First Week Down

This has been a good week in the Lord and with the Class here in Ukraine.  I've been teaching a class on Biblical Discipleship, one of my favorite subjects in the world.  I was just discribing to the class last night how wonderful it is to be apart of God's work as he changes a life for all of eternity due to your investment through the Holy Spirit.  And how wonderful it is to be able to share that ministry with others in my congregation.  I am learning that when Jesus said "if a man would lose his life he would save it" not as a salvation passage but as a call to find the true meaning of life.  There is always a night that we end up discussing Church discipline in great detail as we talk about hold people accountable to the Scriptures, and that was last night. 

I was introduced to a wonderful cafe called Vienna Paistories.  It is an Italian style cafe that makes me feel right at home.  It blows a Starbucks away.  The coffees are supurb, not to mention I am writing he blog on the free wifi for customers.  It's my little piece of heaven here in Lugansk. 

It's Saturday and I actually slept in a little today (8:30).  We don't have class on Saturday which has given me a chance to hang my laundry out to dry, litterally.  I have a great opportunity to preach as two different Churches tomorrow so I would ask all to pray that God moves the hearts of the people in each service.  I also had an opportunity to call Vitaly my pastor friend from Rivna yesterday.  He plans on making the trip to Stolbunov and being apart of the conference there.  I was happy about that.

Well, there is a flower festival in the market place today.  So, I guess Tanya and I are going to walk through on our way to do some shopping.  I'm praying for the service tomorrow at home.  I know it will be good with Sam Gill in the pulpit.  Blessings to all.

Getting the Gospel Right

If you've been reading my blog, I had mentioned that I was reading a book entitled "Getting the Gospel Right, A Balanced View of Salvation Truth" by C. Gordon Olson.  I started diving into the book because of the renewed interest of the old arguments between Calvinism and Arminianism.  I have taking some time everyday to read some of this 300+ page book basiclly to better be able to clearify to others my personal understanding and stance on the scriptures when it comes to the doctrine of salvation.  I must say, this book has been a great help in defining my terms and knowing how to systematicly put the arguments together and sometimes take them apart.

The more I study both Calvinism and Arminianism the less I like both.  It is sad to me that people would think that you must be one or the other in the fact that both ideas are lend to the extremes of their respective views.  There is a chapter in the book that I have found to be a great help in my discipleship class and that is chapter 11, "Are we saved by discipleship."  I found this to be very helpful even in the midst of teaching this discipleship class.  There was a major clearification that was made.  There are many passages like Luke 14 where Christ is laying out ground rules for being his disciple. One must be careful not to take these as salvation passages because to do so is to have a works based salvation.  Therefore, salvation must be a separate event and conclusion drawn before the level of commitment discribed by the Lord in this passage and others like it.  I do believe and preach that salvation is the beginning of discipleship, but understanding that not all will reach this level of commitiment with the Lord.  This also helped to clearify the statements of Christ such as, "If a man would lose his life, he will save it."  Understanding that this is not a salvation passage brings the conclusion that a person doesn't know true life until it is given totally to the Lord.  "For He is our life!" 

I would encourage all that have questions to order a copy of the book from Amazon and give it a read.  A word of causion.  This is not a picture book.  This is a book of inductive study that can, at times, get pretty weighty.  If you have a hard time swimming in the deep end of truth.  This may not be the pool in which to dive.

Attention Class

I had spent quite a bit of time and effort this summer making sure I was ready and prepared for this upcoming discipleship class in Lugansk.  I completely reworked all my notes to enclude basicly all I have learned about discipleship over the past 15 years (I'm sure it will be a book some day).  Because of this preparedness I did have to run around like crazy on the first day of class making sure all was in order.  Tanya, my assistant and administrator for the class, and I were able to run some arrands and spend some time getting to know the city around us.  That basicly means looking for places to eat and finding the free WiFi in the area.

