Volume 15, Issue 4 July/August 2011

Glad Tidings

In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety.

Psalm 4:8

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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 info@kingdomready.org

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

July/August 2011

Something To Consider ......................... p. 3

by Vince Finnegan

Confidence and Boldness ..................... p. 4

by Vince Finnegan

Congo Connection ................................. p. 6

by Richard and Cheryl Elton

Reaching Out To Others In Prayer ........ p.7

by Michael McHugh

Counterfeit Trinitarian Verses ............... p.8

by Sean Finnegan

Witnessing ............................................. p.12

By Vince Finnegan

Focus On The New Self ........................ p.13

by Mary Ann Yaconis

August 26th - 28th

Royal Family Reunion

October 21st - 23rd

Marriage Advance

September 20th

Fall Biblical Education

Classes Begin

Photo on cover by:

Sue Kieper

Photos on Page 11 by:

JoJo DeLaCerda

Janette Medina

Shari Zupan

Sue Kieper

Jennifer Kalpakidis

Keri Greenaway

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A lmighty God, the Creator and sustainer of life and everything that is good and holy, is worthy of all our consistent worship. The Scriptures frequently encourage us to live for the praise of His glory, as is succinctly stated in Ephesians 3:22 - “To him be glory in the church

by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Our undistracted devotion to Him is the most significant matter of all. The theme we selected for this year’s Royal Family Reunion embodies this notion. Our heart is to magnify the importance of glorifying God and to invest our time together actually to glorify Him. The suggestions that participants shared last year influenced some of the changes that we will implement this year. We will have more teaching, which will be the centerpiece of the weekend. Between teachings, a breakout meeting will provide discussion time. Fellowship time will be available after the evening meetings as well as on Saturday afternoon. Friday and Saturday nights, Joel and LaBreeska Hemphill will provide music, and Joel will teach. The Hemphills are pioneers in Gospel music and still travel all over the world singing and preaching the good news of Christ’s Gospel. This summer, they will release a new television show. They have received eight Dove Awards, and the Gospel Music Association nominated Joel ten times as songwriter of the year. They have written and recorded over 350 songs and 27 albums. Many of their songs were number one and top ten hits. Joel has been inducted into the Southern Songwriters’ Hall of Fame and the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame. All of these accomplishments are indeed impressive. However, the most compelling motivation for inviting the Hemphills to join us is not their musical talent (which will be inspirational and great fun to enjoy). In my lifetime, I have encountered only a few people with the commitment, passion, and drive to communicate the Gospel as Joel Hemphill does. I have now heard him speak three times, and each time his message encouraged me to godly action immediately. Not too many teachers inspire me to action! Friday night, he will share on his personal success carrying out the ministry of reconciliation. Saturday night will be the only time during the weekend open to the public who are not attendees of the conference. We will be advertising and witnessing leading up to the weekend and will encourage people to attend the Saturday meeting. I asked Joel to use this meeting to witness the Gospel to the new people that will attend. You will be amazed at his effective witness.

Royal Family Reunion will be held August 26-28 at living Hope Community Church. Please make plans

to join us for what promises to be an extraordinary weekend. Invite your family, friends, and neighbors.

See the enclosed registration information.

God’s best to you,

SOMETHING TO CONSIDER

Royal Family Reunion

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O ur time together was coming to an end since the

store was going to close. We had enjoyed a pleasant discussion about the things of God as she worked engraving the gift we were buying. We agreed that the Bible was the word of truth, that love was the most important commandment, that the holy spirit empowered disciples, and many other similar matters. I spoke to her about the Kingdom of God, which was new information to her but worthy of her consideration. I prayed silently and asked what I should say next as time was running out. I asked her if she believed in the Trinity, and she responded positively.

