ANOTHER HONEST LETTER:

God, thank you for answering my first letter. You never cease to amaze me at how much You care for and tend to Your children.

The day I wrote the first letter, You sent me Your faithful servant, Gregg. Not only did he email me, be he asked to have a phone conversation. We've never met, him being way out in Colorado, and me being here in Michigan. Yet, the technology You've inspired men to invent served Your purpose of drawing me close to You again. We talked on the phone, and in just a short 20-minute conversation, Your servant -- my brother -- encouraged me.

His first question was whether or not I had been in the Word. Although I honestly was, Gregg showed me that the system I was using was not very worthwhile, thus robbing my joy. Instead, bible reading felt more like a chore.

And he prayed with me...one of the most God-honoring prayers that I've heard prayed over me. So, that said, God, thank you for Brother Gregg.

Second, and in the same week, another of Your servants, Jeff Manion of Ada Bible Church in Ada, Mi, spoke Your words into my life, and he doesn't likely know he did it. Thanks for me being able to listen to his words of encouragement via podcasting...another of Your wonderful inspirations. Ironically, the week I wrote You my first letter, I listened to a podcast of Brother Manion speaking around Easter, 2011. He was expounding on the mock trial of Your Son, where Pilate released Barrabas instead of Jesus. Jeff's words dug deep into my soul: "Isn't the story of Barabbas a summarization of the Gospel? You and I, like Barabbas, are released, and Jesus is punished."

Finally, an MSP chaplain, another of Your People, Pastor Bakker, inspired me with words I will continue to hold dear: "...take heart and lift up your head. Sin, death, and the devil were not overcome by magnificent power or show of might; they were overcome when a sinless man suffered and died. The resurrection is the victory lap, but the battle was already finished. Sin could not overcome him; death could not contain him; the devil utterly lost."

What else can I say, God? Thank You so much for putting very good people in my life. As a good friend of mine once prayed, "God, Your people are everywhere!". Thank You again for sparking my joy to return to me. Please bless these men who do Your work.

I'm dedicated to You,
Mike