October 12, 2001

I want to thank all of you who refer people to our counseling program, and for all of you who make regular donations to enable us to carry out our ministry, including this web site.

We always conduct our program as a Christian ministry and, through the Extended Donation Plan, make our services available to everyone.  Without regular donations from interested people, we could not maintain this approach to ministry.

I heard from a lady recently who told me how confused and disgusted she was with organized religion.  She hears so many conflicting dogmas and experiences such an absence of love in churches that she was near giving up. Our approach encouraged her. 

Our approach is to believe that God can lead any sincere person to the Truth, and the Truth is so much greater than any of us can understand.  We can only share our understanding of our faith at any given moment in time.

On this site I share my understanding of my faith with a prayer that you are seeking God's guidance in your life.

I once had an Arab student who wanted to discuss Christianity with me.  We talked for a while about my understanding of Christianity and his understanding of Islam.

Finally, I asked him, "When you and other Muslims pray five times a day, would you say that it is a sincere prayer to God, or is it more a cultural ritual you perform?"

He answered readily, "Oh, it's mostly a matter of culture."

Then I said, "Let's each of us pray to God as we understand God that He will reveal to us the truth."

I was surprised how that statement completely unnerved him.  While he considered himself a devout follower of Islam, it never occurred to him to seek the Living God behind the symbols and rituals.

Of course many Christians do the same thing.  We go through various rituals and acts of worship without a prayerful openness to encounter the Living God.

My faith is based on three things: (1) That God loves me, knows what is best for me, and wants the best for me.  (2) That God has the power to accomplish his purposes.  (3) If I am willing and open, God can communicate with me.

If God will not communicate with me, then God is uncaring, even cruel.  If God cannot communicate with me, none of it matters anyway.

I know God can lead my friend to find the right church where she can find fellowship as well as a community of believers.  We need a community of faith to lift us out of our limited and subjective understandings as much as we need a personal relationship with Christ.

Writing takes time.  Without some of you supporting our ministry, I wouldn't have the time to do the writing and keep the web site growing and updated.  Thank you.

Please continue to pray for us.