  You are doing your Christian duty when you share the love of Christ with someone in need and when you pass on His gospel message to those who don’t know it. 

            I just wanted to thank you for making the Lighthouse Fellowship shine.  You are important to me.  You make it easy for me to teach.  Thanks for being eager to learn about God with me.  Thanks for doing what it takes to make yourself grow.  With God’s help, I pray that we will all continue to grow in faith, in knowledge, and in love all the more as we see the Day approaching of His return.

            Thanks!