And what they tell
About heaven
About hell
About the life
We know so well
That we had to throw away
Salut. I haven't written in a long time, mainly because
we do a lot of the same things everyday. So it's not that I am doing
nothing, it's just that I haven't been doing anything extremely
noteworthy. Our days consist of calling through the area
book, which is fun because we have about 5, dating back to 2005. We
call a different branch in Moldova everyday, and then we call our
investigators and recent converts to make sure they are doing well, and give them a little spiritual nourishment. Nice thing
is that I have been able to study for about 3 hours a day more then
before. I am learning a lot, and I feel very happy. In fact I am the
happiest I have been in a long time, despite the circumstances. I have
just realized that the circumstances we are in do
not make us happy or sad, but it is our attitude and faith that will
make us happy. It is all relative right?
So that leads me into my spiritual thought. Sometimes we
think that the way the Jesus will save us is from our current physical
surroundings. I have thought or heard many things like this in my
life: "once I am out of the house and free
I will be happy" " once I get a raise/job and have more money, I will
be happy" "when I get married, i will be happy" "once I get a new house
or car, i will be happy" "untill I get over this sickness, i will be
happy" "once the government figures out their
crap, I will be happy". The list goes on for any given type of excuse
or situation that will make you happy or not. In Luke 5:18-26 is the
story of Jesus healing a man stricken with the palsy. However, the even
greater part of this story is that Jesus forgave
this man's sins. The reason that Jesus healed the man, was not just to
help the man but "that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon
earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto
thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go
into thine house." Jesus time and time again in the old testament until
now has shown us physical signs of His power and authority. But these are just a signs to show His power. When Moses put a snake on a cross,
that wasn't the reason the children of Israel
were saved, but by the power of God. In any given case, the physical
aspect is good, but it is only to show His power of deliverance, as a
presentation and lesson to us. Now let me go back here. What does this
have to do with me being happy with my circumstances?
If we believe that we will be happy only once our physical surroundings
are "good", then we have missed the point. The Jews in Jesus time
believed that the messiah would free then from bondage from the Romans.
But they completely misunderstood what kind of
bondage the messiah would really deliver them from. The people that
have seen Jesus work these miracles were never really converted, but
convinced. Jesus Himself came down and worked miracles and was still
crucified. If we are waiting for Him to get us rich,
of give us what WE want physically, we will NEVER be happy. Never. His
message to all of us is to "be of good cheer" to be happy, to love and
to live life happily. We have no need to wait until another phase of
our life to be happy. We are free from bondage,
If we are but willing to accept Jesus's Atonement into our lives. Don't
be waiting to be freed from the Romans, but know you are free from what
really matters as soon as you choose it. I am so grateful for the Master
Teacher, and for His goodness, and for His
mercy. Not only does He take away what we deserve, but He gives us what
we don't deserve, to be His joint heirs in the kingdom of God. Our lives
are gifts to us, and we must live happily every moment we can. We must
not need fear or be downtrodden, because
He is with us, ready to help us, the minute we let Him.
Hopefully you understood a little of that, and my crazy mind.
Vă iubesc
Vîrstnicul Станислав
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| They were able to have all three scheduled baptisms the week after shutdowns went into effect |
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| The four missionaries left in Moldova (minus a senior couple). Ben's comp is behind him. The front elder is Ukrainian. The back elder is from Finland although his mother is from Korea and he was born in Hawaii. His parent's common language was English, so he speaks English, Finnish, Korean and now Russian |
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