Then I asked her why did she believe in the Trinity? She responded with, “I have always believed in it.” “Why,” I asked? “I was always taught that the Trinity was the truth.” I responded with asking if she knew that the word “Trinity” is not in the Bible and that neither Jesus nor any of his disciples ever spoke about this subject. She said, “No, I did not know that.” I reminded her that earlier she had stated that the Bible was the truth and her standard for faith; yet, nowhere in the Bible is this subject taught. Rather, it is a theological doctrine that was introduced into the church well over 300 years after the Bible was concluded. The feel of the conversation

changed from one of being mutually comfor-table to uneasi-ness because her core beliefs we-re challenged m-aybe for the first time in her life. Since we were in a town hours from our home, I knew we may never see this woman again; therefore, it was

important to help her question her beliefs so that she might search the Scriptures and see if these things are so. We ended our time together with prayer. People go through life

believing what they believe until they have a reason to question their belief system. With the confidence and boldness that comes from God through our Lord Jesus Christ, we are privileged to help people understand the truth or at least to doubt their wrong beliefs. Christ’s disciples need the boldness to speak plainly, and such boldness comes from God. He will give us the desire to speak, the wisdom to speak, and the boldness to speak. He will also provide insight and salvation to those who hear and believe. The confidence and boldness of men like Peter and Paul cause one to marvel, especially when we under-stand they are examples that all believers are to follow. How did they do it? Paul provides insight.

2 Corinthians 3:4 and 5 Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.

(Continued on page 5)

Confidence and Boldness By: Vince Finnegan

“He will give us the desire to speak, the wisdom to speak, and

the boldness to speak.”

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Not that we are adequate [sufficient] in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy [sufficiency] is from God.

The confidence that Paul manifested was not in his own ability but in God through Christ. Paul often declared that he was dead to himself and the life he now lived was because of Christ who lived within him. His was not confidence in himself, rather in God through Christ. When we look at ourselves, our confidence does not soar; rather, it plunges into doubt and fear. However, when our focus is on Almighty God, the Creator and sustainer of all, faith and confidence skyrocket. We are encouraged to reflect upon the many records written in the Scriptures which illustrate the powerful suffic-iency God provided for the believers.

Joshua and the Israelites followed God’s simple instruct-tions, and the walls of Jericho came tumbling down. Gideon with three hundred fearless faith driven men watched God defeat tens of thousands of the Midianites and Amalekites. Samson with the jawbone of an ass slew a thousand men. David said to the giant, “This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands…that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’S and He will give you into our hands." Time and again, God empowered

men of faith, those whose con-fidence was in Him and not themselves. Un-like Peter and Paul, we have also the many records of the New Testament to contemplate. If we want the same kind of confidence as these men, we too must focus upon God and hold faith in Him and not ourselves. He is indeed our adequacy or sufficiency.

After healing the lame man, Peter and John were placed in custody by religious antag-onists, during which time they marveled at their boldness. “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed.” Within this record, we learn another reason for their boldness – prayer. They understood the spiritual battle they contended within and dared not to evangelize the gospel without the help of God. After they were released, they gathered with the believers and prayed. Note their concern in the prayer.

Acts 4:29-31 "And now, LORD, take note of their threats, and grant that your bond-servants may speak your word with all confidence [boldness], while you extend your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of your holy servant Jesus." And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered

together was shaken, and they were all filled with the holy spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

Paul requested prayers from the believers on his behalf that he too might have more boldness.

Ephesians 6:18-21 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. But that you also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things: If Peter, John, and Paul depended

on God for their boldness and

doors of utterance, we too should

do the same. �

(Continued from page 4) ...and grant that your bond...and grant that your bond--servants servants

may speak your word with all confi-may speak your word with all confi-

dence [boldness],...and they were all dence [boldness],...and they were all

filled with the holy spirit and began to filled with the holy spirit and began to

speak the word of God with boldness.speak the word of God with boldness.

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G od is at work in the lives of our brothers and sisters in the Congo in powerful

and exciting ways. Our partner ministry, Living Hope International Ministries of the Congo, com-pleted construction of a new church building, which required much prayer and provision to hap-pen. Meanwhile, in one of their house churches, a miracle of heal-ing was recently experienced. Here are some highlights of the news we received.

A Miracle in Ollombo

One of the believers in the house church of the city of Ollombo was suffering a fatal illness, and death was imminent at any moment. The situation had been deemed hope-less, and the man’s family had already purchased a coffin and prepared his burial clothes. Rela-tives traveled in from other cities and were ready to attend his fu-neral. As everyone gathered together and many prayed, God brought to

this man a miraculous deliverance which everyone witnessed. (Sorry, but we did not receive spe-cific details). According to Rev. Armel Ngo’s message, “The good news spread throughout the city of Ollombo to the point where the sick are being brought into our house churches for prayers of de-liverance and healing. Many are hearing the Word of God. Today, they can no longer contain the local believers because of the growth of the church.”

