UKRAINE: "Sounds of Silence and Rumors of War," By Jeff Franks

Russia has been backing separatists at war in Eastern Ukraine, but you’d never know it by watching the evening news. The predominate sounds in Western media seem to be mostly silence. However, here in Ukraine TV, radio talk shows, and newspapers are just abuzz with rumors. Everyone’s on edge about one big question: Will Russia invade? Fighting in Ukraine’s eastern provinces, collectively called Donbas, flares up from time to time, and then dies down.
To date about 8,000 people have been killed and at least twice that number have been wounded, both soldiers and civilians. These figures do not take into account Russian soldiers, whose existence is officially denied. However, no few of them have been transported back to Russia for burial, sadly. More than a million people from Donbas have fled their homes as refugees in Ukraine and Russia.
Recently, General Ben Hodges, Commander of U.S Army in Europe, estimated that there are up to 12,000 Russian soldiers now fighting inside Ukraine, another 50,000 are amassed on Ukraine’s eastern border, and 29,000 more occupy the illegally annexed territory of Crimea. Why does Russia keep this many troops at the ready?
People who think Russian President Vladimir Putin will invade give these reasons:
1) For more than a millennium Ukraine and its capital Kiev (spelled “Kyiv” Ukrainian- style) have been part and parcel of Russian history and therefore of the Russian soul. After all, the ancient state of Kievan Rus’ began under Prince Oleg of Novgorod here in 882 AD.
2) Therefore, many Russian leaders want to return Ukraine to Moscow’s political, social, economic, and cultural control, and not allow her to remain in a Western-leaning orbit.
3) Allowing Ukraine to keep it’s Western stance means it could either become a NATO country or at least could be used as a base for an invasion by others. In Putin’s mind Ukraine must never become a military threat.
4) Allowing Ukraine to trade freely with Europe and the West will lead to a more robust economy and increased trade, like in Poland.. This in tandem with increased political freedom could lead to widespread popular dissatisfaction in Russia, and thus threaten Putin’s authoritarian regime. The only cure for this is invasion, some say.
5) The next president of USA will undoubtedly be more firm and decisive militarily than the current president, and therefore it will be more expedient for Russia to invade Ukraine earlier, rather than later.
Here are some reasons from people who think Putin will not invade Ukraine:
1) The costs far outweigh the advantages. First, Russia cannot risk the West coming to Ukraine’s aid via outright military assistance. It cannot risk NATO’s encroachment up to its very borders. Secondly, increased economic sanctions at this point might turn Russia’s financial tail spin into a horrendous crash.

2) Russia has already won and militarily occupied Crimea. This and their present control of several hundred kilometers of Ukraine’s border can be held ad-infinitum as a buffer against NATO encroachment.
3) Ukraine has borrowed so much money from the Europe and the IMF to bolster their war-footing, that it will take decades to recover economically. Therefore, Ukraine will no time soon become a vibrant trade partner with an economically ailing Europe.
4) Putin is “happy” with a frozen conflict in Ukraine similar to those that Russia engineered in Transnistria in Moldova, and in Abkhazia and North Ossetia in the Republic of Georgia. Perhaps Russia’s intervention in Syria is the very thing Putin is counting on to help the UN Security council “forget” Ukraine as just another frozen conflict.
We and the Baptists of Ukraine have been praying intensely that the reasons for NOT invading Ukraine will take center stage in the minds of the Kremlin’s leaders. We do not rejoice in Russia’s economic distresses, but of late they have helped her leaders to more soberly count the costs of military aggression.
We are also keenly aware that peace in our world comes through strength, both political and economic, but especially military. For the sake of peace in Ukraine we invite you join us in praying that military strength will be used by wise leaders here who know and fear God. Though Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, he is also the only one worthy of the title “Prince of Peace.” Let us remember Ukraine and Russia before Him in our prayers today!

WHO CARES? By Jeff Franks

Why should we in the West and Europe be the slightest bit concerned about the assassination February 27, 2015 of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in the shadow of the Kremlin?  Precisely because Nemtsov was one of the few Russians who dared to voice his opposition and expose Russia’s involvement in the war in Ukraine. Amazingly, Vladimir Putin and those who believe his narrative now blame the USA as the prime instigator of the Ukraine conflict.  

Many of us find this laughable.  Especially those who agree with Senator John McCain, who expressed shame at our hesitancy to come to the aid of our beleaguered Ukrainian friends.  Even so, every hesitant step we take only feeds Putin’s narrative, regardless of the facts, and of course that plays beautifully into his poker hand.

