What do you do when the pastor has a hard time bringing a sermon in for a landing? Well, Elvina Hall, seated in the choir loft of the Monument Methodist Church in Baltimore, made use of such an occasion by writing the following hymn. Since she had no paper, she wrote the words on the […]
We recall watching on television, along with millions world-wide, as the Velvet Revolution came to a conclusion on December 29. 1989. Having previously ministered in Czechoslovakia when it was under Communist rule, little did we realize that within six weeks we would be witnessing what can only be explained as the sovereign hand of God […]
YOM KIPPUR Today is YOM KIPPUR on the Jewish calendar, a day of great significance to not only our Jewish friends for whom we need to pray, but for us, Christians, as this day points so clearly to the final sacrifice for sin made by our Savior, the Lord Jesus. HISTORY The history of Yom […]
I had arrived late that afternoon and had been driven directly from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport to the headquarters of the Union of Evangelical Christians—Baptists of Russia (UECB). I was pleased when they told me I would be staying in Room #1, where I had previously stayed on several occasions. Though Room #1 was not much […]
It was the fall of 1954 and time for my father’s annual crusade in the Oberschule (high school) stadium in Schwenningen, located in the Black Forest region of Germany. Singing was becoming increasingly important to me and when dad asked me to be the crusade soloist I jumped at the opportunity. Before the 2nd World […]
Khristos Voskres! Voistinu Voskres! While we here in North America celebrated the resurrection of our Lord and Savior on March 27, according to our Gregorian calendar, our brothers and sisters across Russia and her neighboring countries celebrate Easter today—May 1, according to their Julian calendar. And together—along with the redeemed throughout the world and across […]
“In HIM:” A Puritan’s Prayer: “O LORD GOD, how great are my privileges in Christ Jesus! — Without Him I stand far off, a stranger, an outcast; in HIM I draw near and touch His kingly scepter. –Without Him I dare not lift up my guilty eyes; in HIM I gaze upon my Father-God and […]
The cistern contains. The fountain overflows” –William Blake FRESH SPRINGS “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14 All my fresh springs are found in You, oh Lord; All my fresh springs […]
Some years ago, in the midst of the “busyness of ministry,” things that once were fresh and exciting had become pretty much routine. I had lost the wonder and awe of God’s work in creation, but even more importantly, I had lost the wonder and awe of His miraculous work in making me into a […]
A word of praise to the Creator of ALL beauty, as Patricia and I head for Mena, Arkansas, for a 4 day meeting with our friend and “son-in-the-ministry,” Harry Layden. We’ll be at Salem Baptist, pastored by Jack Schoeppy, with whom we go back to the 70’s when he was on the staff at Eastwood […]