Live the Word Bible Studies

2 and 3 John Study

Dear Student of the Word,

This week's focus is on two short letters written by John.  These two letters are only twelve verses each, but they both have some important things to say. They also give us some picture of what it was like as the early church developed and matured.  The early church was not without problems and that was what John tried to address in all three of his letters, which would have been written in his latter years.  This week I wrote on day six of this seven-day study (which you can download below):

3 John 5&6 – Gaius had been contributing to the Lord’s work by providing hospitality for God’s traveling teachers and apostles.  John commended Gaius for his support and urged him to send the messenger workers on in a way that was “worthy of God.”  How would you send God off if He was staying with you?  I would think in fine fashion with all His needs met and some provisions for His trip.  So you should do the same for those who represent God!  What’s more, the report of Gaius’ hospitality and support of the Lord’s work had spread to other churches.  Paul reported the same phenomenon and encouraged the saints to continue in good works because of how it stimulated others to their own good works.  I guess good behavior is contagious through the work and influence of the Holy Spirit!

v. 7 – Whoever went out to preach, teach and strengthen the churches, they did it with no help from the world, and they did it for God.  Notice John’s wording:  They did it for the sake of the Name.  God will test your motives when you do things that are related to His work.  Are you doing them for your own purposes or for the sake of His name and Word?  And what’s more, He will be the One to provide for you, whether through the saints, the pagans or through some unexpected source.   And He may never use the same source twice, just so your trust is always in Him.

v. 8 – What a novel idea: to work together for the truth!  That should be the goal in all our churches, missions committees, youth departments, and denominations. We should not only seek to debate the truth, study the truth, and learn the truth, but we should also work for the truth! What’s more, we should work together.  Where and how are you working with others for the truth of the gospel of Jesus?  What more can you do?

v. 9 – It is nothing short of amazing that a man named Diotrephes would have nothing to do with the apostle John who wrote this epistle.  John was with Jesus and had insight into the Word and work of God like few others, yet this man felt he knew better and shunned John!  Yet there were those who had no use for the apostle Paul either.  My point here is that you may or may not be celebrated by those with whom you work, but stay true to who God made you to be and what He sent you to do.  It is only after your work is done that people will celebrate your leadership. While you lead, they will usually criticize and complain!

v. 10 – This man shunned John, gossiped about him and refused to support and help those who were teaching the true faith.  He had his own agenda and thought he had insight that was contrary and superior to John’s!  If John had opponents, then be sure that you will have some as well if you seek to serve the Lord and stay true to His teaching and Word.

John promised that, if he came to that area, he would expose that pastor for who he was – someone who wanted to be first among all.  He was eager to be the leader and he was putting people out of the church who were trying to do the right thing to help those who were assisting God’s workers.  John, Paul, Peter and all of the men of God had to contend with false teachers and impostors as they worked in God’s vineyard.  You will have to do the same; just make sure you aren’t part of the problem!  Read what Paul told the Ephesian elders when he bid them farewell and you will understand the spiritual warfare that is part of all church work:

"Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears” (Acts 20:25-31).

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For further Bible study, my website archive contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse Bible studies from Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.

Download 2&3 John Study

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OPERATION: PETTICOAT: I had a great meeting with the folks who went with me to Kenya a few weeks ago.  They all shared what the Lord has been doing and saying to them since we came home.  Then we talked about what we can do to keep the momentum going to provide help to our friends and family over there.

We decided to keep raising money for the Sophia Fund and we also launched Operation: Petticoat, which is a project to purchase underwear for young girls who have none, consequently missing school and living in embarrassment as they enter their teen years. I am going back to Kenya in May, so we set April 30 as our deadline to raise money to purchase underwear here and take it over there.  You may not be passionate about underwear, but two separate ministries asked for help with this. And I received this email from a woman in Zimbabwe today:

Just read about operation petticoat.  It is so true about the underwear issue.  Most of the girls here don't wear bras and the panties are tattered.  It may seem strange to you but it is a big issue and the silly things are not cheap!  So little material but the price can be restrictive to kids who have little.