It is all too easy these days to imagine that the Russian President represents and/or controls the thoughts of common Russian citizens.  No, that is not entirely the case!  Nemtsov and the 70,000 Russians who attended his memorial march were proof.  That day they carried signs: “Those bullets were fired at us!” and “Propaganda Kills!”.  These are people of conscience who deserve our respect and prayers.

Nevertheless, we should be cautious not to allow our presumptions about Russia and it’s leaders to become the source of our conclusions about Nemtsov’s murder.  Therefore, I offer here a summary of facts as reported by Brian Whitmore in his Power Vertical blog, “Chaos or Terror”, and also his well-reasoned conclusions:

What are the undisputed facts? First, as an opposition leader, Nemtsov was under constant surveillance by Russian security services.  Second, he was killed in one of the most heavily policed and monitored parts of Moscow.  Third, the shooting was stunningly professional, highly efficient, and the assassins got away clean.

It is hard to escape the conclusion that the security services or elements connected to them were involved in the killing.  Amateurs without inside connections could not have done this.  

Is this Terror or Chaos?

Two possibilities then remain: the killing was sanctioned (terror) or someone inside the Kremlin regime was going rogue (chaos).  If sanctioned, then why?  Terror.  To send fear into the opposition: anyone can get hit anywhere at any time.  A warning to the opposition: Watch your step and measure your words!

If the killing was by rogue elements, then there is chaos in the Kremlin.  Putin is losing his monopoly on the organized use of violence. This kind of chaos in the security services in the long run could be even more destructive than deliberate terror.

Terror and chaos are not what any thoughtful person in the West wants to see as ruling in Russia.  Let our prayers therefore be toward the end that people of conscience will gain the upper hand and that cooler heads prevail.  Otherwise, as in past world wars, we will once again see our sons and daughters drawn into an uncontrollable, descending spiral of war.  God forbid!  That is why we should watch and pray for Russia and its citizens.

WAR IN UKRAINE, CHRISTIAN RESPONSE

WHAT! BUT DOESN'T GOD LOVE EVERYONE? By Jeff Franks

Every follower of Christ, at some point in his journey, will encounter God's puzzling declaration

in Romans chapter nine, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated." What! But doesn't God

love everyone? Like Jacob, I find myself wrestling with questions of time and eternity, questions

of God's will and my own. If God hardened Pharaoh's heart, who's to say he won't harden

mine? If my life is predetermined then what point is there to this tiresome daily fight with evil?

So what if I fail? "Why does he still find fault, for who has resisted his will?" Paul asked, as if

just for me, in that very same chapter. One's nose could get "put out of joint" over all of this, to

say nothing of Jacob's hip!


For a fortunate few, the problems resolve easily in the truth that God exists outside of our

space-time continuum and is in no way bound by it. Here's the idea in a nutshell: Because God

is omniscient, he knows the end from the beginning of every person, so he already knows

exactly whom he will sovereignly elect for his purposes. Simple right? Not so fast!


Take the case of the patriarch Jacob. If he were this godly, upright man of good character who

always made the right decisions, I could more easily understand the phrase "Jacob I have loved

. . ." (Rom 9:13) That is, I could agree with the simple idea above that God chooses right every

time because he knows all things. However, from the moment of his birth, when he emerged

holding his older brother Esau's heel, Jacob was known as the deceiver, the manipulative cheat

who always connived to achieve his own ends. His whole life dramatized the meaning of his

name: supplanter! Likewise, who needs to look hard within his own heart to find something that

he knows God hates? So the real mystery is not, "Why did God hate Esau?", but rather, "Why

did God love Jacob?"!


Notwithstanding all his misdeeds and character flaws, there came a time when Jacob wrestled

all night with the Angel of the Lord. When morning came, one touch of the Angel's finger

dislocated his hip, leaving him limping for life. But something else happened in Jacob's spirit. In

a moment he was humbled, he was broken, and his heart was changed. Jacob's spirit, hitherto

bound by time and flesh, was somehow touched by God's unseen, eternal hand. Along with

many prominent Bible scholars, I believe the Angel of the Lord was none other than the pre-

incarnate Messiah -- Jesus, the Son of the Living God!


Could this have been the one defining moment in time, whereby God would now eternally say,

"Jacob I have loved?" The Bible did not record such a moment for Esau. Many years earlier,

their grandfather had just such a moment, memorialized by the famous words, "Abraham

believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." (Romans 4:3, Genesis 15:6) The

Apostle Paul's moment also came one day in a blinding flash . . . on a road to Damascus. 


