kingdom travelin'

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭14‬-‭21‬ ‭ESV‬‬

After the long surgery, in the middle of the night Oleg returned to surgery to address some complications.

He remains in Intensive Care.

Please pray for his mom, Anna. Her access to her son is very limited because he is in ICU.

She has been incredibly strong and demonstrates great trust in God during this ordeal.

This seems like a critical moment for us to pray.

Thank you for holding this family up in prayer.

Today Oleg underwent a nearly 10 hour surgery. It was the most advanced surgery yet.

Muscle tissue and skin were taken from his back and grafted to his leg and foot.

He is in the ICU and the next 24 hours are critical.

Please pray that our Lord will touch his body and cause these grafts to be accepted into their new areas.

This is a big step and fervent prayers are needed.

Please pray for Oleg.

Yesterday Oleg had another surgery that involved a German surgeon/professor of surgery who came to give some consultation at the hospital.

The news is that “at this moment” amputation of any kind is no longer on the table.

This is great news.

This is a result of a medical team who pushed beyond standard operating procedures to try to save his lower leg and foot.

Please give glory to God. We believe that even the doctors see this as a providential intervention.

We pray for God to intervene. Yes, His will be done, whatever that will is. But we are invited to BOLDLY approach the throne of grace (Hebrews 4). And we can pray with confidence since the Spirit intercedes as well, even when we are speechless (Romans 8).

Our Lord is faithful and His mercies are new every morning:

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations‬ ‭3‬:‭22‬-‭24‬ ‭ESV‬)

Thank you for praying!

Glory to God!

My fellow praying saints,

Tomorrow Oleg has surgery number eight. The update is positive.

His temperature is back to normal. Today he sat up, was helped into a wheelchair and went for a short ride in the hallway.

He is in more pain. This is because the surgeons have removed a great deal of the dead tissue from his leg and foot. So the work they are doing now is in closer proximity to living tissue. The side effect is pain. So, in a counterintuitive way, this is good pain.

With each surgery more tissue damage and shrapnel are removed. Nerves are stimulated and respond! This is real progress.

I’m convinced that God’s hand guides the medical staff and that your prayers are being answered. The providential moving of the Lord is have a big impact.

Thank you for praying. Please pray for Friday’s surgery to make more progress.

May God get glory as we recognize and give credit to Him from whom all good comes.

Thank you.

“Oh Lord, the great and sovereign God of the universe, please guide the medical team as they care for and perform surgery on Oleg on Friday. Bring glory to your name for you are worthy. We boldly approach the throne of grace with our plea. In the name of Christ who is at your throne interceding with us as we pray. In Jesus name name, Amen”

Remember, the compassion and mercy of God overflow from his nature. Because he is eternal, infinite, and without any kind of boundary, that means his compassion and mercy never end. This is why when Paul calls us cracked pots, we can remain full, even though the grace leaks out. Because God never ceases to show us his grace, compassion, and mercy.

So we can cry out: