Well, Happy 2015 to the Greatest People in the World. I M Talking About You, the Folks

Well, happy 2015 to the greatest people in the world. I’m talking about you, the folks who have taken an interest in Acts 29 Ministry. Not especially because of us, but because you claim Jesus Christ as your Savior and role model for life. We do appreciate you being here for us and for “hanging in there” with us these past few years. Our ability has been hit and miss at best, but we are hoping and praying for a more consistent schedule for 2015.

Let me say right off that we know that when we talk about all the problems and woes we have faced, we are not alone. Truth is, we know there are those who have had it much worse than us. One thing we know for sure, though, is that whatever the situation you face, it is unique to you and can’t be compared to that of anybody else. The good thing about it is that God will take our situations and teach us better how to survive. He can take the worst of life and make the best of life out of it. Bottom line, with all our complaints, we have no complaints against anything God has allowed. It is Him alone who has brought us through it, and we can certainly be the better for it if we choose.

Second Corinthians 1:3-4 says, “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all tribulation,that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of (by) God.”

Yes, it has been God who has comforted us through all tribulation…sometimes by His presence and just letting us know that He will never leave or forsake us. But more often, it has been the prayers and communication with people who love us and have let us know that they love us in many ways. Phone calls, cards, continued support, (when it looked like we were through!) and most wonderfully, through prayer, you have been there. Thank you. We have had people tell us about the times they could “feel” the prayers going up for them and we now know what they meant. It is a comfort beyond description to know by the Holy Spirit that someone is praying for you.

We are living in a fallen, sin-sick world and no matter who you are, you are going to suffer the consequences of “the fall” of Adam and Eve. When they sinned, sickness and death entered the world and of course, is still here. Many years later God began the restoration of man by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Being born again has not exempted us from the bad things of the world; however, it does give us a way out.

And now that we are in the battle, we must learn the ways that God has presented to give us ultimate victory. You will never know what it is to be in the war until you have fought in the battles. You will never know truly how to comfort someone who is afflicted unless you have been afflicted. There is a price for everything in this world and there is only one price we don’t have to pay because we can’t. That is the price of our salvation, paid in full by Jesus.

Paul makes it clear how it is that we learn how to comfort others. We have first been comforted by God. It is a simple concept but it is born out of all the confusion we call life. This is just another example of how God has taken a bad situation and made something good out of it for us. He comforts us, we comfort one another, fulfilling His desire as Jesus said for us to love one another.

It is glaringly obvious that we don’t return in kind the comfort for the tribulation experienced. In other words, you don’t have to have had a broken leg to comfort one who has a broken leg. Back in the day when I was a drunk, we (the drunks) would use the copout that if you have never been a drunk you can’t understand the needs of or be able to know how to help a drunk. I know now that is ludicrous. That is why Paul said God “comforteth us in all tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble.” Notice He comforts all so we can comfort any. A good example is that even though Sally never drank alcohol or had to live on the streets, she knew enough about God’s comfort for her to be able to give comfort to me. Duh, who better to teach you how to function normally in the world than someone who has had the struggles of functioning normally in a perverted world? Sally certainly didn’t save me, but I doubt I would be where I am now if God had not put her in my life.

We sure don’t have all the capabilities we have had in the past but we have every bit of the desire we have ever had. This said, it is about doing what we can do now, even though things are so different. We have to recognize there are limitations. But according to God’s word we should be able to do better the things we can now do compared to what we have done in the past. That’s just part of getting older too, I think. Work smarter, not harder. Our resources are still pretty much the same, thanks to God and your faithfulness. And we feel like we have been equipped in ways we never had before because we have been where we never were before. God takes what you have and where you are and uses it to place you where you have never been before. He will take the worst of anything and turn it into the best for everyone.

I don’t know what else we can say about it. I think there must come a time when we stop talking and start doing. It’s like in Exodus, where God told the Israelites that He was going to take them to places they had never been before. And He told Moses to tell them to prepare themselves. Now, I don’t think anybody had to go about and tell them how to prepare themselves. They were fixing to go to where they had never been before, but it wasn’t as if they didn’t know what it was to get ready to go. They knew how to “go” and they didn’t really need to know where, they just needed to get ready. They were expected to do what they already knew how to do in order to go to a place they didn’t how to get to because God was going to teach them along the way or even when they got there. I guess that’s where faith comes into the picture. Trust God. He has brought you, miraculously, this far. We just have to trust He will get us the rest of the way to accomplish the plans He already has in place.

So we comfort one another, pray for one another, and realize that saying it this time is not going to make it any easier the next time. Where we are going may or may not be more difficult than getting here. Shoot, it could be our last trip. The thing is that as much as I DON’T want go through any more of what I have been through, God has it under control. What if it gets worse? Can I take it? Can we, as a people, take on more than we have already? There is only one answer to that. God knows and His promise is that He will never leave us nor forsake us and that He loves us unconditionally. It is my prayer that we can have a time of easier living. If that’s being selfish, so be it. It’s the truth. I know we will make it home and as He has already told us, eye has not seen, or ear heard, and the heart cannot imagine what God has laid up for those that love Him. Paul also said that whatever we go through here is worth what we have waiting there.

Maranatha, even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

JacknSally

We appreciate hearing from you and would like to know what’s going on in your lives.

Give us a call, send us a note, or drop by our WEB site.

We value the opportunity to pray on your behalf.

……. from the Board:

The annual board meeting for Acts 29 Ministry was held in Panama City Beach on Friday, January 9th and we are pleased to report that while 2014 was a testing time of transition for Jack & Sally, God has brought them to 2015 with a renewed vision for what He wants to accomplish going forward. Their schedule was light after they resumed the on the road ministry in June but your love and support for them throughout the year was anything but light. Your continued prayers and generous support provided encouragement and demonstrated that the Acts 29 Ministry is much larger than the two of them.

While Jack and Sally will have regular visits to Panama City Beach to keep the doctors satisfied, theydo plan to resume a full time schedule on the road. Their actual ministry bookings will be reduced but the areas of the country,to which they travel, will not. The motor home is in good repair and ready for travel and Jack & Sally are much improved and ready for travel as well.

Please know that Jack and Sally are looking forward to catching up and moving forward but the pace is in Gods hands. They continue to look for Gods direction in that regard. I’m reminded of the popular gospel song that says “Get Up, Get Ready, we’re getting ready to go”. That’s the attitude I sense in Jack & Sally at this point, they just don’t know how fast or how far. Please continue to keep them in your prayers and let them know of needs in your lives.

We will continue to provide general information about our schedule via the newsletter and the website. From these resources you will know when we will be in your area and you can contact us directly to determine actual locations, dates and times. Please feel free to contact us at any time if a specific need arises outside of our planned schedule.

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…….Prayer Needs:

At this writing Jack & Sally have been battling a really tough flu bug soplease remember them in your prayer time.

Two dear friends went to be with the Lord in recent months:

Evelyn (Mom) Kennedy-Please remember Phyliss and family.

Joanne Bellman-Her husband Bob and the family would appreciate your prayers.

Please continue to pray for direction with the future of Acts 29 Ministry.

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Please help uskeep our address book up-to-date byletting us know if you have an address change. If you would like to receive an electronic version via e-mail, send your request to myattention at or in the return envelope we’ve provided. If you are receiving the newsletter in error, please let us know. Thanks

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Acts 29 Ministry Schedule –2014/15

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