Monthly Archives: August 2013

ZAŠTO SI ROðEN

Posted on by

Dali  postoji  svrha  za  ljudski  Život?  Dali život,  poslje  svega,  ima stvarni značaj? Ovdje je divna istina.

 Knjiga zvana Biblija tvrdi  da počinje odkrivanje osnovnog, potrebnog znanja-uputni priručnik  da ljudski Tvorac stoji sam sa konačnim svojim proizvodom-čovječanstvo. Može li Biblija odkriti svrhu iza prisutnosti čovječanstva na zemlji. Dali ona razjašnjava zašto je čovjek onakav  kakav je-od jednom tako tvoran ipak tako razoran? Dali ono razjašnjava zašto je čovjek  beskrajno nesposoban pred samim  svojim problemima, pored tako divne intelegencije iproizvodljive moći? Dali to dava rješenje? Dali nam to dava nadu?

Odlučan Odgovor

Na sva ova važna pitanja, odlučan odgovor jeste jedno slavno da! Ovdje, tad, jeste našeg Tvorca važna poruka za čovječanstvo. Kako ova izgubljena dimenzija u znanju mogla je biti  preskočena kroz ove milenije jeste odvratno kao osnovna istina koju Biblije stvarno odkriva! Dali je čovječanstvo bilo stvoreno I postavljeno ovdje na zemlju od intelegentnog I svemogućeg  Tvorca za drukčiju svrhu? I ako jeste, kakva je ta svrha-I zašto je to ljudstvu podpuno nepoznato?

Ili, na drugu ruku, dali je ljudski život postignut, preko dugog vremena kroy milione godina, iz nižih životinjskih bića, sa jednim postupkom evolucije? Dali smo mi živa bića stvorena i formirana kako smo mi čisto sa prirodnim proizvodom i žiteljskom snagom? Ovo su od dva moguća postanja. Danas teorija evolucije ima veliko priznanje.

Ipak prvi stih prve glave u Bibliji kaže pozitivno da Bog postoji-I da je on stvorio nebo I  zemlju.  Prva  glava  takoñer  ističe  pozitivno da čovjek  nije potomak iz nižih životinjskih vrsta, I da čovjek nije životinja. Prva riječ u Bibliji kaže: “U početku stvori Bog nebo I zemlju” (1. Mojsijeva 1:1)

Ti Nisi Životinja

Sada svidi, u stihu 21 1. Mojsijeve 1: “I stvori Bog kitove velike I sve žive duše što se miču… po vrstama svojim, I sve ptice krikate po vrstama njihovijem…” Onda u stihu

25: “I stvori Bog zvijeri zemaljske po vrstama njihovijem…” I u stihu 26. “Po tom reče

Bog, ‘da načinimo čovjeka po svojemu obličju, kao što smo mi’”

Ovo govori prosto Bog je stvorio ribu po vrstama svojim, ptice po vrstama njihovim, stoku po vrstama njezinijem, čimpanyu po vrstaama njenim-ali Bog je stvorio čovjeka po svom vlastitom “obličju”. Ovo odkriva jasno, bez pogovora, da čovjek nije životinja. Čovjek je stvoren po obličju Božijem. Čovjek je stvoren da ima dodir sa Bogom-vezu s Bogom-podpuno oprečan životinji. To će biti mnogo jasnije kako mi budemo nastavili.

Ali zašto je Bog stvorio ljudska bića u opšte? Dali je tu bila specijalna svrha? Dali to postoji neki značaj za ljudski život, nerazumljiva od ljudi? Čovjek, izgleda, podbacio je da shvati tu svrhu.

Sad razgledaj oko sebe. Pogledaj sve druga bića I formu tih živih bića. Koliko je od njih  moguće  da  misle,  planiraju,  osnivaju  I  da  onda  pušte  u  pogon,  sa  radom  ili stvaranjem, ono što je bilo zamišljeno, odreñeno I isplanirano?

 Nagon, Umjesto Razuma

  Sa nagonom dabar pravi zagradu. Ali sve te zagrade slijede isti kalup. Dabar ne može da izmisli nešto novo, različitiji način da bi napravio branu mnogo drukčiju. Mravi mogu da naprave mravinjak; zmije I  glodavci kopaju rupe; ptice prave gnjezda. Ali oni stalno slijede isti način. Tu  nema orginalnosti, ni osnove ili jedne druge ideje, nema novog pravljenja.

Dabrove  brane,  mravinjaci,  zmijine  I  glodvčeve  rupe,  ptičija  gnjezda  su  sva napravljena nagonom. Uzmi, za primjer, jedan pokus sa tkalčevim pticama. Za pet sledećih  generacija, tkalčeve ptice držane su na mjestu gdje nije bilo materijala za praviti gnjezdo.  Peta generacija nikada nije vidila gnjezdo. Ali kada je materijal za gnjezdo, pored drugog materijala, bilo pristupačno, peta generacija je odmah napravila gnjezdo. I to je bilo tkalčeve-ptice gnjezdo- ne crvendača gnjezdo ili laste gnjezdo ili jastreba gnjezdo.

