issue 17.3

Glad TidingsGlad TidingsGlad TidingsGlad Tidings

Volume 17, Issue 3 May/June 2013

As for man,

his days are like grass;

As a flowerflowerflowerflower of the field,

so he flourishes.

Psalm 103:15

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.LHIM.org

Glad Tidings is mailed free to anyone who requests it. Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible unless otherwise noted.

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

by Vince Finnegan

Seek Yahweh: Changes In

First Century Judaism .................. p.4

by John Cortright

Your Gentle Spirit Be Known ...... p.7

by Mary Ann Yaconis

Congo Connection ..................... p.9

by Kennedy Kutukwa

Esther .......................................... p.11 by Iris Jumper

Read The Bible ........................... p.15 by John Greenaway

Bodily Pleasures ........................ p.16 by Sean Finnegan

Mark these important dates on your calendar!!Mark these important dates on your calendar!!Mark these important dates on your calendar!!Mark these important dates on your calendar!!Mark these important dates on your calendar!!Mark these important dates on your calendar!!Mark these important dates on your calendar!!Mark these important dates on your calendar!!

May 31May 31May 31May 31----June 2ndJune 2ndJune 2ndJune 2nd�� Women’s Conference Women’s Conference Women’s Conference Women’s Conference �� Living Hope Community ChurchLiving Hope Community ChurchLiving Hope Community ChurchLiving Hope Community Church

June 30June 30June 30June 30----July 6 July 6 July 6 July 6 �� Family Camp Family Camp Family Camp Family Camp �� Silver BaySilver BaySilver BaySilver Bay

July 22July 22July 22July 22----26 26 26 26 �� Vacation Bible School Vacation Bible School Vacation Bible School Vacation Bible School �� Living Hope Community ChurchLiving Hope Community ChurchLiving Hope Community ChurchLiving Hope Community Church

July 28July 28July 28July 28----August 2 August 2 August 2 August 2 �� Teen Camp Teen Camp Teen Camp Teen Camp �� Silver BaySilver BaySilver BaySilver Bay

August 23August 23August 23August 23----25 25 25 25 �� Royal Family Reunion Royal Family Reunion Royal Family Reunion Royal Family Reunion �� Living Hope Community ChurchLiving Hope Community ChurchLiving Hope Community ChurchLiving Hope Community Church

Glad TidingsGlad TidingsGlad TidingsGlad Tidings

May/June 2013

3

Love is the essence of Christianity. We are commanded to love one another for therein we are

connected to God as His children and can know Him. Failing to love, we are disconnected and

do not know God. God is the origin and standard for love because He is love.

1 John 4:9-12 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.

Understanding and accepting God’s unconditional love for us compel us to love Him. When we

struggle to love others, more-than-likely we have forgotten God’s love for us. The temptation to

love God into loving us seems to be common yet is very debilitating to our relationship with Him

and our walk as Christians. We do not love Him into loving us; rather, we love Him because He

first loved us. When we have this concept backwards, we are prone to many problems such as

condemnation, religious hypocrisy, being judgmental, apathy, and so on.

The woman that washed Jesus’ feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair, and anointed

them with perfume from her alabaster box was responding to the loving forgiveness she had

already experienced from our Lord. She was not doing these things to gain forgiveness and

love but because she had already received them. As with her, we love because we have been

loved. We forget to love others when we fail to embrace His love for us.

1 John 4:20 and 21 If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

Love like God,

SOMETHING TO CONSIDER:

The Essence

4

I t is evident from early

manuscripts that the

Tetragrammaton, the

four letter Hebrew name of

God, was still being written in

the first century. The extent of

its usage is uncertain. And to

ascertain whether or not the

name was spoken is much

more difficult to establish.

Second Temple Judaism offers

a variety of speculation in this

regards. The New Testament

reveals divisions among the

various factions of Jews.

Acts 23:6-8 But perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Council, "Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!" As he said this, there occurred a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

Jesus was continually

confronted by various groups

of Jews. In Matthew chapter

22, three distinct Jewish sects

are mentioned: Pharisees

(Matthew 22:15), Herodians

(Matthew 22:16-17), and

Sadducees (Matthew 22:23).

The first century historian,

Josephus, mentioned different

sects “…the sect of the

Pharisees, another sect of the

Sadducees, and another the

sect of the Essenes” (Ant.

13.5.9). There was yet

another spinoff group called

“zealots” who were also

around during Second Temple

Judaism. This group “opposed

the use of the Greek language

in the Holy Land.”1 Even

Christians, in the early days of

the church, were considered a

Jewish sect (Acts 24:5, 14;

28:22). In his Jewish

A n t i q u i t i e s , J o s e p h u s

mentions Jesus as the head of

“the tribe of Christians” (Ant.

18.3.3). Authors who have

written about this time in

history acknowledge this

diversity in early Judaism.

“The heyday of Jewish

sectarianism was from the

middle of the second century

BCE to the destruction of the

temple in 70 CE.”2

“These classes and sectarian

divisions manifested a

vigorous manner of life, with

politics revolving about

peculiarly Jewish issues such

as matters of exegesis, law,

doctrine, and the meaning of

history.”3

“If we cannot describe

competing Judaic religious

systems, we can take for

granted that diversity

characterized Jews’ religious

practices and beliefs. First, the

pages of the Talmuds attest to

conflict between the rabbis,

that is, the sages of Rabbinic

Judaism, and ordinary folk.”4

“In the first century CE,

Judaism was marked by

numerous sects and groups:

Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes,

the Jews of Qumran, Zealots,

Sicarii, the Fourth Philosophy,

Christ ians, Samaritans,

Therapeutae, and others.”5

To try and explain early Jewish

p r a c t i c e w i t h o u t

a c k n o w l e d g i n g t h e s e

diversities would be an

oversight. Perhaps during the

early first century, the use or

disuse of God’s name was also

handled differently among the

various sects. This might

explain why hundreds of years

later when the Mishnah was

redacted around 200 AD,

there are variations as to use

of the Name. In Yoma, it is

said that “when the priests

and the people which stood in

the Temple Court heard the

(Continued on page 5)

