The New Birth Spanish Tract, part 5

Es en ésta manera que vemos a Dios en Su santidad y caemos ante Sus pies clamando, "Culpable, culpable, vil y lleno de pecado estoy." Por qué? Porque el entendimiento nos ha sido iluminado para ver a Dios en Su Santidad y verme a mí en toda mi impureza por causa del pecado. Según me presento ante Dios tres veces santo con la luz del trono brillando sobre Su santidad, ésa misma luz me demuestra mi pecaminosidad y lo distanciado que me encuentro de Dios. Recordemos que la facultad de nuestro entendiemiento no se nos quita en el nuevo nacimiento, pero es iluminada redirigiéndonos hacia Dios, su Cristo, santidad y cosas eternas. A la luz del trono, me he visto a mí mismo y a la santidad de Dios.

It is in this way that we see God in His holiness and we fall before His feet crying, "Guilty, guilty, vile and full of sin am I!" Why? Because our understanding has been illuminated to see God in His Holiness and I see myself in all my impurity because of sin. According to my light I demonstrate my sinnership and the distance that I am found from God. We remember that the faculty of our understanding is not taken from us in the new birth, but is enlightened turning us toward God, His Christ, holiness and eternal things. In the light of the throne, I have seen myself and the holiness of God.

De la misma manera, el Espíritu Santo le otorga poder a las afecciones. Las afecciones del hombre se prostituyeron en la caída (Isaías 53:2), de manera que ya no se veía belleza ó gloria en santidad ó en Dios Santo, pero tan sólo podía ver placer en el pecado y en todas sus formas. Pero según obra el Espíritu Santo en nuestro entendimiento, las afecciones del hombre pecador se ejercitan de manera diferente. En vez de tenerlas en cosas temporales y de los sentidos, ahora se proyectan en cosas espirituales y eternas según vemos la gloria y la belleza de Dios según en Él en Cristo Jesús. Las afecciones ahora van tras el bendito eterno Hijo de Dios. Se vé en Él, en Su muerte, resurrección y ascención una belleza, una gloria, y un sentido de apropiación que antes tan sólo se consideraba como locura ó tontería por estar sus ojos cegados y sus afecciones prostituídas por el dios de éste mundo, Satanás mismo (2 Corintios 4:4).

In the same way, the Holy Spirit grants power to the affections. The affections of man were prostituted in the fall (Isaiah 53:2), in this way he no longer saw beauty or glory in holiness or in a Holy God, but only could see pleasure in sin and in all its forms. But according to the work of the Holy Spirit in the understanding, the affections of the sinful man were exercised in a different way. Instead of having them in sensual and temporary things, now were they put into spiritual and eternal things according to the glory and beauty of God as we see Him in Christ Jesus. The affections now go after the blessed eternal Son of God. He saw in Him, in His death, resurrection and ascension a beauty, a glory, and a sense of approbation that before was only considered as craziness or foolishness for his eyes were blind and his affections prostituted by the god of this world, Satan himself (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Entonces con el entendimiento iluminado y las afecciones llendo tras Cristo, la voluntad, la cual se encontraba cautiva (Rom 7:14,15), es libertada (Rom 6:18). En vez de seguir tras el pecado y la injusticia, nos rendimos a Dios y a Su juicios, diciendo en nuestros corazones, "No se haga mi voluntad sino la tuya." Clamamos como Saulo de Tarso caído en tierra en el camino hacia Damasco, "Señor, que quieres que yo haga?" (Hechos 9:6). Sí, cuando el entendimiento es ilumindado por el Espíritu Santo en el nuevo nacimiento, y las afecciones ven belleza y una gloria en Cristo, entonces la voluntad dice "sí" a Jesucristo porque el pecador ha sido hecho voluntario en el día de Su poder (Salmo 110:3).

Then with the understanding enlightened and the affections going after Christ, the will, which was found captive (Rom 7:14,15), is freed (Rom 6:18). Instead of following after sin and unrighteousness, we surrender to God and to His judgments, saying in our hearts, "Not my will be done but yours." We cry as Saul of Tarsus fallen to the ground on the way to Damascus, "Lord, what do you want me to do?" (Acts 9:6). Yes, when the understanding is enlightened by the Holy Spirit in the new birth, and the affections see beauty and a glory in Christ, then the will says "yes" to Jesus Christ because the sinner has been made willing in the day of His power (Psalm 110:3).

