Issue 16.2

Glad TidingsGlad TidingsGlad TidingsGlad Tidings

Volume 16, Issue 2 March/Apri l 2012

John 3:16 ESVJohn 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that that he gave his only Son, that

whoever believes in him whoever believes in him should not perish but have should not perish but have

eternal lifeeternal life

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.

Mark these important dates Mark these important dates Mark these important dates Mark these important dates

on your calendar!!on your calendar!!on your calendar!!on your calendar!!

Glad TidingsGlad TidingsGlad TidingsGlad Tidings

March/April 2012

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

by Vince Finnegan

Seek Yahweh: Jewish Tradition ............ p. 4

by John Cortright

Pray To God The Father,

Not To Jesus His Son ............................ p. 6

by Blake Cortright

Raising Boys To Become Men .............. p.8

by Mary Ann Yaconis

Speaking In Tongues ............................. p.10

by Vince Finnegan

The Good Samaritan:

Jesus’ Challenge To Us Today .............. p.12

by Sean Finnegan

Women’s Advance April 20th - 22nd

Silver Bay

Family Camp July 1st - 7th Silver Bay

Teen Camp

July 29th - August 3rd Silver Bay

Royal Family Reunion August 24th-26th

Living Hope Community Church

3

T he struggles of life do not diminish as time moves on. If anything, they seem to increase. However, we still can enjoy a life of love, joy, and peace because Yahweh is our Father and

Jesus is our Lord. The spirit of truth and the Word of God aid us as we walk in newness of life. We

also have the awesome privilege of prayer knowing our Father will help.

Hebrews 4:16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Prayer is the manifestation of humility, and humility is our only proper attitude. The humble one

acknowledges he is not sufficient of himself, but his sufficiency is of God (Luke 18:9-14). A

reverential mind-set is essential with all prayer. God is worthy of our profound adoring, awe, and

respect (Deuteronomy 10:17; I Chronicles 29:10-13; Psalm 145:1-3, 8-14). When we pray, we do so to

God in the name of Jesus Christ (John 14:13 and 14; 15:16; 16:23 and 24). We do not pray to Jesus. We cannot be certain that God will answer our every request when we pray because sometimes we ask

for things that are not available or profitable. Nevertheless, we can have great confidence He will hear

and answer the prayers that are written in the Scriptures, the things He encourages us to ask for (1 John

5:14 and 15). The following biblical prayers are offered for your consideration.

God’s knowledge and wisdom Ephesians 1:16-23

Understanding His Word Psalm 119

Forgiveness Psalm 51; Matthew 6:9-13

Strength and love Ephesians 3:14-21

Discernment Philippians 1:9-11

Patience and long suffering Colossians 1:9-12

Holy living 1Thessalonians 3:12 and 13

Ministry of reconciliation 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Ephesians 6:18-20

For the saints Romans 8:26 and 27

Spiritual elders Ephesians 6:18-20

Those in bonds Hebrews 13:3; Matthew 25:34-40

Civil authority 1Timothy 2:1-8

God bless you,

Vince

SOMETHING TO CONSIDER

4

2T imothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; The Scriptures are inspired by

God. Our doctrine, which holds

the principles upon which we

base our faith, should come from

Scripture. Through the years,

men have added many traditions

in Christian and Jewish practice,

which are not necessarily biblical.

Sometimes these traditions do

not impair right practice and

actually may enhance one’s

relationship with God. However,

many times, these traditions can

put unnecessary bondage on a

person of faith and, in some

instances, actually contradict the

commandment of God. Jesus had

this issue with the religious

leaders of his day and time.

Matthew 15:1-3, 8-9 Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, "Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." And He answered and said to them, "Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

`THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. `BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.`”

The Jewish sect of the Pharisees

held to traditions that were in

contradiction to the command-

ment of God. This same sect of

rabbinical Pharisees continued

after the time of Jesus and the

destruction of the temple in 70

AD. Moreover, it is from this sect

that modern rabbinical Judaism

developed. These oral traditions

were written down in the Mishnah

and the Talmud, hundreds of years

after the time of Christ.

By 500 AD, one tradition that

developed, and is still entrenched

in Jewish thought today, is

regarding the name of God.

Today, Jews will not write or say

God’s name, according to its

Hebrew letters – hwhy (YHWH).

Rather, they say the words

“Adonay” or “Ha Shem” (the

name). However, no commandment

from the Torah (the first five

books of Moses) or any of the

other Hebrew Scriptures prohibit

a person from speaking or writing

God’s name, hwhy (YHWH).

Three biblical texts are used to try

and support not using or not saying

God’s name. They are Exodus 20:7,

Leviticus 24:16, and Amos 6:10.

Exodus 20:7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD [YHWH] your God in vain…. Leviticus 24:16 Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the LORD [YHWH] shall surely be put to death;…. Amos 6:10b Then he will answer, "Keep quiet. For the name of the LORD [YHWH] is not to be mentioned."

In the case of Exodus 6:10, the

meaning is understood right in

the verse – “You will not take the

name of the LORD [YHWH] in

vain.” This is one of the Ten

Commandments. This is not a

verse about speaking or writing

the name, but rather it is about

using the name of God

inappropriately. The word “vain”

m e a n s “ e m p t i n e s s , ”

“nothingness,” or “for no good

purpose.” The people of God are

not to use the name of YHWH

with no purpose nor use it in a

demeaning, unholy, disrespectful

way. To use the name of God in

cursing would certainly fall into

this category as well. The name

of God, YHWH, should be used

with respect and reverence.

However, to remove His name

completely, never to speak His

name, and to restrict the use of

God’s name for any reason are not

(Continued on page 5)

Seek Yahweh: Jewish Tradition By John Cortright

5

indicated in this third

commandment. That tradition

is not part of the written

Torah, but rather came into

practice at a much later time

in history.