Seek Yahweh: By John Cortright

Changes in First Century Judaism

5

Expressed Name come forth

from the mouth of the High

Priest, they used to kneel and

bow themselves and fall down

on their faces and say,

‘Blessed be the name of the

glory of his kingdom for ever

and ever!’” (Yom 6.2); In Sotah

it is said that “in the Temple

they pronounced the Name as

it was written, but in the

provinces by a substituted

word” (Sot 7.6); In Tamid it

states that “from Jericho they

could hear…the voice of the

High Priest when he

pronounced the Name on the

Day of Atonement” (Tam 3.8);

and in the tractate Berakoth it

indicates the Name was

pronounced in more casual,

every day usage, as it states

that “it was ordained that a

man should salute his fellow

with the use of the Name of

God” (Ber 9.5). So, the

Mishnah reveals that the

Name of God was being

verbalized in second Temple

Judaism. However, the

tractate Sanhedrin condemns

such practice altogether and

warns that “he that

pronounces the Name with its

proper letters” will “have no

share in the world to

come”(San 10.1). Perhaps,

this last sentiment, as

expressed here, eventually

became the norm in Rabbinic

Judaism.

Whatever variations of

Judaism existed in the early

first century, everything

changed after 70 AD and the

destruction of the Temple in

Jerusalem. Jacob Neusner, a

scholar in Judaic studies,

explains:

“The decisive event, cutting

across all classes and

movements of history, the

caesura of the life of the cult,

the classroom, and the clerks

of government alike, was the

destruction of the Temple of

Jerusalem in 70 C.E. …the

theological side to Pharisaic

Judaism before 70 C.E.,

however is not easily

accessible, for the pre-70

beliefs, ideas, and values have

been taken over and revised

by the rabbinical masters after

that time. We therefore

cannot reliably claim that an

idea first known to us in a later

rabbinical document, from the

third century and afterward,

was originally both known and

understood in the same way.”6

After the destruction of the

Temple in 70 A.D., it is

believed that members of the

Sanhedrin, Jews from the sect

of the Pharisees, moved to the

city of Yavneh (also known as

Jamina), a city on the western

coast of Israel and south of

modern day Tel Aviv. Here

they convened in what is

known as the council of Yavne

to preserve the Jewish

Traditions. From here, this

surviving remnant of Rabbinic

Jews possibly began laying the

foundations for what has

become modern “Judaism.”

Josephus was a Jew, born son

of a priest, who was alive

during first Jewish war with

Rome and the destruction of

the Temple in 70 AD. He

surrendered to the Romans in

Galilee and eventually became

a servant to the Roman

commander Titus, serving as

(Continued from page 4)


6

interpreter and mediator.

After the war, Josephus

returned to Rome with Titus

and eventually earned the

rights as a Roman citizen. He

is particularly noted for his

historical writings, The

Antiquities of the Jews and

The Wars of the Jews. His

Antiquities was written around

90 AD. One very interesting

statement regarding the name

of God comes up when

Josephus writes about Moses

at the burning bush. He

writes, “He would also tell him

his name, that when he

offered sacrifice he might

invoke him by such his name

in his oblations. Whereupon

God declared to him his holy

name, which had never been

discovered to men before;

concerning which it is not

lawful for me to say any

more.” (Ant. 2.12.4). From

this translation, it sounds as if

they had been permitted to

pronounce the name of God at

one time, but by this time, in

90 AD, something happened.

Perhaps by this time, oral laws

were now in place that

restricted the use of speaking

the Name.

In a footnote about this

statement in his translation of

Josephus from the 1700’s,

William Whiston writes:

“This superstitious fear of

discovering the name with

four letters, which of late we

have been used falsely to

pronounce Jehovah, but

seems to have been originally

pronounced Jahoh, or Jao, is

never, I think, heard of, till this

passage of Josephus; and this

superst i t io n, in not

pronouncing the name has

continued among the

rabbinical Jews to this day… It

is however no doubt but both

these cautious concealments

were taught Josephus by the

Pharisees; a body of men at

once very wicked and very

superstitious.”7

After the destruction of the

Temple and then on into the

second century, “two Jewish

sects (or sect-like groups)

outgrew their sectarian origins

to become independent

religions. Out of the Christian

sect came Christianity, and out

of the Pharisaic sect came

rabbinic Judaism, also known

simply as Judaism.”8 By the

fourth century, both these

religions were entrenched in

tradition, and neither of their

tenets included God’s name.

Jewish tradition held the name

as too holy to utter and its

usage was restricted, while in

Christianity the name of God,

Yahweh, was all but forgotten.

This restriction and lack of

understanding has continued

for almost 2,000 years.

However, the prophets have

spoken of a day when God will

make Himself known among

the nations, and they will

know that He is Yahweh.

Ezekiel 38:23 "I will magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the LORD [Yahweh].”�


1 Kenneth Baker, editor, The Zon-

dervan NASB Study Bible,

(Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI,

Copyright © 2005), Pg 1401.

2 Shaye J.D. Cohen, From the Mac-

cabees to the Mishnah

(Westminster John Knox Press,

Louisville, KY, Copyright © 2005)

Page 138.

3 Jacob Neusner, Judaism in the Beginning of Christ ianity , (Fortress Press, Philadelphia, PA,

Copyright 1984), Page 28.

4 Jacob Neusner, Judaism When

Christianity Began (Westminster

John Knox Press, Louisville, KY,

Copyright © 2002), Page 9.

5 Cohen, op cit, Page 216.

6 Neusner, op cit, Judaism in the

Beginning of Christianity, Pages

43, 48-49.

