Issue 17.1

Glad TidingsGlad TidingsGlad TidingsGlad Tidings

Volume 17, Issue 1 January/February 2013

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

Long Suffering & Kindness ......... p.4

by Vince Finnegan

Seek Yahweh:

May Yahweh Be With You ............ p.6

by john Cortright

Prepare Your Minds;

Fix Your Hope On Grace .............. p.7

by Mary Ann Yaconis

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

by Cheryl Elton

Love Like God ............................. p.12

by Vince Finnegan

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January/February 2013

3

Earthshaking, a bombshell, is the revelation recorded in the book of Hosea. Yahweh told His

prophet, Hosea, to marry “an adulterous wife” or as another translation states “wife of

harlotry.” I do not think she was already adulterous before they married; rather, she had an

adulterous character and would eventually commit the act. He also told him that the children

they had together would have the same kind of character as their mother. He married her, had

three children, and then she left him for another man or men.

Equally as shocking, or even more, so was God’s command to love her again and take her

back. Hosea obeyed by buying her back for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and half of

barley. We understand Hosea and Gomer’s relationship as parallel to Yahweh and Israel’s

relationship. When Hosea prophesied about Israel’s idolatrous ways (also called adulterous

ways), he did so with all the passion and compassion of one who was a victim of adultery. He

understood the pain Yahweh felt about Israel’s love for other gods. Hosea prophesied with

humble passion. To think Hosea took her back and more so that someday Yahweh will take

Israel back as His people is astounding.

Infidelity in marriage is devastating and provides a very descriptive analogy to understand how

God feels about Israel. What could be more harmful than infidelity? There is something that

would be worse − if the lover was the child of the spouse! The Church today who worships

Jesus as God in essence steals the devotion and fidelity that should be reserved for Yahweh

only and gives it to His Son. If He suffered over Israel, how much more does He suffer over the

church today?

To some degree, we should recognize and feel Yahweh’s pain as Hosea did so that we may

understand and love Him more. Knowing that so many have disrespected our glorious God

and Father should be part of our motivation for worshipping Him as He wants to be

worshipped (according to the Scriptures).

Our commitment as we begin a new year should be to worship and glorify Yahweh with more

commitment and determination than ever before.

With my prayers for you,

SOMETHING TO CONSIDER:

Love God

4

Longsuffering and KindnessLongsuffering and KindnessLongsuffering and KindnessLongsuffering and Kindness By Vince Finnegan L ongsuffering and kindness

are two of God’s many out-

standing characteristics that He

wants His children to emulate.

In Noah’s time, the wickedness of

man was so great that “every imagi-

nation of the thoughts of his heart

was only evil continually" (Genesis

6:5). God was grieved in His heart,

but Noah found grace in the eyes of

the Lord. Because of Noah, God

patiently endured everyone else

until the ark was prepared. God’s

patient endurance is called

“longsuffering” in the King James

Bible and patience in the New

American Standard Bible.

I Peter 3:20 (KJV) Which sometime were disobe-dient, when once the longsuf-fering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

When God revealed His proper

name, YAHWEH, to Moses, part of

His description of Himself was that

He was longsuffering.

Exodus 34:6

And the LORD [YAHWEH] passed by

before him, and proclaimed, The LORD

[YAHWEH], The LORD [YAHWEH]

God, merciful and gracious, longsuffer-

ing, and abundant in goodness and truth,

Longsuffering or suffering long is

having forbearance and self-

restraint before proceeding to ac-

tion. It is to be long on patience

with others even if their actions are

evil. God’s longsuffering for all of

mankind from the beginning is mind-

boggling and heart-warming. He is

so indescribably good! When we

consider the rebellious evil actions of

humanity throughout the ages, it is

unimaginable that God has allowed

us to continue. However, He has

done so because of His longsuffering.

II Peter 3:9 and 10

The Lord is not slack concerning his

promise, as some men count slack-

ness; but is longsuffering to us-ward,

not willing that any should perish, but

that all should come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come as a

thief in the night....