You can give through my website or send a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA 15221. Just let me know if your contribution is to be used for food or underwear and I promise to apply it where you direct.

1 John Study 5: 5:1-21

Dear Student of the Word,

This week we are one step closer to concluding our New Testament studies as I send along the final installment from John's first epistle. Your next study will focus on John's other two epistles and then we will move on to Paul's letter to Titus.  I am excited that these are coming to an end, the fruit of nine year's work!  Thank You, Lord!

This week I wrote on day five of this seven-day study, which you can download at the bottom of this entry:

5:13 – John wrote so that the readers would have confidence and assurance that they had eternal life.  There was to be no question, for anyone who puts his or her trust in the Lord Jesus has gained access to the blessings and grace of the Father.  They have eternal life!  Obviously someone was casting doubt on that truth and John wrote with the purpose of clearing up any and all confusion.  Those who have faith in Christ will live with Him forever!  That means anyone who does not have faith in Jesus will not enjoy the blessing of eternal union with the Lord.

Our role is not to debate whether or not this is true.  Our objective is to declare this truth to include as many people in the family of God as possible!  We are to invest anything we have to see the truth declared among the nations and ethnic groups of the earth.  This work is called missions work.

Missions work can take place at home or abroad, but it must take place. You must play some role in that work, whether you give, pray or go.  What are you doing to see the message of the gospel reach others who don’t know or have not heard?  What more can you do?  Do you see the urgency of this work, for if Jesus is the only way to the Father, then that is the good news that must be preached and broadcast?  This is why the early church was so passionate about declaring that Jesus was the Way!

In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off (Acts 13:1-3).

5:14 – God hears you when you pray, not because you are praying properly or by the correct formula, but because Jesus has paved the way for you to be heard.  God hears you because of the work Jesus did.  When you pray in Jesus’ name, it isn’t a formula, but rather a reality. You come to the Father and He hears you because of Jesus.  He answers your prayer so that Jesus may be glorified and the work of the Son verified as heaven’s choice and favor.

Do you realize what John wrote here?  When you pray, the Father hears you!  Whether or not you get the answer you like, whether or not it feels like He hears you, the truth is that He hears you.  You accept that in faith and you pray and keep on praying.  The less you feel like He hears, the more fervently you should pray.  Jesus told this parable and asked a question at the end.  How would you answer that question for your own life and family? If Jesus returned today, would He find faith in your “world”?

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!' " And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:1-8).

5:15 – If God hears, then God grants.  That is why you can pray and thank God for your prayer being answered before you see it answered:

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24).

Are you regularly asking God for the same thing, or at some point do you begin to thank Him for what you asked?  This isn’t forcing or manipulating God into answering your request.  It is a relationship with Him that enables you to know you were heard and then to thank Him for the answer.  Does that make sense? 

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For further Bible study, my website archive contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse Bible studies from Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.

Download 1 John Study 5

1 John Study 4: 4:1-21

Dear Student of the Word,

I know I just sent you a Bible study one week ago, but I am behind schedule due to my recent travels to Kenya. I want to complete these studies in the New Testament, which I began in 2001, by the end of May this year.  To do that, I have to publish one study this week and next, and then return to sending out a study every other week through May.  I hope this does not overwhelm you.  If it does, just put them away until later in the year when these will no longer be coming to you.

This week, we move into 1 John 4, where John had a great deal to say about love.  This week I wrote on day six of this seven-day study, which you can download below:

4:16 – What does it mean to live in love?  Does it mean being nice to people, sort of like a Mother Teresa clone?  Is it never saying anything difficult to another that may hurt their feelings?  What is this love?   This love must first be expressed to God and it can only be expressed by accepting the Father’s gift of salvation through the Son.  Jesus is the only key to a vital relationship with God.  There can be no other way. 

You see this love in action in the early days after the Spirit was poured out in Acts 2. Believers loved one another and showed that love in practical ways as they gathered to worship, pray, eat and share life together.  This is why people who say, “I don’t need to go to church to express my love for God” are wrong.  You cannot express love for God unless you are manifesting that love to others, especially to the household of faith.