7 William Whiston, A.M.(1667-

1752), The works of Josephus:

N e w U p d a t e d E d i t i o n

(Hendrickson Publishers, Inc,

copyright 1987), Page 71.

8 Cohen, op cit, Page 120-121.

7

Your Gentle Spirit Be KnownYour Gentle Spirit Be KnownYour Gentle Spirit Be KnownYour Gentle Spirit Be Known By Mary Ann Yaconis W

ould it not be

wonderful to

be known for

your gentle spirit? Paul wrote

about how this can be a reality

in a believer’s life.

One who lived among great

strife and had ample reason to

be anxious and not gentle in

spirit was the Apostle Paul.

Amazingly, he remained in the

peace of God throughout it by

allowing God to safeguard him.

Paul’s letter to the Philippians

was written while he was in a

Roman jail awaiting trial. He

was far away from his home of

Jerusalem and was incarcer-

ated in a foreign country

which was awash with huge

pomp and circumstance of the

Roman Empire. Yet, he was

able to live in practical applica-

tion what he wrote about in

Philippians 4:4-9.

Philippians 4:4-9 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and suppli-cation with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which sur-passes all comprehension, will

guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, what-ever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excel-lence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 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.

We are exhorted to rejoice in

the Lord always. This is the

second time in a few short

verses that Paul wrote that we

are to rejoice in the Lord! Re-

joicing comes with a benefit.

Philippians 3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safe-guard for you.

Rejoicing in the Lord benefits

us because it is a safeguard for

us. A safeguard is something

that is intended to prevent

undesirable consequences

from happening. Keeping our

minds away from words of

anxiety and negativity and on

rejoicing in the Lord will cause

us to have peace and calm in

our lives. Like Paul, we might

be in prison for preaching the

Word or reviled by people

who do not like our Christian

beliefs, but we can still be at

peace within and be safe

knowing Yahweh is taking care

of us.

What happens to us all too

often is that we allow our-

selves to get caught up in the

negativity of everyday living,

certainly not a gentle spirit.

We may believe that we are

thinking according to the

Word but are actually thinking

negatively about a situation.

This pattern of thinking causes

us not to rejoice in the Lord

but to instead become anxious

and negative. How this kind of

thinking may be like is this:

Alfred is excited about sharing

the gospel with his new co-

worker who seems to be

somewhat interested. As Al-

fred is thinking about sharing

the gospel and is excited that

he is going to practice what

God wants him to do, he be-

gins to think that maybe he

does not know enough of the

Scriptures to share. He does

not want to tell the man

something that is wrong be-

cause the Word says not to do

this. The Word says he might

be persecuted for speaking up,

and maybe that will happen.

Then he thinks that he wants

to be strong in faith and share

the Word no matter what hap-


8

pens, but can he really do

this? The Word says he can do

all things through Christ, but

can he?

Alfred

would

probably

say he is

thinking the

Word, but

what he has

done with

the Word is

turn it into

an anxious

thought pat-

tern by the

worry and

questioning.

What would

be better thinking is: I (Alfred)

pray that I would like to

share the gospel with my new

coworker. Yahweh, please give

me the ability and words to do

this. I want to be pleasing unto

You. Please help me.

This prayer about covered all

the anxious thoughts. Both

thought patterns have the

Word in them. The second sce-

nario depicts keeping his mind

on things that are pure and of

good repute (or character).

Another example is that a per-

son may be thinking about

how our culture is forsaking

Yahweh and the Scriptures by

all the evil things that are hap-

pening. That person may think

how awful the world is getting

and how hopeless and ungodly

people are becoming and how

frightening it is getting with all

the weather, political, health,

and social problems.

Yes, things are much worse

and don’t look like they are

turning around anytime soon,

BUT Christ is returning and all

this will be over. We think

about how Yahweh sent His

Son, Jesus the Christ, so that

we will not have to perish with

the world. We can go out and

share the Word with others to

help them not get caught in

the evilness of the day. We

may fool ourselves that we are

being righteous in our anxious

thinking, but in reality we are

dwelling on the negative.

Matthew 6:25 For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than

food, and the body more than clothing?

Being worried in life brings

anxious words to our

conversations.

We may think

that we are

“speaking the

Word” about a

situation, but

what we are

actually doing is

glorifying the

evil that is

present.

Again, Philippi-

ans 4:8 states:

Finally, breth-ren, whatever is true, whatever is

honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good re-pute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Dwell or reside in thoughts

that are true, honorable, right,

pure, lovely, and good repute.

The matter is settled when we

remember that God will safe-

guard us and keep us in peace.

When we rejoice in the Lord,

our gentle spirit will be known,

and the Lord is near to us. A

gentle spirit comes from faith

that God is safeguarding us

and He gives us peace in our

hearts as our thoughts are

righteous. �


Your Gentle Spirit Be Known Continued...

9

Congo Connection Marriage in the Congo: A Feat of Faith

By Rev. Kennedy Kutukwa * Note: The following article was submitted by Rev. Kennedy Kutukwa Nsilulu of The Way Restored.

After translation, it was edited for clarity by Richard & Cheryl Elton.

I n the Democratic Re-

public of the Congo

(DRC), there are three

different kinds of marriage:

custom, civil, and religious. In

our ministry, we recently had

the privilege of celebrating

religious marriages for some of

our believers [which you’ll see

from this article are a real

cause for celebration].

At the same time, some of our

brothers and sisters began the

process of making their engage-

ments official between both

families. This is commonly

called the pre-dowry period

and is the first stage of the cus-

tom marriage. The pre-dowry is

a ceremony in which the young

man comes with his parents

and his uncles (from both par-

ents’ sides) to the young

woman’s family, including her

parents and uncles, in order to

confirm their engagement.

During this ceremony, or some

days after it, the young man

receives a bill called a dowry.

This is a list of goods and an

amount of money that he will

give to his fiancé’s parents and

relatives before the feast of

the custom marriage.