The context of Leviticus

24:16 starts in verse 10 and

records an event in which

one Israelite, who had an

Israelite mother and an

Egyptian father, got into a

struggle with another man of

Israel. During this strife, the son

blasphemed and cursed the name.

Moses then sought guidance from

God. God instructed Moses to

have this son stoned to death.

Then verse 16 states anyone who

blasphemes the name of the Lord

(YHWH) is to be put to death. The

meaning of the Hebrew word

“blaspheme” means to curse.

Clearly, this man broke the third

commandment by taking the

name of God in vain. Again, this is

not a command to restrict

speaking or writing the name of

God universally, but rather it was

dealing with a specific incident in

which God’s name was used

inappropriately. Interestingly, the

Greek Septuagint renders this

verse as “he who names the name

of the Lord, let him die the death.”

This seems quite different from

“blaspheming” the name. Perhaps

such a translation in the Greek Old

Testament influenced later rabb-

inical traditions about uttering the

name. However, even in the

Septuagint, the context from

verse 11 clearly shows this

instance of using the name

involved cursing.

Finally, the context of Amos 6:10

is a prophetic story about two

men who have come to bury the

bones of relatives who had been

burned in a house and apparently

were punished by YHWH. When

they go to bury these bones, they

are told not to mention the name

of YHWH. According to Anderson

and Freedman, this phrase

probably refers to normal funeral

rites, which include invoking

YHWH’s blessing on the dead. This

normal procedure should not be

used in this instance. God had

judged His people, and it would be

inappropriate to mourn after the

usual custom.1 Also, Sean

McDonough points out in his

book, YHWH at Patmos, that

“Amos 6:10 is not introduced in

later Judaism as a ‘proof-text’ for

supporting the prohibition against

saying the name.”2

The Old Testament has more than

6,000 uses of YHWH, and these

are the only three texts utilized to

give reasons where using the

name would be banned. Yet,

these verses are not about not

using, writing, or saying the name

of YHWH; rather, they are about

using the name of YHWH

improperly, inappropriately,

at the wrong occasion, or

using it in a demeaning way.

To take the name of YHWH in

vain or to blaspheme the

name of YHWH is far different

than writing, translating, or

saying the name of YHWH.

However, several verses do

indicate God wanted His

name to be made known.

There are countless verses

about declaring, singing, and

praising the name of YHWH.

Yet, in Judaism today, the

name is considered too holy to be

uttered; therefore, mentioning

the name is restricted. How did

this happen?

A study of Judaism in early New

Testament times reveal that the

name YHWH was still being

written and still used at the time

Christ. There are indications that

certain practices, restrictions, and

surrogates for YHWH had started

to make their way into usage in

the First Century but not the

wholesale removal as is in today’s

Jewish culture. These will be

explored in future articles.

Today, in Jewish tradition, the

name of God is not written or

spoken. Is the practice a comm.-

andment from God, or rather is it

a tradition derived from the

dictates of men? May each of us

seek the LORD God and find Him

as we seek Him with all our heart

and soul. �

(Continued from page 4)

Today, Jews will not write or say

God’s name,...hwhy (YHWH).

...However, no commandment...prohibit

a person from speaking or writing

God’s name, hwhy (YHWH).

2 McDonough, Sean, YHWH at Patmos, (by

J.C.B Mohr, P.O. Box 2040, D-72010 Tubin-

gen, Printed in Germany, 1999) p.65.

1 F.I. Anderson and D.N. Freedman, Amos,

AB (New York: Doubleday, 1989), pp 572-4.

6

P rayer is central to the

Christian faith; yet,

human traditions have clouded

the biblical understanding of

prayer. Christians are exhorted

to “pray without ceasing”/

(I Thessalonians 5:17, English

Standard Version) and to pray

“at all times in the

Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18). How-

ever, to whom are the children

of God to pray? In my experi-

ence, I have found more and

more people praying to Jesus

and less people praying to the

Father. Was this the teaching

of our Lord?

It is difficult to pinpoint a time

in history when a doctrine of

praying to Jesus, rather than

the Father, began. This prac-

tice emerged over the years.

Yet today, praying to Jesus is

commonplace in mainstream

Christianity. Phrases including

“God-Jesus,” “Father-Jesus,”

and other extra-biblical termi-

nology have found their way

into the prayers of modern day

Christians.

In Luke 11:1, the disciples said

to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to

pray.” Jesus said,

“When you pray,

say: “Father, hallowed

be Your name”/

(Luke 11:2). An un-

fortunate side effect

of praying to Jesus

instead of to his

Father is the shift in

focus from glorifying

God to glorifying His

Son. Jesus always

pleased his Father.

He said, “He who sent me is

with me. He has not left me

alone, for I always do the

things that are pleasing to

Him” (John 8:29). “My food is

to do the will of Him who sent

me to accomplish His

work” (John 4:34). Jesus fo-

cused on giving glory to God

his Father.

Jesus is praised in modern

churches more often than the

Father. While Scripture clearly

teaches us that Jesus, the

lamb, is worthy of praise

(Revelation 5:12), it also is

clear that we are to do all

things to the glory of God

(I Corinthians 10:31). Jesus

reflects the glory of God, but

the Father’s glory is greater

than the Son’s. Misunder-

standing this causes a mis-

placement of whom to glorify.

A friend of mine told me, “I

pray to Jesus when I need

compassion and not a scolding

from my Father.” This thought

process comes from the

cultural understanding of Jesus

as a loving, caring Lord and of

his Father as a wrathful, “Old

Testament” God. Yet, in

Exodus 34, the attributes of

Yahweh, the Father, are listed

− He is “merciful and gracious,

slow to anger, and abounding

in steadfast love and faithful-

ness, keeping steadfast love for

thousands, forgiving iniquity

and transgression and sin”/

(Exodus 34:6-7). The Father is

very compassionate. He loved

the world so much that He sac-

rificed His only Son for the sins

of the world (John 3:16).

