Dear Friends & Prayer Partners,
Rick arrived safely in Ukraine, and I was happy to get this message from Sergey Bezvershenko on March 30th: “Do not worry – I met Rick in time, he is OK, luggage is OK. Rick is already ‘on duty’ in Messianic Church tonight.”
From Rick 4/2/12
“My meeting, messages and classes have been going very well, and my energy has been very good most of the time. I did have to fight sleepiness sometimes, but have had very good responses.
“For example, on Saturday evening I shared ‘Many Infallible Proofs’ about the resurrection, and after the service a middle-aged woman thanked me profusely saying that the message was intended by God for her daughter (college age) who had been struggling with doubt.
“Then she introduced me to her daughter, Anastasia, who was also very thankful! I told them that their response was an answer to prayer. It is what makes it all worthwhile for me to make these trips. I also gave her a copy of ‘Ready to Give an Answer’ in Russian, and she asked me to sign it for her, thanked me again and promised to read it. Pray for Anastasia to become a bold witness for Jesus!
“Yesterday I shared both of our testimonies for the University church, then went to Kind Road Christian with John Murphy, where I shared my testimony in their café outreach evangelistic service. We had good responses and discussions after each of them.”
As I am writing this, Rick should be on his way to Kiev by overnight train for the Creation Conference. A little while ago I sent a message to Bruce to see if he could ask Rick a question for me when he sees him at the conference. Besides replying to that, Bruce sent me a short, but very interesting, report of his time in Kiev so far. I thought it would be good to share it with you, so you can see the kind of impact that Bruce, Rick and others have when they make these trips to Ukraine.
Bruce wrote:
“Today, I had about 40 in attendance for a 4-hour creation seminar. The head of Evangel Bible Seminary in Kiev extended the seminar to 6 hours to give time for additional teaching and more time for Q&A. All of the students in attendance received one of my books which had been translated into Russian. Over lunch the head of the Bible college, Dr. Lastinger, told me he had completely changed his mind and no longer believed that the Bible allows for a millions-of-years-old creation. He said my presentation has convinced him that the Bible clearly teaches a recent creation, real worldwide flood, and death exists purely because of mankind’s sin. I believe the impact of my travel here will be seen far into the future as I provided these young pastors (and the seminary president) with a solid foundation for believing the Bible from the very beginning in a clear, straightforward way. Praise be to GOD!!!!
“I have been scheduled for 11 talks during my 6 days here – not a record – but close. I’ll be ready for a long sleep on the flight home. But first…three more presentations to go. Thank you for your prayers!
– Bruce”
Making the Most of Every Opportunity!
Those of you who know Rick, know how he “makes the most of every opportunity”, whether he is here in the United States or in some other country. Recently he met a young man named Justin, and I think you might enjoy reading part of a letter Rick received from him shortly before he left for Ukraine this time.
“Thank you very much for taking the time to pray for and remember me. When I met you, I knew right away that you have a shepherd’s heart. It is also with a sincere acknowledgement to God’s using you that I want to express my gratitude for encouraging me….Though you hardly know me, you were able to pinpoint exact areas of my life that need improvement. Praise God!
“ Your sensitivity for and obedience to God’s leading should be of no surprise to me when I consider what others said about you in the ‘Reviews’ section of ‘Ready to Give an Answer’. Apparently, people are not impressed solely with your book’s content but also with the caliber of your Christian character…..
I have yet to finish your book. However, what I had read has been a blessing to me. Your ‘Fifteen Core Convictions’ were so ripe with humility and charity that I was moved by what an awesome opportunity it is to have the honor of sharing the message of Jesus Christ with the lost! I also saw your focus on the balance between truth and unity to be very interesting and very much needed. Lastly, I found your ideas on creation evangelism to be fundamental – yet missing in my own estimation of how evangelization should be. You are right (and I hope I am paraphrasing correctly) when you say that to validate Christ we must authenticate the Bible’s explanation of reality. I say again – and to the Lord’s glory – that your humbleness and sincerity clearly come through in your writing…..
“God truly blessed me with being able to meet you and I look forward to being able to fellowship with you again. May God bless you and your family.
“With thankfulness in Christ,
Justin”
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Thankful to our Almighty God for His care and to each you for your prayers! Rejoice in the Resurrection of our Savior and Lord!
~ Della
Before Rick left he wrote the rest of this April letter for me to share with you.
Truth & Consequences
I’m borrowing the title of Georges Carillet’s book to use for the heading of this section because I’m continuing the theme I started in February about sharing with you “some thoughts from other writers about the degeneration of America,” coupled with (and caused by) the rejection of any absolute truth. If a professor dogmatically asserts, “All truth is relative!” you can politely, but clearly ask him two pointed questions:
1. Are you absolutely sure? (Why? Because he just made an absolute statement.)
2. If your statement is only relatively true, why are you so absolutely adamant about it? (Consistency is a rare virtue indeed!)
“Truth is the New ‘Hate Speech’”
by Ray Hawk
“Jesus said, ‘Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’ (John 8:32). There are some who do not want the truth. Not only that, but some don’t want you to know the truth. Paul asked the Galatians, ‘Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?’ (Galatians 4:16).
“Sometimes truth cuts to the heart (Acts 2:37). That’s good for those who accept and act upon it. However, some only want to stop the truth by eliminating the messenger. (Acts 7:54).
