Epistle from Ukraine
Illustration
Stories
…just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you so that you are not lacking in any gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (vv. 6b-8)
This Facebook epistle came from Maia Mikhaluk of “The Message of Hope Church,” in Kyiv, Ukraine near the beginning of the war. She tells about their worship service led by her husband, Nick, who is one of the pastors.
Read Maia’s modern-day epistle like you would one of the Apostle Paul’s letters in the New Testament. It does not have the authority of scripture but it surely reflects the movement of the Holy Spirit in this difficult time.
Maia writes: “Our church in Kyiv met today for a Sunday worship service in person. Only those who live within walking distance could come, and during the service three times there were warnings about air raids, but nobody hurried to shelter. We felt the safest together, praying to God and praising him.
When we first discussed the idea of gathering church in person, my vote was against it, but I admit I was wrong. It was such an encouragement for all those who gathered! During the time of prayer, our praise and prayer requests were very different from the ones we had two weeks ago.
Since the start of 2022, my Russian-speaking husband who is one of the pastors of our church switched to preaching in Ukrainian. It's not easy, but language is also our weapon! When Putin comes to "protect" Russian speakers, we want to forget the Russian language and speak only Ukrainian!”
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StoryShare, January 15, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
This Facebook epistle came from Maia Mikhaluk of “The Message of Hope Church,” in Kyiv, Ukraine near the beginning of the war. She tells about their worship service led by her husband, Nick, who is one of the pastors.
Read Maia’s modern-day epistle like you would one of the Apostle Paul’s letters in the New Testament. It does not have the authority of scripture but it surely reflects the movement of the Holy Spirit in this difficult time.
Maia writes: “Our church in Kyiv met today for a Sunday worship service in person. Only those who live within walking distance could come, and during the service three times there were warnings about air raids, but nobody hurried to shelter. We felt the safest together, praying to God and praising him.
When we first discussed the idea of gathering church in person, my vote was against it, but I admit I was wrong. It was such an encouragement for all those who gathered! During the time of prayer, our praise and prayer requests were very different from the ones we had two weeks ago.
- We praised God for his protection, for water, electricity, heat that members of our church still have;
- We thanked God for protecting our Sasha and her unborn baby and we rejoiced at the news that Sasha's baby is going to have a cousin born in November. Nikita's brother and his wife just announced that they are expecting! We thank God for this gift of life! Please, God, watch over these new lives!
- We praised God for the courage he gives our defenders and for giving Ukraine strength all these days to stand against evil forces of Russian troops;
- We were praying specifically by name for friends and relatives who are missing;
- We were praying for friends, relatives, members of our church and all other men and women who are now part of the army and territorial defense units standing between us and the enemy;
- We thanked God for restaurants and stores that are making hot meals for our defenders;
- We prayed for God's protection for hospitals, especially central Children's Hospital in Kyiv where there are kids fighting for their lives with very serious diseases. Now there is even more threat to their lives - the hospital was shelled a few days ago;
- We prayed for the emotional state of people who are feeling overwhelmed, depressed, scared;
- For the safety of those who are on the roads trying to evacuate;
- For hearts of Ukrainians not to harden with hate. We are very angry with the enemy; we are frustrated with the response of Russian churches to the war. Many of our friends in Russia are either justifying the aggression or repeat KGB propaganda slogans about "one people/one language" and "it's not our doing, it's our governments" or even better "it's Americans who started this war";
- We prayed that God would strike the enemies who came to destroy our country and our lives.
Since the start of 2022, my Russian-speaking husband who is one of the pastors of our church switched to preaching in Ukrainian. It's not easy, but language is also our weapon! When Putin comes to "protect" Russian speakers, we want to forget the Russian language and speak only Ukrainian!”
*****************************************
StoryShare, January 15, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