In the famous “Lord’s prayer,”

Jesus provides not a vain repe-

titious prayer (Matthew 6:7),

but rather a breakdown of the

essence of prayer. “Father,

hallowed be Your name. Your

kingdom come, Your will be

done, on earth as it is in

heaven. Give us this day our

daily bread, and forgive us our

debts, as we also have forgiven

our debtors. And lead us not

into temptation, but deliver us

from evil” (Matthew 6:9-13).

In the opening line, Jesus

acknowledges that he is

addressing his Father, and

then he makes mention of the

holiness of God’s name,

Yahweh. “Hallowed be Your

name.” This prayer suggests

that we are to pray to the

Father. Our prayers should

glorify Him.

Those who pray to Jesus do so,

leaning upon a few verses.

The verse “whatever you ask in

my name, this I will do” (John

14:13) is used to suggest that

we ought to pray to Jesus.

Also, the verse “Jesus said to

him, ‘I am the way, the truth,

and the life. No one comes to


Pray to God Pray to God Pray to God Pray to God

the Father, the Father, the Father, the Father,

Not to Jesus Not to Jesus Not to Jesus Not to Jesus

His SonHis SonHis SonHis Son By Blake Cortright

7

the Father except through

me’” (John 14:6) has been

used to support praying to

Jesus, because no one can

come before the Father except

through the Son. People who

pray to Jesus, however, often

use extra-biblical terminology

when praying to him. They

attribute to Jesus titles which

belong to the Father: “Father

God Jesus,” “Everlasting Jesus,”

“Jesus Almighty,” and so forth.

God, the Father, is referred to

as everlasting and almighty,

but Jesus is not.

Acts 7:59 and Revelation 22:20

are used as arguments for

praying to Jesus. “And as they

were stoning Stephen, he

called out, ‘Lord Jesus, receive

my spirit’ ” (Acts 7:59). “He

who testifies to these things

says, ‘Surely I am coming

soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord

Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20). The

belief is that in both of these

instances, followers of Christ

are praying to the Son instead

of to the Father. However,

there is a difference between

these verses and prayers

recorded in Scripture, such as

Ephesians 3:14-21. In Acts, it

says of Stephen, “but he, full of

the Holy Spirit, gazed into

heaven and saw the glory of

God, and Jesus standing at the

right hand of God. And he

said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens

opened, and the Son of Man

standing at the right hand of

God’ ” (Acts 7:55-56). This is

the only record where Jesus is

seen “standing at the right

hand of God.” Stephen called

out to his Savior whom he saw

at the throne of God. He was

not praying; rather, he was

calling to the one he saw. In

Revelation 22, John follows a

similar pattern. He addresses

the one to whom he is speak-

ing. “I, Jesus, have sent my

angel to testify to you about

these things for the churches”/

(Revelation 22:16). This verse

establishes that Jesus, through

the angel, is the speaker in this

section. “He who testifies to

these things says, ‘Surely I am

coming soon.’ Amen. Come,

Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

In this verse, John is not pray-

ing, but rather he is responding

to the speaker.

Jesus taught his disciples

“Whatever you ask in my name,

this will I do, that the Father

may be glorified in the

Son” (John 14:13). All that Je-

sus did in his earthly ministry,

and all that he now does, is to

the glory of his Father, God.

Paul wrote, “For there is one

God, and there is one mediator

between God and men, the man

Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 2:5).

This verse makes plain the

relationship between Father

and Son and clearly shows

Jesus’ place in our prayers. He

mediates between the Father

and our unholy selves. Jesus is

the only way to the Father. No

unholy human can come to the

Father but through Jesus who

is seated at God’s right hand.

In prayer, Paul always ad-

dressed the Father. “For this

reason I bow my knees before

the Father, from whom every

family in heaven and earth is

named...to Him be glory in the

church and in Christ Jesus

throughout all generations,

forever and ever. Amen”/

(Ephesians 3:14-21). In his let-

ter to the church at Colossi,

Paul writes, “We always thank

God, the Father of our Lord

Jesus Christ, when we pray for

you,” (Colossians 1:3). The

prayers found in the Epistles of

Paul are all addressed to God,

the Father of our Lord Jesus

Christ.

The Didache shows that pray-

ing to the Father continued

into the second century

church. This ancient document

of Church history describes the

proper way to pray during a

communion known as Eucha-

rist. “Now concerning the

Eucharist, give thanks as

follows, ‘We give you thanks,

our Father, for the holy vine of

David your servant, which you

have made known to us

through Jesus, your servant;

to you be the glory

forever’” (Lightfoot and Harmer



8

Raising Boys To Become Men By Mary Ann Yaconis

O ur home has had a

new resident for the

past year. He is a two-year old,

80 plus pound, black Lab-

Shepherd mix. My relationship is

much different with this dog than

one that we owned years ago.

When our boys were young, we

had an 11 pound Bichon Frise

that was a sweet, happy dog that

I did not discipline − because I

wanted her to “love me.”

Instead, she ruled me.

Today, after taking our new

dog out for a run in the

back yard, I marveled at

how I was not afraid to dis-

cipline the dog even when

he tried to jump at me to

play (that means a running

cross-body block at chest

level). I was able to stop

him and make him lie down

to show who was alpha dog

and not to jump at “Grandma.”

A flash from the past reminded

me that I could not tell my small

dog to stop anything. I wondered

what in me has made the differ-

ence. Why am I able to be mas-

ter over this big dog with teeth

the size of my fingers and not the

little dog with a pink scarf and

bows at the ears?

