At
2pm we went back the Marina and Vika’s small apartment for their small house
church. They started on Ukraine’s Christmas Day, January 7th, ironically
ten months later. With our team, Marina, Vika, Eger and his wife, there
were a few other men and about four women; one named Valentina from the first
day we were there. Rachael and I started with a couple of English songs
in worship and they showed it on a wall with a projector. Then they
decided to do some in Russian; one familiar called “The Stand� by Hillsong
United. Then Eger came up and sat with a slideshow, the fifteen of us
huddled around as he taught us about the Reformation in Russian while Marina
and Victoria translated for us which happened on October 31, almost five hundred
years ago by Martin Luther. I believe it’s sad the church spends more
time in fun with Halloween or against it than remembering one of the greatest
days in history of the church and the boldness Luther did for us. It’s a
reminder how even people in leadership of the church can become so prideful and
abuse power like they did back then, but Luther stood up even risking his life
for truth. Lord I pray for the same boldness in me wih persecution or not, that
I would be a voice of truth no matter the cost and not abuse the ministry you
give for self.
How
awesome to see the fruit of the faithful and self-sacrificing ministry of
Marina and Vika and to worship the Lord in a small church of believers from two
separate nations and languages, in a former Communists country. Though
fifteen of us, the Lord was present and the Spirit strong. At the end of
the service we stood up to pray and when finished everyone stayed a while with
refreshments and tea. I went into the guest room after helping passing
out tea to people and talked to Vika about the apartment and how they reached
out to a drug addicted lady a long time ago who had eventually ran away and
stole some things after loving her so much and how it hurt. It’s a shame
how a bad few can ruin a reptutation of the many. How many times do I
hear people say they wouldn’t want to be a Christian or know the Lord because
of the hypocrites that ruin the great testimony of the real ones of faith?
Somewhere
in our conversation a man named Misha came in, almost in his 40’s, and sat down
to join conversation and began to ask questions about my life before and after
the Race what I thought I might do; which is a really good question. I do
know that God has never shown me a ten year plan but I’ve always been amazed He
has always provided for me for 27 years just what I need and not more, so
there’s no reason to doubt Him with my future. I talked about some stuff
I was considering, even if I should go back and start something new or go where
I believe the fire of God is “dead� and try to awaken it in Him. They
both told me to start something new and I talked about worship and having all
generations being united; that we can’t forsake our past because if not for
them this generation wouldn’t be where we are. Misha then asked me a
really good question after I explained that in my denomination a lot of young
new ministers my age can easily care more about titles, position, people they
know to climb the ladder, and maybe God took me away after these “outside�
accomplishments to honestly get real and be myself. Then Misha asked,
“Are you afraid of going back to that?â€� Misha didn’t know English, Vika
translated but it was a really good question no one has asked me and I said,
“No, but I’m not sure if I want to go through the process again or just face
it, but maybe there is fear.� Politics kill me, it really does, and I
believe the church must know what it believes and have structure, but never
more important than child like faith it should have and willingness to love people
to the end like Jesus did for us, no matter what sacrifice that means for His
believers or how crazy it may look.
So
they told me to go with something “new� but I told them about this sermon I
heard about Ezekiel and the “Valley of Dry Bones�. Am I just as willing
to go somewhere I would like as much as if God calls me to go where it’s not
appealing and do I have the right to say that something dead can’t be made new
again? That I could complain about problems or be a part of the solution,
and they said they would pray that God gives me guidance and wisdom for the
future; my prayer too. Misha talked about how ten years ago he went to
Israel to see the Holy Land with a friends it helped him accept many things of
the Christian faith and we began to talk about the greatness of God in
creation, the human body, etc. But he began to talk about people and
circumstances that have showed him God and to act good in faith, honesty, etc.
I had some strange sense of something I couldn’t grasp so there was a
pause and then I asked, “Misha, how did you come to know Jesus?� Vika
translated and then strangely said, “Or do you know Jesus?�
He
began to talk about circumstances, people, if he does many good things and is
nice to people, but nothing about the issue of sin and the grace of God and
Christ. I can’t fully remember all he said next but became clear it was
something God was doing over time and he was very open, but when I asked him
that the Bible says “we will die and face judgment� he then said “I hope God
will see the good I’ve done and go to heaven.â€� He said heaven was like a
reward and hell was a punishment, then the root of it all came out: efforts and
not grace. I told him that the difference of me and him is that he hopes
and I have assurance that the work is already done on the cross; we have
nothing to add. So then I asked him if I could ask some more questions
and if he trusted me and he said “yes� to both. So I began to talk about
the holiness of God and His perfection, our falleness that separates us. I
talked about the Law and it’s purpose was to show we can’t be good enough, and
he confessed some of his sin to me and Vika but I told him that even one is
enough to separate us no matter all the good we do. So then I did a
drawing of God’s salvation plan and explained John 3:16 and Romans about the
salvation found in Christ and he said he accepted them but the belief to the
heart wasn’t there, and after ten years of God working it was his time. I
told him religion says “works� and hopes to get in, but God says He loved Him,
and nothing changes and Christ did it, that it’s all a gift to receive.
Vika translated so well and gently.
He
said he accepted it all but was thinking, and I said, “You say you accept and
want it, but what’s to think?â€� Then then asked me, “Do you know when you
make decisions sometimes and look back and make mistakes, and how in the future
you might make them again and how you know if what you decide is right?� I said
“yes� and I then talked about a particular mistake I had made in life but God
used it to teach me and if it never happened I would have not been on the Race
and in this moment with him. I will still make mistakes because I am not
perfect until God calls me home but God has grace and guides me and will use it
all eventually for His good for those who love Him, but He speaks to me and I
know God’s grace is there. He then said he wanted to receive that gift
and I explained to him the issue of confessionooo sin; the Bible says that
without the confession of sin there is no forgiveness; realizing what Christ
did and receiving Him and what it all overall means. He said he wanted to
pray on his own which was awesome. I’d rather have someone come straight from
the heart than follow some prescribed prayer through a translator; he didn’t
need me to call upon God. He explained it all back to us what he was
feeling and then I replied, “Now, let’s tell God!â€�
(Lenin, who started Communism)
So
all three of us sitting legs crossed leaned forward with arms over shoulders as
we slowly bowed our heads and there Misha, a man after years of searching and
thinking prayed slowly and passionately in a beautiful Russian language I don’t
understand, but God does to receive the greatest gift of all. In that
time of prayer the whole room was silent, no one else in there as the door was
closed, but it was such a beautiful and peaceful moment while I prayed silently
that God’s grace would would come upon Him. When he finished Vika prayed
in Russian over him and I then in English for protection of His new faith and
thanking God for everything. At the end there wasn’t shouting, screaming,
it was quiet and peaceful with smiles on our faces and joy inside. There
we blessed God and thanked each other as I quickly shared about him starting in
the book of John and reading to the end, about prayer, comoing to the bible
studies still to be with a family of God; we Christians can’t do it alone.
Then I said, “Never forget the grace of God upon your life. It will
keep you humble and thankful. Remember what costs He gave in His Son and
how we are to love people from that. Never forget the greatness of God
and the amazing gift of grace He had for you.�
And I say for you reader….never forget it. Thre’s nothing you can do to make Him love you more and there’s nothing you can do to make Him love you less; the question is how you will receive and respond to that unfailing, all-encompassing Love.
Massive World War 2 Memorial, almost as big as Washington Monument
