Using Gifts for the Good of the Church by Tim Challies The Bible is a book full of metaphors—word pictures that God uses to explain who He is and what He requires of us. We are sheep and God is a shepherd. We are treasonous prodigals and God is a forgiving Father. We are trees,...
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. (Luke 10:33) It has been a delight for me to watch as many of you have taken the challenge to memorize one of the parables of Jesus and recite it in front of the congregation on...
Shortly before my first trip to Finland I stumbled across a cartoon. The drawing was of several faces, each labeled with a different emotion, such as Happy, Sad, Angry, Excited, etc. It was supposed to show the variety of Finnish facial expressions and emotions. The joke was that every face was exactly the same—neutral, showing...
Schmidt News-excerpts from October 2018 newsletter “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28+29 Is there an angry GIANT shaking our...
I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. (1 Corinthians 9:22) Quite a number of years ago, I was attending a denominational meeting in Minnesota, when during one of our discussions a friend and fellow pastor said we must move beyond protecting our theology and get on...
It has been some time since I have been able to produce an article for this newsletter. Running a Mexican food truck close to the top of the world doesn’t leave much time for typing. Now, having finally emerged from 3 months in the forests of central Finland, I suppose I should write something about...
What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Romans 7:7 Back in the springtime I addressed the topic of the role of God’s law in our lives as Christians. As you perhaps have noticed in our study of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans his reference to the Law rises to...
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations. (Deuteronomy 7:9) Tom Lanoue and I had the privilege of visiting our oldest surviving member, Margaret Barbour, in her home today. Margaret and her husband...
ANABEL AND A PERSONAL NOTE Love—that’s the word that jumped out to me on the note written in big, red print by Brittany, age 13. I didn’t know how to read English at the time in the Dominican Republic, but I recognized the word love: “God loves you! Love, Brittany.” Two photos accompanied the note—one...
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Phil. 1:2 Thank you for praying for the OMF Field Conference with 250 people attending. It was a real blessing to have time with fellow missionaries. Thank the Lord that the children’s program went so smoothly! Dieter and I were...