Čak  I  veće  životinje,  snabdjevene  sa  onako  kakve  su  sadivnim  nagaonom, nedostaje  im      jednaka umna sila čovjeka.  Na drugu ruku, čovjek  ne djeli taj divni nagon koji se nalazi u životinjama. Čovjek može da osnuje I napravi veliki nasip kao što je Grand Coulee u Vašington Državi, na Pcifiku Sjeverozapadno. Čovke može da napravi tunel ipod planine ili rijeke. Čovjek može da izmisli I napravi uatomobil, avion, ratni brod, podmornicu. Čovjek na samo, od svih Božijih stvorenja, jeste u mogućnosti pristupiti stvarnoj stvaralačkoj moći.

Kako Je Čovjek Upotrebio Svou Moć

 Vidi, ipak, na ono što je čovjek stvarno uradio sa stvarima imajući intelegenciju i sposobnost  da  proizvede.  Hiljade  godina  unazad  on  je  naučio  kako  rukovati  sa željezom, čelikom I ostalim matalima. On je napravio alat, podigao grañevine-ali je on takoñer napravio sablju i strelu i pošao je da razara!

Čovjek je naučio kako da organizuje svoju rodbinu u gradove, grupe, nacije. Ali za kakvu je  korist on postavio organizacije koje kontroliše? On je organizovao moguća- tijela za armiju, i počeo je pobjeñivati, razarati, i stjecati sa uzimanjem rañe nego sa proizvodom i stvaranjem.

Čovjek je otkrio da silu koju on ima dozvoljava mu da stvara eksploziv, tako da može  da  pokreće  brda  po  potrebi-ubrzo  je  odpočeo  da  napreže  mnogo  mahnitu energiju svoje  nacije, na dragocjenim troškovima, nastojeći da proizvedu neuklarno oružje brže nego njegovi  neprijatelji-i on je već proizveo oružje masovnog razora da može uništiti cjelo čovječanstvo na ovoj zemlji.

 Dali Je Bog Stvorio Čovjeka Tako Razorna?

 Zašto je jedan sveznajući Tvorac stavio čovjeka na zemlju? Dali je Tvorac osnovao i stvorio čovjeka takvag kakav je-sa tako velikom intelegencijom i stvaralačkom moći, a tako razorna, i tako bespomoćna pred samim svojim važnim problemima? To može biti jako potišteno doznati  pravo  razjašnjenje o  odvratnom  svjetskom  uslovu,  njihovom uzroku-kak je to sve postalo-i  stvarnu svrhu za        za ljudsko postojanje. Biblija nam govoti-ako mi slušamo-kako se to dogodilo da ova osnovna istina je bila odbačena i pregledana.

Jedan od prvih stvari me treba da shvatimo, što je bilo podpuno predledano I Biblije jete ovo: Stvaranje Adama nije bilo završeno! Prva glava 1. Mojsijeve-zvane “postanje” glava-u stvari ne  pokazuje podpuno stvaranje pored svega. Čovjekovo stvaranje nije bilo završeno. Što je bilo stvoreno, kako piše u Postanju 1, bilo je fizičko stvaranje- smrtan, fizički čovjek I žena-fizički materijal sa kojim se stvara duhovno stvaranje.

Biblija prosto pokazuje ovo kako ćemo to vidjeti kasnije: Što Bog u stari  je stvorio u ljudima jeste konačan, veličanstveno majstorsko djelo sveg svog rada i stvaranja. I to će biti-kad se završi-hiljade miliona živih bića-biće onda dihovni-u carstvu Božijemu.

 Čovjek Je Tjelesan…Bog Je Duhovan

Sad da se vratimo unazad i da vidimo tjelesno stvaranje čovjeka. U 1. Mojsijevoj

2:7,  to je jednostavno izjavljeno: “I stvori Gospod Bog čovjeka od praha zemaljskog, i dunu mu u nos duh života; i posta čovjek duša živa”. Kada je Bog dunuo duh-vazdzh- da diše kroz ljudski nos, taj čovjek-sastavljen od “praha zemaljskog”-postao je duša.

Bog je sastavljen od Duha-ne od fizičkih stvari (Jovan 4:24). Ali nigdje Biblija ne govori  da  je čovjek duh. Nigdje u Biblije nemože se naći izraz “besmrtna duša” ili “besmrtnost duše”. Sada produžimo sa 1. Mojsijevom 2:8-9: “I nasadi Gospod Bog vrt u Edemu na Istoku; I  ondje namjesti čovjeka, kojega stvori. I učini Gospod Bog, te nikoše iz zemlje svakojaka  drveta lijepa za gledanje i dobra za jelo, i drvo od života usred vrta i drvo od znanja dobra i zla”. “I zaprijeti Gospod Bog čovjeku govoreći, ‘jedi slobodno sa svakoga drveta u vrtu, ali s drveta od znanja dobra i zla, s njega ne jedi; jer u koji dan okusiš s njega, umrijećeš” (stih 16-17).

