WORD OF THE DAY - Wednesday 11 November 2009

But about that day and that hour no one knows, not even angels which are in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. (Mark 13:32-33)

О дне же том, или часе, никто не знает, ни Ангелы небесные, ни Сын, но только Отец. Смотрите, бодрствуйте, молитесь, ибо не знаете, когда наступит это время. (От Марка 13:32-33 Russian)

Most Holy and Righteous God, our Dear Heavenly Father ~ Thank you for the numerous blessings that fall upon us from your endless reserves and refresh us on this new day. Give us a keen awareness of the brevity of mortal life and the certainty of the sudden and startling return of our Messiah Jesus. Help us as we live with obedient faith and work to bring others to salvation. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

We had some extra time yesterday to sort out all our literature that we recently received and made some great discoveries. For several days we have been in the planning stages of launching some English classes that will be free to the public and that will hopefully help us meet more people who are interested in learning about God and His plan of salvation. We did the same thing in Magadan back in the mid-nineties with great success. We don't have time now to develop a suitable curriculum, so I contacted our friend Dick Ady who is the author of the very effective World English Institute lessons. Galina has helped to translate some of these courses into the Russian language. Dick is strongly encouraging us to use the WEI material in our English language school here in Nikolaev. These courses teach English using the Bible. We had recently ordered some WEI student books from EEM in Donetsk, and lo and behold, we found them when we opened some more boxes yesterday. We didn't think they had shipped these books, and we are excited to have them and can put them to good use right away. Thank you for the prayers for the success of this work of sowing and harvesting here in Ukraine.

WORD OF THE DAY - Wednesday 04 November 2009

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. (Luke 15:7 NIV)

Сказываю вам, что так на небесах более радости будет об одном грешнике кающемся, нежели о девяноста девяти праведниках, не имеющих нужды в покаянии. (От Луки 15:7 Russian)

Almighty God, our Dear Father in Heaven ~ Thank you for the countless blessings that we receive on this new day as we watch expectantly for increasing evidence of your beneficence toward your people. Please hear our prayers for those who are wandering in the darkness of sin. Help them to realize the importance of acknowledging their sinful condition so that they can receive your grace and mercy as they obey Christ as Lord. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.

We had another wonderful day of Bible studies. Evgenia is a 26 year old sales agent in the food brokering business who has been studying with us for a little over a month. Last night during our study, Zhenya confessed her faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and expressed her desire to be baptized into Christ. She has been struggling for these past weeks about repentance, and she is now confident that she understands the cost of following Jesus. Today we begin to search for a place where we can conduct the baptism. We know of a few, but we must make the arrangements. We rejoice with the angels in Heaven over her decision to accept Jesus Christ as Lord by obeying His gospel! Later in the evening, we enjoyed another profitable Bible study with some of our regular attendees. Thank you for your faithful and fervent prayers about this evangelistic work in the harvest field of Ukraine.

WORD OF THE DAY - Friday 04 September 2009

Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17)

Сам же Господь наш Иисус Христос и Бог и Отец наш, возлюбивший нас и давший утешение вечное и надежду благую во благодати, да утешит ваши сердца и да утвердит вас во всяком слове и деле благом. (2-е Фессалоникийцам 2:16-17 Russian Synodal Version)

Holy God our Father in Heaven ~ Thank you for this another wonderful day to live under your watchful care as we walk in the light of Christ our Lord. Strengthen our innermost being so that we will speak, think and act with a sense of positive hope for ourselves and our loved ones and those outside of Christ. In Christ name, Amen.

Last night’s meeting capped off another blessed day in our work here in Nikolaev, Ukraine. The four who attended this study took notes on the entire lesson that dealt with the topic of the sin problem. They wanted to make sure that they wrote down every Bible reference. Galina gave them new notebooks and pens since they had already filled up pages from previous studies. Today we are scheduled to have a meeting with a man that visited our services on Sunday. His family does not live too far from the city. He has business to look after on Tuesdays and Fridays. We spent some time visiting with a few of the TV listing newspapers to see if they would take our advertisements. Two informed us that they do not take religious advertisements. We had already noticed this, but we asked anyway. So far, we are relying upon our printed handouts that we give away as well as post in public places where it is allowed. We have not yet made arrangements for our large sign that we are allowed to place in front of the building where we meet. Last night as we were singing, praying and having Bible study, in another room down the hall, children were attending a dancing class. They and their adult supervisors were interested in what we were doing. We are happy to be in this public venue with the Gospel.