issue 15.2
DESCRIPTION
Glad TidingsTRANSCRIPT
Volume 15, Issue 2 March/Apri l 2011
Glad Tidings
The flowers appear on the earth; The time of the singing of birds is come, And the voice of the
turtle-dove is heard in our land; Solomon 2:12
2
Glad Tidings Glad Tidings Glad Tidings Glad Tidings is published six times per year by
Living Hope International
Ministries
458 Old Niskayuna Road,
Latham, New York 12110 USA
Office 518.785.8888
Fax 518.785.1990
E-mail [email protected]
Website www.kingdomready.org
Glad Tidings is mailed free
to anyone who requests it.
Scriptures are taken from the
New American Standard Bible
unless otherwise noted.
mark these
important
dates on your
calendar!!
Glad TidingsGlad TidingsGlad TidingsGlad Tidings
March/April 2011
Something To Consider ......................... p. 3
by Vince Finnegan
God’s Wisdom ........................................ p. 4
by Vince Finnegan
Congo Connection ................................. p. 6
by Richard and Cheryl Elton
Stop Thinking About Yourself ............... p.7
by Vince Finnegan
Psalm 117:
Praise Yahweh All Nations .................... p.9
by Sean Finnegan
Unwavering Steadfastness
And Loyalty To Yahweh ........................ p.12
by Mary Ann Yaconis
Study The Scriptures ............................. p.14
by Vince Finnegan
April 29th - May 1st
Women’s Advance
June 26th - July 2nd
Family Camp 2011, Silver Bay
July 31st - August 6th
Teen Camp 2011, Silver Bay
September 9th - 11th
Royal Family Reunion
3
God our Father loves us and continually desires to help us, which is why His consistent
encouragement is for us to pray. “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open
to their cry,” Psalms 34:15. Yahweh is always present with us and is looking for opportunity to
bless and guide us as we navigate our way through the troubled waters of this life. His willingness
and ability are unquestionable with the only restraint coming from our willingness to seek His help.
We must acknowledge our need and seek His assistance because He will not violate our free will.
Psalms 10:17 O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear. Psalms 145:18 and 19 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.
The Apostle Paul in the book of Corinthians asks a somewhat outlandish question that has an
obvious answer − “Who has known the mind of the Lord that he can instruct Him.” The mind of the
one who created the heavens and the earth, who lives in eternity, is incomprehensible and superior
to man’s minuscule brain. He knows our weaknesses and limitations and offers to provide His
wisdom to us if we ask in faith. James 1:5 tells of God’s loving kindness in this regard: “If any of
you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will
be given to him.”
Again, our Father loves us and takes pleasure in answering our prayers. Proverbs 15:8 states, “The
prayer of the upright is His delight.”
The revelation communicated by Jeremiah spans the ages:
Jeremiah 29:12-14 ‘Then shall you call on Me, and you shall go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you shall seek Me, and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, said the LORD.”
Delight God – PRAY!
God’s best to you,
SOMETHING TO
CONSIDER:
4
J ames 3:17 and 18 “But the wisdom from above is first
pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits , unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” God’s
wisdom is the opposite.
