The Keel Family
Helping people to KNOW Jesus, to GROW to be more like Jesus, and to GO serve Jesus by
COMMUNICATING Gods Truth and PARTNERING with others who do
January 2013 Ministry Update "Haven't I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9
Dear Friends,
Welcome to a new season of life! For all of us it's a brand new year, a year we've never walked through before. For many of us, it's also a new season in some area of our lives...maybe it's in our home, with our family, in our parenting, on our job, with our finances, in where or how we are serving the Lord, or with how we determine our schedules or priorities. So how do we approach this new season of life? Years ago, a man named Joshua faced a new season of life when he found himself as the new leader of the nation of Israel. How did God tell him to approach this new season of life? What attitude did God tell him to take? Three times in rapid succession we hear what God said to Joshua in Joshua chapter 1...
Verse 6 - "Be strong and courageous..." Verse 7 - "Above all, be strong and very courageous..." Verse 9 - "Haven't I commanded you: be strong and courageous..."
BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS! As we enter this new year and as many of us enter new seasons of life, my prayer for all of us is that we take on the same attitude that God called Joshua to have...BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS!
Be strong and courageous and commit to the task ahead of us (Joshua 1:6). Be strong and courageous and carry out everything that God has shown us to do (Joshua 1:7). Be strong and courageous and continue to trust His power and presence (Joshua 1:9).
MINISTRY UPDATE Your continued investments of your resources (prayer, encouragement, finances, and other resources) have allowed us during December to:
Be a blessing and encouragement to pastors by giving them much-needed time off from preaching by serving as their guest preacher. Prepare to invest in the lives of students at a Bible college where we've been invited to teach classes during the spring semester. This is a unique college in that the men who lead this school have a desire to keep costs as low as possible for students, many of whom are working adults
trying to go back to school to be better grounded in God's Word and to be better prepared to serve in some area of vocational ministry. In order to do that, the instructors at this school are not paid a salary. It's your financial investments in our ministry that are allowing us to be a part of opportunities like this.
Look ahead to our spring opportunities to preach and speak, including opportunities such as speaking at the Cherokee County (SC) Student Impact weekend coming up in March.
Whether it's pastors and churches needing someone to come alongside of them to encourage and help them, Bible college students preparing for their future ministry, or middle school and high school students searching for meaning and direction in life...it's your investments that are allowing us to be used by God to have an impact in each of these environments as we go and communicate God's Word! Please pray that we will be prepared for God to use us as He desires as we approach this spring.
FAMILY UPDATE Christmas was full of extra blessings for our extended family this year as two of Erin's sisters who are both expecting children in the spring let us know what they are having - Erin and I have a nephew and a niece on the way! Would you please pray for the Collins family and the Fowler family as they get closer to the time for their little ones to be born. And as you pray, could you please pray that in the midst of an ever-changing schedule for our immediate family, we (Michael, Erin, Calli, and John David) continue to find a way to have consistent time with the Lord and with each other.
Thank you for your continued friendship and partnership. We pray that as you enter the new year and as you enter whatever new season of life God is leading you in to, that you will experience what it is to know Jesus, to grow to be more like Jesus, and to go serve Jesus. And as you enter the new year, please don't hesitate to let us know if there's any way that we can serve you!
Praying for strength and courage for each one of you, Michael, Erin, Calli and John David
*Keep watching for an upcoming announcement about our website...simply one more tool that we will be able to use (and you will be able to use) to point people to the ministry that God has called us to, which is ultimately designed to point people to Jesus Christ!
