So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.” (1 Corinthians 3:7 NKJV)
This is a favorite verse of an avid Blue Letter Bible user named Robbie Gordon—a more humble or gracious servant would be difficult to find. Robbie, a native of Southern California, began using Blue Letter Bible in its formative years. He had a genuine passion for studying the Word, yet he never considered himself qualified for ministry. But the Lord had plans for Robbie on foreign soil; from Ireland to Poland, to Sudan, Kenya and Samoa he has planted and watered the seeds of God’s Word.
As a missionary, Robbie told us he always traveled with his “go bag,” which contained life’s essentials for emergency evacuations. That hefty bag also held his Bible, a Strong’s Concordance, a Bible Dictionary and the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. In 2002, when BLB produced its first CD version of the website, Robbie’s “go bag” lost a lot of weight! All of his favorite reference books and much more were digitally loaded onto a small disc. Robbie said that God used the BLB CD to help equip him to teach, while pastoring on the mission field.
During Robbie’s ten years in Kenya, he helped host a live radio program where callers could ask questions relating to broadcast Bible studies. He told us the BLB “search tools” helped him quickly find answers in the Scriptures, and he thanked us for enabling him, and the listening audience to do, as the first-century believers did:
…They received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11 NKJV)
After 15 years of missionary work abroad, Robbie has returned to America with his Kenyan wife and daughter. He no longer carries around that heavy tote bag, but with a smile he said,
“Now Blue Letter Bible is always in my shirt pocket, on my phone.”
We are so thankful for testimonies like Robbie’s. We know God is truly bringing about a harvest of increase, and we are awestruck that He uses ordinary people, like us, to accomplish His plans. Please pray about joining our team of partners, who help us provide Bible study tools for missionaries and believers around the world.