It is always exciting to teach in a new area because I know that new relationship will be built that will last for all of eternity.  As the first class session ended (which was basic introductory material) I was feeling a stong connection with the pastors in the class.  We have a class of about 12 to 15 and there are about 10 churches represented in the group.  They are all dealing with the same thing: how to make the Bible come alive in everyday life.  We have had two sessions now and many tears have been shed betwee us as we have discussed the ministry roads God has taken us down. 

Urie, my translator, is pastoring two churches in two different towns and doing some wonderful missions work in the same areas that Fellowship is involved with.  It is so cool to sit and discuss partnering in missions trips outside of Ukraine.  I would ask that you would pray for wisdom and direction as I try to bring Urie and Jacob together next month.  (If you don't know who Jacob is; I could tell you, but then I would...........)  Nevertheless, there is a movement of the Spirit that is happening in that part of the world that is much bigger than just our desire to go.  There are major connections that are happening between me and my new friend and co-laborer.

I am amazed at the fuctionality of the poverty in the area of Lugansk.  What I mean is: I know that no one has any money yet life seems to just go on and everyone lives, breaths, and makes due.  I am afraid if americans found themselves in this situation that they would just sit at home is protest.  I see these guys going to work and working as hard if not harder than anyone in the States but yet they get just a fraction of the compensation.  Its not that the boss is mean, that's just all they have to pay.  One might ask about the cost of living and so forth.  Lets just say that the only house your going to live in is the one you build.  Strangley enough, I don't feel that the people are mad about this way of life, it's just life.  I find myself wanting to be mad for them, but then I realize I'm the one with the chip on my shoulder and I need to change.  And with the way things are headed in America,  we might just find out before to long.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

It's one thing when you watch the movie.  It is something else entirely when you live it.  I left the house on the 9-2 and drove to Amarillo to catch my first leg of the international flight to Kiev.  When Pastor Don, a friend of mine from Washington D.C., came to visit; I was appologizing for our small airport and he said, "No, you don't understand.  This is like and executive Airport.  No lines. You just go right through."  He has a way of putting things into perspective for me.  So, I left from the executive airport there in Amarillo and it was easy.  It is nice that they book my bags all the way through to Kiev.

So, I get to Houston and forgot to call my mother back before I left (and it's her birthday, I won't hear the end of that). Hi Mom!  And I had a little bit of a layover in Houston.  We took off on time at 4:00 p.m.  Now if you are of the conservitive nature you might want to skip to the next paragraph.  We had dinner on the plane about 6:00 p.m. and I have not been feeling well on day.  So, I got a glass of white whine to help settle my stomach and help me sleep (It's scriptural people, look it up).  And sure enough about 7:00 I was out.  I slept for a solid 4 hours, which for me on a plane is a big deal.  If you know anything about international travel: you always loose your night hours.  So, it is important to get as much sleep as possible to help your body adjust to the new time zone.

We get to Frankfert right on time and I have an hour layover which is perfect.  I find my gate and head to the bathroom to wash my face.  I have been traveling now for 16 hours straight.  We get on the plane headed to Kiev and we are delayed due to some people and luggage problems, but the seat they have me in is directly over the cargo door for all the luggage, and so I pray, "Lord, it would really cool if I could see my luggage being loaded onto the plan.  And sure enough,  A new trailer pulls up and I watch both my suitcases get eaten by the planes belly.  Good stuff.  I didn't by anyone on any flight that spoke conversational English.  So, I haven't said more than two words to people all day long.  I keep reminding myself that Americans are loud and it causes me not to stand up and yell, "Does anybody speak English."  I figure the Lord is saving my voice or my testimony for another time.

