CELEBRATING LIFE

"Behold that which I have seen:

it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion." ~ Ecclesiastes 5:18

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." ~ James 1:17

I've been reading in Ecclesiastes lately ... a book of the Bible which I have always struggled with because of the pessimism it seems to portray. My spiritual eyes have been opened to the light of who God is and I have a growing relationship with Him, so I read it through that viewpoint, which makes the statements about everything being "meaningless" somewhat confusing. However, the author does make some very profound and true statements about God.

Jesus said in John 10:10 that He came in order that whoever came to Him "might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

So when I read Ecclesiastes 5:18 and meditated on it, I realized it was a jewel indeed. Every day that we have IS a gift from God, and as followers of Christ we can live joyfully in the time that God has given us, with what He has given us to do because we know that God is sovereign, even though we can't understand all the "whys" of this life.

That is a great motivation for celebrating and living "joy"-fully today: knowing that this is a day given to me by God and that by living every moment of it in an attitude of thankfulness and praise I am giving Him honor and acknowledging that He is God over my life.

CELEBRATING ADVENT: Peace

PROCLAMATION

Beginning in Genesis, and through to Revelation,

The Bible is one incredible proclamation.
Messengers don't need great power or even to be well-known; 
They simply have to share the truth they've been shown.
If we will proclaim God's true message of peace,
He will touch people's hearts and cause faith to increase.
 ~ Darlene Koop, Dec. 24-2012 ~

"Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore they shall know in that day that I am He who speaks: 'Behold, it is I.' How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, to Zion who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns!' " ~ Isaiah 52:6-7 ~

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord...that He may be glorified." ~ Isaiah 61:1-2a, 3b ~

There are all kinds of proclamations made in our world today, and especially during holidays like Christmas...but it may not necessarily be the truth that is proclaimed.

At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, but in essence, we are celebrating more than just that one glorious event -- we are celebrating Him and the reason WHY He came to earth as a baby, as a human. Yet that truth is not universally proclaimed and it is often tagged on at the end of the rest of the activities that we seem to think are so important.

I am thankful for my family, for the abundant blessings God has given me, and for all the things that make Christmas such a special time -- beautiful songs that proclaim His truth, lights and beauty, events that bring friends and family together to make memories -- but I feel the most joy when I celebrate Jesus and all that He is and what He has done for us.

The peace He came to bring is more than just a feeling -- it is a radically different way to live, to think, to love. And it can only be realized in our hearts and lives when we allow Jesus Christ to be at the center, to lead us in His way and to learn His truth and share that with others around us.

So what are we are going to proclaim this Christmas? And let us not just proclaim the message of Jesus Christ because we should, but because of what it says in Isaiah 61:3 -- in order that God may be glorified. Because,  it doesn't stop at the end of December, when our celebrations are finished and we return to the regular routines of life.

Through Jesus Christ, God has brought peace and joy to us who believe -- but His plan is not yet complete. There is still sin, evil and pain in our broken world, and He longs to set everyone free, to bring hope, freedom, life and joy to every person. And one day, every single person in the world will know and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, and in the new heaven and new earth there will be perfect peace and harmony like never before for all those who believe in Him.

But some may never know unless we speak the truth, unless we proclaim what God has made known to us and what we see when we recall how Christ was born and why He came...

Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised... honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth. Say among the nations, "The Lord reigns...For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with His truth."
~ Psalm 96:2-4a, 6a, 9-10a, 13 ~

We Are One ... Through Christ

On Sunday morning at church, we celebrated Communion for the second time since I arrived here. But this time was very special for me because of how God touched my heart through it.

Communion has always been both a serious and a joyous time for me... It is a serious time, because we remember the reality of Christ's death on the cross and what He suffered:

...who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him... (Hebrews 5:7-9)

But it is also a joyous time, because we celebrate reconciliation and peace with God the Father as a result of Christ's sacrifice:

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ...For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. (Romans 5:1, 10-11)

And another joy to celebrate is the fellowship we have with others who also believe and have been reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ:

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation...And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone... (Ephesians 2:13-14, 17-20)

Although the Communion service is familiar to me, it was really special this Sunday.
I am in a country far away from my native land, and although in most respects I feel "at home" here, there are still times when I feel out of place. But on Sunday, hallelujah! It was the opposite. I had tears of joy in my eyes as I thanked the Lord for what He did on the cross, because that is the reason why I can gather with believers in Ukraine, to be warmly welcomed into their fellowship and to know that I belong, even when my understanding of language and culture is limited. We are family, joined by the blood of Christ, and that is one of the greatest blessings I think we can experience on this earth.