Everything boiled down to one

thing – the need for love. I

needed the little dog to love me,

and I thought giving in to every-

thing she wanted would make

her want to be nice to me. Misty

never did bite me, but she was

not obedient. For example, I

would let her lie on the clean

clothes in the laundry basket, and

then I would have to rewash them

because I couldn’t tell her “no”

because she was so cute. Today, I

am able to stop our big dog from

getting on furniture, to tell him to

go to his bed when we eat, stop

running around, to come, sit, and

lay down. The dog likes me, and

he obeys. It feels good.

With our small dog, my husband

was the one who could call for

her to come in the house from

the yard, and she would make a

beeline for the house. In con-

trast, I had to go out and get her.

At times, I would want to be

indulgent with our boys, but my

husband would put me in check

and not let me “over mother”

them. For this, I am very thankful.

Mothers mistakenly may tend to

want to keep their children from

all of life’s hurts and need their

love to fill a place inside that is

not the child’s to fill. A strong,

godly husband tempers this

natural desire in a mother to over

-mother, especially with sons.

The culture of the Israelites was

that the mother raised the son

until he was weaned. That

meant that he was able to care

for himself and was usually any-

where from 6 to 10 years of age.

As an example, we turn to Han-

nah who was the mother of the

prophet Samuel. After much

earnest prayer, Yahweh blessed

Hanna with her first son.

I Samuel 1:20, 24 It came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, say-ing, “Because I have asked him of the LORD.” Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ephah of flour and a

jug of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD in Shiloh, although the child was young.

She taught, trained, and nurtured

him until he was able to go work

for the prophet Eli. This meant he

could take care of himself and Eli

as well as manage the duties at

the tabernacle. Not much is said

about how Hannah raised him, but

obviously from his life, we see that

Samuel had a deep love and

respect for Yahweh, was able to

get up early, put in a full day and

possibly night of work, and obey

Eli’s and God’s instructions.


“Our purpose as parents is to

raise sons that will flourish

with God,….”

9

259-61). The prayer continues for sev-

eral lines with this pattern of glorifying

God the Father and thanking Him for

Jesus the Christ. Thus, we see that the

early church believed they should to

pray to the Father, not the Son.

The third century Christian scholar

and martyr Origen taught that Chris-

tians ought not pray to the Son, but

rather that they should pray to the

Father. He wrote, “Now if we are to

take prayer in its most exact sense,

perhaps we should not pray to any-

one begotten, not even to Christ Him-

self, but only to the God and Father

of all, to whom even our Savior Him-

self prayed... and to whom He taught

us to pray” (Greer 112). His argument

continues, “it follows that prayer

should be addressed to the Son and

not to the Father, or to both, or to

the Father alone. Anyone...would

agree that the first possibility...is

completely absurd, and would have

to be maintained against the obvious

facts. And if we prayed to both, then

it is obvious that we should offer our

requests in the plural...the very

expressions betray the absurdity of

this alternative, nor can anyone find

in Scripture prayers addressed in the

plural. Consequently, the remaining

possibility is that we should pray only

to the God and Father of all”/

(112-13). Origen believed Jesus was

God, but still he held the belief that

the followers of Christ should pray to

the Father, not to the Son.

Modern day Christians should chal-

lenge the traditions of praying to

Jesus and praising him more than his

Father, a thing he never taught. We

should follow the teaching of the one

whom we call our Lord. He taught us

to pray to the Father. He did every-

thing to God’s glory. He always did his

Father’s will. So too we, if we call

ourselves followers of Christ, should

pray to the Father, in the name of His

Son, Jesus the Christ.

The Apostolic Fathers Second Edition.

Trans. J. B. Lightfoot and J. R. Harmer.

Grand Rapids, Baker Book House,

1992. Print.

English Standard Version. [Wheaton]:

Crossway, 2011.

EsvBible.org. Web. Sept. 2011.

Origen: An Exhortation to Martyr-

dom, Prayer and Selected Works.

Trans. Rowan A. Greer.

New York: Paulist Press, 1979. Print.�


Pray to God the Father, Not to Pray to God the Father, Not to Pray to God the Father, Not to Pray to God the Father, Not to Jesus His Son Continued...Jesus His Son Continued...Jesus His Son Continued...Jesus His Son Continued...

Incredibly, at such a young age and

throughout his life, he was able to

stand apart from the evil that was

happening in the tabernacle and in

Israel.

Can you imagine raising a son

today that would be able to care

for himself and someone else by

age 7 – and not get caught up in

doing bad things because his class-

mates are doing them? It boggles

the mind. In the culture of the Isra-

elites, they were generally married

at middle teen years and caring for

their extended families. What our

culture today has become is an

enabling culture, steered by well

meaning parents, that is stealing

from our male children the ability

to function as godly men. Not all,

but a large share of the trouble lies

at the feet of mothers who won’t

treat their sons as men and emo-

tionally let them go at an early age

and of fathers who do not make

the time or have the capacity to

teach maleness to their sons. For a

father, this means teaching and

training his son and making sure

that his wife is not coddling their

son too long.

I Samuel 1:26-28 She said, “Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the LORD. “For this boy I prayed, and the LORD has given me my peti-tion which I asked of Him. “So I have also dedicated him to the LORD; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there. Hannah also knew that her son was

not hers but God’s. Her purpose

was to train him to love God and

be obedient to Him – and let him

go to do a man’s work.

