WordPoints Report

If I can get to the end of this year with “Obeying the Gospel” and AreYouaChristian.com complete (these goals were set several years ago), a major part of the joy will be reflecting on how we have done it together: you have paid the bills, and I have done the writing. Thank you!

I hope the next decade will be the “Roaring Twenties,” as far as my writing output is concerned. With every new page I write, I am ever more conscious of the good that can be done with these books. I pray that you will help me get them finished.

It may be that in past years I had begun to take my work for granted. If so, I have been vividly reminded that none of us has anything that can’t be taken away very quickly, if the Lord chooses (James 4:13-17). So I have been humbled and have become a more grateful person.

This is a special report, so I hope you’ll read it carefully — and prayerfully. Here is what it comes down to: because of my health issues, I need you to let me know which of you, if any, will continue to support me knowing that all I will be doing is writing.

To update you on my health situation, since my last report to you my radiation treatments have been completed. The early lab results have been promising, but it will be 6-12 months before anything very helpful can be known.

During the weekend of February 15-17, I was with the brethren at the Low Country congregation in Goose Creek SC. The group at Low Country is one of the most evangelistic churches that I know, and we had a great weekend with 9 visitors from the community.

I had my first radiation treatment this morning. These will run through the end of March, for a total of 45 treatments. I am optimistic as to the outcome. If the Lord’s purposes are accomplished, that will be a good result, whatever the specifics may be for me personally.

The “Daily Family Bible Studies” were begun many years ago, and various congregations that I have worked with have gotten bits and pieces, but now the whole project is complete, and I am excited about the number of people who will be able to use it for many years to come.

I am glad to announce that just a few weeks ago I passed the 1/3 mark in the number of pages written for the new book “Obeying the Gospel.” As of today, I have finished 131 (36%) of the 366 total pages in the book, and I hope to finish the rest of the writing in 2019.

I will finish out my meeting schedule in 2018 with a meeting in Columbus, Mississippi. I will also push to get to the halfway point in writing “Obeying the Gospel” by the end of the year. It has been a productive year in many ways.

A few weeks ago, I passed the one-fourth point in writing Obeying the Gospel. I might be able to finish the book by the end of next year. It has been an exciting project to work on, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to make this much progress on it.

I’m getting a good bit of writing done this summer, but the past few weeks have found me “on the road” preaching in various places. Each location has provided a unique experience in the Lord’s work and given me cause for great joy.