They then present themselves

before the Civil State Office in

order to celebrate what is

recognized by the Congolese

government as civil marriage.

Only after the custom and civil

marriages have been

completed is the religious

marriage celebrated.

You may be astonished and

say, “Is marriage something

this difficult to achieve?” Else-

where it may be easy, but in

the DRC it is a difficult process

and almost miraculous. It’s a

big testimony when a young

woman gets married. It’s com-

mon to find families with

grown children in which the

parents didn’t marry until

many years later because they

lacked the finances needed for

these three marriages.

The social phenomenon of

young couples cohabiting be-

fore marriage has become

more and more frequent. It’s

commonly called “yaka

tofanda” – meaning “come so

that we can live together.” The

young woman, tired of waiting

for the young man who is un-

able to marry her for lack of

finances, arranges herself to

get pregnant by him. When the

parents of this young woman (Continued on page 10)

Sister Sekouba gave a testimony

about her 15 years of living single.

This was due to the evil bondage of

“night marriage,” which she fre-

quently had in her dreams. She some-

times dreamt of her uncles having

sexual intercourse with her. This is

called “night incest.” Each time after

such a dream, the fiancé that she had

would leave and never return. She

was trapped in a hopeless cycle.

Our church held intensive prayer for

her for almost three years. Finally, all

those phenomena disappeared. She

married in December 2012, and hers

was the first marriage I had the privi-

lege to perform. Rev. Armel Ngo from

Living Hope International Ministries of

the Congo attended this marriage.

Sister Sekouba’s TestimonySister Sekouba’s TestimonySister Sekouba’s TestimonySister Sekouba’s Testimony

10

realize their daughter’s preg-

nancy, they are obliged to let

her go live with the man

responsible.

“Yaka tofanda” is considered a

Congolese shortcut to getting a

spouse. So you can see what a

big witness it is in our country

when a young woman gets

married. It’s a great joy when

the couple honors Yahweh by

celebrating a Christian reli-

gious marriage. It is the biggest

feast in which all the new cou-

ple’s relatives, friends, and all

the members of their church

participate.

We know that marriage is the

will of Yahweh our Father, and

He is the author of it. He said

in Genesis 2:18, 24 KJV:

....“It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make an help meet for him. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and

they shall be one flesh.”

Why do these three marriages

constitute such a tremendous

blessing? Simply because it’s

not easy to get married in the

DRC for these reasons: Eco-

nomically speaking, the DRC

has an average unemployment

rate of 94%. Sometimes we are

astonished to read that West-

erners are upset when unem-

ployment reaches 10%. In the

DRC, those who do work earn

an average salary of $40 - $100

per month.

The minimum dowry amount

for marriages sometimes is as

high as $1,000. This is in addi-

tion to the material goods re-

quired − such as a suit, two

shirts, two ties, and a pair of

shoes for the young woman’s

father and top quality clothes,

a head handkerchief, and san-

dals for the young woman’s

mother. In addition, the dowry

can require 36 cases of beer,

around 12 cases of wine, 40

kilos of salt, 10 kilos of sugar,

an oil lamp, two goats or

sheep, four hens and four she-

hens, linens and bed blankets,

and a big pot that can contain

10 liters of water (called a

“nzungu ya ma famille”, or “my

family’s pot”). These items can

cost more than the dowry itself.

There are some tribes in our

country that require living

cows as dowry. The cost of this

kind of dowry is evaluated ac-

cording to the number and the

quality of the cows.

When one considers the large

financial burden the dowry re-

quires, achieving marriage in the

DRC is quite a testimony in itself.

Spiritually, there are often dev-

ilish attacks that happen in

people’s lives to hinder them

from getting married. It’s a

spiritual phenomenon that

Africans understand well.

In a family where marriage

comes under attack by family

witchcraft, I’ve observed that

the young women from that

family don’t get married. Men

will come to ask for

engagement, but they all leave

one after another, for

indiscernible reasons.



The second marriage I

had the privilege to

perform was the kind

we call “yaka tofanda,”

which I explained

means “come so that

we can live together”.

Sister Kivuido lived

with brother Maku-

kani Emile without

being married. After

several sessions of

spiritual counseling,

they believed to get

married and got mar-

ried in our church on

December 29, 2012.

Sister Kivuido’s TestimonySister Kivuido’s TestimonySister Kivuido’s TestimonySister Kivuido’s Testimony

Congo Connection Continued...

11

Esther: The Queen Who Saved Yahweh's Portion By Iris Jumper T

he Book of Esther

is the only book in

the Bible, other

than The Book of Ruth, named

after a woman. Both women

were instrumental in preserv-

ing Yahweh’s promise that a

messiah would be born from

the house of Judah to bring

salvation to His people.

The Book of Esther takes place

in Persia during the reign of

King Ahasuerus. The Kingdom

of Judah, because of her contin-

ued disobedience to Yahweh,

had been carried away by Ne-

buchadnezzar, king of Babylon,

until that kingdom was con-

quered by Cyrus, king of Persia.

Many of the captive Jews had

returned To Jerusalem with

Zerubbabel about 50 years be-

fore (Ezra 3:8), but many, like

Mordecai and his orphaned

cousin Esther (Hadassah) whom

he had raised, decided to stay

and live in Shushan, the capital

city of the Persian Empire

(Esther 2:5-7).

In the third year of his reign,

Ahasuerus had a huge feast

and invited all of the princes of

the 127 he ruled over from

India to Ethiopia. After several

days of feasting, he com-

manded that the queen,Vashti,

be brought from her own feast

in another part of the palace to

be shown to all the princes

that were present. When she

refused, the king, now very

angry, listened to several of his

advisers and removed Vashti

from being queen. He then

made a decree that she was

never to come before the king

again (Esther 1:1-22).

After some time had gone by,

the king decided to replace

Vashti by having all the young

women in his provinces gath-

ered together so that he could

choose one to be his queen.