What is the difference in me now

with our new dog? The difference

between my actions now and how

they were years ago comes from

understanding that the dog isn’t

mine to give me what I need. My

needs are met by Yahweh. My

healthy relationship with this dog

comes from doing my part in mak-

ing him obey and teaching him how

to be a good dog. Extrapolating

this out to myself as a young

mother, my husband tempered me,

and we raised boys to become

men. Our purpose as parents is to

raise sons that will flourish with

God, possibly raise a Yahweh fear-

ing family, and teach and train oth-

ers to do the same. A godly son

gives his mother honor. Her blessing

comes as he takes his place as a man

who loves God. �


10

T he gift of holy spirit

has with it many

manifestations that

are available to assist every be-

liever in his or her walk with God

and service to man. The epistle

of 1 Corinthians mentions nine

of these manifestations. The

translators of the English Bibles

did not acknowledge a differ-

ence of words used in the Greek

manuscripts that are important

to our understanding about

speaking in tongues. The distinc-

tion of words draws our atten-

tion and warrants examination.

Note the Greek words used in

the parenthesis.

1Corinthians 12:8-10 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the spirit, and to another [allos] the word of knowledge accord-ing to the same spirit; to another [heteros] faith by the same spirit, and to another [allos] gifts of heal-ing by the one spirit, and to another [allos] the effecting of miracles, and to another [allos] prophecy, and to another [allos] the distinguishing of spirits, to another [heteros] various kinds of tongues, and to another [allos] the interpreta-tion of tongues.

Speaking in tongues and faith

are set off from the other seven.

Why? First, we will see what all

nine have in common. The one

gift of holy spirit is common to

every believer; therefore, all

manifestations are from the

same spirit. Free will or self-

determination is required to

manifest each. The spirit and all

of its manifestations enable

disciples to engage in loving

service to their fellowman. The

manifestations enable us to

serve under the empowerment

and direction of our Lord.

The two have some differences

from the other seven. Proper

circumstances must exist in

order to manifest the seven. For

example, to prophesy, there

must be others present to hear;

to heal, there must be a sick per-

son; to discern spirits, a demon-

ized person is needed. Thus,

these requirements limit the

utilization of these manifesta-

tions. Faith and tongues are

unlimited because only God and

the believer need to be involved.

We can exercise tongues and

faith any time we will to do so;

whereas, this is not necessarily

so with the other manifestations

of the spirit. The most signifi-

cant difference is that faith and

tongues are specifically purposed

to glorify God.

Romans 4:20 and 21(KJV) He [Abraham] staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory giving glory giving glory giving glory to Godto Godto Godto God; And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform.

Hebrews 11:6 (KJV) But without faith without faith without faith without faith it is it is it is it is impos-impos-impos-impos-sible to please sible to please sible to please sible to please HimHimHimHim: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

Abraham was not a priest or a

king; he did not write any of the

books in the Bible; he did not

prophesy about the future; he

did not build a city or lead a peo-

ple; yet, of all men, he is the

only one called a friend of God.

He is considered to be the father

of faith, the father of all those

who believe. His primary accom-

plishment was he pleased and

glorified God by his faith. Our

faith always glorifies and pleases

God. Speaking in tongues is very

similar to faith in that it also glo-

rifies and pleases God.

When Jesus spoke to the woman

at the well, she asked a very

important question. She said

"Our fathers worshipped in this

mountain, and you people say

that in Jerusalem is the place

where men ought to worship."

The remarkable response Jesus

gave is recorded in John 4:21-24.

Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.


Speaking In TonguesSpeaking In TonguesSpeaking In TonguesSpeaking In Tongues By Vince FinneganBy Vince FinneganBy Vince FinneganBy Vince Finnegan

11

“But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshippers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

As Jesus so often did, he fore-

told what would take place

when the spirit of truth

arrived. Once Jesus

ascended into heaven

and sent forth the

spirit, the worship of

God radically changed.

The spirit within pro-

vides the ability to wor-

ship God in spirit and

truth. Speaking in

tongues is one means

to worship God in spirit,

not the only way, but a

very significant way.

On the day of Pentecost,

recorded in Acts 2:11, when

the spirit was first given, all the

Apostles spoke in tongues.

Those who were there listen-

ing to them stated — “We hear

them in our own tongues

speaking of the mighty deeds

of God,” or as the King James

says, “We hear them speak the

wonderful works of God.” In

Acts 10, when the Jews with

Peter heard Cornelius and the

others speak in tongues, they

said the tongues were

“exalting God” and in the KJV

“magnifying God.” Speaking in

tongues are God inspired

words that glorify God! Under-

standing is added in Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 14:2 For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries.

When we speak in tongues,

we do so to God and not to

men. The person who speaks

does not understand what he

is saying, but God does

understand as the utterance

is inspired by the spirit of

God. Speaking in tongues is

prayer that blesses God. It is

prayer that gives thanks well.

1 Corinthians 14:14-17 For if I pray in a tonguepray in a tonguepray in a tonguepray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also. Otherwise if you bless in bless in bless in bless in

the spiritthe spiritthe spiritthe spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the "Amen" at your giving of your giving of your giving of your giving of thanksthanksthanksthanks, since he does not know what you are saying? For you are giving thanks you are giving thanks you are giving thanks you are giving thanks wellwellwellwell enough, but the other person is not edified.

Here is a summary of what we

have just read: speaking in

tongues and faith are different

from the other manifestations

in that both are something just

between you and God.

Speaking in tongues is

inspired utterance which

speaks about the mighty

deeds of God, His won-

derful works. It exalts

and magnifies God.

Prayer that blesses God

and gives thanks well is

also included.