Are you involved in a local church?  How deep are you relationships?  What more can you do to carry out the love of God with your church family?

v. 17 – Love is perfected and matures in your life as you love others in practical, tangible ways.  Furthermore, as your love matures and grows, you have confidence that God is at work in your life and you can face Him when you die and face judgment.  You will be like Him then, but you can also be like Him now when you love others.  Are you growing in love and confidence that God is with you?  What more can you do?

This concept of confidence is important, for there are many who carry ideas of what they should or could do.  Yet they don’t act on their ideas because they are waiting for confirmation.  Are you one of those people?  Are you waiting for God to bop you on the head before you step out to express your love? Do you see that God wants you to have confidence that He is with you, so that you can act out your love boldly?  If you are not confident in the Lord, why aren’t you?

v. 18 – Fear is the problem that keeps you from functioning in love.  It “talks you out of” what is in your heart to do and say.  Why are you so afraid?  When you love God and He loves you, it is a relationship that should eliminate fear.  Yet I behold fearful believers everywhere I go!  They are afraid of missing the Lord, getting ahead of the Lord or of offending the Lord.  It is good not to want to offend the Lord, but most people have it within their power to do good but don’t because they are either afraid “God isn’t in it” or that they will do the wrong thing.  I am convinced that sometimes “no thing” is the “wrong thing” where love is concerned.  Love and faith always act, so if you are not acting, then perhaps you don’t love or have faith.

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For further Bible study, my website archive contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse Bible studies from Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.

Download 1 John Study 4

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THE SOPHIA FUND AND DEBORAH FOUNDATION:  I was able to distribute $3,000 from the Sophia Fund and 28 duffel bags of educational resources and books while in Kenya and came home ready to continue my efforts in those two initiatives.  You can read the impact we made at one orphanage here.  Once you read it, please donate to help us feed even more orphans while also helping to stimulate their intellectual development

I am asking that every Bible study reader contribute at least $5 this year.  You can give through my website or send a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA 15221. Just let me know if your contribution is to be used for food or books and I promise to use it for that purpose. Just $5 will help me feed an orphan for two weeks!  Do what you can and please do it today.

1 John Study 3: 3:1-24

Dear Student of the Word,

I depart Nairobi later today, so I thought I would send along the next Bible study installment before I leave. I am so glad I have started to study 1 John, for over the years it has been a difficult epistle for me to understand.  This verse-by-verse approach has been helpful.  This week I wrote on one of the days of this seven-day study:

3:15 – Anyone refers to everyone!  If anyone hates, that person is guilty of murder, breaking one of the Ten Commandments.  We see much hatred in the world and it almost always ends up badly – wars, genocide, theft, oppression, and racism are just a few expressions of hatred that begin in the heart of men, sometimes even in the heart of one man or woman!  Since anyone who murders another is to be put to death, then anyone who has hatred that has not been dealt with cannot have eternal life.  So in some sense, hatred takes the life of both the hated and the hater.

v. 16 – Lest anyone get theoretical about what love is exactly, John explained it in terms of the love of Jesus.  Jesus laid down His life for others.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves.  You and I are to do the same for other people, since Jesus gave us this example of supreme and divine love.  Are you laying down your life for others?  How can you tell?  What evidence is there that you are?  It is easy to say that you love, but sometimes hard to do.  John helps us by explaining even more in the next verse.

v. 17 – One practical way to love is to share material possessions with others in need.  As I write this, I am in western Kenya on a short-term missions trip with thirteen others.  We brought over a lot of books, toys and shoes for the orphans here.  While we are here, we are seeing other needs the people have, things like underwear, medicine and food.  When we return home, we want to see how we can help meet those needs.

You don’t have to give to Africa to help meet needs. There are needs right where you live, even in your own church. Yet God can show you needs anywhere and it is your duty to respond with what you have.  You may not think you have anything in your world to give, but that is generally not the case.  Ask God to make you sensitive to the needs of those around you. Ask God to open your eyes to see what you have in your heart, basement, garage, attic, closet or checkbook that can be of use to someone else.  Teach your children how to be generous.  This is the one characteristic of the early church:

There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need (Acts 4:34-35).