In his book In The Breaking Of The Bread, J. Lee Magness says this:

"Communion must take place in the community of believers...And community, Christian community, must always be centered on Communion. The fellowship of the saints would not even exist if God in Christ had not transformed us through the very event this meal commemorates...We fellowship not only with the Host, the Saviour, but also with the other guests, the saved. We celebrate the death of His body on the cross, and we celebrate the life of His body, the church."

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for making a plan to reconcile us to Yourself and for loving us so unendingly. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for making the sacrifice to atone for our sins and to bring us into fellowship with You, with Your Father and with each other. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for always being with us, quickening our spirits, and binding us together in unity.

THANKS-GIVING: A Feast of Blessings

The idea for the title came as I prepared a special meal on Sunday to celebrate Thanksgiving...

Boiled potatoes and carrots seasoned with butter and Italian spice, home-made stuffing seasoned and fried in butter, pan-fried seasoned chicken drumsticks, and delicious apple-grape juice (the best I've ever tasted!)

I realized that besides the food - which actually DID seem like a feast to me - I also have a feast of blessings around me every day! I call it a "feast", because when I count my blessings and give praise to the Giver of these wonderful gifts, my soul is satisfied and contented in an even richer way than enjoying a table full of delicious food!!

BLESSINGS:
- Uninterrupted time spent in preparation
- Listening to Tanya singing praise songs to the Lord
- The appetizing aromas filling the kitchen
- The satisfaction of being able to sit down and enjoy a meal
- Leftovers to enjoy in the coming days
- The abundance of fresh vegetables and food available to me

I had also planned a special presentation for Monday at school ... I wanted to show my language teacher, Galina, how thankful I am for her kindness and understanding and the excellence of her teaching. Friday, Oct. 5 was Teacher Day here in Ukraine (День учителя), but I didn't know about it until I asked her why all the schoolchildren were carrying flowers that day.

When she asked me why I was giving her flowers, I told her that it was Thanksgiving Day (День благодарения) in Canada, and that I wanted to say "Thank You," which led into a discussion of why we celebrate Thanksgiving - a great way to begin my Russian lesson! I gave her a handmade card as well which I had written in Russian -- it may not have been fully correct, but I could tell that she appreciated it very much, and that was all the response I desired.

BLESSINGS:
- Sweet fragrance of flowers moistened by the rain
- The unexpectedness of a surprise
- Joy in giving a gift to someone else
- Opportunity to learn some new vocabulary and share reasons for being thankful
- The Lord's faithfulness and new mercies every day
- Bringing a smile to someone else's face

When I arrived home, I had a special gift of my own to open ... my prayer partner, Vicky, had sent along several envelopes for me to open on special days of the year, and today was the first one! It contained a letter of encouragement and a little sticky-note pad.

I was very excited -- the sweetness and personal touch was a wonderful reminder of how blessed I am to have the love of so many people in my life!

BLESSINGS:
- The suspense of expectation and the fun of opening a surprise gift
- Quiet time with the Lord, meditating on Him
- The contentment of feeling loved
- A personal letter from a special friend
- Happy tears

And then... to top it all off, I received a phone call from a missionary friend here in Kiev, inviting me to their home for a special meal so that I wouldn't have to be alone on Thanksgiving. She had also invited another missionary to join us for the meal.

PHOTO, L to R: Amy R, myself, Agarim, and Kellie Benge.

What a special time! The food was great -- and I was hungry, because we didn't eat until after 7 pm -- and the company was even better!! We enjoyed talking, laughing and just spending time together.

BLESSINGS:
- Eating with friends, and not having to prepare a meal
- Common faith and various ministry experiences
- An unexpected invitation
- Laughter and sharing with one another from our lives
- Delicious home-cooked food and rich dark chocolate for dessert

These are just a few of the many blessings... there is not enough space here to list them all! As it is expressed repeatedly and eloquently in the Psalms:

"O, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."