GREATER GRACE CHURCH, Lithuania

Lithuanian contact us *GREATER GRACE CHURCH Lithuania*
... Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Luke 19:10


	» home ---------------------- » about us ---------------------- » messages	Christmas 2010 Saviour’s Day greetings to you, my friend, from frosty, snowy, Klaipeda, Lithuania. (We’ve had more snow already than most winters, and it has been constant, without let up, since November 29!). Wish you were here. We just had our Christmas Church Gathering Wednesday night. We had 32 people, including 10 children. What’s Christmas without children? “What shall I give unto the Lord for all He’s done for me? I’ll take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord…..I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call upon the name of the Lord.” (Psalms 116:12, 13, 17) What shall I give? …. I’ll take…. Acts 17:24,25 says “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though HE NEEDED ANY THING, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things….” “Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.” (Hebrew 13:15). These verses may seem impersonal, but they are what we have been meditating on deep in the heart, deeper even than our actions sometimes….deeper than the whiff of banana bread that now spreads throughout our apartment, as we get ready to hurry to the most holy night on the Lithuanian calendar- “Kucos” (koo-choss)- The Christmas Eve celebration around the table of 12 meat-less dishes, followed by the seemingly premature exchanging of gifts (as a Lithuanian American, I have never opened a Christmas gift on Christmas morning, as other American children do). Isaiah 9:6 “Unto us a Son is given. Unto us a child is born.” One man asked me last week “Where was Jesus before He was born on Christmas Day?” Good question. The child Jesus came into existence for the first time at Christmas, but the Son of God, being unbegotten and all, was given to us, to live a life without sin, and to die on the cross for us, be raised and ascend into heaven at the right hand of the Father where He always has been, even before the foundation of the world. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that HE GAVE …..” Nothing pleased the Lord more than that the children of the world would receive the gift of His Son, the gift of grace through faith in His Son (actually, even faith itself is a gift- Ephesians 2:8 “We are saved by grace through faith. And that (faith) not of ourselves. It is the gift of God.” Lately, I had a meeting with another pastor of a small Church here in Klaipeda. He’s been asking “Why are we? Why do we even bother existing as small Christian fellowships? Is it worth it- with so many leaving and either following Him alone, or returning to the Catholic Church? His conclusion, praise God, is not to give up! We are here for a reason! Don’t “Celebrate Reason rather than the season”, as one atheistic-sponsored billboard says today in NYC. Our reason is to continue preaching grace and The Finished Work, and loving people one at a time. Ok, we are small, but faithful and personal. There isn’t anyone in the Church whose name we don’t know! That’s quite a statement, isn’t it? With all the megachurches in existence, small churches are a dying breed, but as necessary (and much more) as the small momandpopshops that have been replaced by the humongous tentacled shopping malls. You’re almost finished reading my 13th annual Christmas Newsletter. It’s my 11th Christmas in Lithuania and 17th altogether on the mission field. Jesus may come back today, but we are also looking forward to another 17 Christmases on the mission field. We have finished three and a half years as a renewed Greater Grace Church in Klaipeda. This past month, we had our first funeral, as we lost our dear 24-year old sister, Viktoria, to Lung cancer (December 3). It was special in that I had never been to a funeral of someone I was so sure went to heaven to be with Jesus (Also, I played the role of the priest). She asked to be baptized just this past August, and so we planned one just for her. Three others joined her as well, but it was especially for her. I asked her how she felt afterwards and she said that she felt peace with God, finally, not knowing that she had but a little more than three months to live here on earth. Now, we are all jealous of her, as we are down here on earth, with all its problems, pressures, crises and difficulties, and she’s up there- alive with Jesus. She did not die. That’s our hope at Christmas, and throughout the whole year- that we will never die, for we have eternal life through faith in Christ Jesus! Here’s wishing you God’s best This Christmas and the most amazing new year of your life! Merry Christmas! Andy and Banga Valaitis Greater Grace Church Klaipeda, Lithuania Christmas Newsletter 2009 Ding a ling, hear them ring, soon it will be Christmas Day! Greetings from the Valaitis home in Klaipeda, Lithuania! It’s the 11^th hour, and not much time to write our annual Christmas newsletter. This year it has been harder than ever to crawl out of my shell to write you. I have to confess that I have yet to write one Christmas card this year. Please forgive me for the lack of foresight and planning. As much as I’ve shared on hope and Peace with God with children, teachers, parents, church members and even our closest neighbors (6 times in the last 6 days), there still remains that apparent emptiness, stress and darkness that accompanies every Christmas Eve. Still, beyond the scientific “facts” of evolution and worldwide wars and crises and diseases, there is yet our faith, hope and love in Christ Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1) and love is not our love