Month: February 2011

Mike Pratt, the missionary pastor I serve under, is an avid reader of many books.  His diligence has encouraged to pick up a few titles that I have been neglecting.  I’ve, for a while, wanted to re-read the Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert E. Coleman.  That was a book that Rich Day, my Bible college director, had us read in our Gospel of Mark class.  I finished that book about a week or two ago, and since have also read Patient Evangelism by Lloyd Pulley.  Lloyd Pulley is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Old Bridge in New Jersey.

The most recent book I started (I actually started it yesterday) is the Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer.  Just in the first chapter, I detect a slight hint of what some might call “Christian Mysticism,” but not in a bad way.  It’s somewhat refreshing, actually, and challenging to my current mode of life.  What I mean by that is that he desires for himself and his readers a personal, intimate knowledge of God.  This knowledge is not to be a concept derived from the reading of many books of theological importance, but a real, living relationship of a person.  The words he writes are reminiscent of Brother Lawrence’s Practicing the Presence of God.

As a Christian musician, one of my greatest, and yet most fleeting desires is to be able to write my own songs of praise and worship to my Lord.  I’ve wondered how others come to a place of ability to write verses that move me so greatly and seem to draw me closer to the throne room of God.  I’ve tried going through the Psalms and searching for verses that moved my heart in this way, as I’ve seen other musicians do, so that I could put them to music.  I’ve tried just sitting with pen or guitar in hand and waiting for inspiration to come.   Neither very often bring any fruit.  It seems that the times I’ve been able to write songs to God and really feel inspired were times of my greatest emotional need.  At the same time, though, I don’t feel like writing a song every time something bad happens to me.

As I was reading Tozer’s book, I believe I was struck with the key to these expressions of love for God in lyrical poetry.  The key to such worship is simple that: worship.  It is the pursuit of God.

I’m a young man that likes to be on the move.  I love to always be doing something.  This, in turn, has led to the temptation and sin of not giving God the time in my life that He deserves.  It’s not that I’m skipping my devotion time in the morning or missing church, but I find in myself a tendency to relegate these excellent tools of seeking God to simply experiences contained within themselves.  I read the Bible to gain knowledge of the Bible instead of pursuing the One Who wrote the book.  I go to church out of routine rather than out of service to the One Who created the people there.  Yes, I know God wants me to read His Word (Joshua 1:8) and to assemble with His people (Hebrews 10:23-25); however, if I do those things without the blessed and unconcluding pursuit of knowing Him (John 17:3), what good are they of themselves?

I pray that you are coming to a place, as I am while reading this book, that you are led and drawn to seek the Lord.  As with the Kings in 1 and 2 Chronicles, the secret to staying close to God and in His will is seeking Him.  Please pray for me in this way.

About a month ago, I met some guys in town while I was walking with Joshua Pratt.  They seemed like really nice guys, but I could tell there was something “interesting” about them from the start.  The name of the one that seemed like the leader is Alex.  He is a young Ukrainian man.  The other’s name is Michael.  He’s a student from Nigeria.

Through the course of the conversation, they asked about our church and the Calvary Chapel organization (if it can be called that… haha) and eventually tried to give us some literature.  They also tried to get our phone numbers.  In order to keep them from getting Josh’s, I gave them mine and got theirs.  I used to have a lot of Mormon friends when I was Josh’s age, and they did their best to dissuade me from my faith.  I didn’t want the same thing to happen to Josh with the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Eventually, Alex, the older one, called me and asked if we could meet in town sometime.  I was genuinely busy most of the times he would call until this last time.  We met at a coffee shop and sat down to a 2-and-a-half-hour discussion, mostly over whether or not Jesus was God.

Not having dealt with Jehovah’s Witnesses before, my original thought was it would be just me and Alex over a cup of coffee, getting to know each other as Ukrainians are accustomed to doing.  Seeing Alex bring his books and younger disciple with him (Michael), both of them ready for a theo-philosophical war, was a little surprising for me.  I was very thankful that I had my Bible with me that day.

I’m really concerned for these guys.  I really doubt many are willing to witness to them around here.  I feel that I held myself pretty well against them (thank God!), especially considering that I came with no study or preparation except for prayer.  I don’t know if they will invite me to meet with them again after that, as I told them my disappointment as I was expecting a friendly get-together and received an hours-long debate.  Please pray for Michael in particular, the younger Jehovah’s Witness, about this.

I’m praying for more opportunities to witness to them and to be ready, not just to answer and try to prove them wrong, but to serve them, love them, and show them that God loves them.  It seems that every time I open my Bible, I find a new verse that I want to show them.  Please pray for me in this way.  Please also pray for the African students in the church, as many of them have a Jehovah’s Witness or two in their dorms.

That’s a picture of me and my friend Jullio when we went to go see a movie with some friends.  Jullio is from Cameroon, a country in Northwest Africa.  He’s studying at one of the universities here in L’viv.  There are a few other students in our church from Cameroon and Nigeria.

Please be praying for the African students in Ukraine.  I personally think they have it much harder here than we do adapting.  First of all, Ukraine can be a very racist nation.  The police here often seek out Africans to extort money.  I’ve been in a store and seen one of my African friends be discriminated against right in front of my face.

Secondly, it’s sometimes harder for them to learn the language in school.  Two friends of mine from Nigeria are having a terrible time with that.  Teachers also often expect bribes from students.

Lastly, many students that come here to L’viv loose their spiritual heritage.  Please be praying for this especially.  Timothy, a friend of mine, was talking about others in his dorm that don’t go to church anymore since they came to college.  A big part of that could be that they can’t find churches that have services in a language that they can understand.

All that to say, please be praying for our African brothers and sisters here in Ukraine.  Ukrainian universities do a lot of advertising in Northern Africa, but they don’t tell the students of the hardships awaiting them here.

Happy Valentine’s Day!  I actually honestly forgot today was the 14th…  I guess I really don’t care much about this holiday… haha.  I don’t think I’ve actually given someone a Valentine’s Day card for… a long time.  The last one I remember was when I was in Jr. High.  I’m sure there’s been a few since then, but…  none come to mind.

I think today is a great day to remember God’s amazing love for us.

This is a picture of (from the left) Shane, Evan, Alex, and me two days ago playing at a church Valentine’s Day party in southern L’viv.  The church’s name is Bozhe Lyubov (“God’s Love”).  It’s a Baptist church in a busy region in the south of L’viv.

The party was really cool.  From music, to skits and games, to short films – everything was themed after the great love of God towards us and what real love is.  The pastor did a really good job at explaining that worldly love is really just simply loving yourself.

Please be praying for those that came to the party, that they would receive the True Love of God in their hearts.