God’s WisdomGod’s WisdomGod’s WisdomGod’s Wisdom Pure Pure Pure Pure - God is holy, holy, holy; therefore, His wisdom is pure. God’s perspective is without one speck of sin, filth, unrighteousness, darkness, perversion, ignorance, lopsidedness, or selfishness. It is pure without any foreign mixture included and therefore impervious to human influences. Man’s wisdom, on the
other hand, is always tainted w i t h s e l f -interest and faulty reasoning emanating from a sinful mind. PeaceablePeaceablePeaceablePeaceable – God’s wisdom to the meek is p e a c e a b l e ; whereas, it is unsettling and annoying to the prideful. Insight that comes f r o m G o d brings peace f i t t ing wel l within the heart of the humble. Human wisdom
often causes unrest, turmoil, confusion, anxiety, trouble, and uproar. Man tends to get frantic, uptight, and to force his ways into place. Some of the most revered “wise” men in history have been responsible for the worse wars and hostilities. Gentle Gentle Gentle Gentle – God does not bully people and force them to do this or do that. He honors free will and allows people to accept His will. He deals very tenderly with His children, not in compromising the truth, but in the manner He handles us. He is direct without being caustic, firm without oppressing or forcing, certain without being overbearing. On the other hand, when man thinks he knows what is right, he could care less about what others think or feel. Those who think they know tend to be c o n t r o l l i n g , p u s h y , i n t i m i d a t i n g , a n d bigheaded. Many cock-sure people feel driven to force their wisdom on the rest of us with a bul ldog determination that runs all
(Continued on page 5)
God’s Wisdom By: Vince Finnegan
5
over everyone who gets in the way. ReasonableReasonableReasonableReasonable – People often complain about God’s ways not being sensible and pragmatic in the “real world.” Man in his prideful way thinks he knows better than God, than everyone else for that matter. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” “Turn the other cheek.” “Do not take a neighbor to court.” “Let him take my coat too.” These are seen as fanciful ideas but not practical or reasonable. For those of us who follow His ways, we marvel in joyful de l ight jus t how reasonably His wisdom really works. One of the numerous things contained within the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) is God’s wisdom for a theocratic monarchy, which is a kingdom run effectively with God as the sovereign. The recent controversial health care bill consists of 1990 pages, which is approximately five times larger than the Torah! One bill produced by many “wise” men is five times larger than God’s wisdom for the entire organization of a nation. When enacted, the
projected cost of the new plan will be about 900 million dollars. We have 308 million people in our country, so the improved health care system will cost roughly three million dollars for each person in the country. Why not give everyone three million dollars instead? Man’s wisdom is not exactly reasonable!
Full of MercyFull of MercyFull of MercyFull of Mercy – Mercy or compassion is empathy centered on others not self. God’s wisdom is centered in God with the concern for those it affects. God holds no selfish concern. He has constant compassion for us. Human wisdom primari ly is centered on self with little concern about the others involved.
Full of Good Fruits Full of Good Fruits Full of Good Fruits Full of Good Fruits – The fruit that comes from God is always good with no strings attached. “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” The fruit that man produces cannot compare.
UnwaveringUnwaveringUnwaveringUnwavering – God is our rock, our sure place, which never changes. He is always stable, c o n s i s t e n t , a n d unchanging as is His wisdom. It is never ambiguous nor dubious, rather certain and reliable. Man and his wisdom are like the wind − ever changing and unstable.
Without HypocrisyWithout HypocrisyWithout HypocrisyWithout Hypocrisy –
Hypocrisy is a pretense of
hav ing a v i rtuous
character or moral
character. God is always
genuinely free from all
pretenses. The wisdom of
God is what it seems to be
without fluctuation. This is
in contrast to man who
often is given to hypocrisy
with seemingly altruistic
motives which are really
selfish motives. �
(Continued from page 4)
“God’s wisdom is “God’s wisdom is “God’s wisdom is “God’s wisdom is centered in God with centered in God with centered in God with centered in God with the concern for those the concern for those the concern for those the concern for those it affects. God holds it affects. God holds it affects. God holds it affects. God holds no selfish concern. no selfish concern. no selfish concern. no selfish concern. He has constant He has constant He has constant He has constant compassion for us.” compassion for us.” compassion for us.” compassion for us.”
6
I n recent months, all
three ministries in the
Congo countries that
partner with Living Hope Inter-
national Ministries have been
busy with teaching, fellowship,
and outreach activities.
Please enjoy the photos and
this brief recap of some of
these events, and continue to
keep our African brothers and
sisters in your prayers. They
really appreciate it.
Bringing the gospel to inmatesBringing the gospel to inmatesBringing the gospel to inmatesBringing the gospel to inmates
In January, Rev. Kennedy
Kutukwa Nsilulu of The Way
Restored held a weekend
seminar focusing on bringing
the gospel message to those in
prison. There is a lot of interest
in the church for prison out-
reach, and about 50 people
participated in these
teachings.
Kennedy is working with the
authorities in Kinshasa to gain
access to several prisons, one
of which is located very close
to his headquarters. Please
pray for open doors – literally
– as permission has not yet
been officially granted.
Five day event in KinshasaFive day event in KinshasaFive day event in KinshasaFive day event in Kinshasa
Kennedy and Kael’s churches
joined together in February for
a five day seminar called “One
God, Yahweh, Strength of a
Nation.” It was very well at-
tended, and both men re-
ported that this event was a
huge success and a glory to
God.