It does no good to share what you have with someone who cannot use or does not need what you are giving.  Love must meet others’ needs and not your own need to give. What practical needs are you meeting from your own possessions?  Are you aware of the needs of those around you or of those someplace else in the world?  What are you doing to share?  If you need a place to focus your giving, please contact me and I will be glad to give you some suggestions!

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For further Bible study, my website archive contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse Bible studies from Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.

Download 1 John Study 3

1 John Study 2: 2:9-28

Dear Student of the Word,

I have been busy the last few weeks, but not too busy to prepare this week's Bible study.  Even though this is coming to you later than I wanted, I am sure it is arriving right on time!  This week we move into the second chapter of John's first epistle, which for some reason has always been a challenge for me to understand. Having just written my book on John's Revelation, however, I find the epistle easier to comprehend if I read between the lines and make the assumption that John was comforting a church who had just suffered a church split. 

This week I wrote on day five of this seven-day study:

2:21 – John wrote not to tell the reader the truth, but to assure them that they had the truth.  They had remained true to the Church of Jesus by staying true to the message of Jesus.  Can we surmise from what John wrote that those who left had believed a lie and that is why they departed?  What was the nature of the lie?  We find that in the next verse.

2:22 – Those who left denied that Jesus was or is the Christ, the Anointed One.  You will find that most heresies since Jesus departed have been around who He is, His person and nature.  That would make sense. Surely the spirit of the antichrist would promote doctrine that is against the mission, person and nature of Christ.  What hope do we have of combating his plots? We have God’s word and we have the Holy Spirit.  If you want to stay in the truth, then you simply submit to those two and you will have no problem. Those who do not follow another spirit and that can only be an anti-Christ spirit.

John indicated that when someone denies the Son, they also deny the Father.  So it is not possible to come to God, according to John, unless one comes through Jesus to the Father.  This is the standard message of the gospel from all the apostles.  When people reject the highway to heaven, they cannot choose another road!  This is the dilemma of our modern era, for many proclaim that there are multiple ways to God.   John refuted that doctrine when he wrote and it is still valid today. 

2:23 – Here John repeated this truth plainly:  If anyone wants the Father, he or she must acknowledge the Son.  This makes sense.  If the Father sent Jesus, which of course He did, then anyone who rejects the Son is rejecting the Father’s will.  I am listening to a series now by a secular author, and her theme is making a case for God.  She traces the history of God, or attempts to trace it, from the earliest times and it is obvious she is not a believer.  I think she believes in God, but she does not acknowledge the Son. 

What stands out in her historical overview is how man’s sinful nature causes him repeatedly to look for a god who is more to his liking.  Man is always at the center of the discussion and not God Himself.  When the Son is not the anchor, then someone’s ship of faith wanders and floats all over the sea of error. 

Man cannot decide what kind of god he wants or needs. That is idolatry, even if no graven image is fashioned. There is a mental image of what kind of god the person desires and that breaks the commandments that forbids strange gods.  Where can you get an accurate picture of the true God?  You get that by studying Scripture and accepting what it has to say about Jesus?

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). secular author, and her theme is making a case for God.  She traces the history of God, or attempts to trace it, from the earliest times and it is obvious she is not a believer.  I think she believes in God, but she does not acknowledge the Son. 

What stands out in her historical overview is how man’s sinful nature causes him repeatedly to look for a god who is more to his liking.  Man is always at the center of the discussion and not God Himself.  When the Son is not the anchor, then someone’s ship of faith wanders and floats all over the sea of error. 

Man cannot decide what kind of god he wants or needs. That is idolatry, even if no graven image is fashioned. There is a mental image of what kind of god the person desires and that breaks the commandments that forbids strange gods.  Where can you get an accurate picture of the true God?  You get that by studying Scripture and accepting what it has to say about Jesus?

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For further Bible study, my website archives contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse Bible studies from Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.

