WORD OF THE DAY - 29 January 2010

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)

Итак вера от слышания, а слышание от слова Божия. (К Римлянам 10:17 Russian)

Тож віра від слухання, а слухання через Слово Христове. (Ukrainian Bible)

Merciful and Kind Father in Heaven ~ Thank you for granting us the privilege to experience another new day that arrives with fresh opportunities and blessings. Help us to be more effective in communicating the message about Jesus Christ so that people who hear will clearly understand what is necessary for them to do in order to receive eternal life. Give us wisdom as we read and mediate upon your infallible Word. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

We have not heard anything from our dear new converts to Christ since we left Nikolaev on the 17th. We are not overly concerned since most of them do not have normal access to e-mail. That seems strange to us in the USA, but there are still many people in this world who do not have a PC at home or the necessary Internet connection. We can communicate with them by text mail (SMS), but that is not so convenient except for one or two people. We pray for God to strengthen the church as they study and obey His word. I am confident in the level of their faith even though it is new. Yesterday, I finally had a message from our brother Ruslan in Inta, Russia. He is the man who does shift work in the mines in a remote region far from home. The good news he sent is that the church continues to meet and that they sincerely want to do more work in spreading the Gospel. To that end, he asks that we will come again for another visit while he is in town and they will work to invite people to our meetings. When we were there in January of 20009, we had regular daily meetings but many times only two or three people were present. In Russia, it is not possible for foreigners to publicly advertise religious meetings. However, the local Christians can invite their friends and neighbors to the meetings. Now, we are praying and considering a visit to Inta on our way to Magadan before we return to Nikolaev. We are confident that God will be with us and help us on this long and difficult mission trip that we are currently planning. Thank you for the prayers.

WORD OF THE DAY - Wednesday

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:5 NIV)

Dear Lord God, our Heavenly Father ~ Thank you for your abundant blessings of mercy that we receive on this new day. We are almost overwhelmed when we consider how you give obedient followers of Jesus Christ part of yourself to actually live within us and help us to also be love. We welcome the presence of your Holy Spirit as we study your word and serve our living Savior. In Jesus name, Amen.

Photo: About three weeks ago, the Magadan church took advantage of some beautiful weather and headed to the hills for a picnic. The pictures Ivan shared with us brought back many pleasant memories with this special group of Christians in the northern Far East of Russia. God willing, we have a trip planned there later this year. Tuesday here in Nikolaev was one of those days where we had much running around the city in order to accomplish certain necessary things connected with our evangelistic work and day to day living. We finished the layout for our stand-alone metal sign that we will place in front of the House of Culture where the church meets. We will put it out during the day, and move it in at night. This is not the large "4 x 8" sign that we have in mind for a little later on. The company that makes the portable sign will deliver it today just before our meeting time tonight at 6.00. We also ordered some printed cards that are approximately the size of an index card. These will be used by everyone to give to friends, neighbors, co-workers, fellow students, etc. to inform them about the location of our meeting place and how to be saved and live for Christ. We were prepared for our Bible study with one man, but he canceled out at the last moment. Galina had been pleading to go shopping for some necessities of keeping house, so scrooge gave in and we walked to several shops and kiosks. We brought our bags home and picked up one of our strong cloth bags and went back to get a watermelon. We know they will be gone soon, so we decided to have a treat for the end of the season. The distance from the shop and the walk up four flights of stairs to our apartment influences your shopping. So we changed our mind on the big melon and settled for a medium size. We received news from our brother Ivan in Magadan that he will be visiting with us on the 11 of October when he has his vacation. Ivan, along with Vasily is one of the leaders in the Magadan church. He deserves this break to see his family here in Ukraine since he has been so busy in his regular job that involves helping with various types of disasters. Lately due to cyclone rains in the Magadan region he has been helping with victims of flooding in remote towns of the north. I really mean north! We are surely looking forward to his visit and the new church here will benefit from his experiences and knowledge of God's word.

WORD OF THE DAY - 01 July 2009

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world -- the cravings of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boasting of what he has and does, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world and its desires are passing away, but the man who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

Most Holy God, our Dear Heavenly Father ~ Thank you for the sparkling gift of life on this new day that dawns with evidence of the vastness of your creation. Help us to love things that are truly good and worthy of our best efforts. Give us wisdom as we study and live in obedience to Christ our King. In Jesus name, Amen.

Photo: November 2008. Ilya (grandson of Ivan and Nadya) enjoys a tasty banana, a rare treat in Magadan. He and his brother Mikhail rarely miss meetings of the church and often run fast in the cold to be with their beloved church.

WORD OF THE DAY - Monday 29 June 2009

But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)

Almighty God, our Dear Heavenly Father ~ Thank you for the precious gift of life on this new day that offers us fresh opportunities to perform with excellence in this life. Give us wisdom and courage so that we will confidently face the Goliaths that are hindering us from being more productive in the great task of evangelizing the world. In Jesus name, Amen.

Photo: Magadan Church of Christ June 2009. Someone brought some cake and the group who stayed after worship had some time to drink tea and have a little fellowship. Maybe there is also some peanut butter on bread. Wonder where that came from. Thanks to our brother Ivan for the photo.
Katya, Vasily, Lydia, Elena, Valentina, Vladimir S