First Update

here is a quick update on Gods work in my heart and mind on the way to Ukraine. Praying for you guys!

“Log One” 12:46, 6.11.2011

Currently I am 30 minutes away from
landing into the JFK airport located in the state of New York. Just to recall a
few sequence of events, it was on Friday the 10^th of June, 8pm
sharp, that Timothy, my younger brother, and I began our summer adventure
driving south on freeway 99 to Los Angeles Ca. It was Johnny T. who graciously
extended his loving and gracious hand to drive us down to the International
Airport in L.A. By the urgency of our hunger we decided to stop in Bakersfield
for dinner, like always we feasted at the Californian loved In-n-out Burger.

I think it is worth mentioning the
conversation I had with my older brother during the trip. By phone, Roman
shared the various things God has been doing in his life and the goals he hopes
to accomplish in the near future. Spontaneously it seemed to me, he said,
“Vitaliy, you know we need to make a trip somewhere far.” I honestly thought
who would propose a road trip to a state like Washington, and if he really was
thinking about a place far then New York. But let me tell you, he surprised me
because both are considered to be a drive down the street in comparison to the
destination he had in mind. As summary about the things God has been doing in
his heart his desire to visit the mystery destination reveals what God might
have my brother do in the future. Roman said, “We should go and learn from the
church in South Korea!” What…! Strangely enough, that was my initial response. He
explained, “South Korea is the country that God is using to send out the most sincere
missionaries to witness about the cross of Calvary. By the lens of the world,
they are jumping into the least esteemed position to reach a dark and dying world.
He might have not said it precisely as I have just mentioned but his underlying
message was that there is something significant about their passion for Christ
and his mission that we need to learn from!” I don’t know about you but a man
who has spent a total of about 3 to 4 years in both Jail and Juvenile Hall is
passionate of reevaluating his passion for the gospel. Thanks be to God! Thank
Him for all of his good deeds, especially in the life of my brother and family.
I say this because when God moves in anyone’s family, it is then that we see his
hand most clearly and intimately.

During
my flight on which I am only moments away from landing, I realized a few troubling
things about my heart. First, how little I thank God for the things he does in
my life. Now I don’t mean merely whisper a few words of prayer to thank him for
a meal and or the warm welcomes we receive from God’s family, but really thank
Him with ALL of our hearts. Even for the quiet deeds he performs in our hearts
and lives. Like making sure the leaves on our trees follow the cycle of
seasons; blossoming in in spring then following the colors of the year until
they delicately fall to the ground. Even for filling our hearts with the desires
to seek him and to draw near to him. I guess as one leaves home and their
roots, it’s one of those moments you don’t realize what you have until you have
it no more or momentarily are disconnected from them. On a closing note, God is
faithful to bless us, his children, so much! He lavishes us with his grace. Like
right now, before the plane had landed in N.Y., which it did, Tim laid his head
and fell asleep on my lap. How precious! I am truly thankful for God’s grace in
blessing me with a brother who would trust me and allow me to feel his breath
coming in and softly brushing down my tie. Thank God for the relationships that
he has granted as gifts to us!

Truth is Slaughtered in the Street

‎"Oh Truth, dear truth
At your side I will stay put.
Though they slaughter you in the street
I will not waver even if my death I meet
Christendom has armed herself;
Defend!
She will not budge until the very end"

God is Faithful!

God, may my passion for you be like the star.

May it be bright, fiery, and blazing like the sun,

So that when temptations come like asteroids with a crafty purpose,

I dont have to scream "INCOMING!" or "RUN".

They shall burn to nothing, disintegrate before they reach my surface.

Lord I know myself, how quickly I exchange this passion for a lie.

When I shun the passions blazing attributes,

I am vulnerable; off guard, prone to fall from on high

I become an open target, when the Lord's promises I am swift to forget

Don't fall for the Devil's very goal, don't waver in your restoring faith and trust.

My shame, what shame, how fast I ran from Thy glorious name.

I need your grace to embrace in light of this affliction I often face

Though the devil sits as navigator of this most deadly and venomous rock,

My God has not lost guard nor does He ever come to a point of shock.

Remember! I was bought at an unconceivable cost.

For he says, "I will never leave nor forsake you"

Hence don't be afraid: you're no longer lost

Though the Devil remind me that I am but sand

God will never leave nor forsake me to my end,

For His love holds me in the palm of His hand.

What joy, all ye twinkles in the sky, that God sent his son for us to die!

Should Pastors Value Biblical Languages

Being both a student majoring in Classics and an intern at Riverpark Bible Church, I have grown in the awareness of how valuable Biblical Languages are for the pastoral ministry. The pastors at Rivierpark vary in their expertise of Greek and Hebrew. They range from not having a slight clue how to approach the languages and others hold them to be foundational in forming every sermon. Regardless of their experience with languages, the pastors have proved to be the salt of the earth; truth preserving men. I have been shaped to appreciate their love for the truth from scripture; their frivolous efforts to make much of God and disclose to men their current state before God. The pastors have a strong passion to defend the Christian faith from divisive heresies that leak into a congregation by men who, as Christ puts it, “are dressed in sheep’s clothing.” Such men make every effort to steal the sheep from the shepherds flock with lies and poisonous pretend-truths. Being under our pastoral teaching and spending countless hours in their offices throughout the past fall 2010 semester, I have learned that our pastors spend an inexpressible amount of hours in the study of God’s word, theology, and various evangelical books. They teach these truths at church meetings, counseling session, while disciple-ing faithful men, with their own families, and, sarcastically speaking, even while they dream. In light of their Berean-like efforts, a number of them still lack what I have come to believe a crucial skill for the pastoral ministry, namely a thorough understanding of the Greek and Hebrew. The goal is not to say that every pastor should become an expert in Biblical languages, I am aware that some value its significance but have not cut out the time for its exhaustive study, rather the wish is to raise its level of value and necessity in serving Christ’s Bride, the Church.