Esther was gathered up with

all the other women in

Shushan and placed in the pal-

ace under Hegai, one of the

king’s chief chamberlains.

Mordecai instructed Esther not

to reveal her Jewish identity.

(Her name would no longer be

Hadassah, a Hebrew name, but

Esther, a Persian name). She

spent a year in the palace with

hundreds of other women be-

ing purified under Persian law

and waiting to be called before

the king. Esther had not re-

vealed who she was, but Yah-

weh was with her, and found

favor with Hegai who helped

her to find favor with the king.

When she finally appeared be-

fore him, the king chose Esther

above all the other women to

be his queen (Esther 2:1-20).

She did not know it yet, but

her position as queen would

serve a vital part in helping to

save her people.

Esther then used her influence

to get her cousin Mordecai

appointed to the King’s Gate

which was considered a high

position of importance in the

governing of the city. While at

the King’s Gate, Mordecai

overheard a plot to assassinate

the king. He told Esther who

revealed to the king what her

cousin had found. After an

investigation, the two guilty

men were hanged on the gal-

lows. Mordecai's part in dis-

covering the plot was favorably

reported in the chronicles of

the king, but he went unre-

warded (Esther 2:21-23).

Sometime after this event, the

king promoted one of his advi-

sors, Haman the Agagite, to a

position of power and leader-

ship. The king decreed that all

must show reverence and bow

before Haman, but Mordecai

would not bow before him.

When Haman found out that

Mordecai would not bow to

him, he became extremely an-

gry. When he found out that

his refusal was because he was

a Jew, he wanted to kill not

only Mordecai but all the Jews

in all 127 provinces of the Per-

sian Kingdom (Esther 3:1-6).

Haman was an Amalekite and a

descendant of King Agag. The

Amalekites were the most


12

Usually, when the young Chris-

tian woman becomes aware of

this problem in her life, she

searches for spiritual reasons

through intensive prayer. The

non-Christians will seek witch

sorcerers to call upon the spir-

its of their dead ancestors.

They sometimes discover

curses that have been placed

on their families. In those

curses, the young women are

usually married by night to

what is called a “night hus-

band.” The men that are under

such curses bond to a “night

wife.” What are these?

The woman dreams that she

has sexual intercourse with

someone, while in reality she’s

not married. Likewise, the man

dreams that he has sexual in-

tercourse with a woman, but in

reality he is a single man. As a

consequence, this brings into

the lives of those under these

curses a prolonged state of sin-

gleness and poverty. If the peo-

ple finally get married, they

experience infertility or miscar-

riages if they are not first freed

from those devilish bonds.

In Africa, dreams play a great

role in a person’s life. Some-

times in our counseling ses-

sions, people ask us to pray for

them so that they can have

dreams and are able to remem-

ber them. Others worry because

they have forgotten a dream or

have not had dreams at all.

So marriage in the DRC is not

only a blessing, but allows a per-

son freedom from the family

witchcraft evil spirits. You will

hear a cry of joy from a song in

Lingala during the marriage

feast – “celibate ekweyi” –

which means “the evil spirit of

the single life is gone forever.”

It’s obvious that the dowry is

excessively expensive in our

country. That’s why we’ve be-

gun advising Christian parents

and those in our church to

avoid asking high amounts of

money for their daughter’s

dowry. There is an African

proverb that says “marriage

doesn’t end with the dowry.”

This means that when some-

one gets married to your

daughter, you need to be con-

siderate of the in-law’s family.

They will always be obliged to

help in time of need.

In spite of the difficulty of

these customs, we remember

that marriage is God’s will and

He will provide. �


Marriage in the Congo: A Feat of Faith Continued...

hated enemy of all the nations

that came against Yahweh's

people. They were the first to

attack the children of Israel

while they wandered in the

wilderness. They also attacked

them from the rear where the

weaker and feebler were

(Deuteronomy 25:17-19).

Some 600 years earlier, King

Saul had been instructed by

Yahweh through the Prophet

Samuel utterly to destroy the

Amalekites. He disobeyed and

even lied to Samuel when con-

fronted. This act was so griev-

ous to Yahweh that He removed

Saul from being king and in-

structed Samuel never to see

him again. Even though Samuel

hacked King Agag to death the

next day, following the revela-

tion that Saul had spared him,

the damage was done. The

Amalekite king’s descendants

would go on persecuting Yah-

weh's people like Haman was

now doing in the book of Esther

(1Samuel 15:1-35).

Haman started to put his plan

of extermination into place

before getting the approval of

the king by casting lots (in He-

brew, pur). This was a method

used in ancient times like

throwing dice or tossing a coin

to determine what day would

be right for his venture. The

lots landed on the 13th

day of

the 12th

month making the

massacre about a year away.

The delay would make sure

that the order reached every

corner of the empire. He then

convinced the king that the

Jews were detrimental to him

and his kingdom and how prof-

itable it would be when the

property of the executed crimi-



Esther: The Queen Who Saved Yahweh's Portion Continued...

13

nals was forfeited to the

crown. He even promised to

contribute 10,000 talents of

silver to finance the work. The

king agreed, and a proclama-

tion was sent out to all 127

provinces saying that on the

day chosen by Haman, all

men, women, and children of

Judah were to be destroyed,

killed, and caused to perish

(Esther 3:7-15) .

When Mordecai found out

about the decree, he rent his

clothes and put on sackcloth

and ashes. As the decree went

out about the kingdom, the

Jews in every province also put

on sackcloth and ashes and

mourned and wept. Under the

law, this was a way of showing

repentance and asking Yahweh

to have pity and show mercy

on His people (Esther 4:1-3).

When Esther was informed

that her cousin was walking

around the King’s Gate in sack-

cloth, she offered to send him

some clothes because she had

no idea about the decree.

Mordecai refused the clothes

and sent Esther back a mes-

sage and a copy of the decree.