Longsuffering is part of His great

love, and God wants His children to

behave as He does. He has given us

the ability to have the same longsuf-

fering towards others. As we are

mindful of His longsuffering for us,

then we, too, can be longsuffering

with others. Much fighting, anger,

and division in the Church can be

eliminated when we manifest long-

suffering for one another.

Ephesians 4:1-3

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord,

beseech you that ye walk worthy of the

vocation wherewith ye are called,

With all lowliness and meekness, with

longsuffering, forbearing one another in

love;

Endeavoring to keep the unity of the

Spirit in the bond of peace.

All of us at times have difficulty in

our walks with God. During these

times, to be with us is not always

pleasant. When others go through

the same things, longsuffering

helps us to endure those unpleas-

ant times.

I Thessalonians 5:14 and 15

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn

them that are unruly, comfort the fee-

bleminded, support the weak, be patient

[longsuffering] toward all men.

See that none render evil for evil unto

any man; but ever follow that which is

good, both among yourselves, and to

all men.

God’s Kingdom is coming. Jesus the

Christ is coming back to rule here

on earth. Today is an evil day with

many trials and tribulations, but we

can be longsuffering because his

coming is drawing near.

James 5:7-9

Be patient [longsuffering] therefore,

brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.

Behold, the husbandman waiteth for

the precious fruit of the earth, and

hath long patience [longsuffering] for

it, until he receive the early and latter

rain.

Be ye also patient [longsuffering];

stablish your hearts: for the coming of

the Lord draweth nigh.

Grudge not one against another, breth-

ren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the

judge standeth before the door.

God’s kindness is equally amazing.

When God brought the children of

(Continued on page 5)

5

Israel to the border of the Promised

Land, they refused to obey Him and

go into the land. Nehemiah re-

flected back on God’s attitude to-

wards this hardened, rebellious

people.

Nehemiah 9:17

And refused to obey, neither were

mindful of thy wonders that thou didst

among them; but hardened their

necks, and in their rebellion

appointed a captain to return to

their bondage: but thou art a

God ready to pardon, gracious

and merciful, slow to anger, and

of great kindness, and forsook-

est them not.

That God did not utterly for-

sake them was indeed great

kindness. Once again, God is

our model to follow regarding

this aspect of love. His kind-

ness is that which leads men

to repentance, to changing.

Romans 2:4

Or despisest thou the riches of his

goodness and forbearance and longsuf-

fering; not knowing that the goodness

of God leadeth thee to repentance?

The Greek word translated

"kindness" is also translated

"goodness" four times and

"gentleness" once. All these words

aid our understanding as they are

synonyms expressing a generous,

sympathetic, considerate attitude

towards others which is transposed

into actions. God manifested forth

His kindness to us when we were

hateful and totally undeserving of it.

Titus 3:3-5

For we ourselves also were sometimes

foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving

divers lusts and pleasures, living in

malice and envy, hateful, and hating

one another.

But after that the kindness and love

of God our Saviour toward man ap-

peared,

Not by works of righteousness which

we have done, but according to his

mercy he saved us, by the washing of

regeneration, and renewing of the

Holy Ghost;

Kindness is contrasted with the

hardhearted attitudes of bitterness,

wrath, anger, etc.

Ephesians 4:31 and 32

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and an-

ger, and clamour, and evil speaking,

be put away from you, with all malice:

And be ye kind one to another, ten-

derhearted, forgiving one another,

even as God for Christ's sake hath

forgiven you.

Rather than being harsh, rough,

severe, or violent, kindness is being

tender with people. As a file bears

down on its object, wearing and

tearing until it eventually grinds

down the surface, so is the harsh-

ness of this world on the hearts of

humanity. Kindness is the opposite

of harshness. So rarely is this qual-

ity manifested that when someone

is truly kind, it shines out just as a

halogen light in darkness. No man

of himself has this quality of life.

Kindness comes from God and is

manifested in the life of one who is

walking by the spirit.