Living Hope International Living Hope International Living Hope International Living Hope International
Ministries of the CongoMinistries of the CongoMinistries of the CongoMinistries of the Congo
Rev. Armel Ngo in Brazzaville
reports that God is working
mightily to resolve the issues
they had with the property the
church uses for meetings.
Thanks to many prayers, they
have been able rightfully to
claim the property and are
now beginning construction of
a building they plan to use for
worship services.
Recently, Armel traveled to the
coastal city of Pointe-Noire,
where a sizeable fellowship is
located. He conducted a multi-
day seminar called “God is at
Work Within You.”
Children honored with special Children honored with special Children honored with special Children honored with special
eventseventseventsevents
During the Christmas holiday,
Kael’s fellowship held special
events specifically for the chil-
dren. Zoe Church met in the
Masina municipality of
Kinshasa, where the kids
enjoyed a time of poetry,
praise, arts and crafts, and
Bible. Some of the children
were allowed to give teachings
to the other children, a time
which Kael called “hot Bible.”
Likewise, the children in
Kennedy’s church met on
Christmas for a day-long event
which included many activities
to bless the kids. �
Congo Connection By Richard and Cheryl Elton
Zoe Church - Children teaching each other the Scriptures
Believers in Kinshasa packed in the 5 day seminar held
by Zoe Church and the Way Restored
7
J ames 4:1 – “What is the source of quarrels and con-
flicts among you? Is not the source your pleas-ures that wage war in your members?”
The question posed − What is
the source or cause of the
fighting and quarreling
among us? The answer is that
they come from within the
person. The source is your
own pleasures. Just as a
child acts out when he or
she does not get his way, so
do those void of godly wis-
dom. People are self-
centered, so when they do
not get their way, they get
upset and act out (which is
why there are conflicts and
quarrels). We believe the
deception that our conten-
tious behavior is the reac-
tion to the wrong behavior
of another. However, the
truth of the matter is we did
not get our way, so we be-
came upset. With maturity,
we learn to justify and dis-
guise these unseemly behav-
iors, but they are the
same as they were
when we were chil-
dren.
James 4:2 – “You lust and do not have; so you com-mit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because
you do not ask.”
Humanity’s sole motivation
for thoughts and activities is
selfishness. The great para-
digm (a philosophical and
theoretical framework) switch
for the Christian is in our base
of operation for life. We now
have the choice to think what
we think and do what we do
for the glory of God and not
self only. We are enabled to
seek, focus, and obey the will
of God above our own will.
We can be like Christ who
always did the will of the Fa-
ther.
People are motivated by their
own selfish lust. We learn
early on in life if we do the
right thing, we benefit. We
eat all our food in order to get
the treat. We learned to go on
the potty because we received
applause or rewards. At
school, we get certificates of
achievements, rewards, and
grades for our actions. With
our vocation, we are told if
we do well, we will receive
better pay, vacation time, and,
most of all, positions with
more prestige. When our
egos are stroked, we respond
and do more to satisfy our
employer. The inner machin-
ery of all civilization is the
manipulation of man’s activ-
ity based upon his self-
interest. Yet, this core motive
was nonexistent in the origi-
nal world, during the life of
our Lord Jesus, and will be so
in the Kingdom to come. The
holy and right way is living
from a God-centered core.
Satan keeps control over the
people of the world by the
complete and constant ma-
nipulation of our egos. He
knows that individual self-
interest is the actual motive
of all conscious action. The
interest we have in others is
only through the reflection
of self. For the believer,
God implants a new will in
us, the will of God in Christ
Jesus. The great paradigm
switch is we now have a
choice between our own will
and the will of Christ that
lives within us. The new will
causes us to have genuine
STOP THINKING ABOUT YOURSELF! By Vince Finnegan
“People are motivated by their
own selfish lust.”
8
godlike concern for our fel-
low man.
The history of humanity re-
veals the vast extremes of
wickedness stirred by the un-
relenting and hideous motive
of self. Even in the church,
we experience the effects of
the immature Christians who
never grow past self-interest
to desire of and obedience to
the will of God. Everyone
comes around because of self-
interest; few stay around
because most do not ma-
ture past self to God.
