{"id":5544,"date":"2015-07-15T13:16:12","date_gmt":"2015-07-15T10:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/?p=5544"},"modified":"2015-07-15T23:05:22","modified_gmt":"2015-07-15T20:05:22","slug":"battle-on-multiple-fronts-in-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sukofamily.org\/battle-on-multiple-fronts-in-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Battle on Multiple Fronts in Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ukraine’s war in the East seems to have jumped across the country sparking a fierce and deadly shootout<\/a> in the far Western city of Mukachevo last weekend between two paramilitary groups and Ukrainian police.<\/p>\n

\"mukachevo\"<\/p>\n

This outbreak of violence was followed by two terrorists bombings of police stations in the Western Ukrainian city of Lviv.<\/p>\n

These tragic events remind us that things are not under control yet in Ukraine, there are still groups of lawless bandits who will not stop at anything to get what they want. While the battles in Eastern Ukraine continue to drone on the rest of Ukraine shouldn’t allow themselves to think that the fighting will stay confined to the Donetsk\/Lugansk regions.<\/p>\n

Ukraine is a country at war, although some places, like Odessa, may have a very peaceful aura about them the threat of new violence ominously hangs over all Ukraine like a dark cloud.<\/p>\n

This past Sunday Christina and I were also reminded of the ongoing battles in a few different ways. On my walk to church in the morning a procession of military vehicles and Ukrainian soldiers greeted me.<\/p>\n

After I preached, Christina and I went out to a sanatorium where about 140 disabled refugees from Eastern Ukraine have lived for the past year. We shared our testimonies with a small group and opened up God’s Word with them too. Most of them are unbelievers, yet they listened with interest and asked questions too.<\/p>\n

They also shared with us their longing to return to their war-torn homes and the lack of hope that they would ever really be able to go home again.<\/p>\n

It was again a reminder that the war in Ukraine has many casualties, most of which are innocent civilians!<\/p>\n

However, there is another battle and another war which has many more casualties and longer term and farther reaching consequences. I’m talking about the spiritual battle!<\/p>\n

It’s often difficult for us to comprehend the significance of the spiritual battle. We don’t hear the pop, pop, pop of AK-47’s and we don’t feel the rumble of artillery shells landing. Yet, if we open our eyes we can see the destruction and carnage which the battles leave behind.<\/p>\n