The question that leaves me troubled, or should at the least deeply concern me, is who am I to

God? Am I Jacob? Or am I Esau? What will heaven's epitaph declare for my life? For me, the

deciding issue cannot be one of character or even good works, as important as those things are. 


Far more defining and of eternal consequence must be the question of whether I have wrestled

with Eternity. That is, with the Eternal One. Has my defining moment come? Have I heard

heaven's knock and opened the door? If the heavens declare the glory of God, how can I say I

have not heard? Like Jacob, am I in the number of those whom God loves?


"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and

they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." (John 10:27, 28)




"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at

the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine

with him, and he with Me." -- Jesus Christ (Revelation 3:19,20)

Photo:  Jeff Franks, Striped Butterfly

I STAND WITH ISRAEL, ANYWAY! By Jeff Franks

There is a publication that circulates among our BMAA (Baptist Missionary Association of America) churches which targets those believers among us who are pro-Israel. The writer emphasizes recent Israeli laws and governmental actions which favor homosexuals and abortion. “You who stand for Israel, right or wrong, are grievously in error,” he argues, “because you are also standing for unbiblical laws which dishonor the Almighty.” 

Yes, unfortunately, there just may be some fanatics out there, who apparently think they have to support everything Israel does, right or wrong. In all the years I have fellowshipped with our pastors and church members, however, I have never met such a person. Therefore, I think these are the author’s “straw man” for highlighting Israel’s faults, whether political or social. 

But the issue regarding Israel has never been her faithfulness or her backsliding. Biblically speaking, she much more often chose the latter as a way of life. Oddly, the author goes to great lengths to demonstrate that God, the prophets, Jesus and the apostles spoke against Israel. Oh, I guess I am so pro-Israel that I missed that! No, the issue with Israel is God’s incredible faithfulness in spite of her failings! 

God’s love and protection for Israel is really more about the veracity of his eternal Word. He said he would gather them from all the nations, and he has. (Ezekiel 36:24) He is faithful and loving. His love, discipline, and protection of Israel never fails because he has promised them these things in his Word. That is why I identify with God’s protection of this much hated and maligned nation. 

Aren’t you glad that God is not like you and me? We can turn our backs on the unfaithful and hold grudges forever. We raise our fists in anger, call for mass demonstrations and destructive behavior. No, thank God he’s not like us! He is always and ever our faithful, loving Father. He may be angry for a moment, but his love never, ever fails!  Just think, if he can love Israel through her failings, he can love you through yours.

Photo above: Schindler's grave in Jerusalem. The Hebrew reads: "Righteous Among the Nations"; the German reads: "The Unforgettable Lifesaver of 1200 Persecuted Jews".

OUR MOST RECENT ADVENTURE?

 Some of you may have seen this on Facebook.  Two weeks ago today Jeff fell and had a 2/3rds tear of his Achilles' tendon.  The doctors in Ukraine said he needed surgery within a week to maintain his mobility.  Now as expats 20 years in a foreign country we've come to understand that sometimes doctors are anxious to operate on us for financial gain.  We weren't convinced and we wanted another opinion.  The above picture is the cast we left Ukraine in. We added the duct tape with a wooden block on the heal so he could actually walk in it.  He was on 2 crutches.

Some years ago we had a very good experience with a surgery in England on Jeff.  So off to England to see a ankle specialist.  The long and short of what was quite an ordeal is that Jeff is walking in a boot for 8 weeks, no surgery.  Thank you to you who already are praying for him.  Please continue as he must be very careful not to fully tear this tendon or it WILL be surgery.  The above shows his new boot in the London Underground (the extent of our tourism).  Please also pray for the resolution of two blood clots in the same leg.  They didn't catch that in Ukraine. We are grateful for God's provision and your prayers.

HOW CAN I KNOW? By Jeff Franks

“Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16) 

How do I know if my deeds are done in the Spirit or in the flesh? 

Devotional thoughts for Saturday, November 1, 2014 

While still in this life I feel I cannot look back at my PAST deeds and say definitely and reliably that this or that was done in the Spirit. I am often blind to my own pride and the subtle impulses which flow from it, such as saying and doing things to justify myself or avoid guilt. Like, HOW long has Aunt Emmy been in the care facility and I STILL haven’t gone to see her? I mean what will her family think of me? (Just for the record I don’t have an Aunt Emmy, but if I did I might be feeling pretty guilty right now!)