Some churches grow in
population because the
person in charge is a
master motivator playing
on the base motive of
self-interest to entice
people to participate.
The people think they
are giving service to God
but really are serving
themselves.
James 4:3- “You ask and do not receive, be-cause you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”
Asking God out of self-
interest rather than God-
interest is to ask amiss. The
concern for prayer is to ask
for God’s will and wisdom
rather than our own. Read
these prayers - Ephesians 1:16
-19; Colossians 1:9-12. The
wrong motive is self-centered
concern, desire for that which
brings pleasure to self, which
is the way of every human in
the world. The way humanity
got into the mess we are in
was by Adam and Eve fol-
lowing self-interests and
pleasures in place of God’s
interests. God’s interest for
them was paradise. Jesus
taught us to stop following
man’s interest, deny self, and
follow him (Luke 9:23-27;
Matthew 16:21-27).
We can turn our lives over to
the one who lives within us
by quiet, persistent practice
day by day. Turning our at-
tention from self and the
world to Him with prayer,
inward worship, and surren-
der is our goal. We can de-
velop and establish mental
habits of inward orientation.
A steady, inner, secret turning
to God is possible. We can
begin right now by turning
within ourselves and telling
God we love Him and asking
Him to help us grasp the con-
cept under consideration.
You can keep engaged with
the outer world, and at the
same time, you surrender
yourself to the inner world
where God dwells within
Christ in you. Turn your
thought in silent worship to
Him as you are involved in
every activity of life. Ask for
His help; ask for His bless-
ings on the person with
whom you are talking.
Pray that His blessing will
shower down on the place
that you are located. Ask
Him to guide you and di-
rect you. Keep it up
throughout the day. First
thing in the morning, last
thing at night, while you
are eating or driving in
your car, turn your
thoughts and heart to him.
When you forget to do it,
immediately return to fo-
cus on Him. Do not dwell
on the past, on what you
failed to do; rather, do it now.
When you realize you are self
-focused, claim Jesus’ com-
mand to die to yourself.
STOP THINKING ABOUT
YOURSELF! Turn your mind
to Him, and ask what His will
is. What does He want you to
think about, and what does He
want you to do? �
(Continued from page 7)
STOP THINKING ABOUT YOURSELF Continued. . .
“Turning our attention from self and the world to Him with prayer, inward worship, and surrender is
9
P salms 117:1-2 1 Praise the LORD, all nations!
Extol him, all peoples! 2 For great is his stead-
fast love toward us, And the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD! Psalm 117 is set among a collection of praise psalms known as the Egyptian Hallel (Psalms 113-118). “Hallel” is simply the Hebrew word for praise, and the “Egyptian Hallel” was the set of praise psalms typically sung during the Passover meal celebra-tion every year (according to the Babylonian Talmud). In fact, Jesus and the disciples may well have sung them as part of their Passover cele-bration (Mark 14:26). Even so, rather than focusing on how Psalm 117 was and still is used for worship pur-poses, I would like to focus attention on its content and how it was later interpreted in the New Testament. Praise psalms like Psalm 117 have a definite structure consisting of at least two parts. The first is a call to praise, and the second ei-ther gives reasons for praise
or else tells what to say. Psalm 117 begins with a charge, “Praise Yahweh, all nations!” The inner mean-ing of the word “Hallelujah” is “praise Yahweh” (hallel = praise, jah = shortened form of Yahweh). This is why translations differ on how to put the first line, with most of them rendering it as, “Praise the LORD, all na-tions;” while others simply write, “Hallelujah” or “Alleluia.” Even so, saying “Praise the LORD” or “Hallelujah” is not actually praising God; rather, it is telling others to praise Him. In this psalm, the call to praise is very interesting be-cause it invites not just Is-rael or the righteous, but all nations to praise Him. It is important to remember that at this time Israel was God’s only chosen people. In fact, the other nations were populated with Gentiles (non-Israelites) who often fought against Israel. In his com-mentary on the Psalms, John Goldingay writes:
“Usually the people of God are urged to praise Yhwh, and only here are the nations e n v i s a g e d a s ‘glorifying’ Yhwh.