Para resumir todo lo concerniente al nuevo nacimiento, no es la remoción de nada del pecador, porque nuestro entendimiento, nuestras afecciones y nuestra voluntad aún se encuentran intactas. Pero sí es la comunicación de algo al pecador: EL NUEVO NACIMIENTO ES EL IMPARTIMIENTO DE LA NATURALEZA DIVINA DE DIOS (2 Pedro 1:4). ¡Alabado sea Dios por ésto! El nos dá VIDA en el Señor Jesús. Cuando yo nací por primera vez, yo recibí de mis padres su naturaleza, así que al nacer de nuevo, recibí de Dios, a través de Su Espíritu, Su naturaleza. Sí, el Espíritu de Dios engendra dentro de nosotros una naturaleza espiritual al salvarnos. Ya que ésta es la obra del Espíritu Santo, entonces ya no puede ser a través del bautismo, membresía en una iglesia, siendo religioso, haciendo lo mejor que podemos, ni haciendo una decisión una profesión. Es algo que Dios hace por Su gracia soberana y Su poder en los corazones de pobres pecadores. De hecho, ni tan siquiera nosotros lo pedimos; cierto es, Dios es quien lo hace. Entonces comenzamos a pedirle porque Él lo ha obrado en nuestros corazones.

To sum up everything concerning the new birth, it is not the removal of anything from the sinner, because our understanding, our affections and our will were found to be still intact. But it is the communication of something to the sinner: THE NEW BIRTH IS THE IMPARTING OF THE DIVINE NATURE OF GOD (2 Peter 1:4). Praise be to God for this! He gave us LIFE in the Lord Jesus. When I was born the first time, I received from my father his nature, so then when born again, I received from God, through His Spirit, His nature. Yes, the Spirit of God begets inside of us a spiritual nature when we are saved. That also is the work of the Holy Spirit, then no longer can it be through baptism, membership in a church, being religious, doing the best that we can, nor making a decision a profession. It is something that God does by His sovereign grace and His power in the hearts of poor sinners. In fact, we did not even ask for it; the truth is, it is God who does it. Then we begin to ask because He has worked it in our hearts.

Latin and other Tongues

Today I was looking at E-Sword and tried to read a verse from the Latin Vulgate translation. I could make out a few words, but not very many, so I searched for a free online tutorial for learning Latin. I found one that teaches right out of the Bible! So I read the first lesson which taught on how to interpret John 1:1 in Latin:

in principio erat Verbum et Verbum erat apud Deum et Deus erat Verbum

"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and God was the Word."

This was easy, but the words and their forms, conjugations, tenses and persons all take some time to learn and understand. What is cool about Latin is that it is so closely related to Spanish. In is the same as en in Spanish and in in English, but it also can mean at or on as well. Principio means beginning in both Latin and Spanish. Erat means it was or he/she was, which is very similar to era in Spanish. Verbum is easy because it means Word in both Latin and Spanish, although in Spanish it is Verbo and I also noticed Palabra used more in contemporary Spanish. Deum and Deus are two forms of the same word for God. In Spanish it is simply Dios, but Portuguese I think uses Deus for God also. The lesson's author explained that Deum and Deus are different in the same way that we use Him and He differently: "and the Word was with Deum [Him] and Deus [He] was the Word", but only Deum and Deus both mean God.

Not only this, but I have also been doing some more translating from Greek today. Although I do not understand much Greek without the help of the website source I use for translating, it is another important Biblical language that I am very grateful to have access to. I posted my new translation of Romans 1:18-32 here in a blog post on Depravity. I also just found out I can read John 1:1-6 in Greek as well as Spanish, and now I'm learning it in Latin. :) Now that I think of it, it has been a long time since I studied a little bit of Hebrew. Not since over a year ago, but perhaps I will get fired up for that again as well? I don't know?

I must get back to my other work now. My Lord and Savior has been graciously teaching me more things than I deserve.

