Pray BFF Letter #253

Tuesday, 2015

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New Year, New Promises, New Challenges

Dear Prayer Partners,

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous!
Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

Life goes from average to exquisite when one sees God at work. On the one hand, things did seem very complicated, but when God took over, He made some very complicated moves to provide for us. This no doubt was one of the “hundred times.”

We have been traveling to Florida during the winter to see my parents and find refuge from the dark and cold days for decades. This year, Dad’s house is not available; he passed away last year. We thought we would spend more time with my Mom but needed our own place. There was one discounted place for missionaries that came to our mind not far from my Mom. We filled in the long application for the housing, but the lady on the phone said that it is pretty near impossible. February is booked solid, but she told me to go ahead and apply.

Growing web presence

The Bible app’s verse for that day was, “Delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” So I brought Him this need. Would you guess that the next day an email came telling us that we got the house for the exact time we requested. When I called on the phone to put a deposit down, the lady said, she didn’t write it in the email but that for this place to open up at this time was no small miracle. She explained how numerous things happened all of a sudden for us to get that place.

Even more interesting, I had just preached on Mark 10:29-30 two days before (the text at the top=> click image for video). Jesus made such promises to reassure His people (including us) that He knows our needs and will care for us–now and in eternity. The special opening became a clear reminder that Jesus’ words are trustworthy. Thanks for your prayers. All of life becomes God’s classroom–if we would only pay close attention to the Teacher.

Publishing in 2014

The other awesome event in 2014 was discovering a company willing to allow self-publishers to prepare books for print without the usual fees associated with publishing. We only need to pay for the books we order. For those, like BFF with very small budgets and inconsistent monthly income, this is a real breakthrough. The five books below were printed in 2014. These books are designed to take God’s people further in their Christian life, marriage, discipleship, ministry and theology–most of them include study questions. We hope to add to this list as we move through 2015. All available in the BFF store.

Maybe a little contrast will give you a better understanding of my appreciation to the LORD. When BFF began, there was no such thing as self-publishing. I bought a large paper cutter and binding machine, ready to literally cut and glue my own books. I never used it; publishing rapidly changed. Three-ring binders replaced cutting and glueing. Now this company has simplified the process even further and beautifies our work all at very little cost. Praise God! (Nor are they so heavy to bring overseas to distribute!)

Prayer

Lots of Thanks!

Thank the Lord for all those who gave financially or prayed for our ministry over the past year.
Thankful that our family health is better. Colds or flus have slowed all of us down in the past weeks.
God has been gracious to help me with recent preaching and teaching.
We completed a new book, The Book of Ephesians: Bible Studies. This has both basic study questions and more reflective ones requiring application and thought. 167 pp.
Book of Romans: Study Questions was recently expanded with biblical text, outlines to help navigate more difficult passages along with advanced study questions for each of the 32 studies. 227 pp. (Get both plus all our NT resources in the NT Digital Library.)

Join Paul on Twitter! @PaulJBucknell

Pray!

Consider joining our team in 2015. This is foremost a spiritual ministry where light wars against darkness. These resources are being used around the world and have become so helpful to those who have few or no biblical resources.
Preaching January 8 and teaching Sunday Training at our church in the next couple of weeks.
Finalizing the next short-term ministry trip, hopefully by the end of January.
Keep praying for those who are working on the BFF app to further distribute the resources.

As always, thanks so much for your prayers!

Paul

Rev. Paul J. Bucknell, President and Instructor

Biblical Foundations for Freedom

____________________________

Email: pb@foundationsforfreedom.net
Phone/text: (+1) 412-398-4559 (Mobile)
3276 Bainton St, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 USA

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