He also asked her to intercede

to the king for her people’s

sake. This presented a prob-

lem for Esther because the

king still did not know of her

Jewish identity, and under Per-

sian law and with the threat of

death, nobody could appear

before the king without being

summoned. The king also had

not called for her in 30 days

(Esther 4:4-12).

Mordecai believed Yahweh

would deliver His people, but

he also believed that Esther

would play a part in that deliv-

erance. He reminded her that

if the decree went forward,

she would be killed as well and

asked her to consider that per-

haps she was made queen just

for the exact and immediate

purpose of helping to save

Yahweh's people (Esther 4:4-

14). Mordecai convinced

Esther of what she must do.

She asked him to have all the

Jews in Shushan fast for her for

the next three days (which was

understood to be accompanied

with prayer). She and all her

maids at the palace would do

the same. Esther needed

united prayer and fasting to

build her faith in asking Yah-

weh's favor and protection in

what she was resolved to do −

risk her life by appearing be-

fore the king, reveal her true

identity, and ask him to spare

her people (Esther 4:15-17).

What happened after the

three days can only be de-

scribed as being miraculous.

Esther risked standing in an

area of the palace where she

was in view of the king but far

enough away. When he no-

ticed her, he invited her to

come forward and was so

pleased to see her that he of-

fered her anything she wanted.

Esther's inspired response was

to request that the king and

Haman attend a banquet that

she would hold over two days.

After the first banquet, Ha-

man, puffed up with pride and

elated at being invited,

bragged to his wife and all his

friends. Convinced he had the

king's favor and still despising

Mordecai, he built a 75 foot

tall gallows to hang him on

(Esther 5:1-14). That night, the

king was unable to sleep.

(Maybe the noise of the gal-




14

lows Haman was building kept

him up). The king called for his

chronicles to be read by a ser-

vant, and amazingly, the read-

ing happened to fall on the

record concerning the time

Mordecai had discovered the

assassination plot by two of

the king’s servants. The king

was disappointed to find out

that Mordecai was never re-

warded for this good deed and

decided to make up for it

(Esther 6:1-3).

The next morning, Haman ar-

rived at the palace to ask the

king's permission to hang Mor-

decai on the gallows. The king,

still thinking about the last

night, invited Haman in and

asked him for ideas about re-

warding a faithful servant.

Haman thought the king was

talking about him and de-

scribed all the rewards, riches,

and honor that should come to

such a man. The king finally

revealed it was Mordecai he

was talking about, and accord-

ing to one of Haman's own

suggestions, he was to parade

Mordecai dressed in royal

robes around the city on one

of the king's finest horses. Af-

ter he finished this task, Ha-

man returned home and was

dejected, ashamed, and com-

pletely humiliated. His wife

and all the friends he had

bragged to the day before,

when they found out what had

happened, compound his mis-

ery by telling him it would be a

lost cause to stand against

Mordecai now (Esther 6:1-14).

While they were all still talking,

a messenger came to the door

of Haman's house and sum-

moned him to the second ban-

quet. Haman was fearing for

his life, especially after Esther

at the banquet revealed her

relationship to Mordecai and

that Haman had devised to kill

them and all her people

throughout the kingdom. The

king upon hearing this got so

angry he left the room. Haman

begging for his life fell on

Esther's knees. When the king

returned, he thought Haman

was molesting the queen and

immediately ordered his

death. Conveniently, there

were new gallows erected by

Haman right outside. In a mi-

raculous turn of events, Ha-

man was hanged on the very

gallows he built for Mordecai

(Esther 7:1-10).

The next day, the king elevated

Mordecai to second in com-

mand of the kingdom and gave

all of Haman's property to

Esther, who then gave it to her

cousin. The decree to kill all

the Jews was still in place be-

cause according to Persian law,

once given by the king, it could

not be reversed. The king hon-

ored Esther and Mordecai and

let them write a new decree

with his official seal that al-

lowed all the provinces, includ-

ing Judea to arm themselves

against the coming attack.

When the decree went out and

news of everything that had

happened in Sushan became

known, there was so much

joy, amazement, and awe in

Judea that many of the

Gentiles in the kingdom turned

to worship Yahweh (Esther 8:1-

17). Mordecai called for a

special joyous feast of remem-

brance on the 13th

day of the

month Adar (March) that is

called Purim after the lots

(pur) that Haman cast to

destroy Yahweh's portion

(Esther 9 and10).

On the day chosen by Haman,

instead of being defeated, Yah-

weh's people were victorious.

The enemy and his ten sons

were dead, and Yahweh's peo-

ple were saved. Esther, be-

cause of her faith, courage,

and obedience, was able to do

hundreds of years later what

her ancestor King Saul (they

were both from the tribe of

Benjamin and related through

Kish) would not do. She ut-

terly destroyed the Amalekites

(Esther 9:1-14).

Yahweh had promised to oblit-

erate the memory of the

Amalekites. He told Moses to

write down His promise on a

scroll, as something to be re-

membered (Exodus 17:14).

Many centuries later, the

events in the book of Esther

fulfilled this promise.�



15

H ello, my name is John Greenaway, and I have written this essay to per-

suade more people to read the Bible. If less people believe what God

has written in the Bible, less people will enter God’s holy Kingdom.

In Exodus 20:3, it says, and I quote, “‘Do not put any other gods in place of me.’”

This is the first commandment in the Ten Commandments, and it is a very impor-

tant one. For example, some people put themselves in place of God, and other

people put money in place of God. These selfish acts can make God very angry.

Also, in John 3:16, it says, and I quote, “God loved the world so much that He gave

His one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal

life.” Now that is good news to behold! Imagine eternal life in God’s Kingdom.

That’s a good reason to believe in Jesus Christ.

In conclusion, I leave you with one final thought. If you look closely at the Bible,

you will see more than just a boring book. You will see joy, hope, and happiness.

