Ray Pritchard’s Blog – May 2008

Climbing Kilimanjaro

That awesome mountain in the photograph is Kilimanjaro, tallest peak on the African continent. I have a particular interest in this mountain because one of my sons, two of my brothers, and a sister-in-law and two nieces will soon be climbing it. As I write these words all of them are en route to the great mountain.It all s ...

When Striving is Bad

Recently I attended a prayer meeting with a group of godly people, the purpose of which was to seek God’s face on behalf of the city in which they lived. I listened as they asked God to unite Christians so that the body of Christ would make a positive witness to the city, they prayed for open hearts, they asked the Fa ...

The Holy Spirit and Gospel Evangelism

A friend from overseas sent the following email several days ago:What is the relevancy of the Holy Spirit in the gospel message in our times? I am working on a paper but would appreciate to get different views from different scholars.I am not a scholar, but I am happy to offer my brief thoughts on this vital question. Here ...

Forgiveness Messages Now Online

The five messages on forgiveness that I gave on Back to the Bible last week are now online on the Keep Believing website. Here are the messages in order:Forgiveness: Healing the Hurt I Never DeservedForgiveness and the Lord’s PrayerJudge NotIs Total Forgiveness Realistic?The Final StepClick on the Audio tab to listen ...

Preaching in Tupelo the Next Two Sundays

I will be preaching in Tupelo the next two Sundays:June 1 Harrisburg Baptist Church, 6 PM (Awaken Service)June 8 Church at Trace Crossing, 10:30 AM Harrisburg Baptist Church, 6 PM (Awaken Service)If you are in the area, I hope you’ll join us for one of these services.

Come Before Winter

We have just posted a new sermon called Come Before Winter. Here’s an excerpt:Procrastination destroys many good intentions. More marriages die because of slow neglect than from deliberate desertion. Things essential and basic are neglected every day. We mean to say a word of encouragement, but we never get around to ...

KBM and the China Earthquake

Two weeks ago a devastating earthquake struck the Sichuan province in China. At first the death toll was estimated to be 32,000. As of this writing, the number has climbed to 65,000. The final figure will be far larger. Over 300,000 were injured. Tens of thousands are missing with over 5 million left homeless. Yesterday a s ...

Bump a Man and See What Spills Out

“You never really find out what is inside a man until he is bumped and you see what spills out.” Carl Lundquist

Camp Forest Springs

This is Day 1 of the Memorial Day Family Weekend at Camp Forest Springs. As you can tell, we are in northern Wisconsin, not that far from the U.P.—the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and not that far from Lake Superior. This morning we ate breakfast with a couple from Merrill, a small town east of here. Mary is an Outdoor E ...

On the Road in Central Wisconsin

At this moment we are somewhere in central Wisconsin—just south of Stevens Point, south of Wassau, about two hours away from Camp Forest Springs. Yesterday we drove 10+ hours to Chicago. Today we are driving another 6-7 hours to get to the camp. The trip itself has been uneventful. Central Wisconsin is absolutely beautiful ...

“When You Need to Know, You’ll Know” Podcast

We have just posted a new podcast called When You Need to Know, You’ll Know. You can download the file, listen to it online, or listen to it via iTunes. Based on Proverbs 3:5-6, this message explains five key words that will help you discover God’s will for your life.You can read the text version of the message ...

Heading North

I am writing this note at 5:44 AM on Wednesday morning. I’m up early because in a few hours we will be on the road again. We plan to spend tonight in Chicago and then travel tomorrow to Camp Forest Springs in Westboro, Wisconsin. That’s north of Madison, north of Stevens Point, and north of Green Bay. I’m ...

Anchor Books for Prison Fellowship

Ten years ago we started a ministry partnership with Prison Fellowship that continues to this day In the beginning we gave away copies of “What a Christian Believes” and “Keep Believing” to inmates who responded to an offer in the Inside Journal, a newspaper published by Prison Fellowship and distributed in prisons across t ...

Can You Wash an iPod?

Can you wash an iPod the same way you wash clothes? And if you do, will it survive?The answer to both questions is yes . I learned this after doing some extensive field research this morning. It all started when Marlene commented on how messy my bookshelf has become. I can see her point because my view of a bookshelf is tha ...