“In the sixties, one man began a campaign to make homosexuality acceptable. To do this, he and his followers knew that all objections to this practice must be silenced. They wanted the public to believe that anyone against their lifestyle had a phobia, causing them to be mean spirited and wrong. Yes, wrong! Many looked at this man’s attempts as irrelevant and nothing to be concerned about. After all, the United States was a ‘Christian nation.’
“Since the sixties, there has been a successful movement to secularize our society by elevating man and demoting God. In their view, if their lifestyle was to be acceptable, it could not be looked upon as sin, therefore truth must be suppressed. So truth was reinvented and given another meaning. The popularized slogan became, ‘Whatever is truth for you, is truth. Your truth may not be mine, nor mine yours, but let us live and let live.’ This meant that pro-choice is truth for some while pro-life is truth for others. In this view, one lifestyle is just as good as another. So, don’t criticize my choices and I will not criticize yours. Sadly, many have allowed themselves to be acclimated to this lie.
“However, the slogan ‘live and let live,’ was only a small deceptive step taken by the humanists to eradicate truth. As the anti-truth element grew in influence and political clout, they had to make truth look like a terrible sickness that infected the narrow minded. In our naiveness we shrugged our shoulders and dismissed this insinuation as a failure that would never get off the ground. We closed our eyes and turned our backs when we should have stood our ground and held up the truth. Like the Jews in Hitler’s Germany, we thought it would ‘go away.’
“Those who stand against truth are not satisfied with ‘live and let live.’ Like a monstrous herod, a beheading of truth must be carried out. They do not want their lifestyle questioned or condemned. Like Hitler, society must be cleansed of those who will not accept their imitation of truth. This new enlightenment claims that God made homosexuals the way they are and their love is equal to that of a husband and wife. They even seek a change in the laws to have their unions recognized as marriage. This new thinking claims that God gives a woman a choice to rid her body of a living tumor which we call a baby. This pseudo-truth theorizes that sex without marriage is an acceptable preference.
“Like Pilate, the world asks, ‘What is truth?’ in order to discredit it. The results? They want laws that will silence truth. Because of this movement, we are seeing truth addressed as ‘hate speech.’
“We have a choice.
1. We may bury our heads in the proverbial sand hoping it will go away.
2. We can accept it by suppressing our beliefs.
3. We can lean on our God and his Anointed One and share the gospel with those who will listen.
“Regardless of the direction the world takes, we must put our trust in the Lord.
Ray” rayhawk@charter.net
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What Do You Want America to Look Like?
By Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy of Truth in Action Ministries
“Dear Friend,
“What do you want America to look like…One year from today…five years from today…ten years from today?
“Do you want a nation where:
• Angry protesters camp out on Wall Street and in cities across the nation demanding government benefits?
• Unemployment remains stuck at 9 percent as the nation’s economy stagnates under the stifling burdens of government debt, taxes, and regulation?
• God, prayer, and the Bible are banished from public life?
• America’s highest elected official gives his blessing to what the Bible calls sin by proclaiming June as ‘Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month’?
• One in four unborn children are killed before they can draw their first breath or see the light of day?
• Federal debt soars beyond our ability to repay – or even to comprehend?
• Power-hungry politicians entice voters with promises of ‘benefits’ that will bankrupt the nation?
“I don’t either – but this is where we are. And unless we act quickly, we can expect more of the same…and worse.
“America is changing – and not for the better. Many feel uncertain about our nation’s future – whether we will endure ‘as a city upon a hill.’
“Nearly four hundred years ago, John Winthrop, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, addressed his fellow Puritans and issued this challenge:
‘For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.’
“Four centuries later, our beloved America is hurtling toward disaster. The plain truth is, the nation we know and love cannot survive, will not survive…unless you and I – and millions of other believers – do what is necessary to turn our nation back from the brink of destruction…..”
An Invitation to Join Others in Prayer
Tom Mullenix, Director of White Fields Overseas Evangelism, sent out the following invitation for all of us to join in the following important prayer event.
Pentecost Prayer Event for 2012
Pentecost Sunday this year – May 27, 2012
Event will begin Thursday, May 17 and go through Sunday, May 27.
The apostles & Christ’s faithful were “constantly in prayer” during the ten days between Jesus’ ascension into heaven and the Holy Spirit’s move to open doors for evangelism on the Day of Pentecost.
We will call people to pray for another great harvest of souls throughout the world; a harvest beyond what we can ask or imagine.
Participants:
• WF Board
• WF supporters
• WF native evangelists and their churches.
• All who are influenced by the above.
120 participated in the first prayer meeting. We can involve at least 1,200. Better yet, 12,000 praying constantly for the Lord’s hand to be with us for revival, evangelistic fervor and an avalanche of souls saved and sanctified.
The over-arching prayer request: Great Harvest of Souls.
Daily (coordinated on the WF website: www.white-fields.org . The order is not yet established):
1. Open doors for the message. 2 Thessalonians 3:1, 2
2. New partners for WF to help advance the kingdom of God. Luke 10:2, 3
3. Our needs supplied by our all sufficient God. Matthew 6:33; Philippians 4:19; Psalm 24:1
4. Christians (and churches) established and strong. Colossians 1:23; Colossians 4:12
5. Full time support provided for Tom Mullenix. Romans 15:30
6. Boldness and power in presenting the gospel. 1 Thessalonians 1 ; Colossians 4:3, 4
7. Unity among believers so that the world will know the Father sent Jesus. John 17:20-23
8. More strong leadership developed for the churches and for evangelism. 2 Timothy 2:2
9. A great move of God that will result in men being converted. (“Men are God’s method. The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.”-E.M. Bounds)
10. God will raise up many partners for WF among young American Christians.