Here’s a note from Rev James and Peggy Krikava serving as missionaries in Eurasia. They are also parents of Joe Krikava, current member at First Lutheran.
For additional information on the Krikava family, please see the prayer card below and a link to the LC-MS article on the installation.
In that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people …He will set up a banner for the nations,and will assemble the outcasts of Israel,and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Isaiah 11:11-12
Dear Friends in Christ,
Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim till all the world adore His sacred name. O Lord, once lifted on the glorious tree, as Thou hast promised, draw us all to Thee. (LSB 837:4).
So sings the Church of all ages in response to the words of her dear Lord Jesus: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32). Therefore, the banner of the Christian Church is as St. Paul put it, “to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ” … “publicly portrayed as crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2, Gal. 3:1). As the LORD, in the days of Isaiah the prophet, promised to set up a banner to recover the remnant of His people from the four corners of the earth, so the cross of Jesus Christ, portrayed as crucified, is that banner to the world.
The mission work of our beloved Lutheran Church in Eurasia is the Lord setting His hand again the second time, or even the third, fourth, fifth time, and more, to recover the remnant of His people. They once looked to their Redeemer on that Banner of the Holy Cross, listened to and treasured the forgiveness of sins won for them there, and put their trust in Christ alone for their salvation. Yes, there was great joy, praise, and thanksgiving for the Gospel that came to them so long ago. But for just this reason the devil’s rage all the more fierce. The old evil foe gathered all of his deadly woe in hopes of trampling God’s Banner under foot. Through war and bloodshed, famine and plague, false doctrine and tyranny from within and without, communism, liberalism, and a host of other “-isms”, the blessed Gospel has been ripped from the hearts of so many, so that the landscape is scattered with the lost and wounded, in desperate need to see the Banner again … and live!
As Jesus told Nicodemus, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). When the people looked at the bronze serpent lifted up in the desert, they saw the death of “that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” (Rev. 12:9), lifted up on that pole. And they foresaw Christ lifted up on His cross, swallowing up all the devil’s evil venom, yes, devouring him once and for all, along with the sins of the whole world – yours and mine too. Yes, the mission field of Eurasia is vast and even daunting. For many of us, we have our own roots there and much to be thankful to our forebears for the blessed Gospel they gave us. Now it is our turn! Yes, yours and mine. God gives each of us the blessed task of spreading the Gospel to all nations, to each in his or her own way, whether it be by prayer that the Lord of the Harvest might bless our outreach, witnessing by word and deed, mission support and promotion of the same, field work, church planting, and more. There is something each and everyone can do! So, we come before you to ask for your help in the great work we are all given to do.
Many of you, who are receiving this newsletter are already involved, for which we express our most hearty thanks to God, our Father, who moves the hearts of His people, redeemed by the blood of Christ, by His Holy Spirit. Over the past months preaching and presenting on the road, it has been such a pleasure to meet so many fellow Christians, eager to carry the Banner of Christ forward. Please continue to spread the word of the Mission in Eurasia. Attached with this newsletter is another copy of the “Krikava – Eurasia” Prayer Card. Please do not hesitate to send it on to everyone you know. The Lord bless you and keep from this day forward even forevermore, through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. James and Peggy Krikava
