Pray for Europe Today

October 23, 2008

Greater Europe Mission has set aside October 23 as a special Day of Prayer for Europe. Click on the interactive map to see details regarding the spiritual needs of each European country.…

Check Out the New Podcast

Several weeks ago Marlene and I traveled to Cannon Beach Conference Center in Oregon for a midweek conference. The final session was devoted to questions submitted by conference attenders. We have just posted the audio of the Q&A session. When you listen to the session, you can hear Marlene asking the questions and also trying to keep me from r…

A Dollar a Day

October 22, 2008

In his blog entry called Sacrifice vs. Offering, Brian Bill quotes a missionary who when asked about the sacrifices missionaries must make, explained it this way.It might feel like a sacrifice at the beginning but once you lay it on the altar, it becomes an offering.And that thought reminded me of a story I read years ago about an elderly minister …

The Final Gift

October 21, 2008

A few days ago a man who happens to live in another country wrote me with the sad news that his sister-is-law is dying of cancer. The doctor says she does not have a long time to live. She has received the news with grace and faith and seems to be doing well. He writes in part because he is concerned for her. She has chosen, at least for the moment…

Next Year in Jerusalem

October 20, 2008

Several times in the last few months, I have mentioned that we will be leading a Holy Land tour in 2009. We now have the dates fixed—October 16-26. That means that one year from today, you could join us on the tour. On October 20, 2009, we will take a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, visit Capernaum and the Mount of the Beatitudes, and have a…

Random Thought

I’m glad we don’t know the future. Even the good stuff would scare us to death….

Our Last Night in PEI

October 19, 2008

Tonight we finished the final service of the Bible conference at Grace Baptist Church in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Just a few minutes ago Marlene finished packing, tomorrow we turn in our rental car, and around noon we start the long trip back home. Before leaving this lovely spot, I want to say thank you to Pastor Steve Bray for…

Time to Pray for “the Other Guy”

October 18, 2008

Last night during my sermon on loving your enemies, I was convicted about something. That doesn’t happen very often—conviction while I’m preaching, I mean. I’m usually convicted about my shortcomings during the ongoing, ordinary, day-to-day stuff of life. But lats night while I was preaching, the thought occurred to me that …

Three Years Ago—Then and Now

October 17, 2008

Three years ago today, very early in the morning, before the sun had come up, we left Oak Park on our way to Tupelo, Mississippi. About that day I remember very little except that a few friends came to say goodbye as our Ryder truck was about to pull out of the driveway. Betty Nelson came, and Shirley Wilson, and Margie Gilchrist, and Soo Ai Kudo. …

The Real Hero of the Bible

October 16, 2008

This morning I ended up reading only one chapter. I was “reading the 16s” (see this entry for an explanation) so I decided to start with the first one—Genesis 16—and I never made it anywhere else. Here’s what you find in chapter:1. Sarah suggests that Abraham sleep with their Egyptian servant Hagar.2. Hagar gets pregna…