The Spiritual Battle is Real

As a result of this miracle of deliv-erance, many of the believers are now being subjected to wicked spiritual attacks from witches in the area – a blatant reminder of the spiritual battle we are in as Christians. Please pray for them.

A New Place of Worship

For over a year, the believers in LHIM-Congo in Brazzaville have longed for a place of their own where they can hold large fellow-ship meetings and classes. You

may recall that we reported last winter how their property had come under attack both spiritually and with legal action. God ulti-mately helped bring a resolution to these issues, and the ownership of the property was restored to LHIM-Congo.

Since that time, the believers have been hard at work erecting a sim-ple structure – some poles in the ground, a roof, and tapestry walls – and they are praising God, who has provided for them their own place of worship.

A Double Blessing from the Lord

Rev. Kennedy Kutukwa and his wife Kabibi of Kinshasa are the proud parents of twins – Glorel KUTUKWA wa KUTUKWA (boy)

and Madel ive KUTUKWA PEMBA (girl), born in early June.

In the Congo, a traditional belief is that a couple having twins is a sign of a special blessing from the Lord. God bless this wonderful family! �

Congo Connection Congo Connection Congo Connection Congo Connection By Richard and Cheryl Elton

House church in Ollombo where a recent House church in Ollombo where a recent House church in Ollombo where a recent House church in Ollombo where a recent

miracle of healing occurredmiracle of healing occurredmiracle of healing occurredmiracle of healing occurred

Rev. Kennedy Kutukwa & wife Kabibi Rev. Kennedy Kutukwa & wife Kabibi Rev. Kennedy Kutukwa & wife Kabibi Rev. Kennedy Kutukwa & wife Kabibi

are parents of twins!are parents of twins!are parents of twins!are parents of twins!

� LHIM - Congo’s property in January 2011 � LHIM - Congo’s new church building completed

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Y esterday while I was working in the Library, a man I know came by to

get some legal copies. Though not what I would say personally, I knew this individual and a little about his upbringing because I had worked with him for a while and had spoken to him on differ-ent occasions; and I also heard some of his discussions with others. He is very much what one would call a political junkie, with many of those views being openly anti-Christian. He is also a person who has trouble getting along with others and has few, if any, friends.

One day as I was waiting to go to service, he stopped by and said a few words. As we were talking, I noticed he glanced at my Bible, and so I’m sure he perceives me to be Christian. Nevertheless, we have always been cordial to each other and for all practical pur-poses have gotten along, though his heart is not open to hearing Scripture.

Whenever he speaks of his per-sonal beliefs, he is always emo-tionally charged, and you can tell that he believes deeply in what he is saying. At least, this is how I perceived him to be. Then after reading Edward Smith’s book, “Healing Life’s hurts Through Theophostic Prayer” (read it if you haven’t), my own perception of him has changed. Now, I clearly see a man who isn’t actu-ally reacting to present day reali-

ties but to events from his past, and those events originally caused him much pain.

Early this morning as I was sitting quietly and having a cup of coffee, this man entered my mind. As I was thinking of him, I recalled that the door to his heart has never opened to me to the point where I could speak to him about Scripture. As a result, I was wondering if he would ever believe the truth and overcome his past. Then another thought came to me, and it came in the

form of questions, the essence of which was: Do you think anyone has ever really loved this man? Even now, does he have anyone who cares enough about him to pray for him faithfully? It was then at that moment when I knew how I could love and help him, and so he is now, and will always be, amongst those for whom I faithfully pray.

Can this man’s life be turned around? Yes, it can! Remember the people, who after Jesus’ state-ment concerning how difficult it

is for the rich to enter the king-dom of God, ask him the ques-tion: “Then who can be saved?” The wonderful answer Jesus gave them is as true now as when he spoke it and is also true in all situations in life: “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” I now believe, therefore, that the door to this man’s heart will eventually be opened, but whether it opens to me or to another believer does not really matter. For whether I plant or water or someone else does isn’t important. What is important is knowing that God gives the increase.

A.W. Tozer in his book Pursuit of God says that “Only God can move mountains, but faith and prayer move God.” Upon reflec-tion of that statement, I now real-ize that though the door to speak to a person’s heart may not always be open, the door to pray for them always is. Accordingly, prayer is an important aspect of reaching out to others and a vital part of the ministry of reconcilia-tion. It is also a wonderful way to do good to those who are of the household of faith.

