The Anabaptist Voice 10

The Anabaptist Voice
10/14/2009

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

Dear friends in Christ,

We pray you are doing well under the wonderful love of our Heavenly Father. He blesses us with His love, joy and peace when we rest in His care. airport

       Our big news is our trip up to the James Valley Hutterite colony near Winnipeg, Canada, to visit our son Pat and his family there. Here is a photo of Pat, Elizabeth and Titus greeting us at the Winnipeg airport with their happy smiles. T Jim feeding Paul hat is Michi with Naomi in the wheelchair. Jim, our youngest son, came with us. He had given a pep talk to the Mariners baseball team in Phoenix before coming to Tucson.
       We think that our grandchildren there are so blessed to be living in a Hutterite colony where they are well loved. They are such a happy family! Even though the Hutterite colony people speak German, Patrick and Betty have been teaching their children English so that we can communicate with them. Thank you, Patrick and Betty. We would be so sad if we could not communicate with them. They frequently call us on the telephone and sing for us. We stopped at a Sushi restaurant on the way to the James Valley colony and we had a wonderful meal there. That’s Jim in the photo below feeding baby Paul.
       The temperature there in Canada, in the 80s, was perfect for us, almost like down here in southern Arizona. Praise God. We were expecting colder weather, but our Heavenly Father was so good to us.
       We went to Betty’s parents’ home for an afternoon snack. Her mother Bertha showed us a beautiful flower on the table that we have never seen before. God can do wonderful delicate things for us to enjoy.
       On Saturday after lunch we left for the Forest River colony in North Dakota. Naomi and Jim stayed at Ja Bertha's Flower mes Valley. They were busy all the time while we were gone. Jim worked in the colony gardens with the ladies (see photo below of Jim in the back of the trailer with 20 young women going off to the gardens to work) and Naomi did crocheting and baking at Betty’s parents house and she got to ride on a open farm vehicle to see the colony geese and cattle.
       Titus and Elizabeth play very well together while riding in the car. They sang for us, also. Paul stayed home with his grandmother. He goes to his grandmoth Paul er’s house so much that he does not seem to miss his mother. It is amazing to us, and it is wonderful.
       At the Forest River colony, we stayed at Tony and Kathleen Waldner’s house. Thank you, Tony and Kathleen. The Saturday evening church was in English and we were greatly blessed. The sermon made Don feel strongly that this is a real church!
       After supper Don, Michi and Patrick went to visit Mike Maendel, the second minister. It was potato harvesting time so Mike was working late, but we had a good fellowship with him and his wife Linda. We asked him if he would welcome us to join the Forest River colony. He was open with the love of God and welcomed us. We talked with them for a long time and then went back to Tony and Kathleen’s house. There we had also a wonderful time of fellowship with Tony and Kathleen, Patrick and Betty, Don and Michi; all Gardening had a blessed time together, sharing, fellowshipping.
       The Sunday morning church service at Forest River was also a blessing to us. The first part was done in English, so we could understand, and the main sermon was mostly translated for us. The song they sang, Michi recognized the melody, so she could sing along.
       We drove back to the James Valley colony on Sunday afternoon. Again we enjoyed Titus and Elizabeth’s singing and entertainment on the way back (see photo below of them with Don, their grandpa). They do play together so nicely. And the Lord was so good to us at the border crossing, there were no cars in front of us so it was very quick.
     On Monday the temperature went down to 50s, and we felt cold. Michi and Naomi borrowed winter jackets from Betty. We visited the Baker colony on Monday to see Kenny Wollman who has been helping Michi with the songs for her Anabaptist songbook that she is making. We asked him if he would like to take over the work, but he told us that he is too busy to do that.
       After visiting Kenny Wollman at Baker colony, Patrick took us to the Starlight colony where Betty’s sister Kathy and her family live. She had a baby girl not too long ago, and Naomi made a blanket for the baby. Also, Naomi’s friend Mary made her a bib, so we brought them to her. Kathy’s children are gifted singers, they sang some hymns for us (see photo). They could sing in p Singers arts! It is always wonderful to listen to the children singing hymns. It was a blessing for us.
       We returned to Tucson on the 30^th, happy to have visited up north. Naomi’s friend in Tucson, Grandma Mary Matchin, has been so kind to us. She came many times to be with Naomi, and she taught and helped her with crocheting. Also, while we were gone, she came to take care of Naomi’s cat and cockatiel. Thank you, Mary. We are so glad that you could take care of Naomi’s pets.
Grandpa with children        We want to do what our heavenly Father wants us to do. We want to live where He wants us to live. Please pray for us.
       May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you. (2 Cor 13:14)

