The Good News is Out in Ukraine, Too!

I got to travel to Ukraine for the second time in two years. Last time it was in the west, this time in the east. The western part is more favorable to returning to Ukranian as the official language. There they also do not favor Moscow generally. In the east (I was at Zaporozhye, where Hitler took over the city for a while, and torched it when he left), its just the opposite. Here the people prefer Russian language, and are more open to rapprochement with the big boys up north.

But all that is too much for me. I was "just" there for kingdom business. And of course, that was a joy. I was sent by my home congregation, Boulevard Park Presbyterian Church in Seattle, and had two great travelling partners, Scott and Dave. I taught two weeks on the NT book of Galatians, with 3 lectures per day. There were eight students, three women and five men, and they love to study the Word. Galatians is the "mini-Bible" on Christian freedom, and it assists with clarifying law and grace.(The law identifies and magnifies sin; the grace of Christ saves us from it. Study Galatians again if it's been awhile for you!)

The weather was beautiful over there in late April and early May. A couple of outings were memorable. We saw the huge hydroelectric dam on the Dnieper River one day. Another day we visited a Russian Orthodox church and saw a group of worshipers as they were finishing up a baptismal service. They say that the use of icons in the eastern orthodox church helps teach spiritual principles and Biblical stories. The facial features are all the same; they're not meant to be uniuque. Other aspects of each icon bring out the biblical message, whether baptism, the death of Christ, his resurrection, or whatever. Maybe we can learn from this ancient art form which, at its best, is meant to use art to point to God, as opposed to using art to point to the art itself or to the artist!

We also visited a Cossack Museum on an island in the huge Dnieper River. It was well done, though tough-slogging trying to read labels on large murals, statues and weaponry - all written in Russian! There has been a lot of war and conflict over that territory over the years. This country, the former "breadbasket of the Soviet Union," is farther east than most of eastern Europe, actually closer to what we call "central Asia".

As with other parts of the world, the human mind there has had shackles put on it by governments, illiteracy in previous centuries, and finally the same force you and I are subject to in a fallen world: sin and Satan. But because of the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf, freedom can be proclaimed in his name to all who will hear. We prayed for a youth team that was returning to Kazakstan, after having been there on Christian outreach, and after experiencing the imprisonment of several team members. (I believe they were released within a week or so.) But they wanted to return and do a day camp for children, teaching them the gospel through song, puppets, and other means. For them, shackles are a possibility, but they know, with scripture, "the Word of God is not chained!" (2 Tim. 2:9) The Word of God is not in prison and never will be. That's why you and I must speak it and make it clear, as we ought. (Eph. 6:20)

Speaking of making the Word clear, and speaking boldly, watch for a blog in the future on the "doctrine of the 2 kingdoms", or "the limits of secular and spiritual authority". Many believers these days teeter on the ragged edge of confusing these things. As long as they do, their witness is muddled and compromised.