As far as I know, God has not yet opened this man’s heart to hear, but He has moved in mine to pray for him, and so I will. He is in my heart and prayers, and so are you. �

Reaching Out To Others In Prayer By Michael McHugh

“Only God can

move mountains,

but faith and

prayer move God.”

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A massive discrepancy ex-ists between the King

James Version (KJV) and nearly all modern versions for 1 John 5:7-8.

Notice how much longer the KJV is on 1 John 5:7-8; it has 45 words instead of 20 for these two verses. It turns out the extra words contain the most explicitly Trinitarian ref-erence in the entire Bible. In the one version, three heavenly wit-nesses are in parallel with three earthly witnesses. In the other, there are just three witnesses that testify. Why does such a difference exist between these versions? Did the translators of the KJV add these words, or did the NASB take them away? Which was the original reading?

Thankfully, we do not have to guess at the answer to this question. Archeologists and textual scholars have discovered and catalogued

well over five thousand Greek manuscripts containing all or part of the New Testament (NT). No Greek manuscript before the four-teenth century contains these extra words. The first instance of this Trinitarian variation can be found in the manuscript known as Codex Ottobonianus, which dates to either the fourteenth or fifteenth century. It is a parallel Bible containing both Latin and Greek. Apparently, the person who wrote this parallel Bible was troubled by the absence of these words from the Greek text, so he or she added them in by back-translating from Latin into Greek. A century or two later, a contro-versy broke out over this, and two new Greek manuscripts were made which both included it. Further-more, the extra words were added to four other older manuscripts in the margin. The controversy centered on a man named Desiderius Erasmus who published the first Greek New Testament (GNT) using the printing press in 1516. Erasmus of Rotterdam was an in-fluential Christian scholar and priest who worked hard to redis-cover and restore ancient Greek and Latin texts so they could be distributed. He recognized the im-mense power and utility of the printing press and took full advan-tage. He also understood the value of publishing first. A group of Spanish scholars supervised by Cardinal Ximines were working hard to produce the Complutensian Polyglot (a Bible including the

original languages along with a Latin translation). They had fin-ished the NT in 1514 but were waiting for papal approval. Not to be beaten, Erasmus rushed his first edition into print handing the printer the Greek manuscript itself with his notes on it. Cleverly, he dedicated his GNT to Pope Leo X in order to bypass the long waiting process for approval. It is important to remember that Erasmus lived in an age when her-esy was taken very seriously. For example, William Tyndale was strangled and burned at the stake in 1536 for translating the Bible into English, and Michael Servetus was burned to death with green wood in 1553 in John Calvin’s Geneva for denying the Trinity. Furthermore, Martin Luther, Erasmus’ contem-porary, tacked his ninety-five the-ses to the church door at Witten-berg in 1517, which instigated the beginnings of what became the Protestant Reformation. Erasmus was a man of prudence who ad-mired Luther, even if he thought he had gone too far (especially on the doctrine of free will), but did not throw in his lot with the reformers, preferring rather to remain a Catho-lic in good standing. Erasmus believed it was more hon-est and pious to correct erroneous manuscript readings in an effort to restore the original reading than merely to preserve tradition. Jerry H. Bentley writes, “He complained commonly and bitterly about the

(Continued on page 9)

Counterfeit Trinitarian Verses (1 John 5:7-8)

By: Sean Finnegan

King James Version

7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three

agree in one.

New American Standard Bible

7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agree-

ment.

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audacity of the scribes who took it upon themselves to improve upon the texts they were copying.”1 As a result of his quest to print the best and most reliable Greek NT, Eras-mus set to correcting and noting instances of corruption as he de-tected them. “He insisted,” says Joseph M. Levine, “that an accurate reconstruction of the text was re-quired, even if the results should prove inconvenient for the theolo-gian.”2 In 1514, even before his first NT was completed, his friend Martin Van Dorp tried to persuade him to abandon the project. Charles G. Nauert writes, “He [Dorp] feared that such a publication inevi-tably challenged the au-thority of the church, which had based its teaching on the tradi-tional Vulgate [Latin] text for a thousand years.”3 Erasmus re-plied: Why do Jerome and A u g u s t i n e a n d Ambrose so often cite a different text from the one we use? Why does Jerome find fault with many things, and correct them explicitly, which corrections are still found in our text? What will you do when there is so much agreement, when the Greek copies are different and Jerome cites the same text as theirs, when the very oldest Latin copies concur, and the sense itself runs much better? Do you intend to overlook all this and follow your own copy, though it was perhaps cor-rupted by a scribe?4

