Forsaking Fear

The other morning I found myself pondering all the posts I see on FB that are fear based.  Fear for what microwaves do to food, fear about GMO's, fear about what/how the government is taking away our freedoms, fear that they may take away our guns and fear that we may loose our comfortable and easy way of life here in the United States.  As I ponder these things and the mentality of my fellow Christians, I was reminded of the words of Christ where he tells us that we are to take up our crosses daily and die to ourselves.  And he warns us that those unwilling to do so are unworthy of the Kingdom of Heaven.  That is some pretty heavy stuff.

We all have fears.  We fear what people are thinking and saying about us.  We fear the response of our loved ones such that we try to tell them what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear.  We fear the loss of comfort and we fear the loss of income and possessions.  We fear that the world may be coming to the end or that terrorists may attack us again.  I personally can remember fearing commercial aircraft for a while after watching the attack on the twin towers in New York about a hundred times on the TV.

Fear can be a good thing at times as it can helps us to be cautious when in dangerous situations and fear can stimulate the generation of adrenaline which can give us the strength and speed to get out of a potentially deadly situation.  Bur for most of us living in the modern world, away from animals with big teeth and sharp claws fear only paralyzes us and prevents us from living our daily lives.  When fear enters in and we have no outlet (nothing to run from and nothing to fight) it leaves us in agitated state that prevents us from thinking clearly and just leaves us stressed out.

In 1 John 4, the apostle  John writes in verse 28, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love."

This passage leads me to think that many of us have not reached perfection in love.  We fear loss, we fear pain and we fear separation.  These fears are part of everyday life for people but I also believe they are tools or schemes of the devil.  We are encouraged to not be unaware of the schemes of the devil.  Which means we should not be playing into his hand both rather looking for ways to resist the devil as we submit to God.

The Apostle Paul addresses this in his letter to the Romans in chapter 8 verses 15-16.  "For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!”  He is reminding us that the freedom that we have been granted through Christ's death and resurrection has set us free from fear.  When we start posting fearful things on FB or recounting all of our fears, we are becoming slaves to fear.  We are making our fears greater than God's love and mercy.  We are turning our fears into personal idols.  Idols are anything that we give power over us.  Our fear of sickness or our fear of others become idols in our lives.  Proverbs tells us that the fear of others is a snare.  Our fears catch us and prevent us from experiencing the freedom granted to us by Christ and the Holy Spirit of God.

In Matthew 10:28 Jesus warns us, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell."  That is Jesus' way of telling us to fear God and not worry about the small stuff.  As the saying goes if Jesus is not Lord of all then He is not Lord at all.  We have to put Him first in our lives lest we become slaves again to fear.  This is a lifestyle not just something we acknowledge and then move on the next thing.  We must put God first we must fear him above all else (even though He loves us dearly and Jesus said calls us his friends).

We are no longer to be idol worshipers driven by fear and worry.  We are the Children of God, bathed in the love and mercy of All Mighty God.  We are new creations not designed to live as we once did.  We are recreated in the image of our One True God.  We are heirs of God's love and mercy and his greatness.  We are more than conquerors in his Name.

So I would ask you join me this coming year in refraining from re-posting articles that are inspired to invoke fear or shame or worry in people.  We are not people who are to live by fear.  It's okay to have concerns, but some of the things I read that have been posted by fellow Christians are nothing more than fear mongering.  We are children of the living God, the only thing that we should fear is God himself.  These articles may seem like they are encouraging discretion but to me, in my head, I can almost see people grabbing their heads and running about screaming "Oh My God, what are we going to do??!!!"

Faith transcends fear.  Faith says I trust God to work in all the circumstances of my life.  I trust his Power more than I trust humans and their plans.  Faith says I do not fret about the scheming of evil people, but rather trust in God's sovereignty to be with me.

Now what I am not saying is just wander through life without a care in the world.  Even Christ warned us "to be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves".  Just don't submit to crazy schemes or walk through life without discernment. Whatever you do, do it as an act of worship unto God.  The world and the enemy work very hard to confuse and abuse us, but when we die to our selfish worries and concerns, we attune our ears and our hearts to the voice of our Master and Savior.

Fear not and be strong and courageous because our Lord has overcome the world.