I arive in Kiev about 20 minutes late but that is no big deal.  I was going to have to wait on Ron's assistant Tayna anyway.  She has been riding a bus all day to meet me at the airport so that she can lead me on the Lugansk.  Luckly the airport had free internet (which is new) and I was able to call Ron and let him know that I had arived and where I was waiting to meet up with Tayna.  It all worked out well I was only waiting for about 15 minutes we she showed up.  She says she is starving and we need some food before our bus departs at 5:30 that evening, which is a few hours away.  So we get aquanted around some pizza in the airport and she tells me that I am like all the other professors showing pictures of my wife and kids.  What can I say, I'm proud of them.

We board the bus, that is late and Tayna informs me that this is about a 15 hour bus ride and we will be there in the morning.  I have already been traveling 24 soild hours.  My american side started to kick in and say, "Isn't there a faster way. This has got to be poor planning."  But as I was running the sinario through my "fix it" brain I remembered the last plane ride I had from Kiev to the interior (the Indiana Jones story many of you have heard) and I realize this is just what it takes to get where I'm going.  So, off we got into the bumpy but steady ride to Lugansk.  We arrive after watching the sun come up again at 7:00 in the morning Sunday morning.  Our ride is not there and after an hour and me preaching to Tayna about the need for patience, we are finally picked up by a man named Victor.  He takes us to his home and shows us where we can get some rest.

At this point I am excited about two things: Food in my belly and my head on the pillow.  So, after a quick run to the grocery store I was able to take a shower while breakfast was being prepared.  And while I am drying off Tayna yell's through the door.  Are you ready to preach this morning?  I said, "Of course I'm ready to preach."  she replied, "You Are?"  to which I replied, "I'm a preacher!  That's what I do."  So the pillow will have to wait.  We got to Church that has been converted from a old house (very common in this part of the world) and had a great service as the pastor preached a wonderful message on sanctification and I followed it up with a message on the love relationship with the Lord.  We got back to Victor's about 1:30 and it wasn't long after until I was finally getting a much needed Sunday afternoon nap.  The Church here is excited for the class tomorrow and I know the Church at home is praying, so I know it will be a good class.

Living Water

I had the opportunity to preach at Living Water Ministries this morning, which is the food and clothing pantry here in Borger.  I always enjoy preaching there because, for whatever reason, I feel no pressure.  We dove off into the book of James this morning talking about the reality of our faith and that faith will always be shown by our actions.  And though many people say they have faith in God, they tell on themselves with their actions.  After I had finished the message I went to the back and grabbed a donut that I had eyed earlier before I started (donuts are a weakness of mine).  When I came back to the auditorium there was a lady waiting on me that I didn’t know.  She handed me two pieces of paper and said.  I wrote a poem about you while you were preaching.  I asked if she was giving the poem to me and she said, “Yes.”  So I glanced at it not thinking much about it until I got back to my office and really had a chance to read it with intent.  I would like to share it with you.

Bill Sizemore is on fire.  The Lord is blazing in him too.  He is made I your image, God. He is full of You.  We can feel the Spirit of God when the Word he preaches, and we can tell he practices everything he teaches.  He is super pastor. He is a super hero.  If we were to count his flaws we’d have to count to zero.  Every word that comes out of his mouth ministers to us all: convictions and correction and edification help us to answer God’s call.  Keep on doing God’s will telling us the truth from Genesis to Revelation to the book of Ruth.  Thank you God for Bill Sizemore we really appreciate him today.  God bless him and keep him and use him in every Christian way.  In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

She didn’t sign it so I don’t know her name, yet.  This was a great honor that someone would take the time to write such kind words.  Praise the Lord for his blessing through the lives of His redeemed.

Ready for Routine

I love the summer break that the girls get from school.  We had a great time this summer going White rafting with my family and just hanging out for the summer.  I have to admit, I look forward to the time that the girls have a curfew and a reason to go to bed so that I can get some sleep.  I am finding that the older I get the more I like my daily routine.  I am a morning person and I like my cup of coffee and my prayer and Bible time before the sun comes up. This seems to be the time that it is quit enough for me to hear the still small voice of the Lord coming through the pages of his Word.  I am take a trip through 1 & 2 Samuel right now.  I love to read of the integrity of David as he watches over God's announted.  I was noticing today how many times God would step in and do what needed to be done to guard the integrity of David, his servant, and realizing how many times, I am sure, God has done the same for me.