Dorp did not persuade Erasmus,

who published his first edition of the Greek NT in 1516. He started to come under attack for breaking with tradition as ensconced in the Vulgate just as Dorp had predicted. Much of the criticism leveled against Erasmus focused on his failure to include the Trinitarian formula in 1 John.5 Furthermore, his second edition (1519) was a parallel NT with the Greek on the left page and his own Latin transla-tion on the right. Many more peo-ple could read Latin than Greek, and so this second edition’s lack of the added part in Latin presented a glaring challenge to the standard Latin Bible of his day.

Over time, more voices joined in the criticism of Erasmus for mak-ing the best proof-text for the doc-trine of the Trinity suddenly disap-pear. Ironically, Erasmus was a believer in the Trinity and was not at all mounting an attack against the dogma. Nauert notes Erasmus’ true intention was to tell “theologians that in their defense of Trinitarian orthodoxy, they could not cite this helpful text, because it did not exist.”6 Bentley notes that because he was “accused of harbor-ing Arian views, Erasmus agreed to include the formula in future edi-

tions if a Greek manuscript could be found which presented it.”7 Taking him up on his word, Eras-mus’ opponents had no trouble pro-curing such a manuscript, all it took was an ink pot, a quill, and a scribe. Before long, Codex Montfortianus came into the world and was read-ily foisted upon Erasmus as “proof” that the formula was in at least one Greek manuscript after all. Eras-mus capitulated and included it in his 1522 edition, “but he did so only under protest.”8 He wrote, “From this manuscript I have sub-stituted what was missing in the rest, lest I give any occasion for slandering me.”9 Levine points

out, “Erasmus’ fear of calumny was justi-fied; Lee had ac-cused him directly of Arianism in this mat-ter and elsewhere in his annotations (and, needless to say, the charge was danger-ous).”10 Even so, Erasmus’ decision had long lasting con-sequences. For his Greek text later came to form the basis of Robert Estienne's (Stephanus) text,

which, in turn, was used by the translators of the English version authorized by King James in 1611. Furthermore, Luther, who also worked from Erasmus’Greek, fol-lowed a similar pattern, omitting the Trinitarian formula in his 1522 and 1530 editions and then includ-ing it in 1545. It is hard to estimate how much these two versions, the KJV and Luther’s German Bible, have influ-enced untold multitudes of Chris-tians for centuries. How many countless teachers have pointed to

(Continued from page 8)

(Continued on page 10)

“When I consider the audacity and hubris involved in fabricating and forcibly inserting a phony verse into Scripture, I cannot help but ask why?”

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this text to explain the doctrine of the Trinity over the years? How often was it used to silence those who doubted the beloved dogma when they encountered the pleth-ora of monotheistic statements in Scripture? Although these words have cast a great shadow, virtu-ally all modern versions have ei-ther deleted them altogether or else relegated them to the foot-notes. This is particularly re-markable because almost all translations are completed by scholars who affirm the Trinity. Today, the forged Trinitarian for-mula persists in only the KJV, the NKJV, the Amplified Bible, and a smattering of other outdated translations. Mainstream Bibles like the NASB, NIV, ESV, HCSB, NAB, NET, NRSV, RSV, NJB, etc. have eliminated it. In other words, Catholics and Prot-estants both admit that it should not be considered as legitimate Scripture! Every single Greek

manuscript testified to its falsity until the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries when marginal notes were added to four old manu-scripts and new ones were churned out to validate the erro-neous Latin reading. (This is be-sides the fact that early Latin manuscripts likewise omitted the text.) When I consider the audac-ity and hubris involved in fabri-cating and forcibly inserting a phony verse into Scripture, I can-not help but ask why? If the Bi-ble already clearly taught the Trinity, why would anyone go through the effort to tamper with it? To me, such an act is plain indication that the Bible does not actually teach the Trinity. Per-haps someone thought God needed help in clearly annunciat-ing the dogma. Sometimes when I am speaking with people, they have used 1 John 5:7-8 in an effort to con-vince me that the Trinity is bibli-cal. I have looked at this “Scripture” as a difficult text in

