The Master's "GRAND DESIGN"

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah ... (Isaiah 1:1)

Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city. Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah. Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah ... (1:4-10)

"Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now and let us reason together," saith the LORD: "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword:" for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. (1:16-20)

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Yesterday I watched a particularly interesting episode of a British television show called "GRAND DESIGNS," which features ordinary British people on a quest to restore, to its original grandeur and even more, an historic old building that is currently derelict, decrepit and desolate because of years of neglect. Here's a few pics:

A British couple with 2 children bought this old, abandoned church in Ireland and their plan was to restore the building and transform the inside into a home where they could live. The church - built in 1835 - was struck by lightning and burned down in 1902, and had been left to rot and fall apart for more than 100 years.

This real-life restoration project gave me a visual illustration of what God was saying to the Israelites through the prophet Isaiah, and I want to share that with you.

1. We live in a "sinful nation," among a people "laden with iniquity" who have "forsaken the LORD" and "are gone away backward." It was somewhat surprising to me how so many people in the community loved the historicity of the old church in Ireland, but over 100 years there had been no one who was willing to work at fixing or maintaining it. It would have been a lot easier to fix the problems had the work begun years earlier. Yet, how much more saddening it is to realize that so many people have simply forsaken God and let their spiritual lives go to rot. We must be careful not to think that this cannot happen to us -- and if in some area we discover that we have forsaken what we know God wants for us, then we must deal with that before it becomes a monumental desolation in our spiritual lives.

2. A solid foundation (soundness) is crucial, but the structure will fall apart if the rest of it is not cared for properly. Since this is true for a building, how much more so is this true for us spiritually, since we are "the temple of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God dwelleth in [us]?" (1 Corinthians 3:16) There was soundness in the stone used to construct the old church building in Ireland, but it definitely looked bruised and sore, and there were gaps and holes that had not been closed up or tended to. Storms of trial and temptation sweep through our lives, and there will be circumstances that cause sores, bruises and wounds, even though our faith is founded on the solid truth of God's Word and His love for us. These wounds must be "bound up" and "mollified with ointment" so that they can heal -- so that our faith does not fall apart like an abandoned building that has been beaten by the storms of life.

3. If one finds him/herself in this state, what are we to do then? Isaiah 1:16-20 has the answer. God invites us to "come and reason with Him," and He tells us that if we wash and cleanse ourselves (repentance) and cease from doing evil, that He will cleanse us from our sins -- "though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." And I love verse 19: "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land." The cleansing and preparation of the old, decrepit church took much time and hard work -- especially the repairing of the massive amount of stonework -- but in order to transform it into a grand and beautiful building again, the cleansing and repair was required. So it is in our spiritual lives ... if we desire to be a beautiful "temple" and to reflect the character of our God who lives within us, we must put in the time and effort required for repentance and cleansing, so that God can do His purifying and rebuilding work.

And when we do this - when we 1) acknowledge our sins, 2) allow God to bind up and heal our wounds, and 3) repent and submit ourselves willingly and obediently to His restorative work - then we will eat the good of the land.

As we carefully maintain our outward appearance, even more so we must care for our spiritual condition so that we will be fit to reflect and display the glory of the One who has saved us and dwells within, because God has a GRAND DESIGN for us:

• We are chosen and predestined in love to be His children, pure and holy in His sight, to the praise of His glory and grace. (Ephesians 1:4-12)
• We are saved by His grace, reconciled through the cross, made fellow-citizens with the household of God; to be built as a holy temple to the Lord, with a firm foundation of faith and Jesus Christ as the cornerstone, a habitation of God through His Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 2:4-22)

May we, as Christ's church, continually strengthen our foundation in the Word of God, stay committed to His work of sanctification in us through the Holy Spirit, and seek His will in our lives so that we will be a reflection of His glory, a beautiful dwelling-place for the one true God and a testament to everyone around us of the marvelous love and grace that redeems sinners and reconciles them to Himself.

The "Perspective" Difference

On May 5th we celebrated Easter here in Ukraine and the theme was continued on the following Sunday as well. Pastor Andrey preached a message based on the text from Luke 24 where Jesus appears to the two men on their way to Emmaus.