Blessings, in Jesus Name

Preacher Al

52 Prayers for Greater Faith

Faith comes with the hearing the Word of God (knowledge) but it doesn’t stop there.  First we know about God, but as time goes on our faith leads us to knowing Him personally.  That knowledge doesn’t leave us where we are, but transforms us and changes the way we view the world and how we interact with it.  Faith changes how we act and how we treat others; without transformation there is no evidence of faith, there is only dead words and dead works.

The following was inspired by a post on FaceBook that encouraged me to write a responsive prayer.  I pray that this prayer leads you from mere knowledge about God to living for Him and to living by his principles.  Real faith is carried out not just in the mind or the heart but once it has taken root in our hearts is is carried out by our actions; it becomes our life.  Faith must bear fruit in due season.

Instructions: There are 52 individual prayers so you can use it for a devotion for the next year.  Read each line aloud stopping at the hyphen contemplate the meaning of the words then read aloud “Lord, increase our faith!”  I encourage you to journal each of these points as Christ works in your heart by his Holy Spirit to increase your faith.  Write out what the Spirit is saying to you and make a plan of action for how you are going to petition God for help in this area and what you want to change about your attitude and actions that currently doesn’t reflect living as a new creation in Christ.  As you read God’s Word, I also encourage you to write your own prayers as the Holy Spirit convicts you of areas that are not fully conformed to His will for you.  Feel free to reword the prayer if any line seems awkward to you.

I would also encourage you to ask yourself how knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior has changed your life.  I pray that you will have a holy dissatisfaction that will cause you to draw closer to the true source of faith and life which is found in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Faith is:

• knowing God knows what’s best for us - Lord increase our faith
• knowing Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God born of the Virgin Mary  
  - Lord increase our faith
• knowing Jesus was crucified for our sin - Lord increase our faith
• knowing Jesus Christ is risen from the dead - Lord increase our faith
• knowing Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit so that we might live for Him and by Him
  - Lord increase our faith
• knowing that Jesus Christ is the only true way, truth and life; there is no other way to God the Father - Lord increase our faith
• knowing Jesus is the Good Shepherd and following his voice - Lord increase our faith
• knowing that Jesus Christ is our soon and coming King - Lord increase our faith
• knowing that Jesus Christ is the one who baptises us with fire and the Holy Spirit -
  Lord increase our faith
• knowing that Jesus Christ is our Healer - Lord increase our faith
• knowing that the circumstances and people God allows in our life help us to become more like Him - Lord increase our faith
• knowing that trials and temptations can only make us stronger if we trust in Him - Lord increase our faith
• knowing that God is more interested in our character than in our comfort - Lord, increase our faith
• knowing that Christianity is not merely a philosophy but rather a supernatural relationship with the Creator of Eternity - Lord increase our faith
• knowing that God knows all the dark recesses of our hearts and still loves us - Lord increase our faith
• knowing that the Love of God transcends all things - Lord, increase our faith
• knowing that nothing can separate us from the Love of God - Lord increase our faith
• knowing that we are incompetent in and of ourselves but God still uses us - Lord increase our faith
• realizing there is nothing good in us apart from Christ - Lord increase our faith
• receiving Christ supernaturally in the communion elements - Lord increase our faith
• loving God with all our heart, mind, strength and soul - Lord increase our faith
• seeking first the Kingdom of God and its righteousness - Lord increase our faith
• always forgiving others because in Christ, God has forgiven us - Lord increase our faith
• worshiping God with our whole being; body, mind and soul - Lord increase our faith
• faith is seeing others as created in God’s image - Lord increase our faith.
• loving the unlovable because God first loved us - Lord increase our faith
• caring for the widow and the orphan - Lord increase our faith
• growing in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control - Lord increase our faith
• suffering for righteousness sake - Lord increase our faith
• being condemned by the world while still living by the Law of Love - Lord increase our faith
• living out the good works that God has foreordained for us to do - Lord increase our faith
• not becoming tired of doing good - Lord increase our faith
• not judging our or other’s success by transitory worldly standards like wealth, popularity or physical appearance - Lord increase our faith
• being ministers of reconciliation - Lord increase our faith
• becoming slaves to Christ - Lord increase our faith
• being freed from the fear of man - Lord increase our faith
• giving up the right to avenge being wronged - Lord increase our faith
• dying to self, that we might live for Christ - - Lord increase our faith
• taking up our cross daily - Lord increase our faith
• giving up our perceived rights yet defending others’ - Lord increase our faith
• suffering abuse, while refusing to abuse others - Lord increase our faith
• proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those perishing - Lord increase our faith
• giving water to the thirsty, food to the hungry, clothes to the naked and visiting the prisoner - Lord increase our faith
• living by the Spirit and not by the letter of the law - Lord increase our faith
• respecting our parents and elders - Lord increase our faith
• seeing that our real adversaries are not human but rather spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly realms - Lord increase our faith
• not complaining about others but rather giving thanks in all things - Lord increase our faith
• blessing those who curse us - Lord increase our faith
• using our spiritual gifts to build up others - Lord increase our faith
• realizing that its not all about us - Lord increase our faith
• allowing ourselves to decrease that He might increase - Lord increase our faith
• considering others before ourselves - - Lord increase our faith