God’s extraordinary kindness is evi-

denced all around us in that we

have life, food, air, water, etc. His

promises about the return of our

Lord Jesus Christ and eternal

life are an incomprehensible

kindness, yet His Word de-

clares that they will come to

pass.

Ephesians 2:7

That in the ages to come he

might show the exceeding riches

of his grace in his kindness

toward us through Christ Jesus.

In view of His kindness, how

could we be anything but kind

to all with whom we come in con-

tact? Our kindness to others is to

be unconditional. We are kind, not

because people deserve it, but be-

cause God commands it.

Luke 6:35 and 36

But love ye your enemies, and do good,

and lend, hoping for nothing again; and

your reward shall be great, and ye shall

be the children of the Highest: for he

is kind unto the unthankful and to the

evil.

Be ye therefore merciful, as your

Father also is merciful.

Where would we be without His

longsuffering and kindness? Be

like your Father to others.�

(Continued from page 4)

6

T he Mishnah provides insight

into early Jewish thought

and practice. It comprises the

earliest recorded words of the

ancient scribes and priests. This

was the oral law, which laid the

foundation for another later

document – the Jewish Talmud.

The sect of the Pharisees rose to

great prominence, especially after

the destruction of the Temple in 70

AD. In the eyes of the Pharisees,

the oral law was just as important

as the written Torah. The sect of

the Sadducees divided greatly with

the Pharisees on this point, as they

acknowledged that only the written

Scriptures were authoritative.

However, after the First Jewish War,

the Sadducees as well as the

Essenes became less and less

significant in Judaism, and the

Pharisees became the sole guiding

rule for the Jewish faith. The use of

the Mishnah as a source for proper

religious practice can justifiably be

questioned. However, reading the

Mishnah to gain historical

understanding about Judaism offers

great insight. “The Mishnah may be

defined as a deposit of four

centuries of Jewish religious and

cultural activity in Palestine,

beginning at some uncertain date

(possibly during the earlier half of

the second century B.C.) and ending

with the close of the second century

A.D.” One very insightful practice

regarding the use of the name of

God is recorded in the First Division

of the Mishnah, called Zeraim, in

the tractate, Berakoth. Here it

states:

“And it was ordained that a man

should salute his fellow with the use

of the Name of God; for it is

written, And, behold, Boaz came

from Bethlehem, and said unto the

reapers, The Lord be with you. And

they answered him, The Lord bless

thee. And it is written, The Lord is

with thee, thou mighty man of

valour.”

When a man saluted or greeted

another it was proper to use the

name of God. This common

tradition was part of ancient Israel

and apparently was still being

practiced in Second Temple

Judaism. This use of the name of

God to greet and to bless can be

seen in the book of Ruth.

Ruth 2:4

Now behold, Boaz came from

Bethlehem and said to the reapers,

"May the LORD [Yahweh] be with

you." And they said to him, "May the

LORD [Yahweh] bless you."

As well, when the angel came to

Gideon, he invoked the name of

God in his greeting.

Judges 6:12

The angel of the LORD [Yahweh]

appeared to him and said to him, "The

LORD [Yahweh] is with you, O valiant

warrior."

One of the great uses of invoking

God’s name can be seen in the

instruction to Aaron to bless the

children of Israel. In this blessing,

Yahweh’s name was used in

bringing His grace and peace upon

God’s people.

Numbers 6:23-27

"Speak to Aaron and to his sons,

saying, 'Thus you shall bless the sons

of Israel. You shall say to them:

The LORD [Yahweh] bless you,

and keep you;

The LORD [Yahweh] make His

face shine on you, And be

gracious to you;

The LORD [Yahweh] lift up His

countenance on you, And give you

peace.'


