August 6, 2025

Dear Friends,

This week, four men and one woman prayed with me according to the pattern of Luke 18:13 & Romans 10:9.

The first was a man living on the Aland Islands, in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland, an “Archipelago of about 6,700 islands with about 60–80 of which are inhabited.” His WiFi on the island was very weak, so I feared that we would not have a sufficient connection. But even without my suggesting it, he took his boat to Sweden so that we could have a better connection, and then awaited the hour of our Zoom call. He works in e-commerce as a high-level executive and he is in his 40s. He wrote:

Hi!
My name is ________, from ____________. I’ve been watching some of your YouTube clips and I find them very inspiring. I’ve always been what you could call a seeker. Curious about truth. Almost obsessed. I’ve spent many years in eastern spiritual traditions but last couple of years shifted towards Jesus. Tried many different paths, and never really been fulfilled, or changed even though I’ve really tried. To a certain extent, I get the point about the importance of Jesus resurrection. If that is true then all else of Jesus’s claims must be true. I would love to get your insights more indepth regarding the resurrection. Cause I view that to be like the final key for a complete faith in Jesus. At the moment I would say I believe but I fell my faith varies to much and unstable. Wish you and your cause all the best. Kind regards, _________________.

As soon as I learned that, on his own initiative, he traveled to the mainland to ensure a quality discussion due to the WiFi connection strength, I knew he was serious. He readily received the message of truth. Indeed, he was a seeker. He is set up with Burt Brink for discipleship, and now in daily Bible reading. Afterward, he wrote:

Dear Dr. Tour, I’m the one that should give thanks for the meeting 😊 It gave me so much good insights and depth. It means the world to me. Actually I’ve never confessed by belief in Jesus externally like that before and it was special I have to say, felt that in my heart. Especially afterwards when I got some time to let it sink in. I’ve started with the 15 min bible reading according to your instructions and I will keep doing this continuously. I’m very much looking forward to working through the booklet and meeting Burt. And also going through your other content. Once again, a big thanks for taking time to help me grow further in my faith! God bless, ____________.

The next was a middle-aged lawyer from New York City, and he works in the city and was educated in the city at Fordham University for both undergraduate and law school. He is Catholic and an observer of their sacraments, but believes the resurrection to be metaphorical, not physical. It was hard to complete my teaching because he seemed more interested in converting me to his view. I finally needed to remind him that my directive for the meeting was clear and that, as a lawyer, he should be able to understand the instruction to which he agreed: “If you would like to hear about why I embrace the resurrection of Jesus…” Finally, he kept quiet and let me complete my task. Then we spoke for some time while I listened and explained why his view does not do justice to the written scriptures. Then we prayed aloud and he proclaimed the resurrection in the context of actually rising from the dead. By the end, there was a mutual feeling like real brothers. He agreed to the daily 15-minute Bible reading each morning, writing afterwards, “I promise you that I will,” but the 13-week Bible study, I fear, was too much for him. I, too, am from New York City, so I understood his mindset and mannerisms better than others might. That intense Trumpian New York debate-like interaction was actually refreshing. By the end, my NYC accent was returning.

The third was a man whom I met recently at the university. He works for a local large oil company and he is a PhD materials engineer. When we had a meeting at my office last week, he thanked me for the time. He also mentioned that he had seen some of my videos. That was the sign that he must be open. I then asked if he’d like to hear about why I embrace the resurrection of Jesus. He said he would like to hear that. So we set a time on Thursday evening for the gospel sharing. He is originally from China, but he has been in the US for 20 years. He believed and prayed aloud with me. He is set up to work with Chuck Lloyd in a 13-week Bible study. This PhD then wrote to me:

“Dear James, Thanks for your kind guidance. I will start the journey. Best regards, _____________________”

The next was a woman and her husband, both living in Sweden. Sweden has been a harvest ground lately. She wrote:

Hi! I saw one could email for information on the resurrection. Is this the correct address? Regards, _______.

I then asked if she believed in the resurrection of Jesus, to which she replied:

God bless you too. Is this the actual Mr James Tour I’m talking to, or an assistant? It’s quite impressive that the real James Tour would take time to discuss this question, after what I read about his busy career on Wikipedia. To answer your question. I think it doesn’t matter if I believe in the resurrection or not. I sort of don’t think it’s provable, and I think people will question me if I say I believe in it. And that the only way I would believe in it would be based on trust and faith – since there is no scientific proof (whatever that means, something material I suppose though how could we have anything material left to prove anything so long ago, so the lack thereof doesn’t disprove anything either). I HOPE it’s true, I guess. I do believe in God, and trust and have faith in him. Jesus is not someone I can be as certain about (as God), but I’ve chosen to be Catholic and I do pray and read the Bible and follow Jesus teachings. I enjoy watching The Chosen. I don’t see how anyone can be so sure of the resurrection. And I don’t think it’s provable? This is also a key question that I think is holding my husband back from believing in Jesus at all, so it would be wonderful if proven true.

We agreed to meet. She wanted her husband to attend the call as well because she said he became intrigued. I declined and said that he would have to write to me himself to request the meeting. I did not want his unbelief to negatively influence her during our conversation. I have seen this sort of thing happen before. But then the husband immediately emailed me himself, making the request. So I agreed to meet with the two of them together. They are both journalists in their 40s with several children. I shared. They both listened carefully and prayed aloud with me, embracing the resurrection, saying it was convincing. I set them up with Chuck and Barbara Lloyd for the Bible study and left them with the daily reading of scripture.

Acts 4:4
But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

Glory to Jesus. The gospel is marvelously powerful to convert hearts and save souls.

God bless,

Dr. James Tour