The Anabaptist Voice 10

Anabaptist
Voice
Newsletters
Dec 1994
Dec 1995
Dec 1996
Dec 1998
Dec 2000
April 2001
Dec 2001
Apr 22, 04
Apr 14, 05
Dec 28, 05
Nov 08, 06
Jul 04, 07
Apr 02, 08
Apr 16, 08
Apr 23, 08
Apr 30, 08
May 07, 08
May 14, 08
June 18, 08
June 25, 08
July 02, 08
July 16, 08
Aug 20, 08
Aug 13, 08
Sept 03, 08
Sept 10, 08
Oct 02, 08
Oct 08, 08
Oct 15, 08
Oct 22, 08
Oct 29, 08
Nov 05, 08
Nov 12, 08
Nov 19, 08
Nov 26, 08
Dec 03, 08
Dec 10, 08
Dec 17, 08
Dec 24, 08
Dec 31, 08
Jan 07, 09
Jan 14, 09
Jan 21, 09
Jan 28, 09
Feb 04, 09
Feb 11, 09
Feb 18, 09
Feb 25, 09
Mar 04, 09
Mar 11, 09

Our Story

Pacifism

Peter Riedemann

Photos

Psalm 23

Salvation

Secret of the Strength

Sermons by Eli Hofer
03/14/01
08/22/01
08/11/02

The Writings of Ulrich Stadler
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4

The Church and the Narrow Path

Things Hutterite

To Vote or not to Vote

Two Ways

Way of the Lord

Which Kingdom?

The Anabaptist Voice
10/15/2008

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

Dear,

       How are you? Are you enjoying the beautiful autumn weather that God created for us? Yesterday and today, when we got up, it was rather cold and we checked the temperature outdoors, it was 35 degrees! What a surprise! It is so wonderful to feel a little chilly.
       Don and Michi went for a walk in the middle of the afternoon. Usually, they wait until after supper, but it was so beautiful and the temperature was so perfect that they went. Here is a photo of a saguaro cactus that they saw. It kind of looks like a person praising the Lord, doesn’t it.
      Is our God the Father showing you His wonderful love? On last week’s newsletter, Michi added to the letter to Hyeok Flynt, Please call. I want to talk with you. Before she even got the letter, actually the day we mailed the letter, she called. Michi felt God’s love. Hyeok is doing wonderful, working at a hospital and praying, singing and giving the Love of God to the patients as she works with them.
       Please pray for her children. It is rather difficult to raise children, especially teenagers even with a husband. She lost her husband in an accident and her three youngest ones are still living with her. She has seven children; the oldest, Sarah, is only one married. Please pray for them.
       We also received a phone call from Walter Kay Wollman at Warden Hutterite colony in Washington. What joy it is to be able to speak with her. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Kay. May God bless you and heal you.
       Our neighbors, Ray and Mona from India, called us over to celebrate the completion of Ray’s hand crafted table that he made in his son’s garage. It is very well designed and very sturdy.
       We went to Kathy Beattie’s house for the bi-weekly Friday evening fellowship. It was wonderful. The CDO church is especially good for friendly people and fellowship. We get to know each other and become brothers and sisters in the Lord. Sharing what God has done for us and praying together makes us closer to each other. Michi gave her testimony about how she was raised in a Christian family in Japan but was not really a Christian until at the age of 41 she had a dramatic encounter with the Holy Spirit and was born again.
       Tony and Kris Brown moved out from our home last Saturday evening, after the evening Praising Time in our home. Singing and praising God together with fellow Christians is wonderful. We miss them. We pray they are doing well with Tony’s new job and Kris’ school. Tony has gotten a job driving a grader where the government is building a fence along the border between the USA and Mexico. Because of its location, Tony gets $80 a day per diem in addition to his regular salary. He left today for Douglas, Arizona, which is a little over 200 miles away and starts work tomorrow. He gets the weekends off so he can come home.
       On Tuesday last week Don received an email from David Filener, the pastor of the CDO church, telling him to come to a meeting of the ‘Elder Board’ for the purpose of speaking with him “about some continued concerns we have regarding your activities (specifically your constant questioning regarding theological differences) to which there never seems to be a resolution. After numerous complaints and information brought to our attention, we feel we must speak with you about these matters in person.”
       Then Wednesday evening Don and Michi went to the CDO church to attend the weekly Wednesday service. Ken Hinson, the Sunday school superintendent and unofficial second pastor at the church, spoke to Don in the foyer of the church for an hour and a half about the problems that the CDO church leadership is having with Don. He was quite unhappy with Don, however they shook hands and hugged after their 90 minute meeting in the church foyer. The ‘Elder Board’ members are scheduled to meet with Don on Saturday at 10 am. Please pray for them.
       About two years ago Don was summoned before the ‘Elder Board’ because he had told the Youth Pastor that it was his job to teach the young people modesty. Don at that time was the web master for the CDO church web site and was given a number of photos to post there but some were too immodest so he would not post them. The charge that they had against Don at that time was that Don, who was not a member of the church, was telling a church leader what to do. This time the problem seems to be that Don keeps talking too much about obeying the commands of Jesus and not accepting the CDO church’s “position on matters such as the swearing of oaths, the storing up of wealth, resisting an evil person, wearing head coverings, wearing jewelry, flat Bible”. So please remember to pray for us.
       We pray that out of His glorious riches the Lord God may strengthen you, dear s, with power through his Spirit in your inner being, with Christ dwelling in your hearts through faith. (Eph. 3:16-17)

