Jesus said: “Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).
At the beginning of a new calendar year, we do well to set definite prayer goals for the rest of 2021. As you may remember, we seek to glorify God by declaring “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) to Christians and non-Christians alike. We focus on ethnic Chinese, but are expanding our outreach to include others, including, recently, people in India.
We do this in four ways: Prayer, publications, personal relationships with a few people, and proclamation – in that order of priority.
We know that God values the written word. Otherwise, why would he have given us the inspired Scriptures? And who can measure the enormous impact of writings by Christians from the second century of our era to the present?
Publications of all sorts have assumed a greater role than ever before in the past two or three years, both because of restrictions on foreign missionary work in China and of the global shutdowns caused by the CoVid19 pandemic.
Our Part
We are seeking to surmount these obstacles through our websites and printed books. Here are my prayer goals for writing this year:
The Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity: Compose ten major stories and edit forty stories that have been translated (mostly by Google Translator) from the Chinese page.
GlobalChinaCenter.org and ReachingChineseWorldwide.org: Ten book reviews.
Truth and Life: Doctrinal and Ethical Notes on the Bible (Books — China Institute (reachingchineseworldwide.org): Two hundred pages.
Academia.edu (independent.academia.edu/WrightDoyle): Finish a major article on Augustine’s doctrines of grace.
Greek-Chinese Lexicon of the New Testament: Finish making corrections to last 400 pages (out of 1073) of the Revised Edition.
Studies in Chinese Christianity (wipfandstock.com/search-results/?series=studies-in-chinese-christianity): Do the final pre-publication editing of Dr. Peng’s book on the history of the Chinese Bible. Assess (with co-editor Dr. Carol Lee Hamrin) new submissions for possible publication. God willing, the series will have twenty volumes in print by the end of the year, .
And Yours
Jesus said, “without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5. Emphasis added).
There is no way I can do all of this – or any of it, for that matter - without the constant supply of the Holy Spirit, who alone can provide the wisdom, discipline, and strength that I need.
As in the past, your prayers will play an essential role. My part-time editorial assistants and I are depending on you to intercede for us. May you be blessed as you do so!
Yours in his abundant grace (see 1 Corinthians 15:10)