Whenever someone uses

their words to speak well

of God, to bless Him or

offer prayers of thanks, God is

glorified and pleased. Many

times our words fail to prolifi-

cally communicate the praise,

glory, and thanks we desire to

offer to our loving heavenly

Father. Speaking in tongues

assists us greatly in our weak-

ness by providing another

means to glorify our God. The

greatest thing we can ever do,

as our father Abraham did, is

to glorify and please God. If

there was no other reason

save to glorify and please God,

speaking in tongues is some-

thing every believer should

desire to do. �


12

C ountless hospitals across

the nation bear the name

“Good Samaritan,” all a tribute to

Jesus’ masterful parable about the

injured traveler. So ubiquitous is

this story that it has become a cliché

to call someone who helps another

“a good Samaritan.” Yet, as with so

many sayings of Jesus, the more

popular it became, the more it was

domesticated and dulled so that it

no longer presents a challenge to us.

Like cereal left sitting in milk too

long, the good Samaritan today

communicates the soggy, tepid

truth that we should occasionally

help the needy if it is not too much

trouble. Furthermore, the com-

mand of Jesus to love ones’

neighbor as oneself remains

divorced from the story, as if the

two were unrelated. We forget that

Jesus’ little story is intended to illus-

trate and set a standard for how his

followers neighbor others. In what

follows, we will make our way

through the parable, paying careful

attention to the historical context in

order to recalibrate our senses and

learn how best to live this out today.

The passage opens with an expert in

the Law of Moses putting Jesus—

the up and coming rabbi—to the

test. Although we cannot be sure

how innocent or malicious the

lawyer was, we know that he

already knew the answer to the

question he asked Jesus, or at least

he thought he did. He pops the

question, “Teacher, what shall I do

to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25).

Rather than answering him outright,

Jesus replies with his own query,

“What has been written in the Law?

How do you read it?” (v26). This put

the scribe on the spot: if he wanted

to defend his expert knowledge of

the Scriptures, he needed to an-

swer, but by answering he loses his

opportunity to hear Jesus’ reply. In

the end, he decided to respond by

quoting part of the Shema, the core

creed of Judaism (Deuteronomy 6:4-

5), “You will love the Lord your God

from your whole heart and in your

whole soul and in your whole

strength and in your whole mind.”

Then he added a well-known text

from Leviticus 19:18, “and your

neighbor as yourself” (v27). Recog-

nizing the validity of the man’s

answer, Jesus said, “You answered

correctly; do this and you will

live” (v28). Ironically, rather than

checking out Jesus’ orthodoxy and

biblical knowledge, the reverse hap-

pened—Jesus ended up testing the

lawyer and approving his answer. I

imagine the lawyer was a bit bewil-

dered and frustrated by the sudden

turn of events. Luke reports that

the man’s next question was moti-

vated by a desire to justify himself.

He had stood up and gone toe to

toe with the new teacher, and he

probably felt embarrassed before

his peers who were listening. Now

another question formed in his

mind, one likely influenced by his

vast experience in exegeting Scrip-

ture and contemplating the practical

application of Torah to daily life. He

asked, “And who is my

neighbor?” (v29).

In order to understand why he

asked this clarifying follow-up ques-

tion, we need to turn to the book of

Leviticus. Gaining some context

proves helpful:

Leviticus 19:17-18 `You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. `You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD. The “love your neighbor as yourself”

commandment was construed eth-

nically—one must love his fellow

Israelite. The chapter begins with

Moses speaking to “all the congre-

gation of the people of Israel” and

telling them to be holy as God is.

Throughout Leviticus, it is clear that

God intends Israel to remain sepa-

rate from the other nations, espe-

cially her immediate neighbors.

Thus, the lawyer posing this ques-

tion to Jesus is capitalizing on a

genuine ambiguity in the text—one

that no doubt puzzled the theologi-

ans of his day. The minimalist

answer saw the neighbor as a fellow

Torah-observant Jew, whereas the

maximalist sought to extend love to

everyone. Where would Jesus fall

on this question? Would he grasp

the complexity of the issue? Would

he provide a half-way satisfying

answer easily rebutted by a trained

scribe? Jesus decided not to answer

directly; instead, he told a story to

illustrate his point.


The Good The Good The Good The Good Samaritan: Samaritan: Samaritan: Samaritan:

Jesus’ Jesus’ Jesus’ Jesus’

Challenge Challenge Challenge Challenge

to Us Todayto Us Todayto Us Todayto Us Today By Sean Finnegan

13

Jesus begins, “A man was going

down from Jerusalem to Jericho and

fell among bandits, who after both

stripping and beating him departed,

leaving him half dead” (Luke 10:30).

Bandits were a real problem in the

ancient world. Often, when making

long journeys, people traveled

together in a caravan for protection.

This man was alone, and he was

traveling a treacherous road infa-

mous for the dangers it posed. It

was a rocky and winding desert road

that began in Jerusalem at 2,600

feet above sea level and descended

to Jericho at 825 feet below sea

level in a mere seventeen miles.

Furthermore, caves lined many

parts of the road which provided

robbers with ideal hideouts to plun-

der unsuspecting passersby. This

unfortunate man was outnumbered

and taken for all he had, even his

clothing. In a world without cell

phones or ambulances, his fate

wholly depended on a chance

encounter with someone who was

willing to help. All of this would

have been familiar to Jesus’ hearers,

and they may have even anticipated

the next line.

Jesus continued, “And by chance a

priest went down on that

way” (v31). The priest is an ideal

candidate for a man to show com-

passion and do what is right in the

eyes of God. Priests were profes-

sional worship facilitators who

offered sacrifices in the inner court-

yard of the temple precinct. They

were mediators, and Jesus’ audi-

ence likely expected this man to

intercede for the wounded in God’s

name. Yet, Jesus inverts his role

saying, “And seeing him he passed

by on the other side” (v31). No rea-

son is given for the priest’s callused

negligence. We are left guessing

what he must have told himself to

soothe his conscience and justify his

blatant disregard for a wounded

stranger. Perhaps he was in a

hurry—maybe even to do some-

thing for God. Did he fear contami-

nation from touching a dead body?

