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All during my college years at Taylor University, I volunteered for Youth for Christ. The YFC director was a young man named Earl Bailey. He helped me in many ways in my personal walk with Christ. He and I became great friends and he was a big encouragement to me. When Rebekah and I got married, we asked him to perform our ceremony.

Earl had a desire to go to the mission field and felt specifically called to Borneo (a large island in Southeast Asia). He was excitedly preparing for this work. But something happened that hindered his plans and changed the course of his life. He was diagnosed with MS and became greatly incapacitated by this illness. For the rest of his life he would be limited in what he could do, and he was always in pain.

All the doors that had seemed wide open suddenly slammed closed. What was God doing? He didn’t know.

Though limited, there was still something he could do—he could preach. So, instead of going to the mission field, he started a radio ministry. Before long he was on a large network of stations world-wide. People would send him letters with questions or letters of gratefulness for his teaching. He would get letters from all over the world. He had so many letters!

One time when our family was visiting him, he painfully hobbled over to his desk and pulled a stack of letters from a drawer.

“Guess where these are from?” he said. “They are from Kalimantan.”

He went on to explain: “For the longest time I wondered why I got so many letters from this place called Kalimantan. I didn’t even know where that was. Then one day I was talking to a friend and asked if he knew anything about the country of Kalimantan. My friend said, ‘Oh, that used to be known as Borneo.’”

With tears in his eyes, Earl told us, “God did use me in Borneo, but by a different way than I ever expected.”

What Earl saw as a hindrance was actually God’s way of accomplishing something even greater. Through his radio ministry he was able to reach far more people in that country (and other countries) than he would have if he had actually gone to Borneo.

Earl is with the Lord now, but the Lord’s work continues on—in Kalimantan and around the world.

This story of my friend Earl reminds me of Paul’s words to the Romans, “Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles” (Romans 1:13).

It’s interesting to me that even though Paul had a good desire to establish the saints in Rome, he was hindered from actually getting there. (It makes me feel better that I’m not the only who gets hindered. I’m in good company with Paul.) Paul did eventually get to Rome, but in God’s time and in God’s way (arrest and a Roman escort). Nothing hinders God. God gets all His work done according to His perfect timing and in His way.

There’s a good side to Paul being hindered. It is because of this that we have the letter to the Romans! Paul never stopped praying for the Roman church to be strengthened in their faith (Romans 1:9-11). God answered Paul’s prayer, but He accomplished it in a different and better way. God used Paul not only to establish the Romans, but to establish us. Paul did get to go to Rome but not before he put the gospel in writing for Christians of all time to read. God hindered Paul for a reason.

Do you have goals that are being hindered, like I do? Let us move ahead with faith and prayer for the Lord’s time and the Lord’s way.

I was in our church’s nursery during the service, trying to get a large snarl out of my daughter’s hair, when a thought came into my mind. “If ‘such and such a friend’ had two little girls my girls’ ages, she’d probably bring them to church with two perfect French braids in their hair every Sunday.”

Rather than worshipping the Lord, I listened to that thought and began feeling discouraged at my failures.

So often when I feel discouraged as a mom it’s because I’m comparing myself to someone else (or an imaginary supermom). I’m allowing thoughts like, “Other moms would have this child potty trained by now,” “Another mom would have this behavior managed better,” or “Another mom would have this part of her house better organized.”

These thoughts aren’t energizing and life-giving. Rather, they sap joy. They make me a less patient Mommy.

The Lord told Peter, “You follow Me!” Jesus didn’t want Peter’s eyes on John. He wanted his eyes on HIM (John 21).

Jesus is the One who knows me through and through. He knows what kind of a week I had. He knows what is uniquely challenging in my life. He knows how I’ve grown! He is compassionate. He is understanding. He is patient.

In that nursery on that Sunday morning, I needed to redirect my thoughts and “Turn [my] eyes upon Jesus, look full in HIS wonderful face…” !

Is He disappointed in me that my girls came to church with tangled hair and dirty crocks … again? No. Who am I coming to church to see after all? Am I there to worship Him? Then what else matters? May I mother my children for His approval. Not another’s. Not even my own.

“Am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).

(Written last summer but sharing now because it’s still relevant. 😊)

As many of you know, last spring God brought some guys to our door looking for a high school guys Bible study. Amazingly, I had been praying for this very thing! (You can read that story here in our April newsletter.) Since the beginning of March we have met every Monday night, reading and discussing a passage of the Bible, eating pizza, and talking about “guy stuff” such as dating, lust, family, work, school, struggles, and goals. We call the group “Just Men,” which, of course, has a double meaning.

The group has continued to go well. The guys are serious and ministry minded and want to see growth in other men.

• Kaleb came to Christ only last February but comes consistently to our group. He is a senior in high school, and though new in the faith, he started a Friday morning Bible study in his school cafeteria. His group met consistently the entire fall semester with both believers and unbelievers.

• Samuel graduated in May and is now a freshmen in college. He is helping to start a Bible study at Iowa State. His goal is accountability among believers and to bring in students who do not know Jesus.

• Nolan also graduated in May but still lives in town and is a freshman at our local community college. Last month he gave an apologetic presentation for a speech class on “Why believe in Jesus.” He practiced his talk for the Just Men group and had prepared a lot of excellent content. We were all praying for his witness to his class since there is only one other Christian he knows of in it.

• Chad wants to live his life for what counts and would love to go into full time ministry. He is praying about his future.

• All the guys are serious about the group and its purpose and want to grow in Christ.

This summer the guys came up with the idea of making Just Men t-shirts. We all developed and revised the design together. We used Romans 5 as our main Biblical reference because in it we find a clear statement of how we are justified; by faith (verse 1) and by the blood of Christ (verse 9). And the rest of the chapter is a rich passage on our salvation. We also have gospel tracts we made to give out when people ask about our shirts.

You can download a copy of the tract here.

I share this story about Just Men to encourage you that many young men are eager to be serious about Christ and act with commitment. I also want to challenge you that small group Bible studies are one of the simplest, most-effective forms of ministry. Even a brand new believer (like Kaleb) can lead one. Many people who are not comfortable coming to church will come to a home Bible study or meet one-on-one to read and talk. The leader grows as he teaches others. Individuals learn how to study the Bible by themselves when someone else gets them started. Also, when a group forms there is accountability and fellowship which is a stronger influence than many realize. Our guys text each other regularly with prayer requests and words of encouragement.

Grace has a one-one-one Bible study with a neighbor. She says she always learns something new by leading a study with someone else.
Have you considered starting a one-on-one or small group Bible study with a group of men, or women, or children, or youth? If not, perhaps it is something to pray about for 2026.