Happy Third Anniversary!
I devote each September’s issue to reviewing the previous 12 months of The Traveler . . . and to sharing some personal matters about our daily lives. The Traveler is usually only three pages in length; this month, it’s five pages. Please think of each September’s issue as my “Annual Report” to all my readers . . . so you have a feel for what this ministry is all about, and so you get to know more about me personally.
We began publishing The Traveler three years ago in September 2009. At first, we planned to provide it by e-mail to only a few family members and friends; As I recall, the first mailing went to about 65 people. Little did we know what greater things God envisioned for its readership, however! Now—three years later—The Traveler is being read by many thousands of people in numerous nations on 6 continents of the world and even on some of the island nations of earth’s oceans and seas.
As a personal goal, I’m asking God to provide me at least one reader in Antarctica, so The Traveler will reach all 7 continents. Know anyone in Antarctica? Our mailing list for The Traveler has grown only by personal referral. We have not purchased any e-mail lists, nor have we intentionally “spammed” anyone. It’s just a “God thing!” All 36 back issues of The Traveler are available to you for study purposes or to pass on to others. Just let us know which issues you want.
Recap Of The First Three Years
Our inaugural issue of September 2009 introduced our overall theme: we are all travelers, sojourners, pilgrims, and wanderers through this brief mortal life on earth. In comparison with eternity, our mortal lives here are as brief as a morning fog that vanishes as soon as the rising sun hits it. Our short lives here are to be lived only in preparation for eternity.
Long ago, God summoned me and equipped me to teach the Bible and related subjects to the worldwide Body of Jesus (the church) without any exclusiveness. I’ve tried my best to obey Him. Bottom line: my teachings are to help other people prepare for LIFE in eternity! Each month for the past three years, we have received many responses to each issue of The Traveler. Some of the responses have been positive, some have been negative. But overall, it looks like God uses the Traveler each month to meet many human needs and questions.
Trapped In Time and Space
I’m “trapped” inside my own skin and can’t really do very much to influence other people except by my prayers for you and by my writings and teachings. But God is not “trapped” or limited in any manner, and He can range unlimited throughout the earth, meeting the overwhelming needs of many people, wherever they are located. I pray daily: “God, from your unlimited, inexhaustible, abundant resources meet the overwhelming needs of people for whom I pray and for whom I write.” That’s the most and best I can do for my readers.
Orthodoxy? Heresy?
Some of the responses I receive are from a few readers questioning the “orthodoxy” of my teachings, whatever that means. Some have even labeled me a “heretic” (whatever that means, too), but I usually respond to them: “I’m a happy heretic.” Long ago, I chose not to blindly accept without question the teachings of others—even though their teachings might be widely accepted among most people in the Bible-believing world. And I choose not to unthinkingly and unhesitatingly accept the Christian “party line” without ample evidence from the Bible alone. I’m an orthodox nonconformist . . . I try to teach and write what I honestly believe the Bible discloses about God’s character and nature, about his vast creation, and about his eternal love and grace He extends to all humanity.
One of the most significant changes in my life this past year is that God has guided me to make a tectonic shift in my thinking and understanding about future events taught in the Bible—called biblical eschatology. I won’t go into detail here, but I now have a much different view of such events, especially as found in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. As time goes by, you’ll begin to see some of my changed views in my teachings. Be slow to judge me . . .
“Keeping The Home Fires Burning”
As many of you know, my autobiography, entitled Him ‘n me, was published a few months ago and seems to be a source of encouragement, enjoyment, and inspiration to many people around the world. It has been selling well. You can order it from amazon.com. Friends Forever (about Holy Spirit) is my fourth book. It can also be ordered on amazon.com
Meanwhile, I continue to write new teachings and update previous teachings posted to our ministry web site. I add one new teaching every year or so on average and usually update two or three teachings every month. Right now, there are about 60 of my life’s teachings on our web site. I invite you to visit there (http://www.leservices.org) any time and study my teachings.
Of course, they can all be downloaded and printed. Use them any way you see fit. One of my teachings—actually a workshop—is entitled Creating My Future; during 2011, I presented it in a classroom setting, and also taught it one-on-one to a number of individuals. It’s a life-transforming teaching. After all, each of us is going to spend the rest of our lives in the future! Why not cooperate with God in “co-creating” our own bright futures full of hope and promise?
Throughout the past year, we have continued to host and teach a weekly Bible study in our home as well as in other places in our community. We have witnessed Holy Spirit genuinely change and transform people when they apply the truths of the Bible to their lives. I cannot change lives. Only God the Holy Spirit can do that. That’s his job; that’s what He does best. It’s not my job to change anyone. I just teach the Bible as I understand it and let Holy Spirit use it to liberate and transform people as only He can do. My task is to plant seeds in the lives of others and cultivate and water the seeds with prayer. God’s task is to grow the seeds and harvest them when they are ripe! I make it a point each day not to confuse whose tasks are whose!