It seems that lately my days are filled with counseling.  We have such a busy Church that the people are in the office all day.  Some for counseling, some for ministry, but all for the work and edification of the Lord.  There are times when I am counseling that I feel it is a waist of time when I don't believe the person is going to make the changes neccessary, but I have not felt that in these counseling sessions.  I really believe God's people are heeding the advise and making the changes.  That is a beautiful thing to me.  I love seeing God's people freed from the bondage of this world and the people in it.

I do have a lot on my plate with Ministry Training, Marriage Retreat, and Ukraine all starring me in the face asking for material to be produced, but I know the Lord has something to say and he knows just how to say it.  I have to be careful not to add to the load by thinking I have to produce all this stuff.  I am very excited for this fall season because I believe we are going to experience some major growth in every way.  The wave that we have been riding is now made it to D2.  We should have a class of about 25 people if not more when it is all said and done.  This is a special class if you will because I have many of the people that have taken ownership of the ministry and the Church going through this class.  It should make for some deep discussion and discovery into God's Word.

Turning Fourty Two

It was so cool when I celebrated my 40th birthday.  The Church had prepared a big surprise birthday party, and Kim had got my whole family to come and be with me on that special day.  In all honesty it felt like the right of passage from "dude" to "Sir" and I kind of liked it.  Today I turned 42 and there is the same love in the air from all my family and friends, and it has been one spectacular day.  There was no surprise party, no right of passage, not really that much fan fair.  Just a nice day running around Amarillo with the one that I love to be with the most.  My wife.  There are some men that hit my age and have a day like I had today and say, "Is this it!  This is what I have to look forward too."  And they begin to try and right the wrongs that they feel have been done in their life or maybe set a new course for what they really want out of life. 

I praise the Lord that is not my life.  All I know is I enjoyed today.  I look forward to what life has in store for me on this journey, on this path.  In so many ways I feel life is just beginning.  One of the stops we made this morning was to the hospital to see a new born babe of one of our members, relizing that stage of my life is over but taking joy in this moment was them.  And just after lunch I was making funeral arrangements for another member that had just lost her grandfather.  I know that God does things on purpose.  There might have been a time that I would have said, "God, why today, can't I just enjoy my birthday;" but I never had that thought.  This is life.  We take the joys with the heartaches.  We take the ups with the downs.  You see I have experienced both of those events in my life.  I like the fact that I have lived enough to rejoice and weep in the same day; to congradulate and comfort in the same instant.  I like having friends that are just taking off in life and those that are seasoned in it.  This is a good place to be.  This is a good time to be alive.  This is a good time to be me.  So I say Happy Birthday 42.  I pray there are many more special days like this one.

Ok, so now that I've got the centimental stuff out of the way.  Let me tell you what happened.  I need to get my bike tuned up so Kim was going to follow me to the shop in Amarillo.  The bike is not running that well so my max speed is 65 mph.  Now the speed limit is 70, so I'm trying not to be a hazard to the rest of the world traveling on 136 hwy.  I told Kim I needed to get some gas but I decided I would just see if we could make it all the way to Amarillo.  We didn't!  Half was there I run out of gas.  That's not that big of a deal as the bikers with know because I have a reserve tank on the bike that should get me the rest of the way.  But, because the bike isn't running well it isn't getting good gas milage either so I get a mile from the nearest gas station in Amarillo and I run out of gas again.  This time, I'm out.  There's nothing in the tank.  So, Kim has to run up to the gas station, buy a gas can, buy the gas and bring it back to me sitting on the side of the road with the bike.  I wish I had stopped for gas like I said I was going too in the first place. Se La Vi!