Blogathon 2009 Day Four

This day brought our first accumulation of snow. It was more easily measured in millimeters than inches and only if you measured the drifts. But it was what I would count as the first real snow. A new season is about to fall upon us, are we ready? Well we have the winter coats out and the wool socks. I have yet to find my gloves.
I wonder what new seasons God has waiting for me in my life. There is part of me that is bored with this season. I feel like I am not doing enough to count for something. Yes I preach and I teach, but is that enough. I am praying that the Lord will shake things up a bit. What storm or seasonal change is on it's way to me? I love being a missionary, but there are times when it has become to "normal" for me. I feel like I should be living a bit more on the edge, but my flesh would prefer being comfortable. I know that God can and will reveal His will for my life. I guess, as I see the leaves falling and the first dusting of snow, I wonder if I am slipping into my own winter of sorts. But winter means heavy socks and clothes. It means warming up after venturing out in the world and it means that there is a spring coming. A time of new growth and renewal. I look forward to God's refreshing and restoration. I look forward to seeing and experiencing what God is going to do.

Blessings
Alan

What I have learned living in Ukriane

13 June 2008 Okay… its been a while since I have written, so many things running around my head. One thing that I have been considering is what have I learned from living in Ukraine. I have grown up in America where we take so many things for granted… I have learned to be more observant and thankful in Ukraine for example. I have learned to watch my step. Flat even sidewalks are not a given. In many places trees are pushing up the cements blocks. Stairs are not of uniform height everywhere you go. Its quite common to be going down stairs and suddenly be taking a much longer step than you were expecting. Where American safety laws require standard stair heights and runs, there seems to be little ryhme or reason in how steps are designed here in Ukraine. I have learned to look both ways before crossing the street (even a one way street!). Ukrainian traffic laws seem to be optional. Not all cross walks work and some work only at certain times. Red lights are merely suggestions and some drivers will even honk at pedestrians using crosswalks who are slowing their drive home or to work. I have learned that just because it's a one way street doesn't mean that some one won't go the wrong way or back up long distances to avoid a little extra driving. At traffic circles its quite common (or at least is so on my street) for drivers to take a short cut along the crosswalk to avoid having to go all the way around the circle. Parking on sidewalks is permitted by law, which means cars regularly drive on sidewalks. It's not uncommon to suddenly realize that there is a car behind you waiting for you to get out of the way as you are walking along the sidewalk. I have learned to appreciate my college education regardless of what it cost me. In Ukraine some university teachers don't care much to teach, and many students apparently do not care to study (this includes international students). Many students and professors are content to call it a business deal. "You pay me, I give you a grade!" I really made sure I got my monies worth when I was in college. I know young people who are attending classes where their professors know nothing about the topics they are teaching and for students wanting to learn, they may have to find their own text books and do their own work on the side so as to learn what they need to learn. Now not all Ukrainian universities are like this, but it seems to be an all too common experience among young people I have talked to. I have learned to live with a smaller personal space bubble. Public transportation merged with western financial thinking means more people per square meter means greater earnings. I don't much care of being crammed in tightly with many of my Ukrainian neighbors, but it is a way of life. I am just glad I am tall so that I can still get a bit of fresh air and I can usually reach a hand hold. I have also learned to plan just a few things in a day, as public transportation may take a bit longer as I cannot always get a direct route to where I want to go. But I must admit that the metro (subway) is the fastest way to go when your destination is anywhere near a metro stop. I have learned to appreciate people who pick up after themselves. Ukraine when it comes to trash is like America before the big push for getting people to stop littering. If it were not for armies of people sweeping up and picking up after others, this city (Kyiv or Kiev for you Americans), would be a total mess. There are bottle caps, broken glass, plastic bottles and bags everywhere. Luckily the people who are paid to sweep and clean are pretty efficient. And by 9:00 A.M. much of the trash is swept up, but by evening, things are a mess again. It would be nice to see a "Don't be a litterbug!" campaign here. Not everyone is a mess pot, but there are enough of them to make the countryside a mess. I have learned to appreciate American women's modesty. Apparently Ukrainian women think that dressing like the cover of Vogue is normal; though sometimes their idea of style is obnoxious as well overly revealing. Some times its hard for a Christian man to find a safe place to rest his eyes. I have learned to appreciate regular running water. In Ukraine it is quite common to have your water, hot water or electricity shut off. Big cities like Kyiv its not as common, but not all cities have hot water and some have electricity on a schedule. This week and last our hot water is off, while the hot water plant gets it annual servicing. But the water has been shut off totally at least once during these past two weeks for reasons unknown. I have learned to respect my neighbors and appreciate their help. I am blessed in that our neighbors look out for us. On more than one occasion they have shooed away some charlatan or potential thief. Some of our neighbors are very quick to question strangers in our stairwell to make sure they are legitimate guest or business people. Our neighbors know how to be good neighbors and I am learn from them. I have learned what hospitality can look like. Ukrainians take grate pride in being generous with their guests. The crazy thing about it is the poorer the person, the greater the sacrifices and work they are willing to put into it. It is wild to think how those who have so little will sacrifice so much for a stranger. I am humbled by such people even if its just a culturally driven ritual, they still share greatly with we who already have so much. I have learned to see the world from a non-American perspective. Growing up in America I use to think we were the center of everything good and true. But I have met people from Ukraine, Iran, Lebanon, Cuba, Russia, Kazakhstan, Germany, Brazil, Peru, Uzbekistan, India and more. And I have come to the conclusion that America doesn't own the market when it comes to wonderful people, or redeeming cultures. No culture has it all right or all wrong. But I am looking for and finding people who reflect the values of God's heavenly Kingdom. Borders may matter to politicians, statesmen and patriots, but to God the only thing that matters is the state of a person's heart and the words and actions revealing said state. My brothers and sisters are not those who confess their allegiance to the flag, but those call Jesus their Lord, and live like His children. I may have been born in Canada, carry an American Passport, I may be registered to live in Ukraine, but my citizenship lies with Him who is the King of kings and Lord of lords. I pledge my allegiance to The Lamb. In Him, Alan