the past, something I would not want to bring up in a conversa-tion, but now I have realized it is just the opposite. Perhaps we should mention it when speaking to our friends and family about the Trinity. Maybe we should tell them the story of Erasmus and how he was forced to insert the Trinitarian formula even though he knew it was wrong. Maybe we should show them the evi-dence that someone thought the Bible needed help teaching the Trinity. But how can the Bible need help if it was inspired by God? Such a hypothesis is pat-ently absurd! Rather, what is clear is that someone could not find the church’s beloved doc-trine in the Bible and adjusted Scripture accordingly. So, the story of 1 John 5:7-8 actually tes-tifies to the fact that the Bible does not support the Trinity. I think if people knew this, they would be shocked and hopefully become open and willing to hear other views about God that are more biblically grounded. �

(Continued from page 9)

Counterfeit Trinitarian Verses (1 John 5:7-8) Continued...

1 Jerry H. Bentley, “Erasmus, Jean Le Clerc, and the Principle of the Harder Reading” in the Renaissance Quarterly,

vol. 31, no. 3 (Autumn 1978), The University of Chicago Press, p. 313.

2 Joseph M. Levine, “Erasmus and the Problem of the Johanine Comma” in the Journal of the History of Ideas, vol.

58, no. 4 (October 1997), University of Pennsylvania Press, p. 582.

3 Charles G. Nauert, “Humanism as Method: Roots of Conflict with the Scholastics” in The Sixteenth Century Jour-

nal, vol. 29, no. 2 (Summer 1998), The Sixteenth Century Journal, p. 434.

4 Erasmus to Dorp, c. May, 1515, CWE, no. 337, III, 111-39, quoted from Levine, p. 583-4.

5 Another example was his addition of the words “nor the son” in Matthew 24:36, which he later also withdrew.

6 Nauert, p. 436.

7 Bentley, p. 315.

8 ibid.

9 LB IX, 275 B-C, quoted in Levine, p. 588.

10 ibid., 589.

Join Us next Year!

Family Camp 2012

July 1st - 7th

�

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Family Camp 2011

“Yahweh Our Salvation”

12

E very believer has been commis-

sioned to be an ambassador for Christ and to hold forth the word of reconciliation. With the help of God, wit-nessing can be a vital part of our lives. Prayer is funda-mental to our success with everything in life including witnessing. God’s declara-tion to help those that love Him recorded in the following Psalm provides us with great confidence that He will answer our prayers.

Psalms 91:14-16 "Because he has loved me, there-fore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him with a long life I will satisfy him and let him see my salvation."

Isaiah prophesies about Jesus long before he was born. The following provides insight as to why Jesus was so successful in communi-cating God’s Word. Isaiah

50:4(NIV) - “The Sovereign LORD has given me an in-structed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morn-ing by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.” Since we are am-bassadors in Jesus place, we too can look for God’s simi-lar assistance. The article on “Confidence and Boldness” pointed to

the importance of prayer for both Peter and Paul. The following Scriptures can also be incorporated into our prayers.

Acts 4:29-33 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant to your servants, that with all boldness they may speak your word, By stretching forth your hand to heal; and that signs and

wonders may be done by the name of your holy child Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things

which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was on them all. Ephesians 6:18-20 - Pray-ing always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching there-unto with all perseverance

and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

WitnessingWitnessingWitnessingWitnessing By Vince Finnegan

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WWWW hile helping a

young man practice for his mo-

torcycle road test, I was re-

minded of my early experi-

ences learning how to ride a

motorcycle. I had a knack of

hitting potholes dead center.

Frustrated with my inability to

miss them, my mentor asked

me what I was focusing on. I

replied that I was trying to

avoid the pothole and was

looking straight at it so I would

miss it. He mentioned that

what one focuses on, one usu-

ally hits. So, I changed my

ways and didn’t stare at the

dreaded pothole, focusing in-

stead on the clear pavement

which provided a smoother

ride. This principle is a main-

stay in sports − what you are

looking at is what you will hit.

The Scriptures tell us the same

principle.

Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

Paul writes that the direction

of our focus is to be on the

things above. The reason that

the mind can be set on things

above is because the old man

nature is dead and the new

self is hidden with Christ in

God.

