Wednesday, August 22, 2012

50 Years Serving the Lord ...

I got a call from Paul a couple days ago. He and wife Betty, along with me, my wife and nearly 100 other friends of the Wereschs are relaxing after a wonderful party … Paul and Betty’s 50th wedding anniversary. The event took place at a beautiful oasis near Yakima, Washington and was put on by the couple’s loving boys Wesley, Jonathan and Dan; their wives Eileen, Jennifer and Bryn; and Grandpa and Grandma‘s joy, grandson, Frederick.

Paul said that as he thought of the thrill of seeing everyone, he was thinking about how children often dream of having one day in Santa’s workshop … seeing all the creations of the man himself … what a joy and a thrill that would be.

But then he said, "Larry, I have spent 50 years in God’s workshop, meeting, seeing, helping, encouraging the workmanship of the Lord … His marvelous creation … His children." He was nearly in tears of joy as he related the thrill of it to me.

I always admire those folks who in this day and age make it to 50 years of marriage and more. But, even more so the Wereschs who have served the Lord during every one of those years ... serving as ambassadors of our Almighty God.

I once asked an elderly gentleman in our town in Idaho for two words that would describe the success of their 70 plus years of marriage. He said without hesitation, "Yes, Dear!"

These two missionary sweethearts, the Wereschs, made a similar two word commitment when they decided to work together … "Yes, Lord!"

As a result of that obedience, they have had the privilege of sharing Jesus with thousands … even tens of thousands of souls in Eastern Europe and Russia … God’s handiwork.

You might think that with 50 years of marriage and service, they would think of retirement … think again! They have already prepared for a 5 week trip to Poland in October. As I bask in the memories of this recent party in Yakima … attended by friends, relatives, admirers and brothers and sisters in Christ, I can only imagine what the parties are going to be like in Warsaw or Bielawa or Barlinek or Bielsko-Biala … all cities in Poland where Paul and Betty served the Lord and are welcomed with open arms. I have seen the love the people of Eastern Europe have for the Wereschs … the parties will be great.

But, as I imagine a day in God’s workshop I can’t help but think of an eternity in God’s heaven … with brothers and sisters in Christ like Paul and Betty Weresch … now THAT will be a party!

Don’t miss it, my friends!

Larry Abele – Editorial Team

Monday, April 9, 2012

My Most Memorable Easter ...

I have had the privilege of seeing many wonderful miracles during our nearly half century of ministry in Eastern Europe. The Lord has given us boundless grace and mercy as He has lead us down many paths, protected us from great harm, and strengthened us to do His bidding.

During that time we have celebrated many Easter Sundays in many places. However, our most memorable Easter was not behind the Iron Curtain or in a small Russian village or a large Polish city … it was in Tacoma, Washington in the U.S.A. on an Easter Sunday evening, 19 years ago, when a dear brother placed his broken life on the altar and accepted Jesus Christ’s gift of a new heart.

As I meditated on the Cross and the perfect Lamb, Jesus Christ, I thought about how this selfless act of love by the Creator of the universe was a game changer for all of humanity. His beloved creation had taken a turn down a crooked path … a path to certain destruction … He had to straighten that path, and did, by offering his only Son as the sacrifice for all.

But while it was for ALL humanity, it is a wonderful blessing to see it being played out on a personal scale … with just one lost man. As my Easter offering to you, the reader, I share the remembrance of a man whose life was changed that Easter evening in 1993;  a man who has continued to grow under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit. I have watched his life change and bloom. And though he calls me “mentor” I call him “brother”. He is on our editorial team, a frequent contributor to “Let’s Talk” and a beautiful example of God‘s love.

“Our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”  Titus 2:13-14

Happy Easter to all of our readers and to you, Larry Abele, my friend and my brother in Christ.

Paul Weresch

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Easter - the Gift of Love ...

1 Peter 1:3-4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.”

Easter is a message with special meaning for Christians around the world. It is a message of God’s love for mankind, it is a message of renewal, it is a message of mercy and grace, it is the message of salvation.

It is a statement to the lost and hopeless that there is hope … a chance to start over.

It is the promise from God that though his people had a rocky beginning … they can have a glorious, eternity.

It is a gift from a loving Father to an errant child.

Nineteen years ago, this Easter 2012, I was the errant child (a 58-year-old child) who opened that gift. I never dreamed that the simple acceptance of an unearned gift could change a life so dramatically. I never dreamed of the love, forgiveness, acceptance and possibility that sprang out of that gift given to me and to all mankind 2000 years ago.

I never dreamed that by simply admitting that I was much less than my boasts proclaimed; simply admitting that I was a hopeless sinner who needed a savior; and, simply admitting that only Jesus could pull me through, that I would become a brother in Christ and have life everlasting.

You, too, can open that gift. Easter Sunday 2012 would be the ideal time to complete that act and begin again. Don’t let the chance go to waste.

As Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 15:10: “But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I'm not about to let His grace go to waste.” (The Message)

Happy Easter and Praise God!

Larry Abele – Editorial Team

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Are You Satisfied?

We are all seeking satisfaction in one way or another … aren’t we? It is a condition that is built into us.

Before God created us, He created an environment of great beauty, power and mystery … a place for us. In us, He created the abilities to interact and enjoy all of it. The Lord, in His great love for us has given so very much and yet we seek our satisfaction in other things … often the very gifts themselves.

The recent untimely demise of singer, Whitney Houston, reminds me of another singer who wailed, “Thou I try, and I try, and I try, and I try, I can’t get no satisfaction!” Here is a young girl who was given a gift from God … a voice like an angel … and continued to search for satisfaction in all the wrong places.

Are we much different than Whitney and Mick … are we much different than the Israelites in the days of Amos?

In the days of prophet, Amos, people had been given much and had turned to the pleasures of the day to gain their satisfaction. Thou they had been given great gifts by God, they had turned to worship of the gifts and not the giver. And, in so doing they had forgotten the provider and turned drastically away from Him.

In this day the covenant of God to provide for all of our needs, (Philippians 4:19) has never been more evident. But, if you’re like most of us, you’ve worked hard and have accumulated things, forgetting that the strength and ability to do this work has been a gift from Him.

James 1:17 – Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like sifting shadows.

Some of us have been able to acquire great wealth and wind up counting our money instead of counting on the giver of that wealth … the ever merciful and gracious God.

Many of us spend time in nature, hiking or traveling around this glorious land, the trees, the mountains, beautiful bodies of water, ever changing landscapes and we wind up hugging trees instead of thanking the Lord.

Many relish the power gained in their lives and deny that the abilities that brought them to the top of whatever pinnacle they are on were given by our Creator.

Many of us are wallowing in the pleasures of life provided by the Lord and racing off to worship those pleasures … those gifts and forgetting to take time to thank the Giver.

In the times of Amos, the Israelites prospered, but it is God who gave them the strength, knowledge and perseverance required to do everything they did, as vile as it had become. They had lost sight of the fact that He can just as easily take it all away.

At that time the punishment was put forth by the Lord thru Amos in chapter 8, “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. That famine eventually came and the Lord was silent for over 400 years.

The punishment of those who had worshiped the gifts of God but denied the existence of God was separation from God. Verse 12 states, “People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the LORD, but they will not find it.” In that day “the lovely young women and strong young men will faint because of thirst."

Could we face that same punishment as our society, as our schools, as our leaders try to separate us further and further from the Lord? Without the Lord we have no anchor in our lives, we wander from this pleasure to that pleasure searching for meaning. As we continue to deny God in our lives, we lose our stability, we “become faint because of thirst.” Our soul thirsts for communion with its creator and we become faint of heart.

Let us all remember that God’s gifts are given to turn us TO GOD … not toward the GIFTS!

Once we are able to come to grips with this fact and we stop chasing after THINGS instead of GOD to make us happy, we will be like Paul who said in Philippians 4:11, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.”

Larry Abele - Editorial Team

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

I Resolve To ......

Here it is the second week of a brand new year. I have purposely waited to publish this post until most new year resolutions have been broken. Or, are you one of those who valiantly keep your resolutions. 

Possibly you are one of those who make them so practical that they can be kept … “I resolve to spend less time exercising.” “I resolve to watch more TV.” Or, maybe, like me, you usually find them useless and therefore make none at all. After all, it is just a new calendar … nothing else.

Paul sent me a note with his take on this whole process:

“Some time ago, I became somewhat disillusioned with the whole resolution thing. I've found myself to be pitiful when it comes to meeting these long term, sweeping and really rather undefined and general promises for change.

Those who actually make change do not vow to do so, since that places such changes in the future, where they can be postponed continually - rather, such people (of whom I'm rather envious), simply change. They alter their behavior in small ways on a day to day basis.

However these changes have their limitation. Real consequential changes, changes of eternal value comes not from within us … they come from the Lord.

King Salomon said; "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3: 5-6) These words capture the essence of my resolution for 2012 perfectly: to trust the Lord in all things and pray for Him to reveal the next step in our journey. Can't wait to see all of the “good” things that He has in store for our family this year!”

As I struggled with the highs and lows of this past year … from the birth of my first great-granddaughter to the tragic end to three of my best friends, I am reminded that life is fragile, for newborns and for young men … for the middle aged and for seniors. Let us not let the mechanics of living out-weigh the compassion of living. And, remember that the fruit of our lives will always be representative of the god we follow.

I am making a resolution this year … one that I know the Lord will help me keep … one that I encourage all of you to make. I resolve  to love deeper, to care more fervently, to give more unselfishly and to savor every precious moment that the Good Lord gives me.

And, as Paul closed his note …

“Larry and I pray that the year 2012 is a great year for you, a year in which you will come to trust in the Lord and experience the blessing of His leading.”
Larry Abele – Editorial Team