Lecturing at the University of Nebraska
Christmas in Bulgaria: Appreciating the Simple Things in Life
Roasting chestnuts over an open fire and Jack Frost nipping at your nose is a comforting carol which brings many pleasant feelings around the holidays. These are two features, which are not only common to the States, but to Bulgaria as well. This is the season of chestnuts being roasted, however it is not like we picture being over a cozy fire place in a warm home. In Bulgaria it would be on the street side to sell in order to bring in some income for your family. And the Jack Frost is not just a nip for some, but it is a bone chilling cold due to not being able to afford the electric bill.
For some, there will be no gift under the tree and for others there will not even be a tree. This is not said to bring you sorrow, but for you to appreciate the simple things in life. Enjoy family, friendships, a warm home, a hot meal, your health. Enjoy the time the Lord has given you and use it for his Glory and not for bickering or complaining over the small angst.
Don’t loose sight of the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas is not about the material, but it is about the spiritual. It is about the birth of our Lord and Savior even though our politically correct society wants to get ride of the “Christ” in “Christmas.” If it were not for His birth, He would not have been able to die for our sins. This remission of sin is the ultimate gift this Christmas season for it is through this act that we are able to have eternal life if we only ask.
So when you wake up on the 25th begin your day not consumed with what you didn’t get or what didn’t happen to your liking, but in silence remembering the silent and holy night over 2000 years ago. Remember those less fortunate in order not to take for granted with what you have been blessed. And most of all thank Him for His gift to you. Let these thoughts bring you comfort this holiday season.
Merry CHRISTmas 2009
From all of us in Bulgaria!
Fresh Revival Fire in Yambol
After the storm in Plovdiv quieted down some, our team returned to one of our bases in the city Yambol for a special service with Bulgarian Church of God Roma Bishop Iliya Panov. As his praise band from Sofia’s Life Church of God worshiped the Lord and ministered the Word, the Holy Spirit fell with power over the Yambol congregation. Some hundred people came to the altars raising their hands toward the heavens, crying and praying. They pleaded with God for a spiritual revival in a way that we have not seen in Bulgaria since the early 1990s.
While this mighty move of the Spirit was literally being absorbed by the people, the director of our regional ministries gave a call for prayer for the baptism with the Holy Ghost. Immediately, prayer groups were formed around the people who raised their hands for prayer and only minutes later several received the baptism and were speaking in heavenly languages. People were crying and praying all over the church house now transformed in a heavenly sanctuary by the presence of the Holy God. A lady with a spiritual gift reported seeing a vision of the Holy Spirit descending as a cloud over the church during the service.
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We realize while writing these words how close they sound to the reports of the Azusa street revival from the beginning of the 20thcentury. And having seen the power of God moving through churches and people all across the country of Bulgaria, we cannot remain silent any more. We must testify what our eyes have beheld, that we have seen the glory of God and He is doing a new thing in Bulgaria again.
2009 X Event: Transforming the Status Quo
X youth event, which was held on September 9, 2009 in the city of Samokov near Sofia was a complete success. Six Roma worship teams from the Bulgarian Church of God with special participation of the Elley gospel band from the Central Church of God in Sofia and the worship team of Pastor Iliya Panov participated in this three hour long event, which finished with preaching and prayer provided by Cup & Cross Ministries International. Several thousand were in attendance from various parts of Bulgaria and abroad. Some pastors brought their complete congregations, others attended with family and friends, but we all gathered together ready for a new touch from God.
We named this year’s event “Transforming the Status Quo” for three reasons. First, the date 9.9.9 itself is somewhat controversial and we chose it under the leadership of the Holy Spirit to transform it from a spiritualistic superstition into a spiritual celebration. Secondly, September 9, 1944 is the date when the Communist Revolution took place in Bulgaria, and this year on this very date we asked of God to change the catastrophe of communism to the abundance of blessings for Bulgaria. And finally, our event was held in one of the largest Gipsy ghettos of Bulgaria, where thousands of Roma people were touched by the power of the Spirit.
We are truly thankful to all who partnered with us and made this event possible as part of our annually Harvest Campaign in Bulgaria. This year the Lord allowed us to create the proper environment with a professional stage and lightning, over 50kW of sound equipment, professional cameras and photography crews. The complete event was broadcasted LIVE on the internet and watched by thousands of people in Bulgaria and abroad. But most important of all, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ was lifted up above any other name at the 2009 X event in Samokov, Bulgaria.
Blue Fire
By Kathryn Nell Donev
This past weekend while camping on top of the mountain of Petrohan with fellow believers, the Lord displayed his glory in many unique manifestations. Some people were baptized in the Spirit, while others received a fresh blessing with new direction for their lives. Many more were healed instantaneously, as the Lord’s presence was both glorious and gentle remaining with us throughout the night.
Saturday evening, while in prayer around one of the torches which surrounded the perimeter of the tents, the Lord revealed to me in an ever peaceful way that we are to be “Blue Fire”.
The blue fire is the part of the flame which one does not really consider when thinking about a flame. It is the element, which is at the base of the flame burning closest to the source. Therefore, the blue fire is the part with the most oxygen which allows for complete combustion. It is in this state, leaving no residue, where the flame is the purest. The blue fire is the hardest to blow out and remains light even in the strongest winds. And despite popular belief, the blue part of the flame, and not the red one, is the hottest part of the fire.