Regarding PRESENT deeds, I have every opportunity (yes this very moment) to confess my sins, be filled with God’s Holy Spirit (a command), wear the full armor of God (also a command), walk in the Spirit, put on the “new man” and put off the old. Yes, even when it comes to visiting dear Aunt Emmy! I know I should, but why not do it in the love of God and in the power of his Holy Spirit?!!

Finally, the FUTURE day will come, when looking back, I WILL KNOW EXACTLY what I did in the power of the Spirit and what I did in the weakness of my sinful flesh. Note:
 
“For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:11-15) 

Therefore, dear Lord, give me the grace to follow you this day, walking in your Holy Spirit, and building on the only foundation that counts - you alone, Jesus! When that day comes I want to receive gold and silver that will withstand the fire of your holiness, and bring glory, honor and praise, no not to me - never! - but to you alone, forever! 

By Jeff Franks
Photography by Jeff Franks from Coleen's Garden

HOT AIR & HOLINESS

 

 

A few days ago, I watched a video interview of Vladimir Zhirinovsky, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, Russia’s fourth largest political block. In his typically smug and sneering style he said that on Sunday, October 26, 2014, Ukraine’s nation-wide parliamentary elections would fail because pro-Russian armed agents would overpower all the polling sites. Following this Ukraine’s so-called Banderov-led nazi (anti-Russian) government would promptly collapse to be replaced by a state which favors the true leader of Russia, Vladimir Putin. Or something like that. He was so confident it was like a done deal. 

I know this is the kind of drivel that we’ve come to expect from him, and one should not pay it a whole lot of notice. But there is a war going on and Ukraine has lost complete control of several hundred kilometers of its border with Russia. Two days ago, Thursday, three metro stations in Kyiv were closed for bomb threats, which is happening entirely too often lately. The same day three major discount stores were shut down for the same reason.   In advance of tomorrows elections, the army, national guard, and militia are on high alert. 

So with all of this rattling around in my subconscious, yesterday I went to our weekly Friday morning prayer meeting where we pray for peace in Ukraine among a dozen other urgent needs. And that’s where God spoke to me from a Bible passage we read before prayer. 

Turns out there was a similar situation in Israel in King Hezekiah’s day. Sennacherib, King of Assyria, was camping on Jerusalem’s doorstep with 185,000 troops. Israel was completely unprepared militarily to contend with these forces, which had already destroyed all the surrounding nations and taken all the fortified cities of Judah. Only Jerusalem remained. The Assyrian messenger declared haughtily, 

“Look! You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by utterly destroying them; and shall you be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed, Gozan and Haran and Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?’” (2 Kings 19:11-13) 

This so reminded me of Zhirinovsky, breathing threats toward Ukraine! Hezekiah took the Assyrian King’s threatening message into Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem and opened it up before the Lord.


“O Lord God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, You alone.” (2 Kings 19:15-19)

Was there a word in this prayer about Jerusalem’s sorry military condition? This prayer was centered on God’s glory and reputation alone, honoring him as holy and majestic, Creator of heaven and earth. Of course you know “the rest of the story”, but I’ll copy it here in case it’s been a while since you read it: 

“And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away . . .” (2 Kings 19:35,36) 

Likewise, let us always remember to honor the Lord by remembering that whether threats are real or empty, He is always in control, and his ear is turned to humble hearts who turn to him when they are afraid. 

Have a wonderful and prayerful day in his grace, and remember to ask his blessing on Ukraine’s elections tomorrow, Sunday, October 26th, 2014. 

Article by Jeff Franks.  Photo by Coleen Franks, western Ukraine this month.

RUSSIAN INVASION by Jeff Franks

Today as never before Ukrainians are fighting for their life as a sovereign nation. Young men are dying in droves as they are often outgunned by Russian heavy weaponry. Two volunteer battalions have been surrounded the last two days with no way of escape. Yesterday, Russia opened a new front on the Azov Sea in the southeast to make a land bridge to Crimea. President Petro Poroshenko has made urgent appeals for emergency sessions of the UN and European Security Councils.

Who has not heard the indignant denials of Russia’s leaders? In response to NATO and western accusations they bandy about words like “fantasy” and “no relation to reality”, simply because in all of their Orwellian newspeak and propaganda they have replaced “Ukraine” with “Novorossiya”, meaning “New Russia”.

Yesterday, in an emergency session of the UN Security Council, Vitaly Churkin told Samantha Power that the United States was “meddling in the affairs of a sovereign nation.” The news camera showed her smiling and shaking her head in disbelief as she took notes. To us in the West such a statement is flat out hypocritical and beyond the pale of normal reason.