The New Birth Spanish Tract, part 4

Continuing with the translation... I am only posting a few paragraphs at a time, so to read the whole thing, one has to start at part 1, and read on. The Spanish is in red while the English is in blue following:

También en Juan 1:13 nos dice que la regeneración ó el nuevo nacimiento es de acuerdo a  la voluntad de Dios. ¡Escuchen! "Los cuales no son engendrados de sangre, ni de voluntad de carne, ni de voluntad de varón, sino de Dios."  Nuevamente en Juan 3:5-8 leemos que la regeneración ó el nuevo nacimiento es llevado a cabo en nosotros por el Espíritu Santo, y 1 Pedro 1:23 nos dice que el instrumento que Él usa es la Palabra de Dios: "Siendo renacidos, no de simiente corruptible, sino de incorruptible, por la palabra de Dios que vive y permanece para siempre."

Also in John 1:13, it tells us that the regeneration or the new birth is according to the will of God. Listen! "Those which are not born of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Again in John 3:5-8 we read that the regeneration or the new birth is brought about in us by the Holy Spirit, and 1 Peter 1:23 tells us that the instrument that He uses is the Word of God: "Being reborn, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God that lives and endures for ever."

Según unimos éstos versos, vemos que a través de Su poder sobrenatural, el Espíritu Santo renueva al hombre interior, dándanos un nuevo corazón y haciéndonos partícipes de la naturaleza divina de Dios, preparándonos para Su reino, el cual es un reino espiritual.

As we join these verses, we see that through His supernatural power, the Holy Spirit renews the inner man, giving us a new heart and making us participants of the divine nature of God, preparing us for His kingdom, which is a spiritual kingdom.

Nos hacemos la pregunta, "¿cómo Él hace ésto?" A Dios le ha complacido hacernos en nuestro ser moral y carácter, un ser tri-partito: entendimiento, afección y voluntad. El hombre debe cambiar éstos tres aspectos si ha de buscar de la justicia y santidad de Dios. En la caída de Adán todos perdimos nuestra justicia y santidad y pasamos a estar muertos en pecados y transgresiones (Efesios 2:1-3). Así que en el nuevo nacimiento El nos ilumina el entendimiento que había sido obscuresido (Efesios 4:18). ¿Por qué? Porque "el hombre natural (el hombre carnal) no percibe las cosas que son del Espíritu de Dios, porque para el son locura, y no las puede entender, porque se han de discernir espiritualmente" (1 Corintios 2:14). Ese es nuestro corazón apartado de la gracia de Dios. Entonces teniendo nuestro entendimiento iluminado por el Espíritu Santo, vemos nosotros mismos, a Cristo y al mundo, y todo lo demás bajo una luz diferente a la anterior. De acuerdo a 2 Corintios 4:6, El causa que la luz brille en la obscuridad de nuestro entendimiento, "para iluminación del conocimiento de la glroria de Dios en la faz de Jesucristo." Entonces y tan sólo entonces el pecador clama como Isaías en Isaías 6:5 al ver la gloria de Dios en Su santidad, "¡Ay de mí! que soy muerto; porque siendo hombre inmundo de labios... han visto mis ojos al Rey, Jehová de los ejércitos."

We ask the question, "How does He do this?" It has pleased God to make us be in our morals and character, a three-part being: understanding, affection and will. Man must change these three aspects if he is to seek the righteousness and holiness of God. In the fall of Adam everyone lost our righteousness and holiness and we became dead in sins and transgressions (Ephesians 2:1-3). So that in the new birth He illuminates our understanding that had been darkened (Ephesians 4:18). Why? Because "the natural man (the carnal man) does not perceive the things that are from the Spirit of God, because they are folly, and they cannot understand, because it has to be spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14). This is our heart apart from the grace of God. Then having our understanding illuminated by the Holy Spirit, we see ourselves, to Christ and to the world, and everyone else under a different light than before. According to 2 Corinthians 4:6, He causes the light to shine in the darkness of our understanding, "for illumination of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." So then and only then the sinner cries as Isaiah in Isaiah 6:5 to see the glory of God in His holiness, "Woe is me! I am dead; because being a man of impure lips... my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts."

