Meditations

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10

“We delight in decorating the altars of God with flowers, lights, and jewels, and it is right to do so; but if we wish to offer to God gifts of higher value, let us save the souls who but for us would be lost; for so we shall offer Him, as it were, the jewels of paradise.”

Fidelis of Sigmaringen in The Lives of the Saints by Alan Butler, 1894 (Global Grey edition, 2019) 24 April reading.

Ukraine has some of the most beautifully decorated churches in the world. And while those sacred spaces in Kyiv and elsewhere preserve precious history and have stunning artifacts, their halls welcome few people for worship gatherings.

Where ministry is flourishing most in Ukraine right now is in locations experiencing difficulty and crisis.

Last Sunday I preached in two churches in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Redemption Church met in the theatre of a cultural center downtown and welcomed about 400 people. Then I preached at the Hope Family Center in Saltivka to about 40 people (pictured above).

The people with their hands raised testify to losing everything and finding Jesus on account of the war.

They came to faith through the ministry of Andrey Kratsev and others serving with him. GTP traveled there to strengthen workers like Andrey and to seek and save the lost. You can still provide assistance to this work.

Click here to give as GTP will continue to channel aid to trustworthy workers on the frontlines.

Right now, Michael and Nina Cherenkov continue to deliver water to people in desperate need in the Donetsk oblast. Their efforts are winning the lost as thirsty people are getting water and coming to Jesus.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12

“What shall I say of fortitude, without which neither wisdom nor justice is of any worth? Fortitude is not of the body, but is a constancy of soul; wherewith we are conquerors in righteousness, patiently bear all adversities, and in prosperity are not puffed up. This fortitude he lacks who is overcome by pride, anger, greed, drunkenness, and the like. Neither have they fortitude who when in adversity make shift to escape at their souls’ expense; wherefore the Lord saith, ‘Fear not those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul.’ In like manner those who are puffed up in prosperity and abandon themselves to excessive joviality cannot be called strong. For how can they be called strong who cannot hide and repress the heart’s emotion? Fortitude is never conquered, or if conquered, is not fortitude.”

Bruno of Cologne in The Lives of the Saints by Alan Butler, 1894 (Global Grey edition, 2019) 23 April reading.

The favor of God and fortitude sustained us. I am happy to say that we made it safely home. But our hearts remain in Ukraine.

Michael and Nina Cherenkov continue to serve in the dangerous Donetsk Oblast through 19 July. Daily they don a helmet and bullet-proof vest. Why? The people have no water to drink since the breaking of the dam. So, with pastors of local churches, they deliver life-saving water (Michael and a pastor pictured above).

Pray for their safety over the next ten days or so as they do emergency relief work.

And praise God for the impact that follows fortitude. And if you want to support this work, GTP is still gathering funds to deliver hope and help. Click here to give. We can overstate how this aid is winning desperate souls.

Many people reported to us that they have come to faith in Jesus Christ on account of the war. They lost everything and found Jesus through the fortitude of faithful servants.

Want to add this fortitude to your faith? Bruno would say to start by putting on humility, kindness, generosity, and moderation.

When you do, the key shift that happens is that you stop living for yourself and you start living for others. And you move, toward brokenness rather than from it. How can you get out of the safety and protection of your comfort zone to fill water bottles for thirsty people, not in Donetsk, but right where God has you?

You can’t rescue people from death without going to the front of battle lines and offering life. Trust us, the people are receptive and you meet Jesus there.

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

“Though you may not be called upon to preach, at least endeavor to set a good example, remembering that deeds often speak louder than words.”

Marcellinus of Embrun in The Lives of the Saints by Alan Butler, 1894 (Global Grey edition, 2019) 20 April reading.

When this posts Jenni and I will be somewhere between London and Denver en route home. We feel a mix of emotions from joy to sorrow and from elation to exhaustion. This post seemed fitting because I’ve recounted the steps of our journey and many have replied with encouraging messages along the way.

Let us make this statement to those who have ventured with us.

Though you may not have been called upon to preach twice in Kharkiv during air strikes, though you may not have been called upon to strengthen stewards with biblical teaching and practical tools in Lviv and Kyiv, and though you may not have been called upon to encourage workers serving refugees in Chișinău, you can do something louder.

Do good deeds that demonstrate the love and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Help the week, not with a handout, but a hand up. Encourage the hopeless, not with a passing word, but with the ministry of your presence. Give generously, not focusing on maintaining your comfort, but serving as a conduit of blessing. Do hard things with great love, not worrying about how your needs will be met, but trusting God to sort what you need. You’ve got this. God’s got you.