Colossians 3:3, 5 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Therefore con-sider the members of your earthly body as dead to immoral-ity, impurity, passion, evil desire,

(Continued on page 14)

Focus On the New Self By Mary Ann Yaconis

Witnessing Continued...

Conversation Openers to Help When Witnessing

What gives most meaning to your life?

What or who are your sources for strength in your daily living?

When you have problems, how do you manage to get through them?

Is religion or God important to you? In what ways? Why not?

Would you like to have faith in something?

Does God seem personal to you?

Do you feel close to or far away from God?

What do you think that God is like?

Can you point to things that God has done for you?

Do you feel there are barriers of some type separating you from God?

Have you ever been mad or upset with God?

Have you ever done something for which you feel God could not forgive?

What would it take for you to live up to what God expects of you?

Do you think God has a plan for each person’s life? The above questions are based on a list compiled by Harvey Elder for counselors.

14

and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

We all recognize that earthly

bodies have fleshly lusts. Even

as new believers, we are gener-

ally quite aware of these pat-

terns of behavior which are

now to be reckoned dead.

When we focus on negative

behaviors so as not to do

them, it is like staring at the

potholes I tried to avoid.

Again, another sports anal-

ogy is when I would play

golf, I would take out some

serious divots from the fair-

way due to “not keeping my

head down.” When I focused

on hitting the ball, rather

than my head bobbing up

and down, I was able to

manage a decent fairway

shot. The same goes for sin pat-

terns. When I am focused on

being kind and tenderhearted

rather than on selfish lusts, my

actions are those of blessing

others. What Paul writes is that

instead of looking at our sin, we

are to set our minds on godly

things above. Instead of focus-

ing on the pothole, we are to

focus on the road that is

smooth and passable.

Philippians 4:8 Finally brethren, whatever is true, whatever is hon-orable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, what-ever is of good repute, if there is

any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Keeping focus on Christ-like be-

haviors means that we will be-

gin to attain those behaviors.

Dwelling on what we don’t

want to do keeps us aiming at

the earthly. Those who have

accepted Jesus as the Messiah

have two natures, the old man

and the new man. These two

natures war against one an-

other. When we seek first the

Kingdom of God and its right-

eousness, we are not thinking

evil, devilish old man ways.

Keeping our minds disciplined

to think the Word is vitally im-

portant to help us continue liv-

ing a righteous life. Every

thought that is kept obedient

unto Christ is one more thought

that will bring us closer to en-

trance into the Kingdom of God.

The hope of the return of Jesus

Christ is the anchor of our souls.

As this hope is kept as a focus,

our desire to love God and obey

His Word increases. If we focus

on what sinners we are and

how hard it is not to continue in

a sin pattern, then our minds

are thinking about not doing sin

instead of doing the godly be-

havior. Avoid the pothole, or

drive on solid pavement. We

are to dwell on, stay, reside,

have as our home, the pure

thoughts of the Word.

Philippians 4:9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Practice is thinking about a

task and doing it over and

over again the right way. The

things we practice are to be

those that we learn from the

Scriptures and not from the

earthly, sensual, devilish

practices of the world. Our

faith is built up as we immerse

ourselves in the Scriptures and

Christ-like behaviors. If we

seem to struggle at stopping a

sin, we may be focusing too

much on the sin and not

enough on godly behaviors at

which we are aiming. For exam-

ple, think about speaking the

truth rather than not lying. The

potholes are always there. Star-

ing at them means we will hit

them. For easing the journey

through life, focus instead on

things above which will help us

to avoid the potholes and set

our minds on the right path. �

(Continued from page 13)

Focus On the New Self Continued...

15

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Fee includes: Friday evening meal, dessert, and coffee; Saturday breakfast, teachings, lunch, dinner, snacks, and beverages; Sunday breakfast, teachings. Also included: admission to Friday and Saturday night music and sharing by Joel and LaBreeska Hemphill; and Children’s Fellowship. The event will be held at Living Hope Community Church, 458 Old Niskayuna Road, Latham, NY. For more info please call: 518-785-8888 or log onto our website at www.lhim.org. Where to stay Reserve a motel room ASAP because rooms are in high demand this particular weekend. Here are some suggestions:

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Royal Family Reunion

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