Some say, because ministers lack such expertise, they are sure to stunt the success of their ministry if not collapse in failure. Ponder Heinrich Bitzer’s thesis:

“The more a theologian detaches himself from the basic Hebrew and Greek text of Holy Scripture, the more he detaches himself from the source of real theology! And real theology is the foundation of a fruitful and blessed ministry!”

If the success of the ministry is dependent on theology and theology is dependent on the languages then it’s a matter of time for churches that do not have such roots in the languages to encounter turbulence amidst their ministry. Dr. John MacArthur has titled this very turbulence as the “Truth War,” a matter of fact, from the Fall of Adam until now the Truth War has been endlessly raging. So as a pastor, are you reclining in the middle of a battle-field or are you equipping yourself with the very tools necessary to make much of God. Regardless of your activity, God will, as the Prophet Malachi says, “from the rising of the sun to its setting make his name great among the nations.” God is serious about his Glory; now the question which must be answered is, “Are you?”

Study Biblical Languages

The study of Greek or any language equips a Pastor with linguistic skills and sharpens his understanding to know how the English language works. Although many students in U.S. Schools go through an intensive study of English grammar in the 7^th and 8^th grade, they soon forget because usually we learn language by practicing it, not dicing it up into their detailed functions. So the detailed functions like syntax, sentence structure, grammatical rules, or more simply how and why words relate to one another in a sentence are crucially important for a pastor to communicate truth in its most clear sense. If there would be any area a man is ignorant in the field of language, it is grammar. Rarely do you see people prefer reading grammar books as they would romance novels or the 2^nd century’s best seller Harry Potter Series. In order to convey and even learn the argument of a particular passage, one needs to identify the various parts and functions of a sentence. How verbs relate to other parts of speech. Note that there are eight parts of speech in the English language: nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, conjunctions, interjections, and prepositions. How is a pastor expected to be faithful to his exegesis when he can’t identify the definition of all eight parts of speech in his own tongue? J. Gresham Machen, a notable Biblical Language scholar once commented,

“…it might possibly be contended that an acquaintance with Greek and Latin is really necessary to acquaintance with the mother tongue, which is obviously so important for getting on in the world.”

Therefore, Biblical languages are valuable because they widen our capacity to be articulate in our very own tongue. The Church, the body of Christ, the bride deserves it. We shall commit to serving her in every way, even in the exhaustive hours of learning the rules of grammar and language. In so doing may we say “not to us, not to us, but to Your name be the glory” so that some may be saved and sanctified!

Not to us but to Him be the glory!

How I wish that at every second of my life I would yell at the top of my longs, "Bless the Lord oh my soul, and all that is within me bless Him (Psalm 103)". How I wish that my heart would be focused on and would always meditate upon his great works, his covenant keeping loving kindness, unfortunately that is not always the case. Even though he deserves the praise of my heart and soul and even more, I a fallen creature am unfit to give him such give him such glory. Paul in Athens states, “God is not serve by human hands.” I could go to the extent of saying that there has never been a moment in either my regenerate or unregenerate life where I praised, worshiped, loved and adored God as much as he deserves. You might be reading this and ask well is this guy really saved? By the grace of God I am, because Jesus at every moment of his eternal and earthly life praised, worshiped, adored, and loved God to that extent which He deserves. My comfort and righteousness is in the saving Jesus.

Right now I am studying for my Koine Greek exam which will cover all 16 chapters of Romans, because of a distraction I am tempted to enjoy, admire, and adore something other than God. I must remember Gal. 2:20 in these times, "I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me, the life I now life in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." May the brightness of Jesus shine ever brighter in my weakness! Glory to Him and may we passionately boast in him!

1 I will sing of steadfast love and justice;

to you, O LORD, I will make music.

2 I will ponder the way that is blameless.

Oh when will you come to me?

I will walk with integrity of heart

within my house;

3 I will not set before my eyes

anything that is worthless.

...

~ Psalm 101

I am the truth...

I have recently learned the importance to voice the wonders God is performing in my life. Blogging is a good way to do it.

Recently, the Lord has been teaching me to love his word, His truth. The truth is crucial to our christian lives. While Jesus was praying for the saints he prayed God to sanctify us in the truth, he says "sanctify them in your truth, thy word is truth (John 17)." If we want to grow ever nearer to God we must grow nearer to Christ, Christ is our intercessor and our high preist. Lastly Christ is the truth, the way, and the life if I do not defend the truth i am ashamed of Christ because he is truth. Thus, voice the truth of God in this post modern world that believes that truth is what is truth to you. No, truth is Gods truth and it is true to all!

Be blessed,

VKo