Your brother and sisters in Christ,

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

Jesus said, “People will know that you are my disciples by your love for one another.” (John 13:35)

Concerning the Covenant of Grace Given to God’s People in Christ
by Peter Riedemann, 16^th century Hutterite leader

        Christ gathered those who already belonged to the Father and led them into the liberty of an heir. He did this so that they would become like Christ, conform to his image in complete obedience to the Father, and come into one sheepfold, the sheepfold of his divine promise. He revealed this in the words, “I have still other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them in too, so that there will be one flock and one fold.” Therefore, Jesus began to search earnestly for his sheep, first in Israel, and then, when the fold had been established and the covenant of God's grace had been confirmed by Christ's death, in the whole world. That fulfilled the words of the prophet: “I have appointed you for a light to the Gentiles, to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.”
       That covenant, which has been confirmed in Christ, leads to an imperishable; not a perishable hope. The new birth that leads to that imperishable hope must also never end but remain forever. Christ appeared in order to bring it about, proclaiming the gospel of God, the Word of the Father. Those who believe the Word, write it in their hearts, and keep it; they are born as God's children. Peter agrees with that when he says, “Those who are born again by the word of truth, are not of perishable, but of imperishable seed.”
       All who are begotten through that seed are made eternal in their nature and are led into the kingdom of Christ, which abides forever. Peter says that those who do the will of God remain in eternity. The bride thus becomes like the bridegroom. Because this all takes place through the Word, it needs to be proclaimed diligently, in keeping with Christ's Word and command. Christ will make the Word living and active, and cause it to increase, but that means cutting away a person's old customs and habits, in fact, the whole of his old life with all its works. Birth according to the flesh counts for nothing and has nothing to do with the matter. Paul explains it like this: “They who are the children of the flesh are not the children of God; it is the children of the promise who are then reckoned as heirs.” Only to those who are born of God does Christ give the power to become God's children, not to those who are born of human will, or of flesh and blood.
       What need is there of many words, although the devil loves to quarrel? The covenant of being an heir, which was promised earlier by the mouth of the prophets, is now established in Christ. In that covenant the freedom of the children is revealed; they are set free from bondage and led into their holiness and inheritance. As children, they may now use the good things their Father has given them in Christ. Therefore, let us allow truth to be truth, as it will remain in all eternity! It will go badly with anyone who strives against it; it will be hard to kick against the goad, since the Lord has commanded that nothing be added to the truth and nothing taken from it.
       In this covenant of being adopted as an heir, in which God in Christ has separated heirs from slaves, the heirs will not serve God in outward ceremonies, but in a childlike spirit and in truth. Paul says, “So now there are no more slaves, but all are heirs through faith in Christ.” Through the mouth of the prophet, God says, “Surely they are my people, children who will not be false. Therefore I am their savior.” Now since the distinction is made in Christ, it remains eternally. It takes place only through the Holy Spirit, who distinguishes those who are moved by the Spirit of God and are God's children from those who do not have God's Spirit and are none of his. Though it should displease the whole world, yet the Lord's counsel alone, and not ours, must stand. We wish to abide by it with his help, not allowing ourselves to turn from it in all eternity.