Seek Yahweh: By John Cortright May Yahweh Be With YouMay Yahweh Be With YouMay Yahweh Be With YouMay Yahweh Be With You

7

A recent movie, Les

Miserables, brought

back to remembrance

my senior high school English class

where we read and discussed Vic-

tor Hugo’s novel. At that time, I

was completely crushed at the

unjust pain and suffering. Because

of the pain, I lost insights into the

heroic character who, having him-

self received mercy and grace, be-

stowed this same mercy and grace

to others. At the end of his life, he

was truly the victor over evil. To

be able to sustain a Christian life

means that we live above the evil

of the world. Peter explains to us

how we as Christians maintain a

Christ-like life.

1 Peter 1:1

To those who reside as aliens, scat-

tered throughout Pontus, Galatia,

Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who

are chosen according to the fore-

knowledge of God the Father, by the

sanctifying work of the Spirit, to

obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled

with His blood: May grace and peace

be yours in the fullest measure.

Early Christians had to be able to

live in the difficult times of ex-

treme oppression which they en-

dured from within the Christian

church, from Jews who did not

accept Christ, as well as from Gen-

tiles who worshipped pagan gods.

To encourage them, Peter begins

his letter with a reminder of the

absolute joy of the coming of Jesus

Christ and the Kingdom that is to

follow.

I Peter 1:3-5

Blessed be the God and Father of our

Lord Jesus Christ, who according to

His great mercy has caused us to be

born again to a living hope through

the resurrection of Jesus Christ

from the dead, to obtain an inheri-

tance which is imperishable and un-

defiled and will not fade away, re-

served in heaven for you, who are

protected by the power of God

through faith for a salvation ready to

be revealed in the last time.

We are to remember that salva-

tion is awaiting those who have

faith. Salvation is imperishable,

will not decay or be forgotten, and

will most certainly not fade away.

After bringing to the believers’

minds that this hope awaits them,

the letter continues with how to

attain salvation.

I Peter 1:6-9

In this you greatly rejoice, even

though now for a little while, if nec-

essary, you have been distressed by

various trials, so that the proof of

your faith, being more precious than

gold which is perishable, even though

tested by fire, may be found to re-

sult in praise and glory and honor at

the revelation of Jesus Christ; and

though you have not seen Him, you

love Him, and though you do not see

Him now, but believe in Him, you

greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible

and full of glory, obtaining as the

outcome of your faith the salvation of

your souls.

As with those of faith who were

living at the time this letter was

written, life is much the same for

us today, and we are to rejoice

greatly in salvation. It is “just a

little while” we have to endure. If

necessary, trials are an opportu-

nity to demonstrate that no mat-

ter what the evil of this world

throws at us, we are able to re-

main in faith. Our faith is re-

warded with a joy that is

“inexpressible and full of glory.”

I Peter 1:13

Therefore, prepare your minds for

action, keep sober in spirit, fix your

hope completely on the grace to be

brought to you at the revelation of

Jesus Christ.

We are to be prepared in our

minds for action. Faith is such an

action. Do I face each day with

faith that God will: provide for my

needs; comfort me when all seems

lost; fill me with spiritual knowl-

edge, wisdom, and discerning of

spirits; and give me words to

preach the gospel?


Prepare Your Minds; Fix Your Hope on Grace

8

"So they shall invoke My name on the

sons of Israel, and I then will bless

them."

A similar salutation was being used

at the time of Jesus and the first

century church. Although there are

no extant New Testament

manuscripts which contain God’s

name, this same pattern of blessing

in a salutation can be seen when the

angel came to Mary in Nazareth.

Luke 1:28

And coming in, he said to her,

"Greetings, favored one! The Lord The Lord The Lord The Lord isisisis

with youwith youwith youwith you."

In each of the church epistles

written by the Apostle Paul, God’s

grace and peace are mentioned in

the salutation. Not only is the

Father mentioned in giving this

blessing, but so too is His Son, Jesus.

Romans 1:7a

Grace to you and peace from God our

Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Both God the Father and His Son,

our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, are

mentioned in the greeting and

closing salutations. Also, one very

unique usage occurs in the end of 2

Thessalonians. In this closing

statement, although the name of

God cannot be found in any known

text, the exact phraseology of

invoking God’s name is given. It is

the same pattern described in the

Mishnah when saluting one’s fellow.