I know this story well, but it doesn't matter how many times we read or hear God's Word, there is always something that we can learn from it. It was on my mind the rest of the day, and during this week as well and God gave me a fresh understanding of the truth in His Word and the reality of His work in our lives.

We are blessed to have the full Scriptures - the history of God's redemption plan through the Old Testament, the record of Jesus' life, ministry and death on earth and what took place after the resurrection, and what all of this together means for us as believers. Sometimes, we can read God's Word and because we know the end of an account or the meaning of something Jesus taught, we may think that we have a more complete knowledge of it...but in reality, we have just as much to learn as the people whom Jesus taught and ministered to.

I know I have been guilty of judgment -- there have been moments when I wondered "how could they not believe that Jesus was the promised one, when they knew what the Scriptures had foretold about His birth?" Or when Jesus explains to His disciples what is going to happen and they immediately question Him about what He means -- "how have they walked with Him so long and still don't understand?"

But just like with the men on their way to Emmaus, we may not fully see or understand until God opens our spiritual eyes and gives us insight through His Spirit. And who am I to judge? The unbelief of the disciples even as Jesus lived and walked with them is no different than the times when God speaks to me and I doubt or question what He says!

Lesson #1: Without the work of God's Holy Spirit to open my spiritual eyes and give me understanding, I wouldn't be able to know Him or comprehend His truth and His transforming work in our lives.

Lesson #2: It does matter where my perspective is focused -- many times in Scripture, God tells us to fix our eyes on Him and to look to Him for understanding and guidance. When our perspective is skewed and we are looking at our circumstances, we will not be able to truly see, hear or understand.

I am so thankful that God has opened my eyes and given me spiritual understanding -- His Spirit lives within me and that alone is what makes the difference. It's nothing of me and all of Him, and I pray that He will use me - even in my weaknesses - to help others see who He is.

SEEING the SIGHTS in KIEV - Part 2

This is just a photo of one of the beautiful buildings in downtown Kiev.

Kiev Pechersk Lavra (Kiev Cave Monastery) - May 11, 2013
On this day, Helen and I took a trip to this historic Orthodox monastery, which is a popular cultural attraction in the city. There were two main reasons we went: 1) I had not been to the Lavra yet, and 2) neither of us had been to the Micro-Miniature museum on the grounds, which we both were intrigued to see.

The monastery is still active, and on the day we went, there were a lot of people there, especially in the caves (catacombs). In order to enter the caves, women must cover their heads with a scarf as a sign of respect. We only walked through a short section of the caves, which contain more than a hundred burials of saints. The bodies are believed to have been preserved miraculously - uncovered - during the Soviet era and are now covered with cloths and enclosed in caskets. We saw people praying over and kissing the caskets, and I commented to Helen that it is so sad to see their worship of dead people when they could know the One who has gained the victory over death - Jesus Christ.

The Lavra contains many architectural monuments, including belltowers, cathedrals and strong fortification walls, as well as the massive underground cave tunnels. There are also a number of museums on the grounds, exhibiting different aspects of Ukrainian culture and hundreds of architectural relics. The one museum we chose to visit is filled with the works of creator Mykola Syadistry. All the items must be viewed through microscopes because they are so tiny, and it was really quite fascinating to see.

The flowers were so pretty - I wanted a picture with them! Below is my friend Helen.

As we were taking photos of the view, we saw this monk walking by.

 

One of the fortress walls that is part of the Lavra.

This is a map of the grounds -- it is a very large area.

This is one of the many microscopes in the Micro-Miniature Museum.

And one of the items I was able to photograph -- the micro-miniature part is the clock in the dragonfly's eye.

Navodnytsy Park - May 11, 2013
After our visit to the Lavra, we walked around the grounds for awhile and ended up in a park on the bank of the Dnieper River. This park is the site of a monument to the legendary founders of Kiev, along with several other monuments, and we enjoyed a lovely walk through this area, taking many pictures.

Afterwards, while trying to find our way back to the metro, we encountered a couple young men who were visiting Kiev from Belarus and Russia, and we ended up walking and interacting mostly in Russian with them - it was very enjoyable and definitely good language practice!

Not sure why this tree is decorated in ribbons, but it made for a pretty picture!