In Russian “newspeak”, however, the sovereign nation (singular) of Greater Russia includes a whole lot more than just Ukraine, which has to them become a mere province. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and others take notice! Having redefined everything in Orwellian newspeak, Russia’s leaders are acting, speaking and killing with impunity according to what they see as their historical destiny, their “divine right”.

You do not have to tolerate the blatant lies and disinformation coming your way from Russia. Rather, listen to the cries and see the tears of Russian mothers whose sons’ bodies are being flown back from the combat zone. Join in prayer with Ukrainian families as they mourn their dead sons. Hear fathers and mothers in Kyiv protesting the pitiable state of their boys fighting with inferior weapons and no body armor. Above all, take action by contacting your representatives, speaking the truth, and praying for God’s divine intervention.

A SEASON OF WAR by Jeff Franks

A Season of War
By Jeff Franks
BMA Missionary, Ukraine 

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven... A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war,
and a time of peace” (Eccl. 3:1,8).  

May God grant that all towns like this one will soon be free of conflict. Photo by Jeff Franks

Seasons come in divinely ordained cycles and do not ask us if we are ready for them. All evidence seems to show that a “time of war” has come to Ukraine. Alas, the Ukrainians were not prepared for the invasion and takeover of Crimea, and they were not ready for what is happening today in the
Luhansk and Donetsk provinces. 

On Monday, July 14, a Ukrainian military spokesman reported that yet another large column of about 100 armed vehicles, including tanks, mobile artillery and armored per- sonnel carriers (APCs) had crossed into Ukraine from Russia across the porous border. Even the Russia Today news net- work (RT) showed a long column of tanks and trucks, some towing GRAD missile launchers, driving through Luhansk, Ukraine, all driven by anti-Ukrainian militia. Curiously, RT denies that the Russian government has provided any equipment or aid to these apparently well-armed rebel militi- amen. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry rightly called RT a
“propaganda bullhorn.” 

The July 15 headlines in Vesti, a local Ukrainian news- paper, read, “Ukraine Stands on the Brink of Invasion.” We are seeing a new gathering of Russian forces, this time with peacekeeping insignia on military equipment and uniforms. Our Ukrainian friends say Russia has already invaded, they continue today and will proceed in the same “plausibly deni-
able” fashion as the recent takeover of Crimea.

Another article in Vesti debunks an outrageous lie recorded on primetime Russian TV of how the Ukrainian “Fascists,” upon liberating the town of Slavyansk, publicly crucified a 3-year old boy before his mother. Then after she had allegedly watched him die and fainted, dragged her three times around the town square behind a tank. Of course, local residents witnessed nothing of the kind, but the interview with “Galya” the self-proclaimed eyewitness, has “gone viral” on the Internet. Russian media has not retracted her story. The accumulative effect of such propaganda is to bring the watching public to its collective feet, tearfully begging Presi- dent Putin to send Russia’s “peacekeepers” into Ukraine to
prevent further such atrocities.

What is real and not imagined is the rise of persecution of Baptists in eastern Ukraine. Separatist rebels have both occupied and destroyed Baptist churches in the Donetsk and
Luhansk provinces. Homes of pastors have been destroyed.

On July 10, pro-Russian militia took over Donetsk Christian University and held Pastor Pavel Minaev, the board

chairman, and 20 other workers hostage. Pastor Sergey Sko-
robagach of Mariupol was on a mission to help orphans
when he was caught and killed in a terrorist attack.

During our prayer meetings, Baptist refugees have re- ported kidnappings, beatings, torture and disappearances of their church members. Partly, anti-Baptist sentiment has risen because Ukraine’s interim president was a Baptist, and partly it is because the Baptists are known have been active in public prayer meetings calling for peace and national unity. In any event, the rebel militia has targeted them as purveyors of an “enemy ideology.” Truly, it is not hard to see “the enemy
of souls” at work here behind the scenes.

Coleen and I meet refugees almost every day because they come to our worship services and prayer meetings. Two families live next door and several others live right in our neighborhood! It is our privilege to help them however we can, but the Lord is most glorified when His local churches extend a loving hand. Praise God that many church members have taken in refugees, and some are even helping them from
their poverty!

Finally, I want to call your attention to the orphanages that are in Ukraine’s conflict zone. Just the other day, Sepa- ratist gunmen confiscated passports and forced the adminis- trators of Orphanage No. 1 in Donetsk to sign documents al- lowing their orphans to be transferred to Russia. The same kind of lawlessness is happening throughout eastern Ukraine.