Download 1 John Study 2

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LAST CALL: I depart this coming Friday for Kenya with 13 others. If you want to give to the Deborah Foundation or the Sophia Fund, this is the last week to do so before I depart. If you haven't already done so, please take the time to read this latest updates on the Sophia Fund and the Deborah Foundation here. As you read, you will understand what a difference you can make in a child's life with very little effort or investment. 

If you feel compelled to help our upcoming trip, you can give through my website or send a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA 15221.  Just let me know if your contribution is to be used for food or shipping and I promise to use it for that purpose. Just $5 will help me feed an orphan for a week!  Do what you can and please do it today.

1 John Study 1: 1:1-2:8

Dear Student of the Word,

Happy New Year!  I trust your holiday season was a good one and that 2010 is off to a good start.  As you make your new year's goals, I am sure you included some goals to grow in your knowledge of God's word. At the end of 2009, we finished our study of John's gospel.  Now it is time to turn our attention to the study of John's epistles.  I will publish one study every other week and by the end of May, we should be done with this study of the New Testament, which began in 2001.  Yet I get ahead of myself.  First, let's look at something I wrote as part of this week's seven-part daily study:

2:1 – John wrote so that the people would not sin by saying that they had not sinned!  It is intriguing how often people will deny the truth or not confess something to God, like as if He doesn’t already know.  If you have messed up, you can admit it.  If God were going to “get” you, He would not get you once you are honest.  He would “get” you when you did the deed.  Honesty with God isn’t for His sake, it is for yours.  Are you being honest with God?  Is there something you cannot admit to God?  Do you see how foolish that is?

v. 2:2 – Some have interpreted this verse to mean that Christ died for everyone’s sins, whether or not they repent.  That is not what John was writing.  Jesus died for those who turn to God through Him.  There is no lack to the sufficiency of Christ for those people who repent.  Even if everyone in the world repented of his or her sin, Christ would be sufficient.  Not everyone does turn from their sin, however, so Christ is sufficient for only those who are His.  Those who are not His have no sacrifice for their sins and live therefore outside of God’s grace. 

This thinking that all men would be saved is called universalism and has been denounced as error many times.  Yet even today some continue to believe that God will grant salvation to everyone, denying the existence of a literal hell and final judgment for sinners.  That is not a tenet of orthodox Christianity.  All those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved; all those who do not will not be saved.  It is as simple as that.

v. 2:3 – There is evidence in the lives of those who know the Lord for salvation and that is in their behavior.  Forgiveness of sins isn’t just something that God automatically grants to anyone.  Forgiveness is granted to those who seek it, by God’s grace as a gift.  Yet salvation should manifest new deeds consistent with a new heart.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:7-10).

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit” (Matthew 7:17).

Only God knows those who are saved, but a saved person can produce evidence of salvation through his or her works and those certainly give credence to God’s presence.  Are you showing forth fruit that is consistent with your confession of faith?  Your works do not save you but you are saved to do good works.

As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For further Bible study, my website archives contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse Bible studies from Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Hebrews, James, 1&2 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.

Download 1 John Study 1

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THE SOPHIA FUND:  $1,300 come in for the Sophia Fund at year's end and some money and supplies for the Deborah Foundation continue to arrive.  My response to all this is:  THANK YOU AND PLEASE DON'T STOP.  I leave for Kenya on February 5 with 14 others and we want to take as much stuff and money over with us as possible. 

If you haven't already done so, please take the time to read my latest update on the Sophia Fund and the Deborah Foundation here. As you read, you will understand what a difference you can make in a child's life with very little effort or investment. 

After you read these updates, I hope you will act to help as my trip approaches in four weeks.  I need money and supplies to feed and educate the children in a difficult environment. If you need more background or information, go to my blog to see my latest posts or go to my Facebook page. I will figure out a way to get everything to Kenya.  You just figure out a way to get them to me. 

KENYA: The finest training in goal setting and personal development I have ever received was through an organization called The Pacific Institute.  I am going to do a three-day Pacific Institute seminar while I am in Nairobi from February 8-10 at the Serena Hotel in Nairobi. This training is not inexpensive, but it has paid for itself in my life over and over again.  Be watching for updates in the coming weeks and then be a part of this historic event when I come over in February.  It will change you and your life forever.