In addition, we continue to be involved in various ways in our local church, Destiny Church. It’s a lively church with a husband and wife team of Pastors. If you live in this locale and don’t have a church home, come visit us at Destiny Church located in a “converted” warehouse behind K-Mart. And, I continue to conduct part-time, private counseling using a unique, very effective method of biblical counseling called theophostic counseling.
The Most Important Tasks You Should Be Doing!
I honestly feel the most important thing any Jesus-believer must do is introduce other people to Jesus! After that, the second most important task for each of us is to disciple, mentor, teach, and train newer Jesus-believers constantly. At any given time, I’m usually discipling 4 to 6 other Jesus-believers on a weekly basis. In my own view, if you claim to be a believer in Jesus and you are not continually discipling other, newer believers, something is dreadfully wrong with your life!
I don’t care who you are or where you are or what you do or how busy you are, or how adverse your circumstances, The Bible mandates that it’s part of God’s plans and purposes for each of us always to be introducing others to Jesus and then discipling them! No excuses! If you claim to be a believer in Jesus, you ought to be discipling at least one other believer all the time, and then—when finished discipling them—“releasing” them to—in turn—disciple a minimum of one other, newer believer. If you’re not doing that regularly and consistently, something just ain’t right in your relationship with God!
Hey, hey, hey! Nope . . . I won’t listen to any of your excuses; I’ve heard ‘em all. Most of my adult life I’ve been as busy or busier than many of you, and I’ve always made (not found) the time to be discipling at least one other newer believer in Jesus at any given time. Introducing other people to Jesus and then discipling them is a matter of priorities; you have to MAKE the time; you won’t find it. Remember, Jesus commands each of us to “go and make disciples” in every nation in which we live. It’s not a suggestion; it’s a command!
I’m not trying to impress you with any of this information; I’m simply recapping our personal activities related to The Traveler and to our ministry, Life Enrichment Services, during the past 12 months.
Other Service To God
In addition to writing The Traveler, books, and teachings for our web site each month, I’m also a Field Instructor with Crossroad Bible Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan. By free correspondence courses, we teach and disciple many thousands of prisoners throughout the United States and in other nations of the world. I work with various prisoners on a weekly basis, reviewing their lessons, answering their questions, and writing them encouraging letters. God is saving, transforming, restoring, reclaiming, and rehabilitating thousands of prisoners around the world, since they’re somewhat of a “captive audience” and eager to learn about God and the Bible.
China: The Sleeping Dragon
Our international focus remains on China, that wonderful nation where Anne and I taught and ministered a number of years ago. We financially support some Jesus-believer workers there, and are excited about what God is doing in that great nation. We love the people of China, and events are occurring there which will astound the entire world within the next couple of decades. I made this prediction about China three years ago, and you can hold me accountable for it:
\I predict that by the year 2025 China will be the most God-believing nation on this planet, perhaps the most godly nation the world has ever known! Impossible with humans; a small matter for God! And, within the next few years, 100,000 fiery young Chinese evangelists will break out from behind the “Bamboo Curtain” to carry the Good News about Jesus throughout the teeming Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim nations enroute to carry the Good News about Jesus back to Jerusalem where it all began 2,000 years ago.
We also focus some of our giving and support to Jesus’ workers in the nations of Israel and Mozambique. God is also doing some wonder-full and amazing things in those two nations.
Travels
I don’t do as much traveling now as I did in years past: to teach, to minister, to present seminars, etc. But during 2011 I did have the opportunity to spend some time in Phoenix, Kansas City, and New York City. In Kansas City, I was privileged and honored to spend a week at the International House of Prayer (IHOP), and hope to return there next spring with a group of people from here in Rapid City. Also, I’ve been hoping for many years to visit the land of Israel; God willing, I’ll be there for about 2 weeks next spring.
Books Given
About 10 years ago, 2 very important books were published here in USAmerica; only time—and eternity—will tell the worldwide effects these books have had in the lives of hundreds of thousands—perhaps millions!—of people around the world. The 2 books to which I’m referring are The Prayer of Jabez and The Purpose Driven Life. If you haven’t heard of them or read them, you must have been away on some other planet for the past decade or so.
I scour thrift shops and garage sales to find used copies of each of those books . . . and then give them away to as many people as I’m able to. I’ve never kept count, but I suppose I’ve given away hundreds of them. And I’ve seen God use them to transform many lives! I’ll be giving away a copy of each of them today. We fully expect God to use them to transform the life of a young prisoner to whom I’ll be giving them! I re-read and re-study each of those books every year!
