Thankful – When “Our Hearts Lie Panting on the Floor” … (November 2023 Update)
One of my favorite songs is from the soundtrack from “Fiddler on the Roof” (which is actually based on stories Called “Tevye the Milkman” by a Jewish Ukrainian author, Sholem Aleichem). I love all the songs but especially “To Life” (L’Chaim). One verse sums up the biblical attitude toward thankfulness: “God would like us to be joyful even though our hearts lie panting on the floor; How much more can we be joyful, when there’s really something to be joyful for.”
As believers, we have so much to be thankful for – even when things are not going well. In his book, The Godly Man’s Picture Drawn with a Scripture Pencil, Thomas Watson says, “Praise and thanksgiving is the work of heaven and he [the godly man] begins that work here which he will always be doing in heaven. The Jews have a saying – the world subsists by three things: the law, the worship of God and thankfulness. As if where thankfulness was missing, one of the pillars of the world had been taken away and it was ready to fall.” The psalmist says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so” (Psalm 107:2) and “it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord” (Psalm 92:1). As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday in America, it is good for us to think biblically about our thankfulness. Here are some thoughts from Thomas Watson about godliness and thankfulness.
On October 31, 1517, a German monk posted his 95 Theses which “officially” started the Protestant Reformation. But actually, that Reformation started many years before. One could look to the ministry of John Wycliff in the 14th Century when he translated the Bible into English. At the time, only Latin versions of the Bible were legal in the Holy Roman Empire. But Wycliff defied the church and published his translation so that everyone in England could read and understand the Bible for themselves. Wycliffe was eventually condemned as a heretic in 1415 for, among other things, his Bible translation. Today, he is called the “Morningstar of the Reformation.” Putting the Bible into the language of the people was a major factor for the Reformation that would come under Luther.
Another impact on the Reformation would be Erasmus of Rotterdam. Though he never became a Reformer himself, his publication of the Greek New Testament in 1516 opened the door for many future Reformers to examine the text of the Bible for themselves. Wanting to revitalize the Church, Erasmus believed all Christians should have their lives transformed through the true “philosophy of Christ.” He recognized that this could only happen if people had access to the Bible in the original languages.
Another early Reformer would be WilliamTyndale. He published his English translation of the Bible in 1526, 4 years after Luther’s German translation (1522). During his time, it was illegal to translate the Bible into the language of the people. But Tyndale published his translation knowing it could result in his condemnation and death. When he was ordered by the Pope to not publish his translation, he replied, “I defy the Pope and all his laws, if God spare my life, I will make a boy that driveth the plough know more of the Scripture than thou dost.” In 1536, he was captured in Belgium, tortured, strangled to death and then burned at the stake for publishing the Bible in English. But his work affected many in England who were now able to read the Bible in their own language. In fact, when the King James version of the Bible was finally officially translated in 1611, their New Testament contained 83% Tyndale’s words and, in the Old Testament, 76% of the translation was from Tyndale’s translation.
But the Reformer most affected by the Bible would have to be Martin Luther. Certainly, his own “reformation” and conversion would have to be traced to the Bible. When his superiors in the monastery in Erfurt were concerned about Luther’s obsession with his own sin, they made him a professor at the University of Wittenberg hoping that teaching the Bible would “distract” him from his obsession with his own sin. As he taught through Psalms and Galatians and finally Romans, he came to understand that he could never pay for his own sins. He needed a savior. The Word of God convinced him that only by faith in Jesus could he ever be saved. While reading Romans 1, Luther came upon verses 16-17: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.” Studying this passage, he experienced what has been called his “Tower Experience” or his “Damascus Road.” He finally understood God’s plan of salvation by faith alone:
Then finally God had mercy on me, and I began to understand that the righteousness of God is a gift of God by which a righteous man lives, namely faith, and that sentence: The righteousness of God is revealed in the Gospel, is passive, indicating that the merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written: ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ Now I felt as though I had been reborn altogether and had entered Paradise. In the same moment the face of the whole of Scripture became apparent to me. My mind ran through the Scriptures, as far as I was able to recollect them, seeking analogies in other phrases, such as the work of God, by which He makes us strong, the wisdom of God, by which He makes us wise, the strength of God, the salvation of God, the glory of God.
For Luther, like Wycliff, Erasmus, and Tyndale (to say nothing of Calvin, Zwingli and countless others), it was the Word of God that opened his eyes and brought him salvation. It was the Word of God, not Luther, that brought about the Reformation. Luther was merely the major spokesman for the Reformation. In a sermon in 1522, Luther explained to his congregation about the power of God’s Word:
Take myself as an example. I opposed indulgences and all the papists, but never with force. I simply taught, preached, and wrote God’s Word; otherwise, I did nothing. And while I slept or drank Wittenberg beer with my friends Philipp and Amsdorf, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it. I did nothing; the Word did everything.
What brings about true reformation – in our lives as well as in the church? Only the Word of God. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:16). There are certainly many factors in the Reformation but without the Word of God, there would have been no Reformation. Remember that as we approach October 31st this year. And remember that nothing can change and transform our lives like the Word of God.
Teaching Ministry …
Last week, I taught an Evangelism class for two students at Kyiv Theological Seminary. Because of the war, only two students were able to be in the class. Usually, we have 15-20 students. But because of the war, only two were able to join the class. I really enjoyed being able to talk more personally with both of the students during the class. That’s something that I cannot really do with most online classes.