While other psalms have commissioned the proclaiming of Yhwh’s glory among the nations and have urged the whole world to sing for, shout for, and serve Yhwh, only here are the nations them-selves urged to do so.” (Vol. 3, p. 350)
Just imagine the worship leader standing up and de-claring “Praise Yahweh, all nations” from the midst of the congregation gathered in the courts of the Temple in Jerusalem. That might be a bit strange. Still, what is even more extraordinary is the reason why the Gentiles should praise God. We might expect the psalmist to write “because God is the creator of all” or “because God is the provider and sus-tainer” or some other univer-sal blessing that the sover-eign Lord bestows on all, but instead the reason given is His great steadfast love and faithfulness to Israel. Why would all the nations, who were, more often than not, enemies of God’s chosen people, praise God on ac-count of His covenant love
(Continued on page 10)
Psalm 117: Praise Yahweh, All Nations!Psalm 117: Praise Yahweh, All Nations!Psalm 117: Praise Yahweh, All Nations!Psalm 117: Praise Yahweh, All Nations! By: Sean Finnegan
10
and faithfulness to Israel? In order to answer this question, we must tap into the root of the Abrahamic blessing. God had prom-ised Abraham: Genesis 12:2-3 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." The idea is simple, though it has mas-sive consequences. God chose one family to work with, so that through them He could bring blessings upon all. The Abrahamic people were the ones through whom God would fix what was wrong with the world. The original curses that befell Adam and Eve and their offspring would need to be rectified,
and it is only fitting that Yahweh would begin this process by calling out one faithful couple (Abraham and Sarah) and blessing them along with their de-scendants. But, what ex-actly did God have in mind? What shape would these blessings take? Many years later, God painted a portrait of the bright future in a vision written down by the great prophet Isaiah:
Isaiah 2:2-4 2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the moun-tains, and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall
flow to it, 3 and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths."
For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusa-lem.
4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall de-cide disputes for many peo-ples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. The central idea of this
(Continued on page 11)
Psalm 117: Praise Yahweh, All Nations! Continued. . .Psalm 117: Praise Yahweh, All Nations! Continued. . .Psalm 117: Praise Yahweh, All Nations! Continued. . .Psalm 117: Praise Yahweh, All Nations! Continued. . .
...the mountain of the house of the LORD
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
Isaiah 2:2
11
spectacular vision of the future is that God will work through Abraham’s de-scendants, the nation of Israel, to instruct and es-tablish justice among the nations. The peoples of the world will one day ea-gerly travel to Zion, the heart of Israel, to learn how to live. This teaching will be so effective at set-tling disputes that nations will no longer fight each other or even train for war. Such a vision throbs in the heart of our psalmist so intensely that he or she has, as it were, already written the song to accom-pany this grand moment when God fulfills the prom-ises to Abraham and all the nations find Israel the supreme agent of God’s blessing. For then, on that day, Israel will boldly sing: Psalms 117:1-2 1 Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! 2 For great is his stead-fast love toward us, And the faithfulness of the LORD endures for-ever. Praise the LORD! Centuries after Psalm 117 was penned, the ex-Pharisee Paul came to see the beginning of this proc-ess when he arrived in An-
tioch: Acts 11:19-26 19 Now those who were scattered be-cause of the persecut ion that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoeni-cia and Cy-prus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists [Greeks] also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. … 25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul [a.k.a Paul], 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to An-tioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. Though there had been isolated incidents of Gen-tiles joining the messianic movement (i.e. Christian-ity)—like the treasurer of
Ethiopia and the centurion Cornelius—Barnabas and Paul found themselves at the center of a mixed com-munity where Jews and Greeks were worshipping together. In Christ, some-thing amazing had hap-pened: people from the nations were suddenly at-tracted to the true God and the way of life He pre-scribed. The Apostle Paul later wrote: Romans 15:8-12 8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in or-der that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name." [Psalms 18:49] 10 And again it is said, "Rejoice, O Gentiles,
“In Christ, something amazing had
happened: people from the nations were
suddenly attracted to the true God and the way of
life He prescribed.”
12
T he book of Ruth is set in the era of the
book of Judges (1380 BC to
1050 BC) that was marked by
rebellion against God which
resulted in severe oppression
and famine. One of the central
themes of the book of Judges
revolves around Israel reject-
ing Yahweh from being ruler
over Israel to having a monar-
chy as did other nations.