The New Birth Spanish Tract, part 3

I have been learning the Spanish tongue for some time now, at least during most of this year. It hasn't been easy to learn how to pronounce the words, or what different forms they have depending on how they are conjugated. But with help from the Lord and a gracious person, I am much more familiar with the language, and am able to translate it when it is written without the need to look up every single word in a dictionary. I still cannot speak it very well. But as time goes on, I will learn to do that if the Lord wills. Here is my most recent translation of another paragraph from  the New Birth tract by L. R. Shelton, Jr.:

Veamos como el resto de las escrituras presentan a la naturaleza del nuevo nacimiento: 2 Corintios 5:17 declara que la regeneración ó el nuevo nacimiento es una nueva creación en la que las cosas viejas han pasado y todo es hecho nuevo. El nuevo nacimiento entonces es una nueva creación. Ezequiel 36:26-29 declara que el nuevo nacimiento es el recibir un nuevo corazón. Escuche la Palabra de Dios: "Os daré corazón nuevo (ésto es obra de Dios) y pondré espíritu nuevo dentro de vosotros; (obra de Dios) y quitaré de vuestra carne el corazón de piedra, y os daré un corazón de carne. (Esto siendo obra de Dios.) "Y pondré dentro de vosotros mi Espíritu, (obra de Dios) y haré que andéis en mis statutos, (ésto es obra de Dios) y guardeis mis preceptos, (éste es mi trabajo.) ¿Por qué? Porque Dios hizo Su obra en mí como siempre lo hace. Aún la función que yo desempeño es el resultado de Su obra, como dice en Filipenses 2:12-13: "...ocupaos en vuestra salvación con temor y temblor, porque Dios es el que en vosotros produce así el querer como el hacer, por su buena voluntad." Vemos entonces que el nuevo nacimiento es la dádiva de un corazón nuevo. En 2 Pedro 1:4, la regeneración el nuevo nacimiento se dice que es el recibir una nueva naturaleza: Por lo cual "nos ha dado preciosas y grandísimas promesas, para que por ellas llegaseis a ser participantes de la naturaleza divina, habiendo huido de la corrupción que hay en el mundo a causa de la concupiscencia." Sí, el nuevo nacimiento es el recibimiento de la naturaleza divina de Dios.

We see how the rest of the scriptures present the nature of the new birth: 2 Corinthians 5:17 declares that regeneration or the new birth is a new creation in that old things have passed and all is made new. The new birth then is a new creation. Ezekiel 36:26-29 declares that the new birth is the receiving of a new heart. Listen to the Word of God: "I will give you a new heart (this is the work of God) and I will put a new spirit in you; (work of God) and I will take from your flesh the heart of stone, and I will give you a heart of flesh. (This being the work of God.) "And I will put my Spirit in you, (work of God) and I make that you walk in my statutes, (this is God's work) and you will keep my precepts, (this is my work.) Why? Because God did His work in me as He always does. Even the function that I perform is the result of His work, as it says in Philippians 2:12-13: "...occupy yourselves in your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that produces in you so to want as to do, for his good will." We see then that the new birth is the gift of a new heart. In 2 Peter 1:4, in regeneration it says the new birth is to receive a new nature: By which "he has given you precious and great promises, so that by them you have come to be participants of the divine nature, having fled from the corruption that there is in the world caused by lust." Yes, the new birth is the receiving of the divine nature of God.

The New Birth Spanish Tract, part 2

I am here continuing my translation of LA ENSAÑANZA DE CRISTO ACERCA DEL NUEVO NACIMIENTO by L. R. Shelton, Jr.... again, my translation is in blue type following the spanish in red:

De la misma manera fué en mi nacimiento espiritual por el Espíritu Santo. Me encontraba pasivo en mi concepción mientras Él plantaba la Palabra de vida en mi corazón (1 Pedro 1:23), por lo tanto me dió una nueva naturaleza (2 Pedro 1:4). Nada tuve que ver en ésto. Pero, tan pronto había vuelto a nacer, comencé a clamar a Dios en Cristo; comencé a arrepentirme y acudir a Dios por mis pecados, a creer, confiar y buscar a Cristo y a Su preciosa salvación y a clamar por la justicia de Dios en Cristo. Estuve activo por lo que Dios había hecho en mi corazón a través del nuevo nacimiento. Un hombre no puede convertirse, ni puede ser salvo, ni arrepentirse, ni creer hasta que se le haya impartido vida antes por el Espíritu Santo, resucitado de la sepultura del pecado (Efesios 2:1) y habérsele dado un nuevo corazón (Ezequiel 36:26) y una nueva naturaleza en el nuevo nacimiento. Entonces y sólo entonces puede haber arrepentimiento con el corazón quebrantado por causa de sus pecados como estando en contra de Dios, viendo belleza y gloria en Cristo por lo cual está dispuesto a abandonar el pecado y acercarse a Cristo aceptándolo como Señor y Salvador, Rey y Libertador, en verdadera fé salvadora. Como verás, el nuevo nacimiento y la conversión no son lo mismo: en el nuevo nacimiento el pecador se encuentra en estado pasivo; en la conversión, por la gracia de Dios, el pecador se encuentra activo según clama a Dios arrepentido y con fé. Y ésto continúa en sus días.

