God revealed some awesome truth to me
during church this morning. As I could not understanding most of what
was being said, I had some time to just pray and reflect. I have seen
how, despite being in a country with a different language and
culture, many aspects of it are similar to the culture I am familiar
with in the United States. I believe God showed me that the
environment in both countries reflects in the physical realm
spiritual truth regarding the letter of the law versus the spirit of
the law. 2 Corinthians 3:4-6 says, “And we have such trust
through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves,
but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as
ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit;
for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.�
Basically, the “letter of the law� convicts us of sin and brings
death, but the Spirit of the law, which is from God, brings life and
freedom, as it says in 2 Corinthians 3:17: “Now the Lord
is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
liberty.� In both cultures,
there are many people who are “religious,� but their lives are
about ritual and meeting expectations. There is no life in this.
Rather, life is drained by such a lifestyle, because we are not
capable of achieving true life and goodness on our own. Life only
comes through the Spirit of God indwelling a person. In America, this
truth is overshadowed by the many distractions of culture. In
Ukraine, however, I feel like it is more apparent. But with the
Spirit of the Lord, there is freedom! It is a blessing and privilege
to connect with believers in other countries and cultures, be able to
encourage and build them up during our time together, be it a few
minutes (such as with a lady named Tanya that I met at church this
morning) or a few days (such as with Masha), and together be the
light of Christ to the nations. I believe that the Lord really is
working in and through Team L’Chaim to bring life everywhere we go.
And today, it was an even greater blessing and privilege to be able
to be part of a baptism celebration in Ukraine, and even see two more
people profess Christ during the service! Praise God for new brothers
and sisters in Christ!