Within this tumultuous time,
there was a Moabite woman
named Ruth, who forsook her
home, culture, and country
and remained faithful to her
husband’s family and
Yahweh.
Naomi and Elimelech, whose
name means God is King, had
traveled to Moab in order to
survive from famine condi-
tions around Bethlehem. In
Moab, Ruth married one of
their sons. Both sons died as
well as Elimelech, and Naomi
now was a widow along with
Ruth and another daughter-in-
law. Naomi recommended
both women stay in their
home country. One remained.
The following record is given
of this time when Naomi was
departing to go back to the
Bethlehem area alone.
(Continued on page 13)
Unwavering Steadfastness and Loyalty to Yahweh By Mary Ann Yaconis
w i t h h i s p e o -ple." [Deuteronomy 32:43] 11 And again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him." [Psalms 117:1] 12 And again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gen-tiles; in him will the Gentiles hope." [Isaiah 11:10] Christ serves the Jews in order to confirm the prom-ises given to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. Of course, one of those prom-ises was “in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:17). In Christ this promise has been con-firmed and will find total fulfillment when he returns to accomplish what was prophesied. Still, even be-fore the Son of Man comes back and establishes God’s eternal Kingdom, the Gen-tiles are already being grafted into the tree of faith (Romans 11:17-24). To make his point, Paul quotes from Psalms 117:1, among other Scriptures, showing that the inclusion of the Gentiles was foreor-dained by God long ago. Because God has demon-strated steadfast love to
Israel and faithfulness to His promises, which He has now achieved through one representative Israel-ite—Jesus of Nazareth—all the Gentiles should glorify God. They now have rea-son to sing the psalms along with natural Israel, and as the Jews hear the Gentiles praising God, they find themselves singing: Psalms 117:1-2 1 Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! 2 For great is his stead-fast love toward us, And the faithfulness of the LORD endures for-ever. Praise the LORD! �
(Continued from page 11)
Psalm 117: Praise Yahweh, All Psalm 117: Praise Yahweh, All Psalm 117: Praise Yahweh, All Psalm 117: Praise Yahweh, All
Nations! Continued. . .Nations! Continued. . .Nations! Continued. . .Nations! Continued. . .
13
Ruth 1:14-18
And they lifted up their
voices and wept
again; and Orpah
kissed her mother-
in-law, but Ruth
clung to her. Then
she said, “Behold,
your sister-in-law
has gone back to
her people and
her gods; return
after your sister-in
-law.” But Ruth
said, “Do not urge
me to leave you or turn back from
following you; for
where you go, I will
go, and where you lodge,
I will lodge. Your people
shall be my people, and
your God, my God.
“Where you die, I will
die, and there I will be
buried. Thus may the
LORD do to me, and
worse, if anything but death parts you and
me.” When she saw that
she was determined to
go with her, she said no
more to her.
Naomi gave Ruth a blessing
and told her she could stay
(Ruth 1:8, 9), but Ruth deter-
mined to go with Naomi and
follow Yahweh. What was
Ruth leaving behind?
Ruth was leaving her
“people.” The Moabites, de-
scendents of Lot, were the
result of incest involving Lot
and his two daughters
(Genesis 19). The chief god
of Moab was Chemosh
(Numbers 21:29; 1 Kings
11:33), and Ammon's chief
god was Molech (1
Kings11:5,7). Worship of
idols and sacrifice of children
dominated their culture. A
problem for the Israelites for
many years, Numbers 25:1
and 31:14-16 records the
events that the Moabite
women were so beautiful they
would entice the Israelites to
marry them and then bring
into Israel their idolatry.
In great contrast to the
debauchery of Moab,
Ruth forsook her cul-
ture and made an un-
wavering, committed
choice to remain loyal
to Naomi and Yah-
weh. After returning to
Bethlehem, a kinsman-
redeemer named Boaz
married Ruth and
saved both widows
from a very difficult
life of poverty. Ruth
was blessed by Yah-
weh with marriage and
children, which re-
sulted in her great-
grandson who was
King David. Ruth was a cou-
rageous woman who acted in
faith, committed to living ac-
cording to Yahweh’s laws,
and was incredibly redeemed
from destruction.
We are faced with the same
problem as Ruth every day.