Read The Bible By John Greenaway (10 years old)

16

I n the beginning, God

created the heavens

and the earth and put

the two first humans in a gar-

den. After surveying His crea-

tion and declaring it good

repeatedly, the first fact that

displeased God was that Adam

was alone. “It is not good for

the man to be alone” (Genesis

2:18). Once the Lord formed

Eve and Adam called her

“woman,” the Genesis narra-

tive states:

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:24 and 25 NASB).

God’s mandates in the Garden

of Eden (“Eden” means pleas-

ure, by the way) were not

“remain celibate,” “eat only

tasteless grains,” and

“submit.” Rather, God’s com-

mands were “be fruitful,” “eat

freely,” and “have dominion.”

God so loved His first two

humans that He wanted them

to reproduce and fill the new

world with many more people.

The earth was not an exercise

in testing people for some

other realm, but a home for

His own crowning achieve-

ments to delight in and rule

over. Although He forbade

eating from one tree in the

garden, the rest of them were

for their enjoyment—their

pleasure.

The God of Genesis is more an

Epicurean than a Stoic. He

does not design bodies with-

out pleasure sensors but

instead squeezes onto the

human tongue 10,000 taste

buds. He does not make

reproduction an onerous or

bland affair but loads human

genitals with thousands of

erotogenic nerve endings. In

His extravagant kindness, He

engineered eating and inter-

course to give us pleasure and

then commanded His first two

humans to engage in both. It’s

no wonder the first two chap-

ters of Genesis declare

creation “good” seven times

over. The second chapter of

the Bible concludes with two

humans, in a garden of pleas-

ure, totally naked, who are

commanded to have sex, eat

fruit, and rule the world.

Not only does God’s design of

the body shout to us that He

engineered us to experience

pleasure, but the Law He gave

Israel on Sinai likewise

indicates His penchant for

enjoyment. Consider the holy

days built into the Law of

Moses: the Feast of Unleav-

ened Bread, the Feast of

Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets,

the Day of Atonement, and

the Feast of Tabernacles.

Although the Day of Atone-

ment was a single day of

fasting and repentance, the

rest of these were multi-day

celebrations or festivals. The

Feast of Unleavened bread

followed on the heels of the

Passover meal when families

roasted lambs, enjoyed wine,

and told stories of God’s deliv-

erance from Egypt. The rule

for the rest of the week was

no working other than prepar-

ing food. The Feast of Weeks

commemorated the first fruits

of the harvest. According to

the Mishnah, the festival was

“accompanied by a large

celebration, in which pilgrims

gather in the towns of their

district and go as a group with

their ripe produce to Jerusa-

lem. There they are greeted

by Levitical singing and cele-

bration.”1

The Law of Moses

was for an agrarian society

and built into the rhythm of

the farmer’s calendar times of

worship that coincided with

times of rejoicing. Although

sometimes Christians misinter-

pret the Law as some terrible

straightjacket strapped onto

the people of God until Christ

could free them from it, in

reality, it was a way God

provided to connect with Him

by taking time out from the

monotony of their toil. In

antiquity, most people worked

every day, but God’s chosen

ones worked only six days a

week. The seventh day they

took off to rest and enjoy the

fact that they were no longer

slaves in Egypt when they had

to labor relentlessly. The


Bodily Pleasures By Sean Finnegan

17

Sabbath was a day separated

off from the rest of the week

to take a break and connect to

the Creator.

Beyond the created order and

the holy days instituted in the

Mosaic Law, the Scriptures

contain quite a few state-

ments endorsing pleasure.

Although the Bible is some-

times stereotyped as prudish

or anti-sex, it does not shy

away from the topic, nor does

it prohibit physical pleasures.

The following texts ably

illustrate this point:

Proverbs 5:18-19 NRSV Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. May her breasts satisfy you at all times; may you be intoxi-cated always by her love. Ecclesiastes 9:7-9 NRSV 7 Go, eat your bread with enjoy-ment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has long ago approved what you do. 8 Let your garments always be white; do not let oil be lacking on your head. 9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that are given you un-der the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as

they live; 13 moreover, it is God's gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.

Sex, eating, drinking, and work

are for our pleasure. Proverbs

encourages young married

couples to enjoy each other’s

bodies. After all, finding a wife

is not a curse, but a gift from

God (Proverbs 18:22). Far

from forbidding alcohol,

Ecclesiastes flatly affirms the

goodness of drinking alcohol

and eating food. Furthermore,

it shows that even work itself

is good: “It is God’s gift that all

should eat and drink and take

pleasure in all their

toil” (Ecclesiastes 3:13; see

also 8:15). The Law of Moses,

once again, bears out these

facts when it legislates the

rules for military participation.

The first year of marriage

qualified a soldier for

exemption from service, so

that he may “be happy with

the wife whom he has

married” (Deuteronomy 24:5).

Furthermore, if someone had

just planted a vineyard, he was

likewise excused from duty

until he could enjoy its fruit

(Deuteronomy 20:6). Wealth

itself is not seen as inherently

evil, but a blessing from God

(Ecclesiastes 5:18-19). Even in

the coming age, Isaiah speaks

about a banquet involving fine

wine and prime meat (Isaiah

25:6; see also Matthew 8:11;

13:29).

Perhaps the best book to look

at on the subject of pleasure is

the Song of Solomon. This

elaborate collection of poems

brims with sexual imagery. It

does not disparage but extols

sexual union and all the atten-

dant buildup leading to it. The

book opens unapologetically

with the words, “Let him kiss

me with the kisses of his

mouth! For your love is better

than wine” (Song of Solomon

1:2 NRSV). For the author,

wine is an obvious good, but

the kisses of his lover are

better still. By the time we

reach the fourth verse, we

read, “Draw me after you, let

us make haste. The king has

brought me into his

chambers...” (Song of Solomon

1:4 NRSV).