In addition, I had the opportunity to preach at Faith Baptist Church in Huntsville. This church has been a special blessing to us since we moved to Hiding Place Hollow. Since we moved back to Fayetteville in September, we have not had many opportunities to come back to church in Huntsville. But the pastor asked me to preach since he was at a pastor’s conference.
This coming week, I will be flying to Florida to teach at a weekend men’s retreat. I will be teaching on Making Disciples. We had planned to go as a family but, with so much to do with the house, we decided that I would fly and just be gone for a couple days instead of two weeks by driving. Please pray for me as I try to encourage these men in the area of discipleship. Also, while I am in Florida, I will be meeting with a mission agency about possibly helping them with training and pastoral care for their missionaries. We have had some conversations by phone, and it sounds like we might be able to help. Pray that we can find how God wants to use us in ministry in the coming years.
In November, I will be teaching two online classes, one in Lviv and one in Kyiv. Also, I will be preaching again at NWA for the Nations Missions Conference (November 3-4) here in Fayetteville. Thanks for praying for me. I have a lot of preparation to do for all these teaching opportunities.
House Progress …
Last month was a busy month for building the house. This month has been even busier. First, Katya, the girls and I painted the entire exterior of the house in 3 days! We did this while the drywall was being done inside.
Once the drywall was completed, Jim started priming and then painting (2 coats) all the walls and ceilings inside. This was a lot of work. He would teach his class at KTS online from 6-9 in the mornings and then work on preparing for the retreat from 9-12 each day. After this, he would head to the property and paint until dark. It was quite an exhausting week, but he got most of the house painted last week. This week, he is hoping to complete the painting so that we can start putting down tile and flooring next week.
We are hoping now that we can get into the house before Thanksgiving. We still have a lot to do but we are making progress. Jim is definitely tired and ready to be finished. We are doing a lot of the work ourselves which is very time-consuming. But we keep reminding ourselves how much money we are saving. We are saving over $20K on the painting alone! We hope we can move in soon and then we will have about another 6 months to work on doors and trim and other details while we are living in the house. But we are sure looking forward to at least moving in!
Family …
Even with a busy month, we managed to find a couple of small breaks to do some things together as a family. First, for Harlie Cooper’s birthday, we went to New Life Ranch for the weekend at the end of September. Everyone had a great time. We were able to canoe, ride horses, have a cookout and jump around on the bouncy pillow.
Then, last weekend, we had some beautiful fall weather (early for Arkansas) and we decided to go on a hike after church on Sunday at Devil’s Den Park. We had a simple picnic lunch and then climbed on the rocks and enjoyed just relaxing together.
Pray for Ukraine …
Please continue to pray for Ukraine. While Ukraine is making a lot of progress in trying to remove Russian forces from their country, it has not been easy. And Russia has resorted to blowing up grain depots in Odessa and on the Danube River to prevent Ukraine from shipping their grain to other countries. Ukraine is an agricultural country (one of the largest grain exporters in the world) with much of Europe and Africa depending on grain exports from Ukraine. Russia’s current strategy now is to prevent Ukraine from shipping their fall harvests.
Additionally, Russia is preparing to attack the heat and electrical systems in Ukraine as they did last winter. They have made it clear that they hope to freeze Ukraine into submission. This was not successful last year but it sure caused a lot of hardship for Ukrainians. We have Christian friends in Ukraine who are doing everything they can to help prepare for winter by providing wood and generators for as many people as they can. Pray for them as they serve others in this way.
Thank you again for all your support and prayers. These last two years have been difficult financially and emotionally. We are adjusting emotionally and believe that we have made the right decision to stay in America during the war and teach online and help with missions agencies. Pray for us during this transition. It is still difficult even though we are beginning to feel like we are at home here in the US. Getting into our home here will help us in completing this journey we have been on for the last two years! Thanks for all your prayers!!!
By His Grace,
Jim, Katya, Kristina and Nadia
If you missed previous updates or just want to read some short theological reflections, you can find these at our website at https://teachingresources.org/ .
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God in His attributes seems extremely complex. Yet, one of His attributes is called the “Simplicity of God.” But the simplicity of God is one of His essential characteristics. Different terms are used in theology to describe God’s simplicity. Some call this the independence of God. Others refer to this as the aseity of God. What is the attribute of God and how does it affect us?
The Love of God is amazing! It is obvious that He loves believers, but the greatness and the depth of His love is actually seen in His love for non-believers. Yet, some today believe that God does not love unbelievers. In fact, some will say that, when we are sharing the gospel, we should not even tell a non-believer that God loves them. They will say that God is angry with the wicked every day (Psalm 7:11). Therefore, it is wrong to tell a non-believer that God loves them until they come to faith in Him.
Even John 3:16 is often interpreted to show that God only loves believers. While the verse says, “God so loved the world, it is often suggested that this passage shows that God’s love is not only for Jews, but for all kinds of people — But not for non-believers. Even one of my favorite authors, A. W. Pink (The Sovereignty of God), says that the “world” in John 3:16 refers to “the world of believers” and does not include the ungodly. But the Bible seems to indicate otherwise. In fact, to interpret John 3:16 in this way actually seems to minimize and restrict the love of God. But God’s love for the never-repenting non-believer may be one of the greatest examples of how great His love is!
Patience is something everyone values but few have. One person said, “I was tested for patience once. The results came out negative!” And we are all grateful whenever someone is patient with us. While we love the patience of others, the patience of God is something that is absolutely essential for all of us! Psalm 130:3-4 puts it best: “If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.” When it comes to God’s forgiveness, His patience is the only reason that we are still here today.
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