Jono Miller

Monthly Update February 2012

Tue, 07/02/2012 - 13:14 |

CHILDREN

One of the quotes on my website says: “When I grow up I want to be a little boy.” It is by Joseph Heller an American author. One of his well-known books is Catch-22 which I read a while back (review in this blog). If you read a lot of what Heller has to say about life and about God – he is very cynical. He almost sounds like Solomon in Ecclesiastes. The quote almost seems to say – don’t grow up because then everything just gets too complicated.

Maybe you feel like that – sometimes I do. But I want us to think about children. Can you think back to your childhood? I’m sure there are a mixture of good and bad memories and feelings. But the chances are that one overshadows the other and you look back on childhood with a pleasant feeling or it is very painful for you.

But children are precious. I thoroughly enjoyed being involved in Bribie Beach Mission and Lonsdale Kid’s Camp (see Newspaper article) and again in Kid’s Club at church this year. Jesus still welcomes all of us as children. That means the first steps of faith are easy enough for anyone to take. We need to come without the answers to the ‘The Answer’. As we grow we can understand that the deeper our theology, the higher our praise.

I would also love to challenge you to take the time and the effort to love children. Spend time with them. Sacrifice for them. Listen to them. Validate them. Most of all, share the greatest truth of the world with them – that Jesus loves them.

“Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” Matthew 19:14

UKRAINE CONNECTIONS

Yesterday I made borsch. I bought some Polish rye bread to go with it. I think I was having a Ukrainian nostalgic feeling. I am really looking forward to being back in Ukraine for 3 months later this year. I have had a few chats with friends in Ukraine recently. It is bitterly cold there right now and a number of people have died across Ukraine because of the cold. I have heard that my house is warm but the water pipes to the house have frozen so there is no running water inside. I have realised that being away for so long (now over 16 months) changes many things. Please pray that as I go back I will have a joyous time reconnecting with friends and discovering God’s will for me in Ukraine in the future. And on top of that, pray for decisions to be made regarding UTSIM. The business is continuing to have a really positive influence in Rzhyshchiv. It is just very difficult to maintain it financially without being willing to illegally cut some corners. I would appreciate prayer for decisions that I will make regarding many things in Ukraine.

On top of all this while life goes on for everyone, Vlad continues to languish in jail. There is room for another appeal, but first it must be granted and a date set. The information I have is that it could take 6-12 months for a date to be set. Please don’t forget to pray for our brother Vlad in jail and his wife Vika and son Mattvie.

LIVING DOWN UNDER

I’m now back in Sydney. I have yet to be called in for a day’s casual teaching, but hope that won’t be too far away. There is plenty to keep my busy meanwhile. I will be away a lot this year and coordinating all the details can be quite time consuming. On March 14, I leave for Tajikistan, followed by a few days in Mumbai, India and then about a week visiting Dan and Xan in Thailand. Please pray for the required documentation I have applied for and am now awaiting for this trip.

In Tajikistan I will be visiting friends Pete and Soph and their family along with some others. If you would like to know more please email me personally.

In NZ I went with my youngest sister Priscilla and her family to where my parents were holidaying at Kinohaku on the Kawhai Harbour. I had never even heard of this place. It was out of the way – we had to drive 45 minutes to buy milk. But it was a very pretty spot. We visited some beautiful falls, a natural arch, black iron sand beaches, and we went boating and bush walking. The week before I went with Ruth and Jon to the top of NZ and saw the meeting of the oceans. Jon and I paddled farther out into the deep deep blue of the Pacific (and thankfully made it back again). As I marvelled at the beauty of NZ I thought about our unspoiled it is. It is such a long way from anywhere, relatively young as far as human footprints go, and reasonably low in population. These things combine to give NZ some of its unique appeal. But it made me think more about our influence on this planet. God created all we see. God loves all that He created. Yet the pinnacle of His creation was made in His own image. His greatest love is reserved for humankind – and yet it is humankind who has wrought such destruction upon the very world that God made and loves. The whole earth waits for the redemption God will bring.

The next few weeks I will be involved in Kid’s Club at church, playing touch footy, helping out with Beecroft Rugby, Russian table tennis club, a night or two at Live Wire youth group and hopefully some teaching work. If I have some spare time I might be fitting in coffee with a few friends I neglected to catch up with last year – get in touch if you have the time and the inkling.

I have now been staying with the Bryants for 12 months and am thankful to God and to them for a good place to stay and for good company.

WHAT YA READIN’?

I Resurrection by L. Tolstoy is one of the best books I have read by him. It is not as long as Anna or War and Peace yet it paints such an amazing picture of the protagonists, their backgrounds, feelings, longings and inner turmoils. I thoroughly recommend this book. 5/5

I have now started a 600 pg biography of Bonhoeffer. I know little about him and am eager to learn.

I am also reading a book during my morning devotions entitled Paul for Everyone – Romans by Tom Wright. It is unfolding the book of Romans in bite sized pieces in a very scholarly and yet easy to read and relevant style. Sometimes the odd quote makes it to my Facebook wall.