It was the same way in my spiritual birth by the Holy Spirit. I was found passive in my conception while He planted the Word of life in my heart (1 Peter 1:23), therefore I was given a new nature (2 Peter 1:4). I had nothing to do with this. But, as soon as I had begun to be born, I began to cry to God in Chirst; I began to repent of and to go to God for my sins, to believe, to trust and to seek Christ and His precious salvation and to cry for the righteousness of God in Christ. I was active because of what God had done in my heart through the new birth. A man cannot be converted, nor be saved, nor repent, nor believe until life is first imparted to him by the Holy Spirit, raising him from the grave of sin (Ephesians 2:1) and he is given a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26) and a new nature in the new birth. Then and only then can there be repentance with the heart broken because of his sins which stand against God, seeing beauty and glory in Christ he is thus ready to abandon sin and to draw near to Christ accepting Him as Lord and Savior, King and Liberator, in true saving faith. As you see, the new birth and conversion are not the same: in the new birth the sinner is found in a passive state; in conversion, by the grace of God, the sinner is found active as he cries to God in repentance and faith. And he continues in this all his days.

The New Birth Spanish Tract

I have this tract that I like in Spanish, and I wanted to read it to learn to better understand Spanish. Here are a few of the beginning paragraphs that I translated with only some help with the words and phrases I didn't understand from a translation tool. My English translations appear in blue following the red Spanish paragraphs.

LA ENSEÑANZA DE CRISTO ACERCA DEL NUEVO NACIMIENTO

L. R. SHELTON JR.

1923-2003

Encontramos la enseñanza del Señor Jesucristo acerca del nuevo nacimiento en el capítulo 3 del Evangelio según San Juan, en las instrucciones dadas por El Señor a Nicodemo, uno de los jefes de los judíos quien vino a Él durante la noche. "Respondió Jesús y le dijo: De cierto, de cierto te digo, que el que no naciere de nuevo, no puede ver el reino de Dios. Nicodemo le dijo: ¿Cómo puede un hombre nacer siendo viejo? ¿Puede acaso entrar por segunda vez en el vientre de su madre, y nacer? Respondió Jesús: De cierto, de cierto te digo, que el que no naciere de agua y del Espíritu, no puede entrar en el reino de Dios. Lo que es nacido de la carne, carne es; y lo que es nacido del Espíritu, espiritu es. No te maravilles de que te dije: os es necesario nacer de nuevo. El viento sopla de donde quiere, y oyes su sonido; mas ni sabes de dónde viene, ni a dónde va; asi es todo aquel que es nacido del Espíritu" (Juan 3:3-8).

THE TEACHING OF CHRIST ABOUT THE NEW BIRTH

L. R. SHELTON, JR.

1923-2003

We find the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ about the new birth in chapter 3 of the Gospel according to Saint John, in the instructions given by the Lord to Nicodemus, one of the leaders of the Jews who came to Him during the night. "Jesus responded and said: Certainly, certainly I say to you, that whoever is not born again, cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said: How can a man be born when he is old? Can he perhaps enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus responded: Certainly, certainly I say to you, that whoever is not born of water and of the Spirit, cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit. Do not marvel that I said: it is necessary for you to be born again. The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound; but do not know where it comes from, nor where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit" (John 3:3-8).

En éstos versos encontramos tres cosas. Primero, EL NUEVO NACIMIENTO ES NECESARIO si es que el hombre ha de entrar, ver ó tomar parte en el reino de Dios. ¿Por qué? Porque "la carne y la sangre no pueden heredar el reino de Dios" (I Corintios 15:50). El reino de Dios es un reino espiritual, estando nosotros exluídos por nuestra naturaleza pecaminosa y carnal.

In these verses we find three things. First, THE NEW BIRTH IS NECESSARY if man is to enter, see or take part in the kingdom of God. Why? Because "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (I Corinthians 15:50). The kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom, us being excluded for our carnal and sinful nature.

