| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “The awesome reality of the presence of God” Our Bible verse for today: “Out of the depths I call to you Lord! Lord, listen to my voice; let your ears be attentive to my cry for help.” Psalm 130:1 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Is the Christ of Christmas present in Ukraine?” This morning, as we enter into the final week of advent, concluding with our Christmas celebration on Sunday (Christmas morning), I’m thinking about our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. So much of the country has been devasted by the Russian invasion and the missiles that rain down on them almost every day. Entire towns have been reduced to rubble; vital infrastructure, such as electricity and water and bridges and roads, has been destroyed; an entire nation is mourning the senseless deaths of tens of thousands of innocents; and countless more are suffering the trauma of having been brutalized by Russian soldiers. We see the evidence of the pain and suffering every day on the television news, in the newspapers, and on the internet. Some (such as short-term missionaries) have actually been in Ukraine to render humanitarian aid and have therefore seen the misery firsthand. You and I probably haven’t actually been there, but have you seen the recent documentary produced by the Billy Graham Association, “Ukraine: Finding God in Crisis”? If you haven’t, I encourage you to watch it. I’ve posted a link to it at the end of this devotional (it’s a long link). Just copy and paste the entire thing in your browser. The program is one hour long, but you will find it well worth your time. Even if you don’t watch the entire documentary right now, I encourage you to take a few moments this morning, as part of this devotional, to dip into it and get a feel for the horror those poor people are living through. So, what about Christmas? How do they celebrate Christmas in such a horrible situation? Is the Christ of Christmas even present in Ukraine this year? Could they pray Psalm 130:1 (above) and expect God to hear and answer? We will spend some time in the days to come considering the answer to that question. In the meantime, please watch the video – at least a few minutes of it. It will answer the question of what God can, and will, and is doing in the midst of such a terrible situation. Is the Christ of Christmas present in Ukraine? Yes. Yes, He is. God bless, Pastor Jim https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fbillygraham.org%2Fvideo%2Fukraine-finding-god-in-crisis%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2A7Mgbvei7vCK2SxUOJ4UZtlvWPSNRX4KnrWkDZ6BIicnvnBW50B1QKR0&h=AT3YBjfCI8MCaHSkKeY5E49TcYjXk-rn6ocfcPzqIbHUtiRBivwU4-G0TLaSb0VEPU3dp2baknKUQ1TQd05JKonJJiDvG-DXUpuhpGVJlJ15kvx_S8ThD-2S95k-KOJ7S8gmpiTUJazADwCOeQ&__tn__=%2CmH-R&c%5B0%5D=AT23eWnl-ZI3wit4hof506smzWAvnTgZCiXGRhKe5cOyZB3YNxAU4mW_6X3BcsyIb2xSzUjoHepeMenaLru9OHsVr8_9OKGGefzh30tp1nymgOF27fHThAt1DV7HpD0A6oyn59gB8kWai5-mBRaJE5DyC19MRtBG_SsVdgIEEuZl7d8mOg9rhrSmmtIm-ZSc5ZNTxHLQmxnnng |
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