(Introduction by Tim Sullivan)
Over 20 years ago, I was living in Oak Park, Illinois doing a sort of missionary work. I had been sent there along with a small band of Christians which included the then-newly-married Steve and Debra Monahan. We did the best we knew to study the Bible and testify of the Lord. At one point, I painted a large map of Greece on our living room wall to help in our study of Paul’s travels in Greece. Years went by and I lost contact with the Monahans. By the time our paths crossed again, we had children who were not that much younger than we were when we’d first met! We were soon to discover that our friendship, rooted in our Christian faith, had been only enriched by the years. This summer, in what was my third trip to Greece, I had the added blessing of the company of my friend Steve. We arrived in Greece after a short stopover in the Netherlands, where we enjoyed a wonderful fellowship with the believers there. From there we traveled to the cities we once knew only as names in the Bible and dots on our living room wall. This is his report of our trip to Greece, which he has with characteristic good humor subtitled:

“Four Men in a Small Car”

On the night of June 20th, 2002, Tim and I arrived at the airport in Thessaloniki, Greece and were welcomed by our host, Todd Pekel, and by Rudolf Illavský (of Vienna, Austria), our travel companions for the next ten days. We promptly stuffed our luggage and ourselves into a mid-size automobile and off we went for a night’s rest in Halkidiki, a village beside the Aegean Sea.

The next morning we traveled along the coast to the city of Kavala, known in the apostle Paul’s day as Neapolis (see Acts 16:6-12), and then by ferry to the island of Thassos. Here, hosted by our brother in the Lord, Dimitris Pelidis, Tim presented the weekend seminar on the utterance gifts of the Spirit entitled, “That the Church May Receive Edifying.”

Since it would be useless to try to describe the whole experience, I’ll just share a few impressions; the first being of the joy of having fellowship with brothers and sisters of different national origins. Though our native tongues weren’t the same, we sure spoke the same language when it came to our love of the Lord, our desire to grow up in Him, be led by the Spirit and walk in holiness. This was very much in evidence during the class. We formed bonds as we feasted together on God’s Word and on really good food between sessions. In the end, some spoke with other tongues for the first time, and interpreted and one very earnest brother was baptized in the sea.

I was also strongly impressed with the reality that as nations go, the USA is brand new. Greece is not! Standing in cities continuously inhabited for around three thousand years, or in the midst of ancient ruins, I felt a sense of the piling up of the centuries of mankind, along with a sobering certainty that we are now very near the end of those centuries. The day of the Lord is at hand. Brothers and sisters, this is real! Let us take heed to ourselves.

After the class in Thassos, we four (Todd, Rudi, Tim and myself) got in the car, ferried to Kavala/Neapolis, and drove on to ancient Philippi where we saw the river when Paul met Lydia (see Acts 16:13-15) and the marketplace where he and Silas were beaten. More old stones, more pondering, then it was back in the car to Thessaloniki (see Acts 17:1-9). The next day we got into an even smaller car, in which we spend significant portions of the next three days (Todd did all the driving, bless his heart!) as we visited Veroia (Berea), Athens and Corinth.

One vivid experience that stood out for me in all this occurred at Corinth. As I walked through the ruins of the ancient city considering the lives of those to whom Paul first wrote his epistles, I was struck by the realization that those people are GONE – those who heeded the Apostle’s admonition and those who did not. It’s over for them, and God alone remembers their deeds, which are now sealed in a book to be opened at the Judgment. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10). Let’s not forget that though we are saved by grace through faith, our faith (or lack of it) is revealed by what we do.

How appropriate that having finished our tour, we returned to Thessaloniki for the final weekend seminar. This one, hosted by Todd, was entitled, “If Ye Do These Things, Ye Shall Never Fall.” If you are willing to take heed to yourself, to be convicted – touched by God in uncomfortable places, this exposition of 2 Peter 1:1-10 is something you would do well to hear. Presented with love and compassion but without compromise, I believe that it is a vital teaching for the Church in our day.

I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to all who contributed to this wonderful week. I’d like to thank Todd and Evi and Dimitris and Marjo for their hospitality, Elias and Aleka, Iannis, Nikos and Zoi, Simmos and Olga, Theano and others as well for making me feel welcome and wanted. Also thanks to Rudi for encouragement in things where I’ve lacked confidence. Finally, I’d like to express my deepest thanks to my home church, The Liberty House of Prayer, pastored by Bro. Vince Falcone, for sponsoring my trip.

 

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From the August 2002 edition of the Vine & Branches