Please keep the innocent children and their caretakers in your prayers. If someone should approach you to give to this need, please remember that when we talk of abusing little ones, is all too easy for charlatans to play on our emotions. We don’t always help by “throwing money” at a problem. Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear disaster and similar crises have led to fundraising abuses and moral shipwrecks. Rather, let us serve the Ukrainian Baptist churches in their efforts to care for the helpless in the name of Jesus Christ! And if we should do it through our giving, let us entrust our love gifts only into the hands of trusted servants of God, who have a
proven record of faithful accountability.

Above all, please keep the pastors and churches in your prayers. Just as this season, this “time of war” took the Ukrainian Baptist churches unaware, so it may be with any of us in the United States. Seasons do not ask our permission. Therefore remain alert because “to everything there is a sea- son and a time to every purpose under heaven.”

SHATTERED ILLUSIONS by Jeff Franks

As published in the Baptist Trumpet, Little Rock, Arkansas,  Photo:  Nikolaevka, Crimea on the Black Sea



I will admit we were caught up in a dream of sorts.  Here we were, living in a peaceful Ukraine where churches had the freedom to preach the gospel publicly and train their leaders in seminaries.  Though the Baptist churches were relatively few, their pastors and leaders could continue to pray and work toward their visions of multiplication.  I really didn’t see it coming, that in November of 2013 our idyll of a peaceful future here would shatter.

Throughout the winter Maidan square in central Kyiv became both a protest site and a battleground.  The Yanukovich administration sent in riot police and introduced draconian laws which restricted the public’s freedom of movement and speech.  The citizens pushed back, reinforcing their number of protesters.  Nationalist, right wing elements, though percentage wise were few, took full advantage and led a more violent resistance.  As missionaries, Coleen and I were shocked to hear that we were now required to register as “foreign agents” and display those words on our official documents.   Our illusion of a peaceful Ukraine had been shattered, but things didn’t stop there.

After the change of power in Kyiv in February 2014, Russia craftily engineered a takeover of Crimea in March.  Then Russian armed forces amassed on Ukraine’s eastern border.  Eerily reminiscent of the seizure of Crimea, armed men in unmarked uniforms began to take over government buildings in the eastern Ukrainian provinces of Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Donetsk.  

Throughout April and May we have witnessed the largely feeble attempts of the new Ukrainian government to wrest back control militarily.  Civilians who are brave enough (or in some cases paid) to go on the street take videos of these clashes and post them on Twitter and YouTube.  They are hard to watch because of the civilians’ extensive cursing, shaming and name-calling of the Ukrainian soldiers, the most common of which is “fashisty,” meaning fascists.   

Yesterday, on Sunday, May 13, the pro-Russian separatists held an illegal referendum in the Donetsk province, seeking to call themselves independent and autonomous from Ukraine’s Kyiv-based government.  This was also a repeat of the Crimean scenario, and we fear a similar outcome eventually in Ukraine’s eastern provinces.

It is not clear whether Ukraine will be able to defend its territorial integrity, but even if that is the case, many changes will take place in government and society because of the deep divisions between Ukrainian citizens.  At some level the new government will need to account for them.  Moreover, the new government will have to deal with Russia’s long-range plans and strategies from this point forward.  Much has been written about Putin’s Eurasian game plan, but I will summarize the current Ukrainian conflict with one phrase: Russia cannot tolerate a pro-Western Ukraine.

The crisis in Ukraine means different things to different people.  For some it is East vs. West, the reinstatement of the cold war between Russia and the USA.  Some say it is the revival of the old USSR.  For those who live in the conflicted regions who have bought into Russia’s propaganda  it means a choice between civilization with strong executive power and reasonable salaries (Russia) or being under the boot heels of an oppressive neo-Nazi junta, as Russia characterizes Ukraine’s interim government.    For those who know better it means an opportunity to build a new nation state on transparency and rule-of-law.  

But for Christians this crisis means a call to prayer, to greater dependency on God, to greater unity among believers, and to standing for the truth of the gospel.  We must remember that even if the worst possible outcome should occur, nothing in this conflict could change the God-given mission of even a single local church!  Our marching orders come from the Lord Jesus Christ who has all power in heaven and on earth!  Therefore, our dream remains for the success of the Ukrainian churches, only now unfettered by our former rosy illusions!

Coleen and I are praying to know God’s will during these troubled times.  We ask you to join us in praying for peace for our Ukrainian friends, not the idealistic kind, but the kind that involves compromise, understanding, and a willingness to listen to one another.  Thank you for your prayers!

"YOU ARE WORTHY"

By Jeff Franks


“You are worthy, O Lord,To receive glory and honor and power;For You created all things,And by Your will they exist and were created.” (Rev 4:11)

As the 24 elders cast their golden crowns over a crystal sea, I worship with them joyfully. Yet one thing puzzles me. Why do we say that God should receive power, when we know that he is eternally omnipotent, and there is no power that did not come from him in the first place? Why should we want him to receive something he already has? Can’t the same can be said for glory and honor?

Truth is, God does indeed bestow glory, honor, and power on the sons of Adam. But throughout human history they have stolen, killed, and waged war in the effort to either obtain power or to keep it. Pharaoh once asked, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? (Ex. 5:2) Nebuchadnezzar challenged, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” (Dan. 4:30) Yet others happily acknowledged their power came from God, such as Joseph, Daniel, and King David, who in his last breath returned his earthly glory, honor and power to his heavenly maker:

“He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.” (2 Sam 23:3)

Those who do not will repeat the tragedies of history. Let us therefore cast our crowns at his feet and say, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created!”

THE PROPAGANDA WAR OVER UKRAINE! by Jeff Franks

“Now we see through a glass, darkly . . .” (1 Cor 13:12)!



The Russian TV and press have been presenting the Ukrainian revolution as a brazen coup

d’etat led by “neo-Nazi nationalist thugs”. Because Ukrainian nationalists were present and

could be more easily seen at the forefront of violent clashes with riot police, certain producers

have filmed documentaries, complete with interviews, which purport to show the all-

encompassing “true nature” of the anti-Yanukovich protests. “Who do you hate?” asked one

Russian interviewer. “Russians, Jews, and Poles,” answered the activist. Therefore, goes the

line, the Ukrainian revolution was of the exact same spirit as Hitler’s Beer Hall Putsch. Only

unlike Hitler, these Ukrainian neo-Nazis who gathered “in mass” on Maidan square in Kyiv,

actually forced Victor Yanukovich, Ukraine’s “legitimately elected president”, from power.

How accurate are these Russian media accounts? Whether true or not, they are

overwhelmingly convincing. I have been in several discussions with Russians who can see it

only this way. When ousted President Yanukovich spoke in Rostov-on-Don, he said Euro-

maidan was the work of “right wing thugs”. “We will not let these fascist bullies from Maidan rule

our lives!” cried the fully equipped soldiers in masks and unmarked uniforms who raised the

Russian flag over the government buildings and airports of Crimea. Naturally, their cry finds

resonance in the majority ethnic Russian population of Crimea, many of whom welcome

Russia’s invasion with open arms.


What is wrong with these so-called “anti-Maidan” presentations?   Three things.


First of all, they employ emotional hot-buttons which rouse nationalist hostility and resentment.

“All Ukrainians are so-and-so’s.” Similar arguments were sometimes employed during the

protests to provoke anger against Russians: “We will not be ruled by those Russian so-and-sos

(fill in the blank)!” In order to sound more reasonable, one Russian Christian told me, “You are

like MOST Ukrainians who think such-and-such.” Of course, people who think “such-and-such”

are always wrong-headed, aren’t they?



Secondly, these arguments ignore the factual account of events as they occurred. In November

2013, when President Yanukovich rejected the associational trade agreement with the EU,

“who” first came down to Kyiv’s Maidan to protest? Go back and review the videos and news

accounts. You will find that they were mostly university-age students. Where were the Nazi

symbols? Where were the nationalist slogans? Why were there so many young faces and so

few middle aged people with families? When the riot police attacked them in the pre-dawn

hours, did they offer resistance? Who then came to Independence Square to protest, almost a

million strong? Were they at all concerned about Europe or were they angered at the violent

attack on young people from their own government? “Euro-Maidan” was a convenient label at

the start, but pro-European or anti-Russian sentiments had already given way to the larger

issues of theft, corruption, and abuse of power in the current administration. These are factual

issues which burst the hot-air balloons of propaganda. Nevertheless, the propaganda continues

on both sides and sadly, it seems to work.


Thirdly, these arguments employ a common device used in media and politics, the “straw man”

fallacy. You take your opponent’s legitimate issues, in this case anger at Yanukovich’s

corruption and abuse of power, and present them as ridiculous, obviously absurd, and evil.