Who Do I Follow

I have been thinking about a scripture that I read not so long ago...

1 Corinthians 1:10-13

 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. 12 Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

I have been thinking about it as it applies to me and to other Christians.  Paul's key point or complaint is that people are aligning themselves with the teaching of a person other than Christ Jesus.  Clearly this is a fairly important thing as its one of the first things he addresses in his letter to the church in Corinth.  I have talked to others about it and have inserted the names of denominations in the places of the people Paul makes reference too.  I am quite confident that you can insert pretty much any denomination in to this passage without changing its intent.

It is interesting how some of my friends define their faith.  Some say they are Calvinist, some say  they are Arminianists, others Lutherans, still other's Baptists, Pentecostals, Charismatics and so on.  Each of these movements can be traced to men or women of God who were anointed to bring a Word or a Revelation that The Church needed to hear.  The problem comes when people start aligning themselves with these new leaders.  They don't get the revelation, they think instead that they have found a new leader.

If you say you are a Calvinist then you are basically saying, "I follow John Calvin" if you say you are a Lutheran then you are saying "I follow Martin Luther" if you are a Foursquare believer like me then you are saying you are a follower of Aimee Semple McPherson.  I even heard one group of very conservative Baptists who said it was better to call yourself a Baptist rather than a Christian.  Either way, if we are not careful we can be led astray.  

Many reformers, Martin Luther, John Wesly (Methodist), Calvin, John Knox  (Presbyterians), Jakob Amman (Amish), Meno Simmons (Mennonites), A.W. Tozar (Christian Missionary Alliance) and other great Christian reformers were not looking to start any denominations.  They were merely bringing a new revelation of how we might live this life in Christ.  What they got instead of reform were instead followers.  The problem with this is that these new followers can forget that Jesus is the fist and most important focus of their faith and begin to promote and defend their interpretation of Scripture and faith.  The longer this goes on the more dogmatic these followers can become so that when some new reformer challenges the status quo there are recriminations and accusations and division.

This is the major point of these verses in his first letter to the Corinthian church - as soon as we start to align ourselves with some new leader, we create division rather than freedom or enlightenment.  In no time at all the church body is further divided with people throwing accusations of heretic and/or false prophet and the body of Christ suffers while Satan laughs.  It can come to the point that the name they are following is more important than Christ; how else could people kill each other while claiming to be Catholics or Protestants in Northern Ireland.

Now I am a licensed Foursquare Pastor serving in the capacity of co-pastor in a little church in a village outside of  Las Vegas, but first and foremost I am a minister of the the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  People will come along with "other gospels" claiming they have the answer or they are God's new prophet... be wary!  Be good Berians, search the scriptures, weigh what has been said or taught and consider it in the light of THE Good News.  Keep first things first; Christ died for us and there is not other way to Salvation.  The Greatest commandment is still Love God and love your neighbor.  If anyone tries to convince you that there is some greater truth or greater commandment DO NOT BELIEVE THEM!  Do not follow them.

No single denomination holds the whole truth and no denomination is without error.  Even those churches that call themselves "Independents" can be just another voice out there crying "Follow Me".  We need to be careful about who we choose to follow.  Does your leader continue to point you to Christ?  Do they use the Scriptures to point you to Christ?  We don't need a bunch of hollow arguments distracting us from the primary things.  Jesus Christ is the Truth, the Way and the Light.  Salvation comes through no other Name and no other person.