2 Thessalonians 3:16

Now may the Lord of peace Himself

continually grant you peace in every

circumstance. The Lord be with you all!The Lord be with you all!The Lord be with you all!The Lord be with you all!

Invoking God’s name, Yahweh, in a

greeting and in a blessing was

common practice in ancient

Judaism. This same practice can be

seen in New Testament records as

well. Additionally, according to the

Mishnah, which provides religious

and cultural practices of second

temple Judaism, it was ordained

that a man should greet his fellow

after this manner.

To invoke God’s name in a greeting

or to bless someone in the name of

Yahweh, the existing One, is an

awesome privilege. It is much more

than a reactive “God bless you”

when someone sneezes or a catch

phrase in an opening greeting or

standard closing line at the end of a

letter. It is seeking God’s blessing of

grace and peace upon another

individual. What an incredible,

powerful impact this could have on

someone, to be greeted and blessed

in the name of the Father God,

Yahweh, and in the name of His Son,

our Lord Jesus, the Messiah!�


May Yahweh Be With You

continued...

We are to be spiritually alert to

our godly morals and values and

be circumspect in our everyday

interactions with others (I Peter

2:1). While being sober minded,

we are to fix our hope completely

on the grace that God gives to us

through His son, Jesus Christ.

When we are living for Christ as

mature Christians, then our minds

are sober, and we can have faith

in God’s grace.

The word “fix” used in verse 13

has several meanings that work

well in this context. “Fix” can

mean to mend or correct some-

thing such as thoughts that are

not accurate concerning the

Scriptures and the hope; to agree,

to direct or concentrate the eyes,

attention, or mind; and to make

or become stable, firm, or secure,

or become so. The word “fix” is

used by photographers when

treating photographic films or

plates with chemicals in order to

make a permanent image. To fix

our hope COMPLETELY on God’s

grace that will be brought to us

when Christ returns, gives us the

image that we are to focus upon.

God’s grace is what allows us to

live for Him now and will be in

action in full when Jesus Christ

returns.

If necessary, Peter writes, we will

be tempted and tried by this

world. Certainly the characters in

Victor Hugo’s novel were in the

midst of many trials, yet some

withstood to triumph with good-

ness. Will we be perfect in with-

standing such trials? Probably

not, but we must continue to pur-

sue godliness. As we concentrate

our attention on God’s grace that

will be brought to us at the com-

ing of Jesus Christ, our faith will

continue to keep us through the

darkest night or the most tempt-

ing of worldly lusts. We know our

frailties, but we have faith that

God will bestow grace upon us

when Christ returns. Without

grace, we have no hope. With

God’s grace, we have assurance

of the hope.�


9

Congo Connection By Thom Riley

I had the privilege of travel-

ing to the DRC (Democratic

Republic of the Congo) and

the RC (Republic of the Congo)

this past summer to visit the min-

istries we partner with in these

countries.

Although I had ample time to pre-

pare physically and mentally for

the trip, there is simply no way to

understand the culture and the

people from afar. I hope the fol-

lowing conveys to you some small

portion of the wonderful things

that YHWH allowed me to ex-

perience.

While preparing for the trip, I

was afforded the opportunity to

share a Congolese type meal

and spend a wonderful evening

with some local Congolese

saints that lived in the DRC.

Through various miraculous

circumstances, they are now

living here in the Latham/

Albany, NY area.

During that fellowship time, I

learned a lot about their culture

from their firsthand experiences.

As such, I formed some opinions

based upon what they shared

with me. I had decided soon after

I was invited to go on the trip that

I was going to avoid the tempta-

tion to learn as much as I could

about the culture (I have a ten-

dency to want to be very pre-

pared) and the people via online

resources. I decided that I didn’t

want to form an understanding of

the people of the DRC and RC

from what others wrote and said

about them. I wanted to experi-

ence firsthand the people and

their culture. The fellowship I had

with these Latham Congolese

saints was amazing. I felt like a

parched ground being flooded

upon by the wisdom and experi-

ence of these wonderful believ-

ers. It very much enriched me and

helped to prepare me for my jour-

ney.