The statue "Mother of the Motherland" which can be seen from the Lavra. The tip of the sword was cut off because when it was erected, was taller than the steeple of the Lavra.

One of the monuments in the park.

This is the statue of the legendary founders of Kiev.

In the distance you can see the metro bridge, which is where we walked to. It looks like a long ways away -- it was only about 30-40 minutes walking distance.

SEEING the SIGHTS in KIEV

Until recently I had seen relatively few "sights" in Kiev, the kinds of places where you go when you're a tourist in a foreign city, and knowing that I will be moving to another city at the beginning of June, I decided that I needed to take advantage of this opportunity, since I'm not totally certain of the next time I will visit this incredible city.

Obviously, I can't share all of the pictures and details here, but I'm going to try and give you a snapshot of my excursions over the past couple of weeks.

National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine - MAY 2, 2013
A group of about 12 students from the language school, along with a couple of our teachers, took the day to visit this museum, partly because it was during the Easter exhibition. It was a great opportunity to see some culture, to practice using the languages we've been studying as we interact with each other, and to have a fun excursion together. The weather was beautiful, and it was a great day!

The museum is located on the southern outskirts of Kiev, and is likely named after a village south of Kiev - Pirogova. It is a 1.5-sq. km open-air museum, highlighting the architecture and culture of the different regions of Ukraine throughout the country's history. There are demonstrations of folk art/craftsmanship, lots of places to buy souvenirs and articles from Ukraine's culture, as well as many different buildings to explore...and let's not forget the food area! If I hadn't brought a lunch with me that day, I would have purchased some "sashlik" - Ukrainian kebab-style barbecue - the aromas definitely aroused my appetite!!

This is our group walking onto the grounds of the museum.

This is a map showing the historical-ethnic regions of Ukraine.

I'm standing beside an traditional outdoor root-cellar, which in Russian is the word for "fridge."

This man played beautiful music on this ancient instrument - I'm not entirely sure what it's called.

Inside one of the traditional "huts." You can see a weaving loom on the right and displayed around the room are several items of traditional items that would have been made here.

The weekly schedule for a school in the 19th century Ukraine, including "God's Law" (the first class of the day), Russian language class, mathematics class and singing.

Pottery-making demonstration

Because we went the weekend before Easter, there were a lot of these giant Easter eggs "pysanky" all over the grounds of the museum.

I loved the windmills -- it was just a little disappointing that we couldn't go inside.

Some of the buildings in the Carpathian region of the museum.

This is a multi-directional signpost -- bottom left shows the direction of the nearest "facilities."

This is a large lever above a well, so I assume that it would be used to retrieve large amounts of water from the well below.

I bought a small framed painting from this multi-talented Ukrainian man.

Lots of room to explore, walk and eat picnic lunches...among other things.

 The stonework on these historical buildings is very impressive, but most of them had thatched roofs, which I was not particularly keen on. 

The construction and furnishings of these homes reminded me of the 1940's-1950's era.

One of the many places to buy Ukrainian clothing, crafts and souvenirs.

Andrew's Descent and One-Street Museum - MAY 3, 2013
I had a specific goal in mind this day -- I wanted to buy a Ukrainian blouse for Easter, and I knew that the street market at Andrew's Descent would have a lot of good choices. I was very successful -- even found some nice accessories to go with the blouse, as well as a few other souvenirs -- and I also enjoyed my excursion into the One-Street Museum, which highlights the history of this area of Kiev.

Andrew's Descent is a 720-metre cobblestone street, which connects Kiev's Upper Town and the historically commercial Podil neighborhood. Historic landmarks marking the descent include the Castle of Richard the Lionheart, 18th-century baroque St. Andrew's Church, and the house of the famous Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov. The One-Street Museum displays some 6500 articles showing the history of the descent, and representing the lives of the people who lived there.

This is the view from the entrance to the funicular -- the quickest way to get to the top.

View from near the bottom of Andrew's Descent.

Entering the One-Street Museum...

A display of crafts and trade on Andrew's Descent at the turn of the 20th century.

One of the many outdoor cafes along the descent.

This is a monument in the square at the bottom of the descent -- this man was a political and civic leader and a brilliant military leader for the Cossacks.

Stay tuned...more to come!