The news reports coming out of Chile indicate that a magnitude 8.8 earthquake has struck near Santiago, Chile. We have been receiving reports that Samuel is safe. Scott and Nikki Russell are in the U.S.  Their son, Samuel, was injured by some falling glass, but he is o.k.

When more information is available, this post will be updated. Calvary Baptist Church serves as the home church for the Russells.

9:30 pm EST Saturday. Scott just posted this note:

“Just communicated with our son by text messages via internet. Phone lines are still down. The quake hit at 1:40am local time. He was in bed on 2nd floor. Many things fell off shelves, vases, pictures, etc. He said glass was shattering all over the house. House is quite a mess but structurally sound.”

11:30 EST Saturday

“Finally spoke with our son. He is fine, with another family – has only minor cuts and scrapes. He said the house shook so hard that he thought it was going to cave-in on top of him. Things fell off the walls, off shelves, everything crashing and breaking leaving a rather bad mess throughout the whole house. Ceiling trim in one bedroom came down and exterior windows are broken.

About two hours ago, he was in the car of the family taking care of him and they were involved in a car accident. He is OK from that as well. God is watching over our son and we are very grateful. There is a great urgency in our hearts to want to get home and be with him and hug him.

As of right now, our house is still without electricity. Phone lines are still down and cell phone systems have crashed. Communication has not been great with our other churches in Chile. We are still trying to assess the crisis in the churches. Please pray for their continued safety, for Samuel’s well-being, for the churches, for the MK school, for our missionary colleagues, and everything else. The airport is still shut down but they hope to have it back up and running within 72 hours.”

News Reports from Chile

9/11. Tsunamis. Myanmar. Virginia Tech shootings. Samson, Alabama. Binghamton, NY. Air France flight 447. Ft. Hood, Texas. And now, the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile.

When these kinds of tragedies strike, what are we supposed to understand? Is there a timeless message in a terrible massacre?

These horrible, earthly miseries carry a message for all humanity — even for those who were not victimized by the recent disaster.

These earthly miseries warn us about  eternal miseries, and the Gospel message shows us how to escape from the everlasting tragedy.

The answer came from Jesus Christ and can be found in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 13.

Click the player below to listen to a message on this text.

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Dear Friends,

The work of God in Haiti continues.  Please pray for the safety of our pilots.  This morning Terry Rushing went to his plane to fly to Jacmel with a load of tents for Dr. Brinson McGowan in Cayes Jacmel.  He found a leak in one of the fuel bladders of the Piper Chieftain.  This will sideline him for at least a week.  Please pray for Wings as Eagles that they will be able to absorb the cost of these repairs.  Pray that we can get these tents in.  It is crucial.

Dr. McGowan’s clinic and small hospital (Baptist Mid Missions work) is a wonderful refuge for the sick in Haiti.  Two of Operation Renewed Hope doctors worked there last week.  Dr. Greg Waller and Dr. Adam Naler worked with the clinic and remained extremely busy.

We were counting on Terry’s plane, but God is always prepared for the unexpected for us.  A pilot who flew for us before, Dennis Conn, called with another Piper Chieftain donated by Grocery chain in Minnesota.  He is on his way now to Opa Locka to continue to fly the missions.  Pray that we will be able to do the work that God is placing before us. Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday February 18, 2010

Dear Friends,

This is another update for the work in Haiti.  I ask you to pray for the planes and the AIR HOPE coalition pilots.

Pray for Terry Rushing of Wings as Eagles.  He is flying from Miami to Jacmel.  He is leaving at 6:30 in the morning and returning late in the evening.  Pray that all will go well with the plane and Terry and his co-pilot.

On Tuesday, Terry and his co-pilot were able to get food and Gospel tracts provided by Baptist Mid Missions to the evangelistic crusade in Jacmel.  He had to replace a starter on Wednesday of this week and could not fly.

On Thursday, Terry flew approximately 100 tents for Tim Bower and his ministry provided by Mike Peletier.  We were told that they had held services together and that several hundred were in attendance and several people had been saved.

Terry also flew in tents for Dr. Brinson McGowan and a suction machine.  Dr. McGowan’s clinic suction machine broke causing him to be unable to continue all of his surgeries.  Mrs. McGowan sent us a new machine with approximately 150 military tents.   Terry will fly the remainder of the 150 tents tomorrow.