Celebrating God’s faithfulness today and praying for peace in Ukraine. With you!

But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 1 Chronicles 29:14

“We don’t give because we have. We actually don’t have much. We give what we have because God gave to us.”

Vitaly Toucan in conversation at a Church Without Walls home group in Chișinău, Moldova last night.

Alex and Liudmila Belev and Pavel and Inessa Tokarchuk of Mission Eurasia hosted us in Moldova today. They took us to Old Orhei Monastery, north of Chișinău, where I took this picture. We talked about next steps for our collaboration.

Among them, it looks like an opportunity has opened up to serve workers from 15 Eurasian countries in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in October 2023. They invited me to teach about generosity as a lifestyle. It looks like it can work in my calendar to do this.

Then in the evening we met up with about 10 young married couples. Among them, was a young man named Vitaly.

Vitaly has an old small car. I am not sure of the model. But he told me that he is thankful that it has worked well for shuttling refugees from the border to Chișinău.nIt can make the trip to the border which is about an hour away.

“What should I say to people because it’s so hard to know how to help refugees?” Vitaly asked. “What has the Holy Spirit told you to say?” I replied, “Most of the time, I feel like saying nothing is best and sometimes I just ask how they are doing.”

“That’s beautiful.” I replied. “Do you have any other suggestions for me.” Vitaly asked. “Only one. Tell them why you are helping deliver them to a place that offers emergency assistance. Tell them about Jesus.” I said.

Vitaly replied. A few times, I have said, “We don’t give because we have. We actually don’t have much. We give what we have because God gave to us.” Speechless, I replied. Say that Vitaly. Say that to every refugee you serve.

Why do you give?

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

“God please give me strength, encouragement, and empathy to pour out to those needing it. Let Your work through me not be draining for me, because it is You at work, and I am the instrument of Your care not the source of it.”

Peter Goehring in his prayer entitled “The Instrument of Your Care” shared with me on 3 July 2023.

Peter has been a friend for nearly 20 years. We’ve supported each other with encouragement, gifts, and prayers. Today’s prayer sent to me touched me so deeply I wanted the world to pray it to guide their generous and sacrificial service.

Jenni and I have traveled safely from Ukraine to Moldova. Not an easy task leaving a country at wartime. We had a 14 hour, all night bus ride which included a four-hour border crossing from 12 midnight to 4am.

We made it safely to Chişinău, Moldova, where GTP partner, Mission Eurasia still serves 1,500 refugees per month, some from Ukraine and others from Russia. It was 5,500 per month last year. Previously the people would just pass through, now many are staying.

We also visited the children’s day camp today, watching 60 children sing, play, and learn about Jesus. Most have been separated from their fathers. Though the war has changed their lives, God is doing amazing things in their lives. There are so many stories.

Pause to say a prayer for all those serving refugees. The volunteers in the photo above are the war heroes. Pray for strength, encouragement, and empathy. Pray for them to serve with passion and enthusiasm knowing they are instruments of care and not the source of it.

It was a privilege for us to have dinner with them and share practices to nurture their own faith and to care for those they serve. What about you? How will you serve as an instrument of God’s blessing and not the source?

Related to your generosity, ask God to give you strength, encouragement, and empathy as you move toward and not away from those in need or in crisis. You can serve them richly not because you are the source but because you are God’s instrument.

“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Acts 20:35

“Those who are in high positions should consider themselves as stewards rather than masters of the wealth or power entrusted to them for the benefit of the poor and weak.”

Elphege of Canterbury in The Lives of the Saints by Alan Butler, 1894 (Global Grey edition, 2019) 19 April reading.

Visiting and serving people during wartime has deeply impacted us and touched those we have served. They have all reported benefits. The blessing to us far outweigh any sacrifice.

After sharing biblical teaching and practical tools in Lviv, stewards say they felt spiritually and strategically equipped to navigate the crisis times and to help others.

In Ternopil, a group of pastors and administrators (or “dreamers” as they describe themselves) want churches and ministries to follow standards with peer accountability.

In Kyiv, an alliance of seminary and university administrators want to strengthen institutional capacities by following consistent standards for sustainability.

In Ivano-Frankivsk, a seminary that lost everything in Kherson has relocated and started entrepreneurial business as mission activities to fund operations and looking for investors.

In Kharkiv, we saw empty playgrounds. Younger families have fled for their lives. Largely speaking, only elderly residents remain. Many rely on assistance from a few local churches to survive.