A Very, Very Ordinary Man
For those of readers who don’t know me and have asked who I am, please understand very clearly that I’m just an ordinary man, a very nondescript, normal believer in Jesus.
My name is Bill Boylan. I’m married to a lovely wife named Anne, have 3 biological children and one step-daughter; 3 grand-children, and two great-grandchildren. There is nothing special or outstanding about me. There’s no way I stand out in a crowd. I live in a modest home on a quiet residential street in the relatively small community of Rapid City, South Dakota, in the northern Great Plains region of USAmerica near the beautiful Black Hills. The world-famous Mount Rushmore is only about 25 miles from our home.
I pay my household expenses every month, help clean our house, wash most of our dishes, assist with our laundry, make our bed most mornings, drive a 13-year old pickup, and wear jeans and a sweatshirt or T-shirt most of the time. I get sick and grouchy from time to time. I love to watch silly sitcoms on TV. And I confess that I love science fiction books, TV programs, and movies. My hobbies are occasionally hiking in the nearby Black Hills, mall-walking, reading, and writing.
I have finally developed a little “pot belly,” but I tell people it’s because I have larger than normal internal organs . . . . My roots go down deep in this locale. My brother and his wife live nearby on the cattle ranch originally homesteaded by my great-grandparents in the 1870’s. But my roots are not too deep; I’m ready to be “uprooted” either when I die or when Jesus returns to planet Earth to awaken me from the sleep of death and inaugurate his eternal Kingdom on Earth.
74 – 18 = 56
So far, I’ve lived here on planet earth as a mortal for 74+ years. In the 18th year of my mortal pilgrimage, I invited Jesus into my life and since then I’ve been immortal for the past 56 years. After Jesus returns to Earth, I plan on continuing to live here on Earth in his Kingdom as an immortal being for many thousands more years and then—later—in eternity, beyond all limitations of time and space—permanently headquartered here on planet Earth in the city of New Jerusalem.
Most of my working years were spent as a public school teacher, a medical administrator, and as a mean, tough old sergeant in the U.S. Air Force and fulltime Army and Air National Guard. I’ve always been bi-vocational as a so-called “lay person.” Please don’t tell anyone I’m addicted to McDonalds’ sweet tea; you’ll often find me at a nearby McDonalds sipping sweet tea and visiting with friends, reading my Bible, or reviewing my Bible memory references. I’m very “generic,” a mixture of Irish, Scottish, and German. I’m not tall and handsome, I’m not very smart, and I’m not very wise at times. I’m so very ordinary, you wouldn’t believe it. I’m human; I sin and make many mistakes. Just ask my wife and children and friends who know me well—and love me in spite of myself, in spite of my faults, failures, and shortcomings.
Our Extraordinary God
Yes, I’m very ordinary. But . . . I do love and serve the EXTRAORDINARY God Who lives inside me in his “unbodied form” of Holy Spirit! That’s the key. That makes all the difference in this world and the next. That same awesome, holy God lives permanently within you in his Spirit form, too, and wants to take your “ordinariness,” change you and transform you, and do EXTRAORDINARY things WITH you, IN you, THROUGH you, and AS you!
What is God doing in and through your life each day? What is He doing in your life right now—today—as you read this issue of The Traveler? Are you sharing Good News about the Living Jesus with others in your world? What are you doing with the time, talents, and treasures God has lavishly given you—hoarding them or sharing them with others?
There you have it. That’s a recap of our first three years of publishing this e-zine, The Traveler . . . and related events. We hope to continue providing it to you and thousands of other readers around the world each month for many years to come—to build you up, inspire and encourage you, and enrich your life in some manner. We pray for you to experience marvelous miracles in your life and in the lives of others whom God brings across your path each day as you continue on your journey through time and space with God.
We encourage you to break out of any “dead religion” and “dead tradition box” you may find yourself in, expand your horizons, and see people in your life who are ready for “harvesting” and discipling where “the rubber meets the road.” Please feel free to contact us by e-mail, through our website, or by telephone. We are always here to help you and encourage you in any way we are able to.
Let’s journey on together…!
“And now to Him who can keep you on your feet, standing tall in his bright presence, fresh and celebrating–to our one God, our only Savior, through Jesus, our Master, be glory, majesty, strength, and rule before all time, for the present time, to the consummation of time, and in eternity!” –Jude 24 and 25
To Think About This Month:
“God, help me live in such a way that when it comes time to die, the only thing I have left to do is die.” –anonymous
Bill Boylan
Life Enrichment Services, Inc
leservices38@yahoo.com
Revised and Updated December 2020
LEServices 