Your brother and sisters in Christ,

Don, Michi and Naomi Murphy
Tucson, AZ phone 520-297-1639
www.AnabaptistChurch.org

"This is how we love God - by obeying His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? He who honors Jesus as the Son of God." (1 John 5:3-5)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Faithful keep His Commandments
by Ulrich Stadler
a 16^th century Anabaptist leader

The Lord wants a people that are holy as He is holy, a Church that is pure, and He wills not that His people have fellowship with the world. For He has redeemed for Himself a people with His own blood and cleansed them from all of their sins and impurity through the washing of water in His truth, and promised to be their God and to consider them to be His people as long as they will faithfully keep His commandments.

But to those who will not do His will, He says, "Why do you call me Lord and do not what I say? Shall people not obey their God? Am I your Father? Where is my honor that you shall give me? If I am your Lord, where am I feared?"

Not all will enter heaven who cry "Lord, Lord" but only those who have determined to follow the will of God. The others will be covered with shame. For that reason Christ says, "He who comes and hears My word, I will show him who he is compared to." So the man who obeys what he hears, he is a man who builds on a rock.

Now Christ is this Rock, upon which His Father built His Church. And whoever is appointed for eternal life has to be preserved in this house, that is His Church. It is as in former times, when the Ark of Noah was the means of preserving of all who entered in, that they may not be destroyed in the flood. Whoever was in the ark preserved his life. Therefore Peter says, "It is the baptism corresponding to this water that does now save you, but not the putting away the filth of the flesh, but the sign of a good conscience toward God."

We (after we are cleansed) must remain in a new and holy life and walk therein so that we will no longer serve sin, for whoever has died to sin is justified from sin. If we are dead with Christ we believe that we also will live with Him. Whoever has died in such a way, whoever lives not after the flesh but is dead to carnal lusts that war against the soul and lives with Christ in God, which life is hid from all the world (Col 3:3).

Therefore they don't know us, for they know Him not who has received us. Who shall they know? The world knows only those who resemble her, but friendship of the world is enmity to God. Who is loved by the world is hated by God, until he renounces the world, and make friends with the children of God in His Church, which He has cleansed and made pure for a holy habitation in the Spirit. As is written, "See a tabernacle of God with man, and He will live by them and they will be His people and He will be their God."

Therefore, whoever desires to be saved, must live in this dwelling in which God Himself dwells. For God dwells only by the just and will not live by the wicked. Therefore, He pleaded with us to forsake the world, who will not have His dwelling among the wicked, even if the whole world condemns us and says, "See how these people live together" (separate from the world). But our God says, "Fear not, but sanctify the Lord", that you may not fall away from Him. As if to say, "Whoever will hurt you in spite of your efforts, pokes the Lord in the apple of His eye." For the eyes of the Lord look upon those that fear Him and makes His covenant known.

Whoever hurts them does so to the Lord himself and, because of that, He has said, "I will gather you from among the heathen, from out of all lands and bring you together in your own land, which is the Church. I will sprinkle pure water on you and you will be cleansed from all uncleanness, and from idols. I give you a new life and a new Spirit will I plant in you and take the hard heart from you and give you a flesh(y) heart, who will let itself be led by My Spirit. I will help you to keep My commandments."

Further says the Lord, through Isaiah, "Those that see Him from afar and hear nothing said about Me, will come. Those that have not seen My glory will broadcast My honors among the heathens. And all you bring all your brethren from among all people to Jerusalem on My holy hill, which is My holy Church, just as the children of Israel of old brought sacrifice in clean vessels, says the Lord. I will bring into My church only pure hearts, but whoever will practice deception will not stand before God nor His Holy Church."

Home