From Russia with love...

In I Kings 19:14, Elijah complained that he was only good guy left...but four verses later the Lord reminds Elijah that He had reserved over 7000 whose knees have never bowed down to Baal!

There is a tragic War going on in Ukraine that has claimed the lives of 100's of thousands!  It is senseless and appalling!  But no matter what the geo-political position we might take, we can never forget that God has reserved for Himself true followers of Jesus (Rev. 7:9) who have no higher allegiance than their whole life surrender to Him!

I think it is of critical importance to keep remembering our brothers and sisters in Christ, who are 'All-In' with Jesus in every Country of the World! Who are just as passionately in love with our Savior as we are and who are often facing greater challenges as the result of their testimony than we can imagine!

Below is a letter that I recently received from a dear friend in Russia.  It is filled with the fresh life and power of God's Spirit!  And, as you'll read, the joy and excitement of an unrestrained adventure with the God of the Universe!!

Dear Jerry, I'm a little sad that I haven't been able to write to you often lately. But the Lord is always with us and I believe that He has all the time. We have a really busy schedule right now, but I don't want to be busy to you! You are very dear to me!

I want to supplement my letter with what the Lord is doing these days in our small group. 

Our friends have been experiencing a renewal in their spiritual life for some time. There were difficult times for each of us. But the Lord is faithful and took care of each family, giving timely mutual assistance. Today we see many evidences of His manifested love. It's very inspiring! 

Jerry, do you remember, we wrote to you earlier that the Lord heard our prayers for a Pastor from Russia, with whom we could also communicate here and have guidance. We felt this need because we didn't want to go our new season guided by human preferences. But we wanted God to connect us with a person experienced in God from our Russian-speaking environment and mentality. With someone whom God Himself will appoint for us!

And last year, God miraculously introduced us to pastor Nikolai. To describe it briefly, this person reminds us very much of you - with love for God and Scripture, with the vision, wisdom and modesty. He is also faithful to God and loves the true gospel, working that the Church of God will be strengthened in love for Christ and people. The Lord also endowed him with a prophetic gift, with which he services many people during 28 years, comforting and edifying the church. We have been communicating with Nikolai for more than a year and during this time we have confirmed that the Lord is really in our midst in this friendship. 

As you remember, in August we wrote you a letter saying that the Lord leds our family in a personal way. And we moved out of our "parent's church". During this time, the Lord created a certain work and preparing Vova and me for our task. We continued to meet with the friends from our small group, periodically communicating on the topic of the church. As it was evident, our friends were not ready to take responsibility, because the Lord did not reveal it to them. But for Vova and me, dedicating ourselves to God's work became more and more obvious.

And a week ago, pastor Nikolai came to Krasnodar and to us for communication and prayer. We gathered as a group. At the end of the conversation, an important event happened. Pastor Nicholai prayed for Vova and me with ordination as people who are ready and have made the decision to be servants of Jesus Christ and be led by His Spirit! He anointed us with oil in the name of Jesus Christ.

For some time we worried that we were unworthy to bear this responsibility and honor, but the Lord repeatedly spoke to us about this both before and after anointed. Several times the Lord has confirmed to us that this is His will. The Lord said that the new church is His child, which He gave birth to and which we need to accept and love. And this is first of all His mission, His responsibility, and we are His students and tools for everyone with whom we will interact! The Lord comforted us by telling us not to be afraid of anything, because He Himself will teach us everything (Deuteronomy 31:8). And His help will be timely! 

Our friends were happy about this event and, according to them, have been waiting for this for a long time. It was a sign for us that the Lord had said the word "church" very clearly in the spirit of one of our sisters a week before this event. From this word, the sister felt the power of the Holy Spirit and realized that it word is about our home group and the "new" church. This sister recently went through a very difficult period when she did not even want to meet people, but now the Lord has told her this word, which pleased and confirmed her! This is a miracle and a testimony for all of us! 

Therefore, Jerry, we can say that the Lord is expanding His limits here and using little people who were afraid to think about something like this for this!

Today we can only rely on our Mighty Lord and the Holy Spirit! We humble ourselves and bow before Him and His will! 

Jerry, we now understand why the Lord "hid" us from events in the outside world for a while. We understand that we would not be able to focus on what God has created inside our hearts to prepare us for a new stage.

But we really empathize and pray for dear people in every country where there is a struggle and confrontation!! May all the plans of the enemy be defeated! And may the hearts and souls of people who need the Lord be saved!! We pray for the people in Israel, Ukraine and Russia, and also for peace among the people of all countries. So that we all have more time to spread God's Kingdom on Earth. Everything is in the hands of the Lord! All hope and hope is in Him (2 Chronicles 16:9a, Psalm 55:22)! 

Dear Pastor Jerry and Our beloved Friend, we accept your hugs and also send you and dear Sue greetings and hugs from all of us here! Be protected by the Lord!! 

With love in Christ, lyuba.

Dear Jerry!

There is something else we would like to say. This is our joint desire with Vova. Now, in a new stage, a lot of things are unknown for us. We believe and know that our Lord takes care of everything, and therefore we have faith in our hearts that everything is going well, as He planned.

 And today the Spirit testifies that everything is going on as usual and we only need to go in trust with Him. 

The Lord speaks from everywhere and we are very pleased that He strengthens and cleanses our relationships with each other and with our friends in the small group. We all notice how God's love is increasingly manifested towards each other. 

Today we met as a group and felt the pleasant and peaceful presence of God!.. It's such a joy to see each of our friends bloom like a flower in God's garden.. Such amazing metamorphoses!

Dear Jerry, we all miss you very much! The friends were talking about you today! And I also conveyed your greetings to them, they were very glad to hear and hope to meet you when the Lord sees fit! 

And also we would like to ask for your blessing for our group! This is very valuable and important for all of us!! 

We are grateful for your faithful prayers ! I believe that at this time you are also praying to the Lord for all of us, thank you very much!!!

I hope that you are doing well! In Jesus's love, lyuba