Federal Express mis-transported 200 of our tents this week, but they were very faithful and found the tents in Ocala, FL.  God was gracious, and to our knowledge we have not lost any of the tents.  We want to thank Federal Express for their support staff who found the wayward trailer with the  tents.

We want to thank Kelley Hein and Dave Crispel for their efforts this last 10 days.  They have flown almost non-stop.  Tuesday, a medical team of 10 doctors and nurses called out of Jacmel asking for evacuation to Santo Domingo. Read the rest of this entry »

Husband, love your wife!

Spirit-Filled Marriage, Part 6, Ephesians 5:25-30

Love your wife, in the same way that Christ loved the church.

• By making the choice to love her

• By giving yourself to meeting her needs.  It’s an act of the will.

-    In order that he may set her apart from the  world

-    In order that he may set her apart with the Word

-    In order that he may present her in a glorious manner

To listen to this message, click here.

On Sunday evening, February 21, Nathan Lucius presented a testimony of God’s Grace in the lives of the Lucius family. Listen to this remarkable story of how the Gospel of Grace transformed a family during the biggest battle of their lives.

Kayla, their oldest was diagnosed with cancer: Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (explained here).

Nathan delivered this testimony during the evening service at Calvary Baptist Church in Findlay, Ohio.

Click the player here to listen to this presentation.

If you would like to learn more about this story, Kayla’s Caring Bridge site is here.

Spirit-filled Marriage, Part 5

Ephesians 5:22-27

Making a Majestic Marriage, Happy Valentine’s Day!

Which one would you want your marriage to be? Full of deep affection or destructive accusation? Genesis 2 or Genesis 3? Shepherd or serpent?

In a Spirit-filled Marriage, the wife honors God by giving respect to her husband. 22-24

She honors Christ’s authority by “arranging herself under” her husband. 22-23

She represents the church in its submission to Christ. 24

How bad can it get? Adam & Eve; Isaac & Rebekah Genesis 2:21-25; 3:12; 25:27-28

In a Spirit-filled Marriage, the husband honors God by loving his wife and giving himself for her. 25-27

He honors Christ, with a self-sacrificial desire for his wife– giving himself for her. 25

He represents Christ by using the Word to

purify problem areas and perfect holiness. 26-27

• Practical Steps

• Put God’s Word back into your garden at home & church

• Take the change challenge: put off, renew, put on

• Wife: Trust God enough to submit to your husband

• Husband: Love the Lord enough to love your wife

• Ask the Lord to turn you from misery to majesty

Additional Study: Ephesians 3:14-2; 5:18-19, 1 Peter 3:6-7, Genesis 2:21-25; 3:12; 25:27-28; 27:1-6, 41-46

Click here to listen to this message.

Do you want to have a really great marriage?

You’re probably thinking, “I’m trying!”

But what if that is part of the problem? Instead of “trying,” the Lord speaks of “trusting” Him and letting Him live His life through you.

Why is a “Spirit-filled Marriage” so important? It’s because self-sufficiency makes lousy spouses. If you are trying to be a God-honoring spouse in your own strength, you will be miserable, and you will fail.

In order to be “Spirit-filled,” it is helpful to understand the prayer of Ephesians 3 ( to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man).  In this message, we will also look at Peter’s pen strokes (1 Peter 2 and 3), to draw a picture of Jesus Christ and His church.

If you are really struggling today, may we encourage you to “breathe in what God has breathed out” and know the strength that only the Lord can give.

To listen to this message please click here.

Update from Operation Renewed Hope

Dear Friends,

Please pray for our pilots that are flying in Haiti.  We received this message from Pastor Yadin Rodriguez of Iglesia Bautista Christiana.  He is our coordinator in Santo Domingo.  Kelley Hein, missionary pilot, sent this message on the ORH sat phone form Jacmel.

“I just got a call from Kelle Hein from Jacmel. Apparently when Dave Crispell was landing on his second flight today he got a flat tire on his plane. Thankfully he was able to control the plane and nothing serious Read the rest of this entry »

In one of my workshops at Heart conference, the participants asked if I could make the devotional journal sheets available. If you will click the link below, you can download them here:

How_To_Use_Your_Bible_Devotional_Journal

Sincerely,

Gordon Dickson