“Look at these neo-Nazis who hate Russians and Jews. Is this the kind of government you want

in Ukraine?” That is a classic “straw man” fallacy. “Regardless of the facts, regardless of the

true nature of things, if you hate Nazi’s then you should hate the new Ukrainian government.”

I do not have to convince people of the “true nature” of things, which are always more complex

than I can fully understand. Lord grant that we remember to love our enemies and pray for

those who abuse and persecute us. May we remember to dress in the “full armor of God”,

putting on the belt of truth. May we never find comfort or justification in false accounts, because

they never bear the good fruits of love, peace and liberty, but rather provide a covering for

abusive control, corruption, and theft. As you pray for peace in Russia and Ukraine, forgive in

advance any remarks made in anger by those who have bought into the propaganda of one side

or another.

BETHANY CHURCH YOUNG MARRIEDS GROUP

In 1994 we came to Ukraine as missionaries for the Baptist Missionary Association of America (BMMA).  We lived a bit more than three years in the Crimea region of Ukraine in the very south of the country before we realized we needed to be closer to an airport for Jeff's work in other countries.  In 1997 we moved to Bucha, located just outside the capital.  We joined the Bethany Church and this lovely group of young people at that time were all young kids.   It's been our joy to watch them grow up for the last 17 years that we've been in this church.  This was a recent meeting (September) that they do monthly.  Jeff spoke to them that night about conflict, a topic of importance for all people.  As we approach our 20th year (2014) we don't know how long God has planned for us here, but we do know that we are so privileged to be a part of the lives of this group.  This is the future of the church and I know they will make a great future for Bethany Church.

WILL TIME "BE NO LONGER" IN HEAVEN? By Jeff Franks

I used to think that in heaven we would be "beyond time" because of the wording of one

verse in the KJV "that there should be time no longer" (Rev 10:6). However, many

years ago I heard a sermon based solely on this phrase, wherein the preacher, having

meditated at length, concluded that the absence of time demanded the absence of

everything linear. Since thoughts are linear, so is all communication, and so is all

movement. His heretical conclusion was that all prayer, all songs, all worship, and all

fellowship will end as our souls will know only joy in perfect unity with the Godhead.

Since I knew many depictions of heaven in the Bible where people praise, worship,

communicate, hold their silence for half an hour, etc., I knew he was wrong. I

discovered that the phrase in Rev 10:6 could legitimately be translated "there will be no

more delay" as in the NKJV, the ISV, the ESV, and many other translations.

Surely one day our eyes will be opened to other dimensions of which we know nothing

now except by faith. But faith, like a true portal to the "great beyond", comes by hearing

and hearing by the Word of God, which shows us not only joy and bliss, but also great

activity in praise, worship, feasting, and servanthood all of which is linear in nature.

When Christ appeared to the disciples in his risen body he spoke and ate with them in

the humblest way, giving us joy and hope that heaven will not mean the loss of time

(blending with godhead), but rather the full enjoyment of it as redeemed souls with real

risen bodies.

DOES BIBLE PROPHECY INCLUDE THE USA? By Jeff Franks

I see the United States today leading the pack in what the Bible allegorically refers to as Babylon,

the center of world trade that according to prophecy falls in one hour. (Rev 18:17)

I am not saying that USA is Babylon, but rather that we exemplify spiritual Babylon by being the

leader in spilling innocent blood through abortion (55 million killed since "Roe vs. Wade"), and by

corrupting the morals of the entire world through our music and movie industry, especially

Hollywood "blockbusters". How are we not like Babylon, "mad upon our idols"? (Jer 50:38)

As "red-blooded American patriots" we become indignant at the anger of militant Islamic fanatics

who cry "death to America!" But we easily forget that just like Babylon we act militarily as the

"hammer of the whole earth" (Jeremiah 50:23) and flaunt our riches and decadence. So how are we

not just like Babylon? Note:

"Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations

have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad." (Jer 51:7)

"O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure

of thy covetousness." (Jer 51:13) Neither ancient Babylon nor modern Babylon can be said to

“dwell upon many waters”. Therefore, this prophecy points to another nation or kingdom, whether

national, multi-national, or trans-national.

Though Islamic hatred of America is Satanic in nature, perhaps we should relate to their cries more

like King David related to Shimei, the man who cursed him when David had abandoned his throne

to rebellious Absolom and was departing Jerusalem in sack cloth and ashes. (2 Sam 16:5-13)

Sadly, I see America's coming judgment as a harbinger of the eventual fuller judgment of Babylon,

for USA's economic empire will likely fall in one hour.

"And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city,

wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is

she made desolate." (Rev 18:19)



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