So what do we do?  Some people have decided to stop attending church - bad move.  You need to be part of a congregation to be part of the body.  You can do this in a home church or a building dedicated to the worship of God.  We need to be part of something bigger than ourselves.  We need a place to put the gifts that God has invested in us to work and we need a place that we can go to for help.  We need a place where we can love and be loved, where we can be healed of our hurts and where we can participate in the healing of others.  This place may be a denominational church.  This may be an independent church.  But wherever you place yourself, make sure that someone is pointing you to Jesus and teaching how to walk in the Way of Love.

Amen
Pastor Alan Beckett

What is happening to my Ukraine?

I have been watching the news, reading blogs, reposting reports of all that is going on in Ukraine.  It is hard for me to take it all in.  Part of me cheers for the Maidan revolutionaries who have made their attempt at throwing off a corrupt government.  They chased off the worst offender, but there is still much that needs to be done or undone to remove the corruption from all aspects of the Ukrainian system.

I also weep for what is going on in the eastern parts of Ukraine.  I think it would be easy to blame it all on Putin, but I think that is just too simplistic.  I am not denying that he is playing a big role in all of this, but there seems to be many Ukrainian citizens who think they would be better off under Russian rule.

When I think about Ukraine, I find that it is a very complex country.  I have met the ultra nationalists who said to me, "Why would I speak Russian, I am Ukrainian?" I have met many foreign nationals who have been attacked by skinheads or the police.  I have also met people from Slovyansk who feel like the western leaning Kyiv government has tried force them to speak Ukrainian.  I was told that shortly after Ukraine won its independence that there was a strong effort to get rid of Russian.  Ukrainian was declared the national language, all street signs and business signs were required to be in Ukrainian and 90% of all films had to be either in Ukrainian, dubbed in Ukrainian or subtitled in Ukrainian.  It was quite difficult to find films in English while I was there, but more importantly my friends from eastern Ukraine were frustrated that there weren't more films in Russian, their native language.

I have also met many Ukrainians who speak Russian and Ukrainian and who love their country, but have been frustrated by all of the graft or cleptocracy.  Many Ukrainians are reluctant to pay their legal share of their taxes because they were sure that it would merely be stolen by all the thieves and thugs in their government.

To further aggravate things many public servants were not paid enough to live on.  Bus drivers, conductors and police receive about $150; doctors and nurses a little more than that.  This forces the average person to be creative in finding income.  The police who hold more power than the average citizen resort to extortion. Many a westerner can relate to being pulled over and then being encouraged to pay their "fine" in cash.  Ukrainians even have a name for the police - musor which means garbage.  Some Christians don't even believe it is possible for them to be saved.

But not all public servants are corrupt.  When I rode public transportation, there seemed to be three types of conductors.  The first was completely corrupt; when you paid your fare, they tried to hand you a used ticket, so they could pocket the profit.  The second type seemed to be just kind of relaxed about it all.  They didn't hand out used tickets, but they didn't validate tickets they just gave them to those who paid, but they would validate (punch) tickets that patrons handed them.  The 3rd type were the diligent ones.  They are honest and diligent.  They make sure that every person has a validated ticket and will check to make sure it is for their bus or trolley.

And I guess there were three kinds of passengers.  There were those who did everything they could to avoid paying their fare.  There were those who were passive, in that if no one asked them for their fare, they wouldn't pay, but who would readily play if asked. And there were the forthright ones who always payed their fair.  As a whole most of the commuters where fairly honest.  In 7 years of riding marshroutekas (privately owned minibuses) I only had my change stolen once, and it was by this brash young lady who looked me straight in the eye as if to say, "Now what are you going to do?" It was about 30 cents US, so it wasn't a huge deal for me.  But I do know of 2 other cases where someone lost more money.  On friend didn't get the change back from a 20 griven bill and another who didn't get his change back from a 50 griven bill.  But for me to only be able to remember 3 incidences that is quite remarkable.

The average Ukrainian is pretty honest, but there is also an underground of sorts made up of various kinds to thieves and hucksters.  I have seen pickpockets at work on the metro and know a number of people who have been hit buy them.  I had three try to get me once but I shoved them off me and lost nothing,  Most Ukrainians will not confront thieves.  I think that is one of the reasons they can be pretty bold.  Some people fear that if they confront the thieves they will be attacked or stabbed.