Are we going to stay in the
muck and mire of the lusts of
the flesh or are we going to
live for entrance into the
Kingdom of God when Christ
returns for his people? In
reading the four compact
(Continued from page 12)
(Continued on page 15)
14
STUDY THE SCRIPTURES By Vince Finnegan
2 Timothy 2:15AV – Study to show thyself ap-proved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
James 1:21 Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility [meekness] receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
Our acceptance of the impor-
tance of study and our atti-
tude toward study hold a de-
termining impact on how we
approach the subject. God
wants us is to enjoy this im-
portant aspect of our Chris-
tian life and has enabled us
to be successful in our dili-
gent effort. The following
are some ideas to help you
along.
1) Believe you have the
ability to study the Bible
with comprehension because
God has equipped you with
the holy spirit. 1 Corin-thians 2:12 - Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may
know the things freely given to us by God
2) Devotional reading of
the Scriptures should be a
daily habitual practice just
like eating. Read the entire
Bible from beginning to end
at least once a year.
3) Plan routine study
time, and select a place
where you will not be dis-
turbed (which may need to
be outside of your home.)
4) Select the topic for
study. Always focus on the
context of the subject. For
example, if you are trying to
understand James 1:21, read
the entire chapter and the
whole epistle. You may need
to do this repeatedly to dis-
cover the overall truth God is
communicating. Understand
the verse in the context.
5) Pray and ask God to
help you know the truth and
what He wants you to under-
stand.
6) Read other sections
of Scripture that communi-
cate the same subject.
7) Look up the words
that are unclear to you in a
good English dictionary.
8) Take time to ponder
what you are studying.
2 Timothy 2:7 – “Consider what I say; and the Lord give you understanding in all things.”
9) Use other material
written about the subject as a
reference outside of you to
consider. All the books pub-
lished with our ministry are
designed to help the readers
understand the Bible and can
be an aid to your study.
10) Slow your mind
down, and ask questions that
provoke inquiry. Who is
speaking? What is
said? When is it said? (This
is important to acknowledge
when comparing to other
parts of the Bible that may
cover the same sub-
ject.) What is the geo-
graphical location? (Use a
Bible atlas.) Is the language
figurative or literal? Why is
this being stated at this loca-
tion?
11) Enjoy the task of
studying without becoming
anxious or impatient. The
exercise of studying is very
rewarding and ongoing, so
do not feel compelled to
force understanding. �
15
chapters of Ruth, we can gloss
over the incredible darkness of
her life in Moab and the juxta-
position of her life with Boaz,
her kinsman-redeemer. Ruth
epitomizes leaving the old na-
ture behind and living in the
new nature of Christ. Ruth was
firm in her steadfastness and
unwavering loyalty for Yah-
weh. Every moment, we have
the same choice as Ruth. Do
we stay in the lusts of the flesh,
or do we live for Yahweh?
Ruth had no idea what her life
would be like with Naomi in a
foreign land, but she had the
hope of loving Yahweh. Are
we, as Ruth was, to allow noth-
ing to come in between our-
selves and Yahweh, willing to
live and die for what we hold
as truth? We can be encouraged
by her steadfastness and remain
faithful each moment of each
day to leave our Moab and live
in Yahweh’s presence.
2 Peter 3:17 You there-
fore, beloved, knowing
this beforehand, be on
your guard so that you
are not carried away by
the error of unprincipled
men and fall from your
own steadfastness. �
(Continued from page 13)
Unwavering Steadfastness and
Loyalty To Yahweh Continued...
The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes snacks and meals.
The sermon this morning: 'Jesus
Walks on the Water.' The sermon
tonight: 'Searching for Jesus.'
Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say 'Hell' to some-one who doesn't care much about you.
Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I will not pass this way again, ' giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.
For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. Is done.
The Associate Ministe
r unveiled the church's new campaign slo
gan last Sunday:
'I Upped My Pledge so up yours.'
The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the Congregation would
lend him their electric girdles fo
r the pancake breakfast n
ext Sunday.
These sentences (with all the BLOOPERS) actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in
church services:
458 Old Niskayuna Road, Latham, NY 12110
Nonprofit Org.
US Postage
Paid
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Permit No. 128
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand
When I awake, I am still with You ~Psalms 139:17&18~