Was he worried that the robbers

might still be around? Did he think

the man was faking it to set up an

ambush? We simply don’t know; all

we are told is that he passed by on

the other side. Next, the Levite

arrives on the scene: “And likewise a

Levite going down to the place and

seeing him passed by on the other

side” (v32). Like priests, Levites too

were servants of God, but they were

not permitted to do as much as the

priests and were more like assis-

tants. Still, Levites were revered,

and so this man’s flagrant lack of

care for his fellow traveler would

have shocked the hearers.

Enter the Samaritan: “And a Samari-

tan journeying came upon

him” (v33). By the time of Jesus,

deep-seated animosity had brewed

between Jews and Samaritans for

centuries, sometimes erupting in

outright violence. They were sworn

enemies who avoided one another,

each regarding the other as hereti-

cal. The Samaritans only accepted

the first five books of the Hebrew

Bible, the Torah, as inspired. They

believed the monarchy was a

mistake and David’s beloved city

along with Solomon’s ornate temple

was illegitimate. They clung to

mount Gerizim, the lofty peak

where Moses commanded the

blessings to be pronounced once

the Israelites entered the Promised

Land (Deuteronomy 11:29; 27:12;

Joshua 8:33). Later, they built a

temple there and worshipped on

Mt. Gerizim instead of Jerusalem

(John 4:20). A little more than a

century before Christ (128 B.C.), the

priest-king John Hyrcanus con-

quered Samaria for Judah and

destroyed their temple in the proc-

ess. By the first century, Herod the

Great’s impressive renovations to

the Jerusalem temple stirred disdain

among the Samaritans whose own

temple lay in ruins atop what they

regarded as the true holy place.

Samaria lay between Judah and

Galilee, so when Galilean Jews made

pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusa-

lem, they had to either go through

Samaria or walk the long way

around it. Most Jews chose to

travel the extra distance to avoid

the despised Samaritans. In one

incident, Jesus went through

Samaria on his way to attend a festi-

val at the temple. He sent ahead

messengers to make arrangements

for him in a Samaritan village. They

refused to receive him “because his

face was set toward Jerusa-

lem” (Luke 9:53). Jesus’ disciples

asked, “Lord, do you wish that we

call fire to come down out of

heaven and consume them?” (v54).

Jesus rebuked them, and they

resumed their journey.

The Jews likewise despised the

Samaritans, calling them Cutheans

(whose blood was not really Israelite

in origin but Gentile from Cuthah in

Persian).1 They libeled them as

turncoats who vacillated between

identifying as Jews or Gentiles



The Good Samaritan: Jesus’ Challenge to Us Today Continued...The Good Samaritan: Jesus’ Challenge to Us Today Continued...The Good Samaritan: Jesus’ Challenge to Us Today Continued...The Good Samaritan: Jesus’ Challenge to Us Today Continued...

14

depending on who was asking.2

In

the Samaritan town of Sychar, Jesus

surprised a woman at Jacob’s well

by asking her for a drink of water.

John helpfully explains with the

editorial note, “For Jews do not use

anything in common with Samari-

tans” (John 4:9). Even just asking for

a sip of water from her drinking

vessel was crossing the line. So

much did the Jews despise the

Samaritans that they considered

eating with them the same as

eating the flesh of a pig and any

contact with a Samaritan female

as contaminating as touching a

menstruating woman.3 Given

this complicated and spiteful

history, Jews hearing a story

about a Samaritan would natu-

rally expect him to do some-

thing wicked. At best, he might

pass by on the other side like

his two forerunners; at worst,

he would take advantage of the

wounded man and finish the

job the bandits only halfway

completed.

Again Jesus violates expectation by

inverting the role of the Samaritan.

He narrates, “And a Samaritan jour-

neying came upon him and seeing

him felt compassion, and approach-

ing he bound his wounds, pouring

oil and wine on them. Having put

him upon his own animal, he

brought him to an inn and cared for

him. And when he was departing on

the next day, he gave the inn keeper

two denarii and said, ‘Take care of

him, and what more you may spend

I will pay you when I return’”/

(Luke 10:33-35). Not only does the

Samaritan feel compassion, but

immediately jumps in and does eve-

rything he possibly can to help. He

pours oil on his wounds to soothe

them, disinfects them with wine,

and then binds him with his own

fabric (perhaps torn from his turban

or tunic). Putting him on his own

animal likely meant the Samaritan

would have to walk the rest of the

way. Upon arriving at the inn, he

does not drop the man off, leaving

him at the mercy of the inn keeper,

but spends the night caring for him.

He gives the keeper two days’

wages, which according to Darrell

Bock, would have provided lodging

for up to twenty-four days.4 Even at

today’s minimum wage, this would

amount to over a hundred dollars.

And what is more, he is willing to

pay any further expenses accrued

for the stranger’s recovery. The

Samaritan does not merely assuage

his own guilt by doing the minimum

to insure the half-dead man’s blood

would not be on his head, he does

everything possible to meet the

man’s needs genuinely and compe-

tently regardless of the inconven-

ience or the cost. M.L. King Jr. was

right to note that rather than asking,

“If I stop to help this man, what will

happen to me?” like the priest and

the Levite, the Samaritan said to

himself, “If I do not stop to help this

man, what will happen to him?”5

Next Jesus asks, “Who of these

three appears to you to be a

neighbor to the one who fell among

bandits?” (v36). The man responded,

“The one who had compassion on

him” (v36). And Jesus said to him,

“Go and you do likewise” (v36).