But that darker side of Ukrainian society which is made up of organized criminal elements is always there.  They extort people, they shake down beggars and they even work with the police at times.  We know of a Canadian couple who had their new car stolen and the police told them they could get it back for $7000 dollars.

So what am I trying to say about all of this?  I'm trying to say that this whole situation in the east is complicated.  The criminal elements and those they pay to help them are the one's causing much of the strife in eastern and southern Ukraine.  The reason they are so successful, is that first, the average Ukrainian is nonviolent; they would prefer to avoid confrontation.  On the other hand the thugs and criminals are used to violence and extortion.  They do not represent the average Ukrainian living in eastern Ukraine, but they are the ones most willing to take action.

To add to the problems, some of these thugs have won the loyalty of some local people because they have taken care of them.  So these people don't see them has thieves and bandits but rather local heros or friends. This is further aggravated by the years of Russian propaganda that these hapless/foolish people have swallowed.  They really believe the west is their enemy, but they are not looking at the actions of this "little green men" and their co-conspirators rather they are merely considering them as people working in their best interests because they are aligned with Russia and against the west.

This makes the whole situation difficult.  Ukrainian soldiers do not want to shoot Ukrainian citizens, but there are enough Russian leaning (and this really has little to do with language as it does with politics) citizens who are getting in the way and hindering the antiterrorist actions that the Ukrainian military is attempting to take.   Add to this that a significant number of veterans who served in the Afghanistan war faced an enemy armed by the US through its operatives and you have more anti western sentiment.

I think part of all this violence is the result of kicking out Yanukovych.  Much like when Tito died and Yugoslavia fell apart, Ukraine faces various elements vying for power each thinking they have the answer and that this is their hour of glory and chance to take power.

In my opinion as someone who lived in Ukraine for 7 years and who loves all Ukrainians, there is no simple way out of this.  I think there needs to be a two pronged solution to this situation.  The first is an effort to disarm or neutralise these pro-Russian forces; especially the Russian special forces.  It is impossible to make peace with men who attack unarmed people and abduct peaceful observers. Then there needs to be an effort to mend fences.  We need people reaching across the lines to make friends and to heal wounds.  These pro-russian elements in the eastern part of Ukraine are motivated by fear and anger.  Some how their western leaning neighbors need to make friends with them and hear them out.

I don't know that can be done about Russia's involvement in this.  Ukraine is not equipped to engage Russia in an all out war, but we can continue to pray that as the west steps up their financial pressure for Russia to back down that Putin will finally relent.

I am sure it wouldn't hurt if the west enacted a lend/lease initiative to help arm Ukraine with more effective weaponry like A-10 tank busters and Apache helicopters along with some training on how to deal with these kinds of terrorist/insurgents who have taken over so many building in Eastern Ukraine.

I would gladly encourage any feed back to my insights and suggestions.

Loving and missing Ukraine
Preacher Al

PS... I would like to end on a note of hope.  While I was living in Ukraine I met with a number of God fearing, moral and determined people in Ukraine.  I was especially impressed with a group of 20 somethings who came to our apartment for a bible study.  In their eyes I saw hope.  I saw the future of Ukraine in these young people, who were willing to step across denominational lines and who willing to reach out to others with the hope of the Gospel.  Putin may be quite the villain, but what I saw in these young people was a courage and determination that cannot be defeated by any dictator, despot or thug.

Praying for Ukraine, that its people may find the path of hope and peace that leads them into a future worth striving for.

Bringing the Good News to Eastern Ukraine

I have been closely following what is going on in Eastern Ukraine noting that the central government is going to suspend activities for the weekend as it is Easter, and suddenly I was reminded of my first visit to Ukraine 10 years ago in May.  There is lots I could say, but I would like to share about one small village we visited in the Chernihiv oblast not too far from the city of Laden called Podeshae.

When we arrived we were more or less warmly received, but there were people watching us suspiciously.  The principle of the local school had turned all the children away from our meeting and my friends were warning be about some superstitions that were in place that could cause us a great deal of trouble.  Our leader, Pastor Dick Addison had given me the go to bring the word and he and his wife were encouraging me to "Go for it" ;bring a strong message.  But our Ukrainian friend Yuri Malishkin had warned us that the people there had some very odd ideas about "Baptists" or protestants.  They believed that protestants drank blood and drowned their new converts.  I am sure this misinformation had been started by the Orthodoxy.

