Teaching Resources International

The Crisis in Ukraine (February 2014 Update)

February 1, 2014 by tri.org@gmail.com

The Crisis in Ukraine (February 2014 Update)

The Crisis in Ukraine began at the end of November 2013. Then the president suddenly changed his mind and dropped our agreement to enter the European Union and began to pursue money from Russia (Russia had been pressuring Ukraine by long delays from Ukrainian exports at the borders). Thousands of people came to protest this decision and the government responded with harsh violence against unarmed protesters. This brought more people into the streets – nearly 1 million for one protest. People stayed in the main square protesting around the clock for the entire month of December in below freezing temperatures! Continue Reading »

Posted in Jim Ehrhard, Uncategorized | Tagged Ehrhard, Jim, Katya, Ministry Update, Ukraine |

Love for Christ and Obedience, A. W. Pink

January 25, 2014 by tri.org@gmail.com

Love for Christ and Obedience

A. W. Pink

“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John 14:21).

In this instance, we shall depart from our customary method of expounding the different clauses of a verse in the order in which they occur; instead, we shall treat this verse more or less topically. That in it which is of such vital importance is the final clause, where the Savior promised to manifest Himself to the obedient believer. Now there is nothing the real Christian desires so much as a personal manifestation of the Lord Jesus. In comparison with this, all other blessings are quite secondary.

In order to simplify, let us ask and attempt to answer three questions: How does the Savior now “manifest” Himself? What are the effects of such manifestation? What are the conditions which I have to meet? Continue Reading »

Posted in A. W. Pink | Tagged Faith, love, Ministry Update, Pink |

The Fight of Faith, A. W. Pink

January 3, 2014 by tri.org@gmail.com

The Fight of Faith

A. W. Pink

There are some who teach that those Christians who engage in spiritual fighting are living below their privileges. They insist that God is willing to do all our fighting for us. Their pet slogan is, “Let go, and let God.” They say that the Christian should turn the battle over to Christ. There is a half truth in this, yet only a half truth, and carried to extremes it becomes error. The half truth is that the child of God has no inherent strength of his own: says Christ to His disciples, “Without me, ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Yet this does not mean that we are to be merely passive, or that the ideal state in this life is simply to be galvanized automations. There is also a positive, an active, aggressive side to the Christian life, which calls for the putting forth of our utmost endeavors, the use of every faculty, a personal and intelligent co-operation with Christ. Continue Reading »

Posted in A. W. Pink | Tagged Faith, fight, Pink, Puritans, spiritual warfare |

Christmas in Ukraine (January 2014 Update)

December 29, 2013 by tri.org@gmail.com

This is my first Christmas to be spent in Ukraine and certainly many things are very different here. First of all, the Christmas season really does not begin until January 1^st so very few have decorations or trees up yet. We do! Katya has done an excellent job of decorating our home like an American Christmas! It’s beautiful! Second, Christmas here is much simpler than in the US. Usually, everyone gets just one small gift for Christmas. Katya and I had purchased a few gifts and put them under our little tree. One Ukrainian friend was visiting and was amazed at ALL the presents under the tree! Katya said she could not bring herself to tell about all the presents we have in America under our tree! Needless to say, Christmas in Ukraine is much simpler (as maybe it should be). Finally, Christmas is not really until January 6/7 (St. Nicholas Day) because we live in an Orthodox country. But many believers still celebrate Christmas on December 25^th like we do. But Christmas Day is a work day here so any celebrations are only in the evening after work. Continue Reading »

Posted in Uncategorized |

Pray for Ukraine (December Update)

December 2, 2013 by tri.org@gmail.com

Pray for Ukraine! (December 2013 Update)

Ukraine is in its biggest crisis since 2004. The President has been systematically taking away freedoms and basic civil rights for the last 3 years, but this time, the people of Ukraine are revolting against his actions. The current crisis began when the president made a surprise reversal of policy regarding joining the EU. One condition the EU required was the release of Julia Tymoshenko from prison. She ran against President Yanokovich in the last election and he had her punished for treason because she signed documents when she was Prime Minister (it was her job to do so). But he has refused to release her. Russia and Putin have been putting pressure on Ukraine to prevent Ukraine from joining. Yanokovich returned from a visit with Putin and announced that Russia would help us more than the EU and that Russia would not tell us what to do with our political prisoners. His decision to not sign the EU agreement has sparked peaceful protests all over Ukraine. Over 100,000 people gather daily in Independence Square to sing songs and protest the current government (some estimate that over 350,000 came to one rally). Continue Reading »