In one riveting scene, the

woman awakes in the middle

of the night with an intense

desire to find her lover. She

gets out of bed and begins

searching through the city

streets and squares. She

encounters the night watch-

men and inquires where he

might be, but they are no help.

Song of Solomon 3:4 NASB “Scarcely had I left them when I found him whom my soul loves; I held on to him and would not let him go until I had brought him to my mother’s house, and into the room of her who conceived me.”

Later on we encounter roman-

tic poetic descriptions of

Solomon’s lover.

Song of Solomon 7:7-12 NRSV You are stately as a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters.



18

I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its branches. Oh, may your breasts be like clus-ters of the vine, and the scent of your breath like apples, and your kisses like the best wine that goes down smoothly, gliding over lips and teeth. I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me. Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the fields, and lodge in the villages; let us go out early to the vineyards, and see whether the vines have budded, whether the grape blossoms have opened and the pome-granates are in bloom. There I will give you my love.

Such words as these

would never be allowed

in a Bible that was at its

core against pleasure.

Throughout the Bible

marriage is the norm. Sure

eunuchs and prophets like

John the Baptist remained

celibate, but these are excep-

tions, not the rule. The Bible

celebrates weddings right

from creation onwards. When

Jesus went to a wedding, they

ran out of wine. Rather than

scolding them for their

merriment, Jesus turned 120

gallons of water into wine—not

just any wine—quality wine

(John 2:1-11). In fact, the

Gospels portray Jesus as some-

one who attended dinner

parties often, consumed alco-

hol, and discouraged fasting.

That his enemies called him a

drunkard and a glutton is

unthinkable if he was against all

bodily pleasures.

Even so, the Bible does place

clear boundaries on bodily

pleasures. Sex is limited to the

marriage bed; eating is regu-

lated by bodily needs; alcohol

is consumed in moderation.

Take any of these outside of

their boundaries, and we fall

into adultery, gluttony, and

drunkenness. Thus, unlike

bacchic hedonism or the lech-

ery of Mardi Gras, God reigns

in the pleasures His people

should indulge in to safeguard

them from ruin. Many Scrip-

tures2 convey the importance

of restraining the flesh from its

lustful drive, but too often

these New Testament texts

are taken to the extreme of

asceticism (when all pleasure

is considered evil). When

members of the church at

Colossae fell into asceticism,

Paul corrected them with the

following words:

Colossians 2:18-23 NRSV 18 Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement

and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a hu-man way of thinking, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God. 20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the universe, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world? Why do you submit to regulations, 21 "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch?" 22 All these regula-

tions refer to things that perish with use; they are simply human commands and teachings. 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-imposed piety, humility, and severe treatment of the body, but they are of no value in checking self-indulgence.

Furthermore, when some

Christians in Corinth likewise

began advocating celibacy,



Bodily Pleasures Continued...

“Biblical Christianity is not licen-tious; we certainly do have

boundaries...God has graciously put these in place to protect us

and to encourage human flourish-ing...Imagine a tomato plant in the wild. It can grow only so tall before it bends over on itself.

But, if a farmer comes along and stakes it—essentially limiting its direction for growth—the plant flourishes...We have rules, but

they are not to suppress us, they are to help us grow.”

19

even within marriage, the

apostle addressed them as

follows:

1 Corinthians 7:1-5 NRSV Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: "It is well for a man not to touch a woman." 2 But because of cases of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should give to his wife her conju-gal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another except perhaps by agreement for a set time, to de-vote yourselves to prayer, and then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

Paul takes for granted that

people are sexual beings who

will fall into illicit behaviors if

they cannot enjoy sex within

marriage.

Christians today often react so

strongly against the lascivious-

ness and lewdness of our own

time that we tend to fall back

into anti-social restrictions

that ultimately besmirch our

witness and exclude us from

evangelistic opportunities.

Rather than promoting Christi-

anity as a holistic, fulfilling,

joyous, and satisfying experi-

ence, we sometimes sell it

short by portraying it as a re-

strictive religion that evacu-

ates fun and enjoyment from

the human experience. Chris-

tians don’t dance, don’t play

cards, and don’t listen to rock

and roll. We feel guilty about

eating fillet mignon, going on

vacation, or living in a nice

house. We abstain from sex

unless for procreation, alcohol

unless for communion, and

film unless it supports a Chris-

tian agenda. Is it any wonder

that outsiders take one look at

us and run the other way?

Now, I want to be clear that I

am not saying we should do

whatever feels good. Biblical

Christianity is not licentious;

we certainly do have bounda-

ries and limitations that hem

us in. God has graciously put

these in place to protect us

and to encourage human

flourishing, not stifle it. Imag-

ine a tomato plant in the wild.

It can grow only so tall before

it bends over on itself. But, if

a farmer comes along and

stakes it—essentially limiting

its direction for growth—the

plant flourishes, growing much

bigger and producing much

more fruit. We have rules, but

they are not to suppress us,

they are to help us grow. Per-

haps we need to loosen up a

bit so we can spend time with

non-Christians in order to

share the gospel with them. �


1 Jacob Neusner and William Scott Green, eds., Dictionary of Judaism in the Biblical Period: 450 B.c.e. to 600 C.e. (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson

Publishers, 1999), 573.

2 Hebrews 11:25-26; 2 Thessaloni-ans 2:12; 1 Timothy 5:5-6; 2 Timo-

thy 3:3; James 5:5; 1 Corinthians 7

On June 16th - Father’s Day We will begin a 3 part teaching series on

HealingHealingHealingHealing! June 16th God Wants to Heal YouGod Wants to Heal YouGod Wants to Heal YouGod Wants to Heal You

June 23rd How to Receive Supernatural HealingHow to Receive Supernatural HealingHow to Receive Supernatural HealingHow to Receive Supernatural Healing

June 30rd Power of Prayer & HealingPower of Prayer & HealingPower of Prayer & HealingPower of Prayer & Healing

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