for neighbor, but God’s first love unto us. UNTO US a child is born, UNTO US a Son is given (Isaiah 9:6) ! Four of us from the Church have been knock, knock, knocking on neighbors’ doors- sharing the good news of the Gospel and singing carols. The most-often sung carol we start with is “Angels we have heard on high .” The words are a little different (in Lithuanian): We have seen the bright star and heard the angels’ hymns…Who sees the star? “Not many” has been the theme this week Only the humble (Psalm 34:2, 69:32) and pure-hearted (Matthew 5:8) will hear the inaudible (Gospel) and see the invisible (Cross of Christ). In Matthew 2:10 the wise men “Saw the star and rejoiced with exceeding great joy “. Didn’t anyone else see it? Just the shepherds? a few lowly, humble shepherds? Yeah, just them and the wise men. Who is wise? Proverbs 1:7 says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Didn’t anyone else hear the angels sing? Who is humble anyway? Not the obedient ones who stay home and avoid trouble, but the tax collectors and thieves who are sinners and know it, and confess it “Lord, save me a sinner!” Not “Thank you Lord that I am not like this sinner…(Lk 18). Let us humbly come and cry out “Lord, forgive us!” God humbled Himself and became a man. We humble ourselves by becoming like children again. He gives grace to the humble. In the movie “The Polar Express” (2004), the boy couldn’t hear the bell ring till he believed. The thing that made it a Hollywood film and not a Christian one, is that he didn’t believe till he saw (Santa Claus). It’s all backwards. We all want to see so we can believe. That’s the part of being a child that Christ wants us to grow out of – that attitude that says “Lord, if you do this (miracle), then I will believe and commit my life to you.” So, what happens? God sometimes even answers that prayer, and then we spend a lifetime trying to serve God to avoid the guilt of going back on our word. And then what’s all this Joy about anyway? I mean it’s only His birthday. He hasn’t done anything yet by this time. It’s like Obama getting the Nobel Peace prize- with the hope that he really will get us all out of this mess. We wish each other a merry Christmas and wish that something will change. Maybe the economic crisis, maybe the swine flu, and maybe even our hearts. We hope at least our hearts. We hope things will be better next year. They will certainly get worse before they get better, so hang on! On the last day at the High school where I teach, we had a staff get together one last time before the break and as the assistant shared a typical, romantic Christmas greeting, she ended with the words “And let’s remember to think the best, OK?” Well, good try (since it’s as much as the state religion allows us to say), but no, it’s not OK. Wishful thinking may not get us through this Christmas and New Year without getting overwhelmed by depression. This is the high season for suicides here in the suicide capitol of the world. We need something more than a good word or work. We need something more than a sight miracle of healing and deliverance (Dad’s in the hospital at this moment with high blood pressure and Mom’s in pain awaiting another three operations after New Years). We don’t even need to ask for something we don’t have- like good health. If we have Jesus, we have no problems- just prayer requests and praise reports of thanksgiving. We don’t need to hope for Peace and security for the new year. We already have Jesus- and He is our Peace and Hope. If He isn’t, then ask Him into your heart today. C’mon, what are you waiting for? Many Christians here in Lithuania are wondering if they can lose their salvation. Nonsense! Of course we can’t! But many are not saved (out there and in here). That’s the problem! One Church is going to help the Salvation Army tomorrow. Great! Praise the Lord! Way to go! That’s the spirit! Our church is helping the poor as well- those in our own church. Last week, one family couldn’t come to church because there is no money for gas. Another asked for help or else the bank will start the paperwork to confiscate his car. I said “good bye” to one boy in our Christian school who was my wife’s student for three years. Because of disruptive behavior, I had to break the news to him as the school chaplain, that his mother would have to find him a new (public) school after New Years. His father had died earlier this year. His younger brother, who is in my 5^th grade Bible class, is barely hanging on. Are they saved even after 6 years in the Christian School? I don’t know. God knows. He knows all things. He knows what’s best for us. One Catholic man has been starting to attend our church and asked me last Sunday why we Christians can’t all be one unified Church. Isn’t all this division of the devil? He said. Yeah, I didn’t know exactly how to answer him then, but later on, I believe I got the answer from God for him: Everything’s all right in our Father’s House. It’s going to be OK . God knows what He’s doing. It’s His church. Emmanuel! God with us! Even better- Christ in us, the Hope of Glory! When Jesus comes the second time, we will see Him as He really is and we will be changed! (Our denominational differences will not be the issue when we get there). We can’t afford to accent our differences right now for unity’s sake. We have our Savior in common, and that’s most important. It’s not about us. It’s all about Him. He’s on the throne. His plan is perfect! It’s Him! He’s our Hope. He’s our Peace. Glory to God in the highest! And peace on Earth to all men on whom His favor rests! By His grace Your Friends, Andrius and Banga Valaitis Greater Grace Church Klaipeda, Lithuania
© 2001- 2010 contact us