More Ranting and Raving

So what else makes me a heretic? Well besides believing that people can choose to give up their salvation, I also believe in a God who continues to work through people in miraculous ways. It bothers me to think that some people think that because we have the Bible, that there is no more need for the miraculous. Without a God who works miracles in and through people, Christianity is just a historical philosophy. I believe in a world that is beyond our understanding and a realm that is beyond our ability to measure. I am not a Humanist. I am not a deist, I am someone who believes that apart from God, humans can do little good. If fact if left to themselves and their own devices they can be down right evil. Why??? I think humans can be so evil, because they begin to believe in their own rightness. Oh they may try to cover their antics with religious jargon and invoke the name of God and our Savior Jesus Christ, but the truth be know their efforts will be seen in their actions. I don’t care if your talking about the Christian Crusades, Hitler, or Jim Jones, the proof is in the fruit. What sort of fruit do you see in their lives. The only fruit that counts is the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Anything else is from the devil himself. But what about righteous anger? According the Epistle of James (1:19,20) The anger of man does not accomplish the will of God. So what else do I think about Christians… I think it is okay for Christians to be oppressed but never okay for Christians to oppress others. God’s objective for Christians is not to be comfortable in the life they have, but to strive to make their lives worthy of emulation. I think there are a lot of people who think they are Christians, but are not. They have been sold a bill of goods. “Oh just say this prayer and it will be all good.” Sorry but God expects more. Not perfect performance from the onset, but rather a heart that wants to find out how to live a godly life. In order to choose God, through Christ, we have to reject things that we used to believe in. We have to be willing to subject our lives to critical examination by God’s Holy Spirit and by other believers. A Christian’s life is not his or her own, it now belongs to God and to the family of faith. Scary thought, but that’s the way it is. It’s a journey, but its so worth it…

So what else can I rant about…. I sorry but you’ll just have to wait until the next issue

What Matters

I am coming to realize that I am basically a principalist. I am not interested in acting out every commandment that the Bible seems to list, the list would quite frankly drive most of us silly. But rather I would like to look at what drives those commandments. What is behind the commandments.? What is God trying to tell us about Himself and His will for our lives? I think Jesus put it the most simply in what we refer to as the "Great Commandment" passage; just that everything boils down to loving God and loving our neighbors. Sometimes we refer to this as the law of love.
Obedience is something that God wants from us. We have lots of list of commandments that we can try to follow (under the old covenant and in the New Testament), in our attempt to show our love and respect for God, OR we can instead give Him our hearts and try to live obediently by the Spirit day by day.
Let me give you an example... unfortunately it is how I failed to obey, but still. We are encouraged in the book of James to give to widows and orphans, or rather care for them. On more than one occasion I have been walking along the boulevard when I felt like God was telling my by His Spirit to give all that I had in my pocket or wallet to an old woman who had caught my eye. Now on two of those occasions, I just happened to have a large sum of money and was on my way to either buy something or to pay someone for what I owed. So of course my response was "I can't give them my money... I need it to pay..." both times I walked past the old woman and missed a chance to obey God's higher call. I know from the Scriptures that God cares about the widows and the orphans and on many occasion I have given change or small bills out of my pocket to those who where begging, thinking I was showing God's heart towards these people. But I feel convicted by my passing by these other "grandmothers" or as they call them here babushkie. They were not begging for money. They were just sitting on a bench, and God had pointed them out to me. I pray that God will offer me other opportunities to be faithful and to share what He has given me to bless others with. I don’t want to look at the money I am entrusted with as mine but rather His. He provides for my needs and I in turn am to use that money to further His Kingdom and His purposes, not just to make my life easier or more comfortable.
The principle I see at work here is that God is more concerned about the state of my heart (The true inner man) than He is about the comfort of this fleshly vessel I reside in. I pray that my next opportunity will show that I trust God, more that I trust money.