They shared with me some of

their life experiences. They told

many stories about their years in

Africa, and although all were

unique and unusual, I contem-

plated on two common themes −

they had to rely upon YHWH daily

and the devil is very visible and

real in their culture (not hidden

like he is here in the US). This en-

abled me to understand an impor-

tant aspect of their culture that

helped me greatly while in the

Congo. Since the devil is not hid-

den like he is here, the general

population has a common knowl-

edge of him and the evil he pro-

motes. Unfortunately, many rely

upon this evil power.

This is especially true from a

tribal perspective (we might re-

late this to an extended family

that shares the same cultural

views). However, the wonderful

news is that those that know

YHWH and His Son Jesus Christ

are well equipped because they

know by experience just how

powerful evil is. Yet, most impor-

tantly they know how much more

powerful our LORD and His Son

Jesus Christ are.

I could write pages upon pages

about how much need there is

throughout the country, espe-

cially when compared to the

wealth that we enjoy here in

the US. Rather than do that, I

would like to bring your atten-

tion Acts chapter two verses

forty four through forty seven.

Acts 2:44-47

44 And all those who had be-

lieved were together and had all

things in common;

45 and they began selling their

property and possessions and

were sharing them with all, as

anyone might have need.

46 Day by day continuing with one

mind in the temple, and breaking

bread from house to house, they

were taking their meals together

with gladness and sincerity of heart,

47 praising God and having favor

with all the people. And the Lord was

adding to their number day by day

those who were being saved.

I experienced these verses first-

hand many, many times. Our

brethren in the Congo truly un-

derstand this section of YHWH’s


10

1 John 4:7and8

B eloved, let us love one

another, for love is from

God; and everyone who

loves is born of God and knows God.

The one who does not love does not

know God, for God is love.

The Apostle John writes under

the direction of the spirit; there-

fore, he is a vehicle of communi-

cation for God our Father. Hence,

the salutation of “beloved” is

heart rending for it says to us

that we are dearly loved, dear to

our Father’s heart. The exhorta-

tion that follows is to love others

as God loves us. “Born of God”

and godly behavior are convinc-

ingly connected throughout the

epistle of 1John as is evident in

the preceding verses. Loving oth-

ers and knowing God are also

persuasively linked together. By

the practice of love, we learn to

know God more and more, and

conversely, a stranger to love is a

stranger to knowing God.

The Difference Between

Knowing and Not Knowing

God is Loving One Another

The phrase “God is love” is not

interchangeable with “love is

God.” Our self-contrived impres-

sion of love is not how we under-

stand God. When we develop a

correct biblical understanding of

God, we can begin to understand

genuine love. Love does not de-

fine God; rather, God defines

love. All in the world think they

know what love is based primar-

ily upon their own limited human

experiences. Self-interest and

human values provide the core of

what most consider to be love.

Many take their self-contrived

understanding of love and judge

God for not loving as they think

he should. God is love so logically

He is the standard for love.

Without God, the lordship of

Christ, and the direction of the

holy spirit, knowing or practicing

true love is impossible. Human

love is centered in the flesh,

based upon self-interest only,

and as such in many ways is the

antithesis of God’s love.

1 John 4:9 and 10

By this the love of God was mani-

fested 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.

Man’s redemption and salvation

rest entirely upon the benevo-

lent, gracious, and merciful act of

our loving God. He loved us be-

cause He decided to do so and

not because we were deserving

or attractively loveable. The de-

scription of humanity set forth in

the Scriptures is shockingly gro-

tesque and is simply summarized

in the concept that we were de-

praved, dead in trespasses and

sins, the enemies of God. Yet,

though we were in this sorry and

ugly state, God sent His only be-

gotten Son to die for us so that

we might live with Him. Acknowl-

edging this truth starts to give us

understanding about the godly

love our Father wants us to live

by and manifest forth to our fel-

low man. We love others the way

God loved us because He loved

us first.