In Saltivka, humble servants have planted churches called “Hope Family Centers” to minister to those who have suffered injuries and loss (another one of their damaged buildings is pictured above). But hear the gain.

Many said, thanks to the war, they found Jesus. And it was in Saltivka, that after preaching, the congregation would not let us leave. They wanted us to sit in front of them and just talk, back and forth .

With tears they thanked us for the aid we brought, for air defense systems to counter daily drone strikes, and for coming to give them hope and help. It was one of those moments we will never forget.

As today marks “Independence Day” in USA, we have come to appreciate more deeply the value of freedom. We pray that Ukraine does not lose the freedom they have enjoyed for 31 years. God save Ukraine.

We have resolved that in times like these, we must do what we can. As a ministry President & CEO (me) and spiritual director and supervisor of spiritual directors (Jenni), it has been our privilege to use our positions to benefit others.

What about you? What position and wealth has God entrusted you? How can you use it in service to the poor and weak? You may not visit a war zone, but you can deliver help and hope where God has you.

Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always. 1 Chronicles 16:11

Let us pray for perseverance in good works. St. Augustine says, “When the Saints pray in the words which Christ taught, they ask for little else than the gift of perseverance.”

Augustine of Hippo in The Lives of the Saints by Alan Butler, 1894 (Global Grey edition, 2019) 14 April reading.

When we walked through Saltivka, east of Kharkiv, we were moved by the damage to residential buildings. While some rubble has been cleaned up, few homes been rebuilt.

This one struck me. Andrey Kratsev pointed out the word painted on the wall on the left side of the photo above. It reads “people” in Ukrainian. Some live there despite having no running water or power.

Why paint that word on the wall? It sends a humble message to please not plunder from us though our building looks destroyed. Real “people” live here, 18 miles from the Russian border.

Andrey’s ministry, Hope Family Center (HFC), has two locations in Saltivka. Watch a video about his ministry here. I preached there and the people thanked us repeatedly for coming.

It seemed like every building in Saltivka had some form of damage. The city gets hammered almost daily. We had sirens go off twice urging us to take shelter.

Before we left, we gave HFC a gift of money from GTP. I will never forget his response. “You won’t believe this. I need to pay two staff today and I had no money. God supplied through you.”

Sometimes it’s hard for Andrey. His wife and young daughter are in the States. He prays to keep doing good works and saving lost and hurting souls one day at a time. Perseverance.

Their closest call: “On a cold day when a fellow pastor was providing soup for people on one side of a large apartment building, a missile hit the other side of it.”

With a healthy sense of humor. He said, “You only need three things to minister in Salivka: a helmet, a bulletproof vest, and a diaper.” Because some days you might soil yourself.

But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:13

“What sacrifices can we make for the poor which will seem enough, when we reflect that mercy to them is our only means of repaying Jesus Christ, who sacrificed His life for us?”

John the Merciful (d. 610) in The Lives of the Saints by Alan Butler, 1894 (Global Grey edition, 2019) 9 April reading.

This patriarch of Alexandria was also known as John the Almoner for his care of the poor. He called them the list of lords. He served the poor as if serving Jesus Christ with a list like the list of widows in Ephesus (see 1 Timothy 5:9-10).

Speaking of lists, that’s what we saw in Kharkiv. The first church where I preached (and Michael Cherenkov translated), Redemption Church, had a list of widows and other needy people. Each one got a bag of food to make it through the week.

Imagine 400 people meeting in a concert hall each weekend. As most families with children fled Kharkiv because it is only about 25 miles from the Russian border, most of the congregation looked like middle-aged adults and elderly people.

Our visit delivered hope and help. I preached (and Michael translated) from Acts 4. The five main points: Don’t be afraid. Don’t miss out (presenting the gospel from Acts 4:12). Don’t be silent. Don’t be discouraged. Don’t hold back.

While Redemption Church shows mercy to people whose lives have been destroyed, we live in a world where there is little mercy and an over emphasis on justice. Friends, if we all got justice, it would be the death penalty for everyone.

God is the only righteous judge. Our job is to go and learn what it means to show mercy. That’s what Jesus desires. It matches what He extended to us. My prayer from the war zone is simply, “Lord, have mercy.”

It was actually hard to preach after seeing the devastation in the region that morning. More pictures to follow. But this snapshot with a list was a bright moment demonstrating organized care to the most needy widows, widowers, unemployed, and war-torn people.

I close a stretching day with the prayer etched on the wall outside Westminster Abbey. It seems fitting. “May God grant to the living grace, to the departed rest, to the church and the world peace and concord, and to us sinners, eternal life.”

