28 February 2025
Dear Friend,
“In Whatever He Does, He Prospers”
1How blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
–Psalm 1:1-3 NASB–
“He will be like a tree…”A new year is well underway, already bringing with it sadness (we’ve had two deaths in the family since I last wrote) and gladness. Let me dwell on the gladness a bit, because it has been a source of wonder and joy.
I finished reading through the Scriptures again in January. No, I wasn’t behind schedule; my reading schedule follows a non-calendar fiscal year which ends on July 31st, my spiritual birthday. Theoretically, I could have “coasted” until February 1st (according to the schedule); but because of foreseen (e.g., ministry travel) and unforeseen circumstances, I like to stay about two weeks ahead in my reading plan.
Restarting the Old Testament on “day 1” brought me back to Genesis and Psalm 1. It was in the latter chapter that the verses above arrested my attention.
- There is a special blessing for those who walk in God’s ways (v. 1).
- For me, part of that blessing is finding delight in the law of the Lord, in His precious book, and meditating on what I read “day and night” (v. 2). It’s an ever-growing blessing, having “accumulated compound interest” daily for almost 57 years. (Yes, I know we usually think that the blessing comes from faithfully reading and meditating. That’s true, no doubt. But there comes a point when we realize that this means to the blessing is actually part of the blessing!)
- Verse 3 promises that by the blessings of verse 2, we can become fruitful, weather-resistant, deep-rooted spiritual “trees.” Bible reading alone doesn’t do that, of course; but the reading / delighting / meditating discipline is part of the spiritual ecosystem in which we are to immerse ourselves. In one sense, all of our Christian life is a “fruit test,” with the final “fruit inspection” to come at the throne of Jesus. “By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit” (John 15:8). (If at the moment you’re feeling particularly “fruitless” and barren, remember the parameter David applies in Psalm 1:3: “…yields its fruit in its season.” The Divine Husbandman is patient.)
And just here is the “Godly prosperity” which inspired the title of this newsletter — “in whatever he does, he prospers.” Don’t mistake my meaning — I despair over the worldly “prosperity gospel” preached from so many pulpits today. Like meteors and errant satellites, which burn up on atmospheric re-entry, such “prosperity” burns up when we exit earth! All we can take with us is the Christian character God has developed in us during this life.
“…fruit in its season…”2I want a prosperity I can take to heaven—the fruit of the Spirit, which is Christlikeness—something which I can present to the Father. I’m reminded of an old hymn we used to sing back in our “Jesus people” days:
All the worth I have before Him
Is the value of the Blood;
I present when I adore Him
Christ, the first-fruits unto God;
Him with joy doth God behold,
Thus is my acceptance told.
God continues to bless the faithful reading of His Book. I encourage you to keep reading, keep producing fruit, and keep prospering in this New Year!
Personal Notes: “I Am Painful for Sad.”
Memento from Brian’s memorial service3- Since the last newsletter, we have had not one, but two deaths in our family. Denise’s sister Donna died rather unexpectedly a few days after Christmas; and our son-in-law, Brian, after a 19-month battle with aggressive cancer, died just two days before our 53rd anniversary. The Lord graciously provided and prepared the way so that Denise was able to attend her sister’s memorial service near Tacoma, Washington. And our son-in-law’s memorial service took place last Saturday, blessed by the presence of Brian’s family and friends, and the graciousness of our church family.
- Our grandson, Chase, whose daddy just died, expressed his emotions (and ours) well and eloquently, despite his five-year-old’s vocabulary: “I am painful for sad.” I am sobered and feel bittersweet, but thankful — among the last words his daddy uttered were these words: “God, save me!”
- With all of the pre- and post-death activities and responsibilities, our unpacking from our move continues to go slowly and haltingly; nevertheless, the number of boxes to unpack is slowing dwindling.
Publishing, Writing, and Discovery
Now available as a Kindle e-bookletand free on our website.
This is a first-draft “sketch” of the coverfor Pastor Gutteridge’s forthcoming book.
Available before the end of Spring- Many thanks for the shower of positive feedback that came from those of you who read our newly published The Curious Corners of Christmas.
- Despite our disrupted lives, we’ve still managed to finish and publish the e-booklet version of Percy Gutteridge’s The Holy Spirit as Former and Latter Rain. Now we’re ready to complete the e-book version of the entire book of which “Rain” is a chapter — The Holy Spirit and His Emblems. Will it be published by the time of the next newsletter? That’s my goal.
- Amidst the flotsam and jetsam of our unpacking, we discovered the first edited draft of another transcript/message by Pastor Gutteridge — The Ministry of Women. The last time we touched it was nearly fifteen years ago! (The headers on our editing printouts always show the filename, which also contains the date; and the date on this was August 2010.) I don’t know how it fell off the radar, but it must be a matter of God’s timing. I’ve made the revisions we agreed upon 15 years ago, and it’s back on Denise’s editing clipboard now.
- HELP WANTED: Someone else lovingly labored over the original transcript of Woman from audio. I know, because I have a PDF of the scanned “draft zero” which was sent to me. It lacks the first two pages, however, which probably identified the sender, about whom memory fails me. The output was from a dot-matrix printer (remember those?!). We never owned one of those noisy, buzzing beasts, so I’d like to know and recognize whoever did the original work. Please step forward and let me know!
I’ll share an update on other writing projects in the next newsletter.
Prayer for Fewer, Clearer “Things”
- “All things are possible to him who believes. …all things are possible with God” (Mark 9:23b; 10:27b). Those are wonderful promises from Jesus! However, the challenge comes when too many of those “all things” are possible, but God’s direction isn’t clear yet. In the aftermath of our son-in-law’s death, it will take a few more months for our daughter, grandchildren, and the two of us to find a new “normal” for daily family life and dynamics. For “grandpa” to leave on a teaching trip too soon might cause anxiety in certain wounded hearts. Thanks to those of you who have prayed us through this long, difficult drama.
- But once we find some of God’s healing, stability, and that new balance, the possibilities include trips to:
Interacting with this map made me realize
how much closer our move to Florida
has brought us to all of Central America!4- Guatemala (ministering in individual churches, rather than a full-on pastors’ conference this time);
- A return to Honduras and Nicaragua;
- Cuba, a destination long on my mind, which has been brought up by two different sources;
- The church we attend is making their almost-annual missions trip to Mexico in June;
- Correspondence from Perú makes me keep a visit there before the Lord; and, truth be known,
- I’d really like to return to Romania (perhaps with another side trip to the Czech Republic).
- I think I’m willing to go anywhere (though that’s a commitment the Lord may need to test); but I want to go with a divine purpose and timing on each and every ministry trip. Please pray for me for sensitivity to God’s voice and leading.
- Speaking of prayer, for months now, during much of the time I spend in my early morning times of fellowship with the Lord, He has been deeply opening my mind and heart to the themes which will appear, Lord willing, in the second book of The John the Baptist Experience series — The Extraordinary Message. I pray with my Bible and notebook open, asking Him lots of questions. Pray that I’d be able to fully understand, absorb, be changed by, implement… and write about the content the Holy Spirit has in mind for this work.
Many thanks to those of you who continue to support us in prayer, with messages of encouragement, and with your donations. May the Lord Himself be your “prosperity” and reward!
Much love in Jesus,
Jim
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- Image by Simon from Pixabay ↩
- Also from Pixabay.com, but no attribution given. ↩
- Image courtesy of Mary Beth Wherry ↩
- Map of the Caribbean is public domain, sourced from Wikipedia.org ↩
