The Anabaptist Voice
09/10/2008

Proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God:  Love, Joy and Peace in Jesus.

Dear friends in Christ,

       We pray that you are well.  We are well cared for by our Heavenly Father.  We are blessed.  Naomi had been using the wheelchair for a few weeks.  Her leg is hurting, her stomach is hurting, but still she went to get her walker from garage and she went to church with the walker.  She is overcoming the problems and making us happy.  Thank you, Donna and Kris, for encouraging her.  She is to have a colonoscopy at Oro Valley hospital on Wednesday. 
       Sadly there are no more Sunday evening services at the CDO church that we attend.  There are no more CDO Friends group luncheons on Sundays at the Jerry Bobs restaurant.  The CDO Saturday morning prayer meeting has also stopped.  The CDO pastor has been trying to start cell groups in the church but the result seems to be the opposite, with less meetings.
       Last Saturday evening we attended a large church in east Tucson, Calvary Chapel, which seats almost 900 hundred people in a very large building.  Then on Sunday morning we attended the CDO church which had less than a hundred people in a much smaller building.  We were astonished at the difference.  The CDO is a friendly church with friendly people and few strangers.
       We are sad about the reduction of CDO church meetings from 7 to 4 each week.  But our Lord is in charge.  We will wait on You, Father.  You are the one whom we can trust and rest in You.  Thank you for loving us, Lord God!
       Michi went to Osco pharmacy to pick up Naomi’s medicines the other day.  The pharmacist asked her to wait and called the next person.  The pharmacist asked his name and he said, “Tchaikovsky”.  Michi could not believe what she heard.  She had to ask him, “Are you a musician, too?”  He smiled and said, “No.”  This was the first time in her life Michi met someone with the name Tchaikovsky.  Who is Tchaikovsky?  He was a famous Russian composer.  (1840 –1893)  Michi used to listen to Tchaikovsky’s music often when she was young.  Although she does not listen much any more, his classical music is still wonderful to her.

Life at Fan Lake 1/25/2000

       Here Don’s report on some of the wild life at Fan Lake in northeastern Washington where we used to live prior to moving to Tucson:  “This morning (1/25/2000) I got to watch a mother moose as she ate hay and drank from the creek just outside my office window (she had been gone for several days as the neighbor's boy had came in a snowmobile and scared her).  Her two nearly full grown young ones were eating on willow bushes which they seem to like best.  They walk through the snow very slowly (snow is about 15 inches deep) as if they were careful about wasting energy.  When I was outside the mother moose was about 75 feet away and she just looks at me like a tame cow does.  I fear for her safety during the hunting seasons.  But maybe God gave her the knowledge that I will not harm her so she was not afraid of me.  Most of the deer are like that when they are eating hay.  They tend to ignore me unless I come too close.  I guess they see me every day and get used to me.”
       Here are photos of the moose eating hay that Don put out for them, a bear cub in the tree outside Don’s office window, and Don feeding the wild deer by his office.  We enjoyed the wild animals at Fan Lake, although the coyotes would sometimes get so noisy at night that Don would have to go outside and yell at them to be quiet.
       The 6:30 am Monday bi-weekly CDO Men’s Prayer Breakfast at the Coco’s Restaurant was attended by 11 men.  We had wonderful fellowship, prayed for each other and had a good breakfast.  It was Don’s turn this week to give the devotional (we take turns).  Below is a copy of it.  Michi and Naomi attended the 9 am Monday prayer meeting at Linda Dowdle’s home and were very blessed.

The Great Commission of Jesus Christ

    The third part of the Great Commission given by Jesus to His ministers is “Teach them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”  (Mt 28:20)  Obedience to Jesus is required!
       “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”  (John 3:36)
       “And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?  So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.”  (Heb 3:18-19)
       Jesus said, “Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me.  He who loves Me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him…  If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching.  My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.  He who does not love Me will not obey My teaching.”  (John 14:21-24, 14:15, 15:10)
       May the Lord bless you, dear friends, and fill you with His peace.

Your Anabaptist brother and sisters in Christ,

Don, Michi and Naomi Murphy
www.AnabaptistChurch.org

Jesus said, "Do not resist an evil man."  (Mt 5:39)  He means do not resist evil with evil but respond with love, the Calvary type of love that Jesus demonstrated with His death on the cross.

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Husbands and Wives
CDO Men’s Prayer Breakfast
09/08/2008

       Let’s examine what the Bible teaches about husbands and wives.  If we seriously consider the Bible to be our authority, we will want to know what it says so that we can follow its instructions in all aspects of our lives, including our marriage.
      At the very beginning, God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.  I will make a helper for him.”  (Genesis 2:18)  Jesus said, “In the beginning of creation God made them male and female.  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.  So they are no longer two, but one.”  (Mk 10:6-8)
       In the Book of Ecclesiasticus we read in chapter 26:
              “How blessed is the husband of a really good wife.”  (Si. 26:1)
              “A perfect wife is the joy of her husband.”  (Si. 26:2)
              “A good wife is the best of portions.”  (Si. 26:3)
              “The grace of a wife will charm her husband.”  (Si. 26:16)
              “A silent wife is a gift from the Lord.”  (Si. 26:18)
       In the New Testament we read quite a bit about wives.  They are to be submissive to their husbands,  wear a head covering to show their submissiveness, and dress modestly without any jewelry.
       In 1 Peter 3:1-7, the apostle Peter, who was married, says, “Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.”  Peter goes on to say that wives should not try to dress attractively nor wear jewelry.  He does suggests that a wife call her husband ‘master’.  (1 Peter 3:6)
       In Eph. 5:22-24, we read, “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which He is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”  (Eph. 5:22-24, also Col. 3:18-19)
       In 1 Cor. 11:3-10 we read that a woman is to wear a head covering to show the world that they believe that:  “the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God…  Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head…  For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head.”
       What about husbands?  In Eph. 5:25-33 Paul, who was single, has more to say to husbands than he does to wives:  “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy…”
       In summary, we see in the Bible that a husband is considered the head of his family, which means that he is responsible to God for their welfare, both physical and spiritual.  It is his duty to see that his wife is a happy wife, that she shows respect for her husband and that she dresses according Christian standard in the New Testament (modestly, no jewelry and wear a head covering).
       Now we realize that while most Christians hold the teachings in the New Testament to be authoritive, it is quite a challenge for most to seriously consider complete obedience to it.  One thing to remember is that the divorce rate among evangelical Christians is as high or higher than non-Christians in the United State.  So if we really want to ‘fireproof’ our marriage, we should consider trying to live according to what the Bible teaches us about husbands and wives.
       In our experience we find that couples who pray together on a daily basis will have strong marriages.  We want to encourage husbands to establish a daily prayer time and Bible study time for the members of their household, setting the standard for holiness in their home.