Segundo, encontramos que EL NUEVO NACIMIENTO ESLA OBRA DEL ESPIRITU SANTO, quien es soberano en todas Sus operaciones. Es Su trabajo el dar vida a todos aquéllos cuyos nombres aparecen escritos en el Libro de la Vida. Nuestro Señor dijo en Su oración sacerdotal en Juan 17 que el Padre le había dado poder sobre toda carne, para que diese vida eterna a cuantos el Padre le había dado. Es a través de Su Santo Espíritu que nuestro Señor Jesús vivifíca, ó dá vida eterna, en el nuevo nacimiento a aquéllos que el Padre le ha dado.

Second, we find that THE NEW BIRTH IS THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, who is sovereign in all His operations. It is His work to give life to all those whose names appear written in the Book of Life. Our Lord said in His priestly prayer in John 17 that the Father had given Him power over all flesh, in order to give eternal life to whoever the Father had given Him. It is through His Holy Spirit that our Lord Jesus gives life to, or gave eternal life, in the new birth to those who the Father has given Him.

Tercero, encontramos que EL NUEVO NACIMIENTO Y LA CONVERSIÓN NO SON LO MISMO. En el nuevo nacimiento el pecador se encuentra en un estado pasivo; en la conversión el pecador toma parte activa. En mi concepción natural y en mi nacimiento me encontraba pasivo porque la concepción no vino de mí. Tampoco añadí nada en mi crecimiento en los nueve meses que estuve en el vientre de mi madre, pues mi madre suplió todo. Tan pronto nací, comencé a llorar. Me encontraba muy activo porque estaba vivo fuera del vientre y aún necesitaba todas las atenciones de mi madre. Lloraba porque estaba vivo.

Third, we find that THE NEW BIRTH AND CONVERSION ARE NOT THE SAME. In the new birth the sinner finds himself in a passive state; in conversion the sinner takes part actively. In my natural conception and in my birth I found myself in a passive state because conception did not come from me. Neither did I add anything to my growth during the nine months that I was in my mother's womb, for my mother supplied everything. As soon as I was born, I began to cry. I was found to be very active because I was alive out of the womb and still was needing all the attention of my mother. I was crying because I was alive.

More to come...

Más a venir...

Available from:

Chapel Library • 2603 W. Wright St. • Pensacola, FL 32505 • www.mountzion.org

Vietnamese Words

Today, my brother Lee and I picked up our friend, Hung, for church. Hung is from Vietnam and comes to church as often as he can in Upper Darby Philadelphia. He has some knee problems and diabetes, so his health sometimes makes it hard for him. Today was the first time I escorted him there, and I was honored to do so for this man. I've known him for a long time now, but he speaks broken English, so we don't always talk much. However, he was extremely talkative today. So I started asking him to teach me words in Vietnamese.

"How do you say, 'Do you read the Bible?"

"DOC KINH TANH." (He also wrote it down for me, but I don't know how to get vietnamese characters to show up here. You pronounce it with sort of an up-down-up tune.)

Then he said, "And you can also say, 'DOC KINH TANH MON AY.' Read the Bible everyday."

We laughed, and he continued to tell us other things. We don't remember them all. He also told us how to say "Good morning," but I don't remember that either. Next time I'll have to ask him to write that down as well.

I said, "How do you say, 'Jesus is God.'?" I wrote it down for him.

Hung wrote, "Giesu la dic chua tai." (Of course the characters all look very different on the paper I have.)

I still enjoy learning to speak in new kinds of tongues! :)

Something I discovered in Psalm 23 (Spanish NVI version)

I took a break to pop open my small NVI Nuevo Testamento con Salmos y Proverbios, and it flipped to Salmo 23. I was reading and trying to imagine in my mind how it would translate from Spanish to English, when my eyes landed on this verse:

Me guía por sendas de justicia

por amor a su nombre.

(Salmo 23:3b).

The thing that struck me was that while I was translating in my mind the words, "Me [He] guides by ways of justice for love to His name." I thought, that was amazing, because in English it says, "He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His own name's sake." Apparently, in Spanish, the way to say that is to say that God leads us in right paths out of love of His own name... not because He is somehow overwhelmed with our worth and can't help but loving us for who we are... no, no, no... but it says for love of His own name. Which is the same as saying He does it because He loves Himself and wants to display His glory by leading us. God leads believers in paths of righteousness out of love for Himself. So God loves us because He loves Himself, which is just another one of those things that makes me think, people will read this and think John Piper made that up, but John Piper didn't, God said it 3,000 years ago with the pen of a Shepherd named David.

"Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name..." (Ezekiel 36:22-23).

"Yet he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make known his mighty power." (Psalm 106:8).

Practice: Efesios 2:8-9

In Spanish, Ephesians 2:8-9 is "Efesios dos, del ocho al nueve." This is what is looks like in the NVI (and I also recorded my best attempt to say it in Spanish):

"Porque por gracia ustedes han sido salvados mediante la fe; esto no procede de ustedes, sino que es el regalo de Dios, no por obras, para que nadie se jacte."

I added at the end an alternate phrase, "[o] para que nadie se gloríe," which means, "[or] so that nobody can glory." Thanks to Rita from New Human Life, I am able to say it much better than I used to.

Here's the NIV in English: Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."

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Evangelism in Spanish

I was just beginning to learn Spanish when this was recorded on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008.

The first conversation was about trying to be good to get to heaven. In between I was talking with brother Herman Lee.

After that, I met a man in his sixties who spoke Spanish. I was just beginning to learn then and struggled with some things as it will be plain to see in the recording. :) There was a woman with him who helped me out. She was a blessed surprise.

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Efesios Uno en Español

Today, I read Ephesians 1:1-11 in Spanish (Efesios capitulo uno del uno al once).

I also began looking more into the helpful information inside my Mirriam-Webster's Spanish-English dictionary. It contains some real helpful information that I'm just discovering, such as the section on Spanish Grammar in the beginning. All this is new to me, so it is pretty neat when I begin to understand things that used to be a mystery.

Here is a section I translated from Efesios uno en la NVI versión (I translated it literal word-for-word, so the English looks a little strange, but it helps me):

1 Pablo, apóstol de Cristo Jesús por la voluntad de Dios,
[Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,]

a los santos y fieles en Cristo Jesús que están en Éfeso:
[to those saints and faithful in Christ Jesus that are in Ephesus:]

2 Que Dios nuestro Padre y el Señor Jesucristo les concedan gracia y paz.
[From God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ they grant grace and peace]

3 Alabado sea Dios, Padre de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, que nos ha bendicido en las regiones celestiales con toda bendición espiritual en Cristo.
[Praise be to God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that us has blessed in those regions heavenly with all blessings spiritual in Christ.]

4 Dios nos escogió en él antes de la creación del mundo, para que seamos santos y sin mancha delante de él. En amor
[God us chose in him before from the creation of the world, for that we would be holy and without blemish before him. In love]

5 nos predestinó para ser adoptados como hijos suyos por medio de Jesucristo, según el buen propósito de su voluntad,
[us predestined for to be adopted like children of his through Jesus Christ, according to the good purpose of his will,]

6 para alabanza de su gloriosa gracia, que nos concedió en su Amado.
[for praise of his glorious grace, that us was granted in his Beloved.]

7 En él tenemos la redención mediante su sangre, el perdón de nuestros pecados, conforme a las riquezas de la gracia
[In him we have the redemption through his blood, the pardon of our sins, according to those riches of the grace]

8 que Dios nos dio en abundancia con toda sabiduría y entendimiento.
[that God us gave in abundance with all wisdom and understanding.]

Learning to Speak in Tongues Blog

I started this blog because I often meet people from countries and languages located around the world. Sometimes they know very little English and so our communication is limited. I have often asked people how to greet someone in another tongue, like Dinka: "Ye ka da;" "How are you?"

Because of these experiences, I started praying and asking God to give me the ability to speak in tongues for the purpose of evangelism (I'm not talking about unintelligible sounds, but rather foreign languages). I've got to admit that this request seems impossible to me, since I've never taken any language classes other than English (and they weren't teaching me how to speak it).

Mostly I'm trying to learn Spanish, which is fun but hard. I learn differently than others, so this is my attempt in my own way. Therefore, I will occasionally post some of what I'm learning, and those who want to learn with me, or who want to help me learn can comment. Any help or interest is appreciated.

I also tend to forget things, so this is another good way to keep it on file :)

Soli Deo Gloria.