THASSOS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP NEWSLETTER 2003, #1

Dear brother and sister,

warm greetings of love and peace in the name of the Prince of peace JESUS CHRIST our Lord.

At the conclusion of this year and at the threshold of a brand new one it is with great joy in the hope of Christ's soon return that we are sending you our newsletter and Christmas wishes.

At a time when the world is living the nightmare of terrorism the message of "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men" is as timely as ever. Even those of us who are seemingly at a safe distance from it all, still experience the ruthless pressures of everyday life and desperately need that inner assurance and peace that only the Prince of peace can bring to our lives. We ourselves in serene Thassos have had our full cup of trials and tribulations in the course of this past year but thank God for seeing us through and setting us upon the rock Jesus Christ. I assume that for many of you, if not all, the same applies as the scriptures verify " because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings" (1Peter 5:9). It is in times like these that we are strongly exhorted "to remain true to the faith (knowing) that we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22).

At this point I would like to thank each and all of you for joining our fellowship and making it such a blessed time of worship and fellowship in the presence of God our Father. Every summer I discover more and more that we Christians are more tightly bonded than we ever think and that God's indwelling spirit is infinitely thicker than flesh or blood. We are family in every sense of the word. Thank you for the loving support and friendship that you have offered my family and myself during a summer that was very trying for us. Please know that your prayers and kind assistance have availed much and are much appreciated.
As you probably all know the year 2004 is the year when Greece will be staging the Olympic games for the world. You can imagine the commotion and frenzy that is in the air as we draw closer to that day. It has occurred to me that we the children of God are actually already competing in God's peculiar Olympics so to speak and that this spiritual event is far more noble and glorious than any worldly Olympics will ever be.

As the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church.
"Do you not know that in a race all runners run, but only one gets the prize. Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last ; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly." 1Cor.24-26.

No, we do not run aimlessly but follow in the apostle Paul's footsteps.

"One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13.

In this marathon of life there are times when the road seems longer and more rugged than we ever expected. We get road-weary and disheartened but our second wind comes from the author and finisher of our faith the Lord Jesus who triumphantly leads us on to the finish line.

Therefore, "let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross , scorning the shame , and sat at the right hand of the throne of God . Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Hebrews 12:2-3.

The golden key is exactly that! LOOKING UNTO JESUS! As we look unto Him who finished the race and sat at the right hand of the Father in glory we will be empowered to finish our course and exclaim with the apostle Paul.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearance." 1 Timothy 4:7-8.

Looking back to this year all I can say was that it was a year of great challenge and amazing deliverance by God's mercy and grace. We had been looking for a place where we could meet inside since the Pavilion though beautifully set by the sea was occasionally prone to distraction and noise and when more of you turned up it was difficult to seat you all comfortably. Our initial attempts were unfruitful since owners of flats were sceptical when we informed them that we were Christians seeking for a place of worship. However, with the kind assistance of the Pastor of the free evangelical church of Kavala we were put into contact with the right people and were led to a flat in the centre of town which by far surpassed our expectations. Those of you who came to our meetings this summer I think would have also found the service hall to be a great place for Christians to meet with God and eachother. We had wonderful meetings in this house and the presence of God was manifest in a unique and awesome way.

This same apartment provided accommodation for brothers and sisters who visited the island during the summer. As of this September it has also provided shelter for my family and me. Having looked high and low for another home and not finding one our brothers and sisters here kindly suggested that we make it our home. God seemed to be pointing in the same direction and so we packed our bags and moved in.

God has reiterated in many ways that He sees our church as a refuge for all Christians both visiting and local. A sister in Christ even gave us a picture of two rivers converging under a bridge watering the dry land underneath .The bridge being the church and the rivers 1) the Christian tourists and 2) the local Christians while the dry land is Thassos. I thought that I should share this with you since it captures the vision of our church and ask you to pray for God to open the hearts of the people here and our mouths to speak for Him as we should. Please also pray that the mouths of those who oppose the gospel and slander us be closed and that nothing will hinder the free course of the word of God.

In closing I would like you to know that we are planning to cooperate with a hotel in a beautiful quiet location by the sea to offer Christian holidays combined with a visit to Philippi, Thessaloniki and Beroia as of next September. We will combine these visits with sermons on the epistle to the Philippians and the epistle to the Thessalonians and many other Bible oriented outings and activities. As soon as we have reached more definite arrangements we will let you know the specifics. We are still building up our website and when it has been finalised we will send you our address. Thanks again for your love and prayers. We pray for you and your churches and wish you a merry Christmas and a blessed year ahead. Greetings from Gordon, Fiona,David, Miri, Elton, James, Ullie, Marjo and the children. Love Dimitris.