Dear Friend,
Nehemiah is one of my favorite Old Testament characters. Humble before God yet bold in his leadership, he encouraged each person to play his part to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. In Nehemiah, chapter 3, we’re
presented with a long list of names of those who worked on the project. They are mainly unknown to us, nonetheless, they played a vital role in the accomplishment of this extraordinary construction effort in Jerusalem.
The repeated phrase “and next to them” gives us a wonderful picture of so many coming together, working side by side in such a way that, as each neared completion of their portion, they would see their neighbor coming around the corner, completing their portion. This pattern runs throughout the Bible. In Ephesians we’re taught that the body of Christ is “held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly,” so that the body can grow and build itself up in love. Reading this reminds me that bringing a project of such magnitude to fruition requires the mobilization of an entire community where everyone fulfills their individual part with enthusiasm and dedication.
This month, after twenty years of distributing a daily Bible-teaching program, Truth For Life will break ground on its own building. (We’ve been housed in classrooms on the second floor of Parkside Church from the beginning.) The story of Nehemiah shows that performing God’s work God’s way requires the interdependence of many. It’s only through the ongoing partnership between the small team here in Cleveland and the thousands of listeners around the country who pray and give faithfully, that we’re able to pursue the mandate given by Christ to “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15).
As the first shovel of dirt is excavated from the ground for our new building, like the Jerusalem wall project, there will be hundreds, maybe even thousands, of names that could be recorded—names that are now perhaps unknown—but without whom, the global proclamation of the Gospel through Truth For Life would not be possible.
Our new home will provide more capacity and upgraded production technology to see the people of God multiplied and expanded. It is our hope that as we continue to work together, enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will see the fulfillment of the vision we shared with you in December of 2014.
You can learn more about the details of the new building by visiting a special page we’ve set up at truthforlife.org/future. This page will stay active as the building goes up, and we’ll do our best to keep it current with pictures. Throughout the construction, we value your prayer to the end that God will use our new home to build up His people like living stones built up as a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5).
Thank you for your sustaining partnership.
Request this Month's Resource, "Lasting Love" by Alistair Begg
Available in the following formats this month:
- Softcover Book
- 2 CD Set Audio Book
