Helsinki, Scandinavia, to the Uttermost...

It is so interesting to me how this world is set up. People spend their entire lives trying to avoid heartbreak, avoid despair, avoid trouble, meanwhile they become so preoccupied with avoiding it they live in the fear of it. Even as Christians, we tend to think of the Grace of God as a big bubble that keeps us safe from the worries and pressures of this life. However when we look at the scriptures we are amazed to find that all of the great things that happened and all the great characters that were revealed, were forged in the midst of serious trouble, persecution, and ungodliness. We try to avoid getting our feet dirty but the result is we end up never seeing God do anything amazing. We never see people freed from the power of demons, never see a wicked sinner turn to the Living God, and never see a sick man healed because we avoid these situations in the name of "guarding our heart" or not having an appearance of evil.  I think people throw around those phrases too flippantly, just using them so that they can justify their spiritual laziness and their fear of getting involved in the lives of sinners. Jesus didn't do this. Philip didn't do this. Moses didn't do this. They lived for God and they got involved in the lives of troubled people. Let's allow God to put people in our lives that are troubled with demons, sickness, unbelief, and maybe He will also give us the dynamic Grace and wisdom to be Christ to these people. God can do amazing things through us in the power of the Holy Spirit if we would only be available. How can the Grace of God teach us to deny ungodliness if we shelter ourselves from ungodliness altogether. How can the light of our convictions shine when we hide it from the world in our little assemblies and parties. Let's stay on the move, stay close to the heartbeat of God, and stay tightly knit to the Body as we go on to win more by His Grace.

Here are some pictures from Turkey and Cyprus. I spent the last few weeks traveling to Berlin, Istanbul, and Cyprus and now I am in the USA for the month of December. When I return to Finland I will head to St. Petersburg with Pastor Schaller and then following that we will look towards our second semester of BIBLE SCHOOL in Helsinki. Our youth ministry in Finland is growing and we hope to see new young people in our Bible school there in this next semester. Keep us in prayer and the ministry in Helsinki. We have a vision to continue to reach Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, and farther out in places like Sicily, Cyprus, Egypt, China, and the uttermost parts of this crazy planet.