“Why is she giving me these

gifts?” I responded, “Because it is

your birthday.” “She doesn’t

even know

me, so why

would she

give me

gifts?” I said,

“ B e c a u s e

she loves

you!” “Why

would she


LOVE LIKE GOD

By Vince Finnegan

11

love me if she doesn’t even know

who I am?” “She loves you be-

cause God loves her and tells her

to love others as He loved her.”

My words were heard but not nec-

essarily understood as this soul

recently made inquiry about my

wife’s actions. Our standard for

love is based upon God and not

what others do or don’t do or

what they deserve or don’t de-

serve. We love others the way God

loves us.

1John 4:11 and 12

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.

In the same breath of exhortation

to love one another, we are re-

minded that we are God’s beloved

and that He loves us. Until we en-

ter the Kingdom in the age to

come, we have limitations with

our relationship with God. How-

ever, the great enhancer to grow

as close to Him as possible is to

love one another. How can we

ever raise to such a level of love?

The prayer in Ephesians gives us

some insight as does the last verse

we consider in the epistle of

1John. The spirit enables us to

have Christ in our minds and love

in our lives.

Ephesians 3:16 and 17

…to be strengthened with power

through His spirit in the inner man, so

that Christ may dwell in your hearts

through faith and that you, being rooted

and grounded in love…

1John 4:13

By this we know that we abide in Him

and He in us, because He has given us

of His spirit.

The only way we can love others

the way God loves us is with His

help through the holy spirit. “God,

help us to be like You and to love

as You love, all to Your glory.”�


Love Like God Continued...

Word, and they live it daily. Space

here doesn’t allow for the volumes

I could write about the godly love

and care that these families pro-

vide. One common example that

comes to mind is that many fami-

lies take in orphans even though

they barely have the means to

provide for their own children and

grandchildren. The adoptees I met

were of all ages, many were in

their teens. It vividly reminds me

of Acts 2:44-47.

I had the privilege of praying with

many of my Congolese family.

They exude faith and confidence

that YHWH will provide, and in-

deed He does. To this day, I cannot

explain how they provide for each

other in the ways that they do

other than to quote what my won-

derful sister Adele told me time

and again when I asked her about

this subject. She would respond

with her wonderful smile and say:

“YHWH provides. That’s the an-

swer, YHWH provides.”

I am so thankful for being afforded

the opportunity to meet and come

to know our brothers and sisters

of the Congo. Although the travel

was hard and many challenges

tempted me, I was able to experi-

ence time and again YHWH’s grace

and goodness in a way that I have

never before. But then again, I

have never been in situations like

those before! At every turn, there

were crazy challenges that I can’t

explain adequately, but I can say

with great confidence that YWHW

provided a peace and comfort that

allowed me to know how truly

wonderful He is.

Newsweek, Time, nor even Google

can truly tell you of the full sharing

that our brothers and sisters of

the Congo have. With thankful-

ness, YHWH provided to me an

answer to one my prayers (and

many others as well). He allowed

me to experience the faith and

heart of a people that I can now

call my family. I was able to experi-

ence firsthand the love and gener-

osity of an extended family that

loves God with all of their heart,

soul, mind, and strength, and for

that I am grateful.

Please continue to pray fervently

for our family in the Congo, for

YHWH to continue to provide in

miraculous ways, and for our

brethren to continue to stand

firmly upon His promises and to

demonstrate His love to all that

they can.�


Congo Connection Continued...

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Nonprofit Org.

US Postage

Paid

Latham, New York

Permit No. 128

Surrender and Take Control

Biblical Education Class

January 15th to March 5th

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What could be more discouraging than exerting all our energy trying

to control our lives to live godly only to experience repeatedly that our

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vide correct biblical doctrine to eliminate this torturous but prevalent

lifestyle. The class will also contain many practical, easy to understand

and apply instructions to help us gain control of our lives.

Issue 17.1

Documents

Transcript of Issue 17.1