“But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire. Therefore we wanted to come to you – even I, Paul, time and again – but Satan hindered us” (1 Thessalonians 2:17-18).
Dear Praying Friends:
As our pastor preached on this passage yesterday, Dori and I both felt that the message applied to me in a special way.
My last visit to Taiwan was in 2013, a dozen years ago. Since then, I have longed to go back and visit our friends, who are dearly loved by us. I want to know how they are and share with them what God has been doing in our lives.
So, I made plans to return time and again but was hindered. Our pastor reminded us that whenever we make a fresh resolve to follow Christ or embark on some new initiative that we believe God has led us to attempt, Satan will oppose us. Maybe that is one reason our New Year’s resolutions seldom last more than a few weeks.
But, just as Paul did not give up, but persevered in prayer and then took action by sending Timothy to the church in Thessalonica, so we must press on, regardless of obstacles, relying on God’s help.
Ever since our board gave permission for me to go to Taiwan in late March, I have experienced one setback after another. Clearly, Satan does not want me to go there!
Nevertheless, the Lord has enabled me to buy airline tickets for a trip in the near future.
Meanwhile, I need to continue working on the sermon I am to give on March 30th, and learn Chinese vocabulary that I’ll need to introduce Carl Henry’s theology wherever I receive an invitation. I am already scheduled to speak at a bookstore connected to the publisher of the Greek-Chinese lexicon of the New Testament.
Last week, thanks to your prayers, I made some progress on the story about Samuel Wells Williams for the BDCC and on notes on Hebrews and wrote a monthly prayer letter, which you should have received. The biography of Williams is long, and the print is very fine, so it’s not easy to do much at one sitting. I also enjoyed several good conversations with people in Asia, Europe, and North America.
For your prayers (Pick two or three): Please ask God to
- Give us all boldness and faith to resist Satan’s attempts to prevent us from doing his will.
- Help me to continue writing the BDCC story and the notes on Hebrews 3, to improve my Chinese, and to encourage those with whom I converse and correspond.
“May the Lord make [us] increase and abound in love to one another and to all . . . so that He may establish [our] hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints” (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13).
Yours in his love,
Wright