Do not wear yourself out to be rich; cease from your own wisdom. When you set your eyes upon riches, they disappear. They make themselves wings and fly away toward the sky like an eagle. (Proverbs 23:4-5)
Almighty God, our Most Wise and Merciful Father in Heaven ~ Thank you for granting us the privilege to bask in the radiance of your kind provision on this new day. Help us to maintain a proper perspective toward all material things, so that we will not behave as if we are in love with riches and overlook the treasures of Heaven that are waiting the faithful. Give us the wisdom and courage to trust in your constant care as we work to bring glory to Christ. We offer this prayer in Jesus name, Amen.
Yesterday we received an invitation to attend a Friday night 'devotional' at the student’s dorm at the Nikolaev Maritime University. Most of the students were Nigerian with the exception of one Ukrainian. Sometimes they have more Ukrainian students present, but that was not the case last night. We have already met many of these young men around town or at our own meetings. They all speak English and most have a good command of Russian since that is the language used in their studies. The devo reminded me of when I used to go out once a week and conduct Bible studies on Tuesday night at the UMC campus in Crookston, Minnesota. That was almost 30 years ago, and the young Catholic priest who would also come on occasions would strum a drum and provide a little entertainment. All I could do then was reason from the scriptures. I have not improved much in that category over the years. The young men used a bongo drum to sing and energetically praise God. This was a new experience for Galina and me. They were very nice to us and listened attentively to my lesson from God's word. Before the meeting started, we just talked with some of them about eating habits of people in Nigeria. This was something interesting to me since I had used an illustration about okra once when talking about how God's word, the seed, can be transported to any country where there are receptive hearts. When I told that okra seeds were brought to America by African slaves, they were so interested since okra grows in that part of Africa where they live. We also talked about eating yams. Two of the young men, Afolabi and Akinrinde regularly attend all our meetings of the church. Some of the others will occasionally visit our meetings. Akinrinde was baptized when we came here in May. It is Saturday morning and now we prepare for our Children's Bible Class in a few hours. Thank you for your prayers!
Almighty God, our Most Wise and Merciful Father in Heaven ~ Thank you for granting us the privilege to bask in the radiance of your kind provision on this new day. Help us to maintain a proper perspective toward all material things, so that we will not behave as if we are in love with riches and overlook the treasures of Heaven that are waiting the faithful. Give us the wisdom and courage to trust in your constant care as we work to bring glory to Christ. We offer this prayer in Jesus name, Amen.
Yesterday we received an invitation to attend a Friday night 'devotional' at the student’s dorm at the Nikolaev Maritime University. Most of the students were Nigerian with the exception of one Ukrainian. Sometimes they have more Ukrainian students present, but that was not the case last night. We have already met many of these young men around town or at our own meetings. They all speak English and most have a good command of Russian since that is the language used in their studies. The devo reminded me of when I used to go out once a week and conduct Bible studies on Tuesday night at the UMC campus in Crookston, Minnesota. That was almost 30 years ago, and the young Catholic priest who would also come on occasions would strum a drum and provide a little entertainment. All I could do then was reason from the scriptures. I have not improved much in that category over the years. The young men used a bongo drum to sing and energetically praise God. This was a new experience for Galina and me. They were very nice to us and listened attentively to my lesson from God's word. Before the meeting started, we just talked with some of them about eating habits of people in Nigeria. This was something interesting to me since I had used an illustration about okra once when talking about how God's word, the seed, can be transported to any country where there are receptive hearts. When I told that okra seeds were brought to America by African slaves, they were so interested since okra grows in that part of Africa where they live. We also talked about eating yams. Two of the young men, Afolabi and Akinrinde regularly attend all our meetings of the church. Some of the others will occasionally visit our meetings. Akinrinde was baptized when we came here in May. It is Saturday morning and now we prepare for our Children's Bible Class in a few hours. Thank you for your prayers!
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