Five Messages on Forgiveness

A special greeting to all our Back to the Bible friends. And welcome to the Keep Believing website. Thank you for listening to the broadcasts this week, and thanks even more for visiting our website. Several years ago I preached a five-part series called Total Forgiveness. Here are the links to those messages. They will fle ...

Chinese Translation of “The Healing Power of Forgiveness”

The Chinese translation of The Healing Power of Forgiveness has just been released. You can order copies fromElim Christian BookstoreB1F, No. 210, Sec. 4Chung-Hsiao E. Rd.Taipei 106Taiwan R.O.C.

Be Still and Know

We have posted a new sermon called Be Still and Know. The sermon came in response to a question from a friend in China who wondered why God sent the terrible earthquake that took so many lives in the Sichuan province last week. As I considered his question, my mind was drawn to Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God. ...

WMBI Interview with Nancy Turner on Tuesday Morning

On Tuesday morning I am doing a radio interview with Nancy Turner on WMBI-FM in Chicago from 10-11 AM CDT. We’ll be talking about my new book Fire and Rain: The Wild-Hearted Faith of Elijah. We’re going to focus on what it means to be a risk-taker for God.

First Tell Them What You Are For

Before the week just past fades away, I want to make a comment on last Tuesday’s runoff special election in the Mississippi 1st Congressional District, won by a Democrat named Travis Childers. This is big news. I know it because the national commentators have been talking about it all week long. Let me put it this way ...

Earthquake Damage in China

The New York Times has published this interactive map showing the earthquake damage in China. Click on the camera icons to see photos from the region. The death toll now stands at over 32,000, with the final numbers expected to be much higher. A friend in China told us that for the first time, the government is concerned ab ...

Back to the Bible—Next Week!

Next week (May 19-23)Back to the Bible will broadcast five messages I gave on the topic of “The Healing Power of Forgiveness."Here is their bio and announcement of the programs next week.Click here to find out where the program is broadcast in your area.I first met Wood Kroll, senior Bible teacher at Back to the Bible, whe ...

Korean Version of “Why Did This Happen to Me?”

The Korean translation of Why Did This Happen to Me? has just been released. Copies are available from:Timothy Publishing HouseKwan-AKP.O. Box 16Seoul, KoreaIf you wonder whether we know in advance about foreign language translations, the answer almost always is no. I had no idea that this Korean language edition was comi ...

“Praying For Your Prodigal” Podcast

We have just uploaded a new podcast featuring a message called Praying for Your Prodigal. You can download the file from the KBM website, listen to it online, or listen to it on iTunes. If you have a loved one who is a prodigal, listen to this message. God may use it to give you hope to keep believing, to keep on praying, a ...

The Gospel in Two Words

A few days ago I read a pre-publication manuscript by Julie-Allyson Ieron called “The Overwhelmed Woman’s Guide to … Caring for Aging Parents.” One chapter talks about the challenge of sharing Christ with aging parents, grandparents and other relatives. As your loved ones grow older, the importance of sharing the Good ...

God’s Unchanging Word

A friend sent me this comment yesteday . . .Do you know what I love about the Word of God? Well, one thing, anyway is that it is unchanging. It will be the same when I am 80 as it is today. Yet something tells me that I will not recognize the larger evangelical community when I am 80. I’m sure many faithful believers, ...

Should an Openly Homosexual Person be Baptized?

This week’s Monday Morning Insight contained an article with the intriguing title Should An Openly Homosexual Person be Baptized? The article is worth reading mostly for the comments that follow it. The article itself is based on a blog entry by Pennsylvania pastor Brian Jones.Here is my take on the subject . . .1. Th ...

2009 Holy Land Tour Update

Last month I announced that Marlene and I are planning to lead a tour to the Holy Land in 2009. I promised you that as as soon as I had any more information, I would let you know. After working with our tour company, it now appears that we will be going to the Holy Land in late October-early November 2009. We’re look ...

