Message from Lyuba in Russia

by Pastor Jerry Theckston

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Some of the dearest followers of Jesus and friends I have ever known live in Russia! Their hearts and first citizenship belong to the Kingdom of God!

Our dear friend Lyuba writes regularly from there and articulates the amazing work of the Holy Spirit in her own life and among many in her home country! It is a long message but I believe your own faith will be greatly encouraged as you share the journey of our dear sister in Christ...

In Christ's love, jerry...

Shalom, dear Jerry!

Thank you so much for your letter and for the precious time you gave me when you were very busy! I love your letters and I draw wisdom from them! Special thanks for your clearly and openness, it is very valuable to me!

What you've shared is really helpful! I find in this a convincing confirmation of the words of God, which He repeatedly and delicately uttered in my heart from the Holy Spirit! About the friendship of spouses and the freedom that we give each other, rejecting self-interest and selfish expectations. And that love does not seek its own! 1 Corinthians 13:5!!

What you shared is very similar to what I wanted to share with you! Our God is always the same! His will is amazing! If I succeed, below I will try to briefly describe the joyful and great events that the Lord is doing in our hearts today.

The first thing I want to share is how the Lord SAVED me from myself and from the influence of those new knowledges that captured my attention for several months. I know that these knowledges was prepared by God, because He teaches us to acquire knowledge and wisdom, as King Solomon said in chapters 2 and 3 of the book of Proverbs.

BUT! without the sensitive guidance of the Holy Spirit, knowledge can destroy the soul and everything around, for Proverbs 3:7! (I think it's the same as a Law of Moses.)I could not even suspect how much the flesh and soul can rebel if you give it freedom and weaken spiritual self-control (Gal 5:16, 17)! I've met that part of myself called "powerful." Something that I've been afraid of all my years of life and that I've been trying to stifle.

A few weeks ago, when the Lord woke me up at night, we had a long conversation with Him. He gave such a vision. He led me to His Cross. His blood flowed through me in rivers and fountains, and I cried. Everything inside me was grieving. The spirit of humble was there. The Lord began to teach me very meekly, strictly and with great love.

He made it clear that for many years of my life I lived by the 'images' (patterns) that I imagined myself. These images were about everything: about love, about friendship, about a Christian family, about children, about people's behavior, about faith, about myself, about people's reactions to me and about what happiness is.

I saw that my reality is largely shaped by what I imagined myself and how reality corresponds to these ideas. It turns out that my life with God was based on the WAY I saw it for myself, but not on the Lord saw it. What was BEST for me was determined by myself. I imagined how exactly it would be better for my husband and my children to act towards me. And how I see love was also determined by me.

It turns out that I confessed some things and TRIED my best to fulfill them, but my heart was far from the essence of the Gospel! The Lord has shown that only spiritual orphans who have not known the true unconditional Love and Grace of God are TRYING and STRAINING (in order to prove to God, to themselves and to people). That's what makes people tired, and that's what makes them exhausted in service!

I saw that my ideas were the opposite of God's, and my ways were far from His!

The Lord also drew my special attention to the Scripture where Christ prayed to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane: "not MY WILL, but YOURS be done!" God emphasized the fact that Jesus, as a Man, had HIS OWN WILL and in His i magine His mission could have looked different, since He was also a man. BUT! The root of humility lies in the fact that Jesus AGREED TO SUBMIT His will to the will of the Father, accepting it as PERFECT and BEST for Himself!

So the Lord offered me a CHOICE: you can continue to live by your imagines WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU or leave it to Me - Your Father and Creator. And indeed, Jerry, I may not even know WHAT IS BEST for me. After all, what I did every day in many ways did not bring the result that I expected to have from my choice. The Lord calls it self-will, when me (or another) determines for myself how to live and what is true and what is not. After all, this is which the devil one tempted Eve and Adam in Genesis 3:5. And to which he continues to incline peoples today.

On this day, in this prayer at the Cross, I made my choice - to hand over all my will and "power" to determine and to choose to the Father and Jesus Christ. I want this very much, this is my prayer and my heart's desire.

And also the Lord called for a choice: To love or to seek Justice? To fight with man or to rebel against the spirits of darkness?

It is impossible to do both, you can choose only one path. And I want to go the path of Love thanks to the Love of Jesus. Only He is the source of such Love! I want to find a heart subdued to God, which He can dispose of according to His will...

Jerry, the experience of the last seven months has opened my eyes to many things. I am so tired of myself! God has made me see how terrible the consequences of unbridled qualities of the human soul can be. That which is not captivated and not subordinated to Jesus Christ. Any gift (from God) can become a weapon of violence and murder.

I saw myself as equal to Cain, who killed his brother for the sake of superiority and pride. Equal David, who killed Uriah for the sake of his desire. Equal the elder brother from the parable, who was angry with his younger brother and with his father, who showed "unjustest mercy." And this is no longer just theoretical knowledge, the Lord allowed me to experience this in practice. It was painful, nasty and cruel. I was disgusted to be in myself, and the same words of prayer in my heart, as Paul says in Romans 7:18-25.

What a blessing that this time did not last long and the Lord saved my family and me from the grave consequences of this obsession! Lord, I refuse to fight with man from now on, but let the power that You allow Yours children to use be directed only against the forces of darkness! Amen...

Dear Jerry, this is the first part of my testimony of how the Lord saved me from the darkness and slavery of sin that was overcoming me.

Jerry, it's been almost a month since that meeting at the Cross and many things have changed in an extraordinary way. I would like to share that too. And also share the interpretation that the Lord gave us to see in prayer - about Vova and me's 1.5-year journey after leaving the "parent church". I will write about it very soon, maybe today or tomorrow.

Thank you for your time, dear pastor and Papa Jerry!☺💞🙏

Love you dear God's man!