Needless to say, the lawyer did not

pose any more questions. Jesus had

just defined what a neighbor

meant in living color. One’s

neighbor is not merely the person

next door or even one’s fellow

countryman, but one’s neighbor is

the one who is nearby, even if he

or she is a sworn enemy. Samari-

tans hated Jews, and yet this

Samaritan neighbored his enemy.

To do this was risky and cost him

time and money, but he did it

anyhow, and as a result, twenty

centuries later, Good Samaritan

hospitals abound across the land.

The funny thing is there was no

good Samaritan. He was merely an

oral fiction Jesus used to teach

something about loving others. Yet,

even if the original good Samaritan

was fiction, countless imitators

(wooed by God’s outrageous love

and committed to obeying the Son

of God) have arisen throughout the

centuries to love in even hazardous

situations. For example in A.D. 250,

a pandemic broke out across the

Roman Empire infecting thousands,

perhaps even millions. Thousands

died daily afflicted with horrible

symptoms including diarrhea, vomit-

ing, burning eyes, loss of limbs, loss



The Good Samaritan: Jesus’ Challenge to Us Today Continued...The Good Samaritan: Jesus’ Challenge to Us Today Continued...The Good Samaritan: Jesus’ Challenge to Us Today Continued...The Good Samaritan: Jesus’ Challenge to Us Today Continued...

15

of hearing, and loss of sight.6 Pon-

tius, a deacon in the congregation at

Carthage, noted how the city was

littered with “no longer bodies, but

the carcasses of many.”7 The stench

of death must have been unbear-

able as the plague ravaged house

after house. Dionysius, the pastor

of the congregation at Alexandria,

relates the following description:

They pushed away those with

the first signs of the disease

and fled from their dearest.

They even threw them half

dead into the roads and

treated unburied corpses like

refuse in hopes of avoiding

the plague of death, which,

for all their efforts, was diffi-

cult to escape.8

But even if fear and panic shot

through the hearts of the people,

not knowing who would be next, the

Christians, in contrast, responded

quite differently. Rather than ditch-

ing their loved ones, they bravely

cared for their own, making sure the

sick had the necessary provisions

and sanitation to get better. Of

course, nursing someone sick of a

communicable disease in the

ancient world was extremely risky.

Dionysius goes on to tell us how

severe it was:

They would also take up the

bodies of the saints, close

their eyes, shut their mouths,

and carry them on their

shoulders. They would em-

brace them, wash and dress

them in burial clothes, and

soon receive the same ser-

vices themselves.9

Undaunted by death and without

putting their own well-being first,

they reached out to the dying pa-

gans all around them as well. Chris-

tian leaders urged their flocks to

extend love to even their enemies.

Then afterwards he [Cyprian]

subjoined, that there was

nothing wonderful in our

cherishing our own people

only with the needed atten-

tions of love, but that he

might become perfect who

would do something more

than the publican or the hea-

then, who, overcoming evil

with good, and practicing a

clemency which was like the

divine clemency, loved even

his enemies, who would pray

for the salvation of those that

persecute him, as the Lord

admonishes and exhorts.10

At great personal risk, they reached

out to the infected pagans and

nursed them back to health or else

guaranteed they died without lack-

ing care or company. Although

Christians died in great numbers,

their fellow brothers and sisters

regarded them fortunate to have

given their lives on behalf of others.

They were even considered martyrs!

It turns out that this pestilence coin-

cided with one of the greatest

periods of growth for third century

Christianity. I can imagine just how

eager an unbeliever would be to

hear the gospel after being aban-

doned by his own family and nursed

back to health by courageous, loving

Christ-followers.

Jesus said to the lawyer, “Go and

you do likewise.” Even so, “doing

likewise” may cost us great pain,

financial hardship, and even our

own lives. Many times those we

reach out to will lack gratitude, and

sometimes they may even hate us

for trying to help. We may get sued

for trying to aid someone who has

been in a car accident, but we can-

not, we will not, for these reasons

pass by on the other side. For if we

do, Jesus is not our Lord; he is just a

nice, dead religious figure whose

likeness is fit for gluing to our

dashboard or hanging from our rear-

view mirror, but who presents no

challenge to us today. �


1 Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 9.14.3 (288)

2 ibid., 9.14.3 (291).

3 Babylonian Talmud, Seder Zera’im, She-bi’ith 8.10; Babylonian Talmud, Seder To-

horoth, Niddah 4 (31b)

4 Darrell L. Bock, Luke, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids:

Baker 1996), 1031.

5 Martin Luther King, Jr: “I've Been to the Mountaintop,” delivered April 3, 1968,

Memphis, Tennessee.

6 Cyprian, Treatise 7: On the Mortality 14

7 Pontius, The Life and Passion of Cyprian 9, trans. Ernest Wallis, ed. Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5

(Peabody, MA: Hendrickson 2004), 270.

8 Quoted by Eusebius, Church History 7.22.7, trans. Paul L. Maier, Eusebius: The Church

History (Grand Rapids: Kregel 2007), 240.

9 Eusebius, 7.22.9

10 Pontius, 9

KEEP ON PRAYINGKEEP ON PRAYING

Luke 18:1Luke 18:1 Men ought always to pray and not to faintMen ought always to pray and not to faint

Luke 21:36Luke 21:36 Keep on the alert at all times, prayingKeep on the alert at all times, praying

Romans 12:12Romans 12:12 Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation,

devoted to prayerdevoted to prayer

Ephesians 6:18Ephesians 6:18 Pray at all times in the spirit…Pray at all times in the spirit…

with all perseverance with all perseverance

Colossians 4:2Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it

1 Thessalonians 4:171 Thessalonians 4:17 Pray without ceasingPray without ceasing

458 Old Niskayuna Road, Latham, NY 12110

Nonprofit Org.

US Postage

Paid

Latham, New York

Permit No. 128

Documents

Issue 16.2