Lately I’ve become increasingly aware of the friendship and support I’m privileged to receive from my regular readers. These days it’s usually a real joy to read my e-mails or log on to my blog’s Facebook page. I can’t thank you all enough for the encouragement I’ve received. The fact that a number of people seem to enjoy the things I share here still continues to surprise me.
In recent months I have been coming to terms with an even bigger surprise. It was never one of my life’s goals to write a book. But I found an idea forming in my mind, and people close to me encouraged me to go ahead. Much later, around the time when Crossway offered me a contract to be the publisher, I realized that I needed to embrace this as part of the Lord’s plan for my life. I do not feel well-qualified for the task, but I do feel compelled to write a particular book. I am also now more aware than ever that it is God who appoints us to our roles. He is the one who, in the words of the old hymn, is constantly “fitting me well for the tasks that are ever before me.” No one should feel confident in their own strength for such a task. But with God directing, upholding, and enabling, there is every reason to expect success.
Over the coming weeks and months I want to take you along with me on the journey as I continue to write the book that is provisionally entitled The Resurrection Empowered Life. I have done much work already, but there is still much more to do.
I want you to feel that in some sense you can be involved. Of course, the main way in which most of you can do this is by praying for me regularly. Writing is sometimes a form of spiritual warfare. At times it flows well, at others even the writer can’t see what he is trying to say. Often there is a cloud of uncertainty through which the truth of God’s Word must burn. There is no doubt that I need your prayers to help me as I fight to get this job done. Don’t forget to pray for my wife, who has been generously allowing me time to work on the book in the evenings and at some weekends. She, and a few others (including my ever helpful blog editor, Annette) have been helping me in reading early drafts and giving detailed feedback and suggestions for improvements.
I have a generous deadline for submitting my first draft, thanks to my wonderful publishers, but I feel like I already have several full-time jobs. They say if you want something done ask someone who is busy, but I do feel more stretched right now than ever. Certainly none of this would be possible if I still had a long commute to work each day in addition to the time I spend on my demanding job. God is gracious in the way he orders our steps, and for me, working from home has allowed me to reclaim about four hours a day I previously spent traveling to the office.
The book is based on the premise that we have a tendency to under-emphasize the resurrection. I will discuss why this is, and then explore the evangelistic, doctrinal, and experiential implications of the resurrection. I have personally been greatly affected by thinking and studying about the resurrection for many months now. I genuinely believe that it is a subject that can energize and empower us. If this is a subject that resonates with you, do drop me an e-mail.
The book is still a long way off. It will not launch until the beginning of 2010 at the earliest. I will, however, do my best to keep you up-to-date here on my blog as each successive step is taken.
I have created a copy of this post within Facebook to provide an opportunity for discussion about it.
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