Many of my esteemed religious colleagues believe in going for the sale as soon as possible.  I like to think that we need to be aware of the culture we are talking to and that we need to make sure that there is good soil before scattering one's seeds.  So as I prayerfully considered how I might share with this community where there was so much superstition and distrust of outsiders.  After a while the Lord granted me the wisdom in how to share with these people.

I started with what we all know... the world is broken.  I talked about all the things wrong in the world and how sad it is.  Then I talked about how when God created the world that He said it was "Good", but then how things quickly began to fall apart.  Eventually I got to the good news of Jesus Christ, although because of the advice of my friends, I didn't use the name Jesus, but merely referred to Him as the Son of God.  That He came to pay the price for all the wrong in the world and was showing us a better way.  I don't remember exactly how I finished it all up, but the results were very positive.  The pastor who had invited us was told by the city officials that he was welcome to come again.  The parents of the school children were questioning the principle as to why their children had been kept from such a positive message.  The Holy Spirit had helped me open a door so that future ministry could take place in Podeshae.

Why this comes to mind is that when we are confronted with different ideologies or theologies we are so often temped to just jump to our differences and point fingers, accuse the others of being wrong and proclaiming our own rightness. But I have found in my experiences in Ukraine, a country of strongly held beliefs that the quickest road to understanding and healing is finding a place of common ground.  Often times when I talk to Orthodox people, I start with the Apostles Creed.  It shows them that I have something in common with them and that they don't have as much to fear from me.  I am not there to convince someone I am right but rather to lead them onto a path of discovery.

I cannot but wonder if that is the answer for some of what is going on in Eastern Ukraine.  Obviously the "little green men" don't want anyone having dialog, but every pro-Ukraine protester has the capacity to become a broker of reconciliation and peace.

As long as we remain in our camp, reciting our slogans and chanting for unity this really doesn't change the mind of the pro-Russian camp.  In fact it may just intrench them in their thinking.  But if we can find 'safe' ways to cross the line, hear their fears and concerns, and convince them that we have heard them, then maybe they might be willing to consider our position and listen to our concerns and then together as Ukrainian brothers and sisters we can find solutions.

The "little green men" and other agitators are feeding the fears of the people.  They are telling them that they need to be afraid of the west and that the west wants to destroy them; all lies but still to themit seems all too real.  We cannot get them to change there minds by calling them stupid or ignorant; name calling merely isolates and divides.  If we are to really bring Unity, then we are going to need to cross the lines and meet our opposition and tell them that we recognise their concerns.

Now obviously we need to be careful as there are those foreign agitators and their hirelings who would like nothing better than to beat your brains out.  If I can borrow the words of Christ, "Be wise as serpents but as innocent as doves" and "Do not cast your pearls before swine."  We need to be wise about who we speak with and where we speak with them, but in either case we need to become ministers of reconciliation if we're are going to heal this nation.  Jesus didn't say blessed are the self-righteous for they shall get their way, he said, blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called the children of God.  He also challenged us to love those who we would count as enemies, because anyone can love someone who already loves them.

Okay you have thrown off some of the tyrants, but new ones have come.  If we can win back our brothers and sisters by hearing them out and helping them to see a better way then they won't listen to the "little green men" and Putin's other hirelings.  But this won't happen on just the social media.  It's going to have to happen in living rooms and coffee shops and on park benches.  Its going to take people of courage who are quick to listen and slow to speak, so that they might win back their Ukrainian/Russia brothers and sisters. "A kind word turns away wrath."

Leave the "little green men" to the army, avoid the violent and speak peacefully to the fearful and angry.  Focus on those who you can reach.  The government is not going to bring this unity and neither are Russia nor the West, only neighbor talking to neighbor sharing hope for a brighter tomorrow can bring this about.  As you win back your neighbor your neighborhoods will become stronger, safer and more peaceful and you will be able to withstand the ruffians and repulse the foreign invaders.  Ukraine's unity is in your hands, live in such a way as to win back those hearts have become fearful.  Speak the truth in love and help your neighbors to be free of the lies and fear spread by the bringers of havok.