Three New Sermons

Here are three new sermons we have posted on the website in the last few days:Why God Chooses Splendid Sinners and Lovable LosersStrength for the JourneyWhat You Seek, You Find

Tuesday Morning Scattershooting

Various, mostly unrelated notes from hither and yon . . .William McGurn has some nice words about Wheaton College in the Wall Street Journal.Speaking of Wheaton, Eric Rubio had a great freshman year there.Several people have called or written to ask about Josh and Leah who teach English in Nanchang, China. After the devasta ...

We Shall Behold Him

Legendary gospel singer and songwriter Dottie Rambo died yesterday morning when her tour bus ran off a road in southwest Missouri and struck an embankment. She was 74 years old. She had more than 2500 published songs, among them a song of great hope called “We Shall Behold Him.” When I woke up this morning, I thought about ...

Well, It Was An Earthquake

Woke up this morning and discovered we really were hit by an earthquake yesterday. It was only 3.1 in magnitude but it’s like they say, minor surgery is when they operate on someone else. According to the local paper, the quake was centered in Belden, a couple of miles from the west side of Tupelo, not far from our ho ...

A Strange Week in Tupelo

It’s been a strange week here in Tupelo. On Thursday a tornado blew through the area, damaging homes and buildings and downing tree but with no serious injuries. I think it’s left us all a bit jumpy. Earlier today our neighbor called to say that we ought to check our attic. When they checked theirs, they saw lig ...

Tornado in Tupelo

The weather radar a few minutes agoWe were awakened this morning by an enormous clap of thunder followed by lightning followed by extremely high winds followed by the sound of the warning system blaring in the distance. The tornado that passed through Tupelo around 8 AM came through our subdivision. It blew down a tree in t ...

Almost Home

I’m writing this note from the Memphis airport. After traveling over 4500 miles today, we are now only 85 miles from home. We started 19 hours ago in Prague. It occurred to me as we checked in that they probably don’t get many travelers checking their bags from Prague to Tupelo. We flew from Prague to Amsterdam ...

The Chicago-Prague-Tupelo Connection

This picture was taken this afternoon in the Old Town Square in Prague. From left to right, that’s Josef, Simon, Marlene, Ray, Nika. The story behind the picture goes like this. Josef Marha is a professional hockey player from the Czech Republic. In 1998-2000 he played for the Chicago Blackhawks. During that time he ...

Josiah Venture—Spring Conference Picture

Just before the conference ended yesterday, we headed outside for a group picture in the rock amphitheater. If you look hard, you can see Marlene and me on the very back row just left of center. JV missionaries serve from Estonia in the north (almost to Finland) to Serbia in the south (almost to Greece). Not many Christians ...

Final Session from Czech Republic Now Online

Monday Afternoon 1:57 PMIn the basement atMiss Sophie’s inPrague, Czech RepublicI am writing this note from Miss Sophie’s, a combination hostel/hotel in the heart of Prague. After we finished the Josiah Venture conference yesterday, Marlene and I rode the train (about 3 1/2 hours) from Ostrava to Prague. We got ...

“He is not saved yet”

When we asked one of the Josiah Venture missionaries if she comes from a Christian family, she replied no, but her mother has accepted Christ. Then speaking of her brother, she said, “He is not saved yet."Not, “He is not saved."But, “He is not saved yet."Thus does faith work through hope. That little word “yet” makes all th ...

Audio from Saturday morning session in the Czech Republic

This morning I spoke to the Josiah Venture conference on Spiritual Warfare in the Days. You can hear this session by going to the Audio section and downloading the file or listening to it on the mp3 players. It was one of those moments when I was aware that the Holy Spirit was at work during my talk. That doesn’t happ ...

Audio for Second Session from the Czech Republic

We have just added the audio from this morning’s session on “Forward-Leaning Defense” from the Josiah Venture Spring Conference in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Click on the Audio button to hear this session.

Audio for First Session from the Czech Republic

We have just posted the audio from this morning’s first session at the Josiah Venture conference in the Czech Republic. I spoke on “A New Name for a Very Old War” as part of the overall theme—"Fit For Battle.” The JV audio team graciously made the audio file available for our use on the Keep Believing website. As you ...