The red flame receives its color from the impurities in the air that are being combusted. These impurities absorb heat and are the cause for the red fire not being as hot as the blue fire. Since the red fire is not hot enough to reach the state of complete combustion not being close enough to the source, it leaves a soot residue, which contaminates its surroundings. And when the wind blows it does not remain strong.
We are not simply to be on fire for God with a red flame, but we are to be on fire for God with a blue flame. We are to be “Blue Fire”. We are to be the hottest and most constant of the fire. And it is in doing this that we provide true light to our surroundings and not residue. We are to remain as hot as blue fire in order to be without impurities, uncontaminated by the world. For it is the blue fire which does not to waiver in the wind; and it is the blue fire which remains as one with the source of the flame.
20 Signs of the Last Days
1. The Spirit poured out on all flesh (Joel 2:28)
2. Israel restored as a political state (Deuteronomy 28:64, 30:3 Jeremiah 29:14, 30:3 Isaiah)
3. Universal apostasy (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4)
4. The watering down of the gospel (2 Tim 3:5, Matthew 15:9)
5. False prophets and false Christs (Matthew 24:24)
6. Good will be called evil and evil good (Isaiah 5:20)
7. Worldly knowledge will increase (Daniel 12:4)
8. Earthquakes, floods, famines, plagues and diseases such as the world has never seen (Matthew 24 and Luke 21)
9. Peace will be taken from the earth and wars will increase throughout the world (Matthew 24 and Luke 21)
10. Wickedness, murder and crime among men, while the belief in the occult will increase (Matthew 24, Luke 21, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 4:3-4)
11. People will not believe the signs of the Last Days (2 Peter 3:3-4; Matthew 16:1-4)
12. Increase in persecution of the Christians (Matthew 24:9; Mark 13:9)
13. Spread of Nuclear Weapons as predicted by the Bible (Isaiah 24:1; Zechariah 14:12; Matthew 24:21,22)
14. Middle East Tensions and an unified Arab league (Genesis 16:12; Psalm 83; Isaiah 2:3-4)
15. The new tower of Babel (Genesis 10; Isaiah 13:1-11; Jeremiah 50-51 Revelation 18)
16. Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38:1-4; Revelation 20:8)
17. The Revived Roman Empire (Daniel 2:34-45; 7:7-24; Revelation 13:1-2; 17:3-16 )
18. The Anti-Christ (1 John 2:18-19; 4:3; 2 John 7)
19. The Mark of the Beast (Revelation 13:18)
20. The FINAL SIGN: The Gospel will be preached to end of the world (Matthew 24:14, Revelations 14:6-7)
Finding Friends in Phoenix or the Story of an Arizona State Quarter
We used the time in the San Francisco Bay Area to meet up with old friends from our youth group in Bulgaria. While having coffee at the El Cerrito Starbuck’s early Sunday morning, we reminisced quite a bit remembering friends and stories from the past. Leaving the coffee shop, we came across an Arizona state quarter lying on the pavement. After picking it up, my friend shared how his brother just recently moved to Phoenix with his family.
What Happens in Vegas is Written in Heaven
We spent Palm Sunday together with the Bulgarian evangelical community of Las Vegas. The Bulgarian Diaspora in the most famous Nevada city has grown rapidly in the past few years now reaching several thousand immigrants who have established a prominent presence in the local community. The latest additions to the area are a Bulgarian store, a Bulgarian restaurant and of course a newspaper for the Bulgarians in Vegas.
Naturally, an evangelical church is being formed in the existing Bulgarian community. These are not only people who have ties with the evangelical churches in Bulgaria, but their families and representatives of second generation immigrants as well.
We were blessed to receive a cordial invitation to minister to them on our way back from the West Coast. Arriving in town, we held a Bible study on Friday and then preached at the beautiful Palm Sunday service organized by the Bulgarian evangelical believers of Las Vegas. As we prayed with the people for the remaining of the warm Sunday evening, preaching Salvation in Sin City became more than a slogan. This world claims that “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”, but what happened in the Bulgarian evangelical church in Vegas on Palm Sunday is written in Heaven.
PRAYER for the POMAKS of BULGARIA
This urgent report is based on the resent proposal for changes within the legal status of the Muslim mosques on the territory of Bulgaria. The controversial changes may allow even Muslim temples which are protected as buildings of historical value to be reactivated and used again for service. This will inevitably affect the Muslim community on the Balkan Peninsula, as well as the Bulgarian Pomaks – a Bulgarian-speaking Muslim population group native to southern Bulgaria. The building of Muslim mosques on the territory of Bulgaria has been revitalized in the past decade, especially in the villages in Southern Bulgaria where Pomaks live.
8 Simple Rules for Doing Missions in the Spirit
1. Never put a price on the human soul, which you are not willing to put on your own.
2. Unsubscribing from missions’ newsletters may result in unsubscribing from the missional letter of God.
3. By no means raise an offering because a missionary needs it, do so because it’s needed for the survival of the church.
4. Not giving to missions is far better, than committing to give without any intention to do so.
5. Before using a missions’ offering to pay a church bill, think of whose offering a missionary should use to pay their bill.
6. Don’t wait on a missionary to ask you for what God has already commanded you to give.
7. Pray for missionaries without ceasing. For it could be your prayer that saves a soul.
8. Never delay sending a missions offering for tomorrow. After all, it was you who preached that tomorrow may be when the Lord comes back.
