Dear Friend, I do hope you will consider me as your friend. I write this letter in the spirit of love and friendship. Jesus was known as a friend of all people. His enemies, though, criticized Him for being “a friend of publicans and sinners” (Matthew 11:19). If I follow in the footsteps of Jesus, I too must be a friend of sinners, and I am one myself. The Lord’s church is composed of sinners saved by the grace of God. It’s not to be made up of self-righteous individuals who think they are better than others. There is too much prejudice and hypocritical-type living. Jesus condemned both of these strongly (Matthew 23; see also Acts 10:34-48; James 2:1-13). I am vitally concerned about the souls of the approximately 8 billion persons on the face of the earth. Studying the Bible with some of these, who may be thousands of miles away, is a privilege that’s a part of our modern world. Traveling to distant places with the Gospel of Jesus is a great blessing as well. Jesus was concerned about the masses. He fed 5,000 men plus women and children (Matthew 14:13-21). Another time, our Lord fed more than 4,000 (Matthew 15:32-39). He had compassion toward them because they were like sheep having no shepherd (Matthew 9:36). I’m confident Jesus is just as concerned today for billions of souls. Our Lord, though, not only saw the masses but the individuals. He said one soul is worth more than all