I have already used what I am claiming to be one of the greatest blessings of my life...I am talking about Skype. Residing thousands of miles from my family and using a computer that does not even have a wire attached to it, I have talked to my wife, each of my girls, two of my son-n-laws, my parents-n-law and have seen and heard both of my newly born grandsons expand their lungs!!! How sweet is that?! Ooops, here I am smiling again!! I remember when my family and I moved to Taiwan 28 years ago, if you were fortunate, a letter send back home might receive a response in ten or eleven days. On Christmas day, 1982, we called home and talked for ten minutes. The phone bill was $120. In 2009, I can talk to my loved ones, see them at the same time, talk for as long as I want.......and it is FREE. How that happens I don't know, but I guarantee you, I am going to enjoy it immensely!!Hey, and if you think that is amazing and spectacular, Salvation in Christ is eternally more so. I cannot comprehend how a Holy and Rigtheous God condescended to extend to me mercy, grace and love in the person of His Precious Son. I don't know how all that is, but I know it is true. His love and forgiveness, measured so deep at the Cross, has set me free from the bondage of sin and death. He changed me giving me joy and peace. He rescued me and adopted me making me a joint heir with Christ, only by grace...certainly not by any righteousness that I have done, but solely according to His great mercy. And, as Paul stated to the Romans, "He (God) who did not spare His only Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not, with Him, freely give us all things (8:32). And I guarantee you that I will enjoy the blessing of that for the rest of this life and for eternity. Yep, you guessed, there is that smile again!Ooooohhhhh, I feel another big smile coming on....Linda arrives in Scotland in nine days. Whooohoooo!!!!! Last year when we were separated for over a month we said that we would never do that agin...I have gained a new appreciation for never saying NEVER! We will be spending our first night in a B&B in Muir of Ord, a small village not far from Dingwall, where the Highland Theological College is. It is a quaint little town. Linda has never been there and I wanted to show her the college, as well as take her on a stroll through the town.Well, I am sure that you have had about all of my joy that you can stand. But before I close, I would like to remind you that our expenses have piled up beyond what we could have imagined. I will barely be making a living wage for the first five months and we, as yet, have to invest in two cars. They will be used, of course, but costly, none-the-less. Just a reminder that anything you contribute to the ministry counts as a tax write off. We have heard from a few folks wanting to share in the ministry, but anything you might give would be greatly appreciated, remembering that a contributor has noted he will match any and all contributions, up to $10,000. I assure you that all contributions will be used strictly for the ministry and for the glory of God.I am preaching Sunday in Kilmore and in Elgol, two communities separated by about 50 miles. I preached last Sunday on Psalm 37, and a good number of people were deeply touched by the Word. I praise God that He has called me to preach the Gospel and I take great delight in being His Kingdom steward. Pray that I will a glad, generous and compassionate shepherd of His sheep.
Always keep me in prayer for my traveling. Much of the driving is done on single lane roads and often, in foggy, misty weather. This is the heighth of the tourist season and watching many of them drive, you can tell that they have never driven on the left hand side of the road before. A lady pulled out in front of a huge bus, and had the driver of the bus not been alert there would have been serious injuries.
Till later,
Sola Dei Gloria