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 6:13-16

“Alms coldly and harshly given irritate rather than soothe. Even when we cannot give, words of kindness are as a precious balm; and when we can give, they are the salt and seasoning of our alms.”

Perpetuus of Tours in The Lives of the Saints by Alan Butler, 1894 (Global Grey edition, 2019) 8 April reading.

In visiting parts of Ukraine that have been occupied by Russian forces, you see “car cemeteries” along the road like the one pictured above. It’s hard to hold back tears. Sadly, thousands of civilians have been murdered and their cars set ablaze by invading troops. We have met some of their surviving family members or friends.

Society refers to them as IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) who used to live in places like Kharkiv, in Eastern Ukraine, where we arrived today. Others we will meet in Moldova next week who have fled the country, largely women and children, represent refugees of this war. IDP’s and refugees need alms and kindness.

For safety reasons, we have little cash on us. So, we plan to send aid we receive at GTP to trustworthy caregivers on the frontlines. One example is Andrey Kratsev. Watch his video here. I will preach in his church tomorrow. Pray for IDP’s and other lost souls to come to Christ as I lift up Jesus.

And it’s been rewarding to start conversations for setting up a peer accountability group (like ECFA in USA) with ministry, seminary, and church workers. That will happen in time. For now, people appreciate most the ministry of presence with kindness, hearing their challenges, and later sending alms.

To give to GTP efforts in Eastern Europe and Ukraine, click here. And thanks for your patience in receiving this as we’ve had very limited phone service and wifi in Eastern Ukraine. Just after a five hour train ride from Kyiv with no service were were welcomed by city wide air strike alarms. Hard to imagine how difficult life has been for the people here.

Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. Acts 9:40-42

“A peasant, whose boy had just died, ran in anguish to Benedict, crying out, “Give me back my son!” The monks joined the poor man in his entreaties; but the Saint replied, “Such miracles are not for us to work, but for the blessed apostles. Why will you lay upon me a burden which my weakness cannot bear? ” Moved at length by compassion he knelt down and, prostrating himself upon the body of the child, prayed earnestly. Then rising, he cried out, “Behold not, O Lord, my sins, but the faith of this man, who desireth the life of his son, and restore to the body that soul which Thou hast taken away.” Hardly had he spoken when the child’s body began to tremble, and taking it by the hand he restored it alive to its father…

The saints never feared to undertake any work, however arduous, for God, because, distrusting self, they relied for assistance and support wholly upon prayer.”

Benedict of Nursia in The Lives of the Saints by Alan Butler, 1894 (Global Grey edition, 2019) 21 March reading. As I stated previously, I am reading lives of the saints to find inspiration for my own generous service. I pray it also inspires you.

Among the first apostles, both Peter (in the Scripture above) and Paul (in Acts 20:7-12) raised a person from the dead and performed other miracles by the power of God at work through them. We hear of similar stories through church history like that of Benedict above.

But after the recounting of the story from Benedict’s I found what I was looking for. The keen counsel from saints of old for ordinary saints like you and me today who want to delivering help and hope to a neighbor in need or to a nation in the wake of destruction.

Never fear, distrust self, and pray. It’s what the Surrender Novena taught me and how I got myself here. And how I will navigate each moment of the rest of this trip. O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!

Pictured above is a bridge that was destroyed north of Kyiv to keep Russian troops from invading the capital. I took the photo from this angle to show the devastation in the middle and yet, notice the workers rebuilding on the left.

You can also see a car on the right going across a temporary bridge. Part of rebuilding a people is putting raw materials in the right place, and part is navigating life in the meantime despite the brokenness, and not feeling defeated and giving up.

Yesterday, four dreamers from Ternopil, one YWAM (Youth With A Mission) director, two pastors, and a mayor drove 2 hours to visit with us in Lviv. They thanked us repeatedly for coming and said that our time together gave clarity to their dreaming.

Each shared their dreams for their people. Then they asked about GTP. I explained how we multiply stewards and mobilize peer accountability groups to restore trust and rebuild nations. We read from Nehemiah 9 together, discussing how Ezra and Nehemiah did it.

By the end of the evening they were convinced to start such a group for Ukraine working with the alliance of educators with whom we met in Kyiv the previous day. God’s working here. GTP is helping rebuild bridges.

And regarding the needs of GTP on this last day of the fiscal year, I have resolved today to let go of my fears, to distrust myself, and to pray for God’s provision and for peace in Ukraine. O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!