Sad  što  smo  mi  vidjeli?  Bog  je  stvorio  čovjeka  smrtnog-sastavljenog  od  fizičke stvari. U 1. Mojsijevoj 3:19, Bog je rekao Adamu: “Jer si prah i u prah ćeš se vratiti”. Vidi što je ovdje predstavljeno i odkriveno ovdje. Drvo života predstavlja vječni život (1. Mojsijeva 3:22)Adam I Eva nisu, još, imali vječni život. Od njih je traženo da izaberu.

Takoñer u vrtu je bilo još jedno drvo koje simbolično znači-drvo “znanja dobra i zla”. Izabrati  pogrešan izbor sa uzimanjem pogrešno drvo proizvelo bi smrt. “umrijećeš”, rekao je Bog-ako oni ne poslušaju i izaberu to drvo. U drugoj riječi,  kako mi čitamo u Rimljanima 6:23, “Jer je plata za grijeh smrt, a dar Božiji je život vječni”. Jevanñelje je dobra vijest o vječnom životu u carstvu Božijemu.

U stvari,  to postoje, poredsvega, samo dva osnovna  načina života-dvije različite

filozofije. One putuju u oprečnom pravcu. Ja ih ističem jednostavno: Jedan je način samo za dati-drugi za uzeti. Više naročito, jedan stav poniznosti i izražene brige prema drugima  jednak   svojebrižnost.   To  je  put  saradnje,  brige,  pomaganja,  djelenja; razmatranja,  strpljivosti  i  blagosti.  Mnogo  važnije,  to  je  takoñer  način  poslušnosti, pouzdanje na i vjerovanje samo u Boga. To je Bogom-središnji način, za ljubav prema Bogu i ljubav prema susjedu.

Oprečni jeste samovoljnost način čeznje, žudnje i grabežljivosti; natjecanja i svaña;

zavisti i ljubomore i bezbrižnosti za dobro prema drugima.

Povod Miru i Radosti

Ako Tvorac jeste jedan Bog ljubavi- ako naš graditelj je jedan Bog svemoguć-dali je on   zanemario   da   snabdije   jedan   put-jaedan   povod-da   proizvede   mir,   radost, blagostanje i  uspješan život? Tu treba da bude jedan povod za svaki učinak. Ako tu treba da bude mir, radost, izobilno napredovanje, nešto treba da ga prouzrokuje. Bog ne može biti Bog bez snabjevanja jedan povod za svaku želju dobra.

Zar to nije vrijeme da mi shvatimo da u ljubavi za čovječanstvo on je stvorio, Bog je takoñer stvorio i postavio neumoljivo u pogon jedan način života koji bi proizveo svaki dobar rezultat. Bog je zabranio Adamu i Evi da uzmu plod sa drveta znanja dobra i zla, pod kaznom smrti. Zašto? Zato što je on želio da oni izaberu način svakod poželjnog dobra-zato što je on želio da oni izbjegnu raditi zlo, patnju, bol, žalost, tugu. Stoga, uzimajući ovaj plod bio je simbol prestupa Božijeg zakona.

Uzeti sa drveta života bilo bi simbolično primitak dara Božijeg Duha svetoga, pravu ljubav od Boga (Rimljanima 5:5) koje ispunjava njegov zakon (Rimljanima 13:10) i koji Bog dava onima  koji ga slušaju (Djela 5:32). Razmotri dalje: Jedan voljeni Bog nebi upozorio prva živa bića na  smrtnu kaznu bez da nije podpuno odkrio njima njegov način,  način  poslije  sustavno  ureñen  kao  Deset  Zapovjesti-prestup  koji  donosi  tu kaznu. Sjeti se da detalji nisu napisani ovdje-samo visoko skraćeni povrh svega kratki sadržaj o onome što ih je bog učio.

Stoga Bog je razjasnio u podpunosti Adamu i Evi njegov način života-“dati”. Bog je već  postavio  u pogon zakon koji je proizvodijo sve dobro. On je takoñer razjasnio način  koji  prouzrokuje  zlo-neposlušnost  njemu.  Mnogo  jasnije  rečeno,  Bog  je  dao čovjeku njgov  vlastiti  izbor. On je mogao izabrati način svega  dobrog ili on može izabrati zlo. To je prestup Božije volje-rañe nego Bog-što prouzrokuje sve zlo koje je palo na čovjeka. Izbor je čovječiji. Što čovjek posije, ono i požanje (Galatima 6:7).

Ipak ovdje je važna tačka: To je bilo potrebno Adami i Evi da vjeruju Bogu. Oni nisu mogli,  sami po sebi, znati način mira i radosti. Ali Bog je otkrio njima način dobra, i način zla.  Sad dolazimo u 3 glavu 1. Mojsijeve. “A zmija bješe lukava mimo sve zvijeri poljske, koje stvori  Gospod Bog” (stih 1). Mnogo od Biblije je pisano u simbolima. U Otkrivenju 12:9 i 20:2  sombol  ymije jeste prosto rastumačeno da predstavlja ñavola. To je, svakako,  danas izvan  vjerovanja u ñavola ovih dana, Biblija jasno govori o ñavolu, po imenu Sotona.

Vidi, sada, iskušenje.

Lukavo   Iskušenje

 “Pa reče ženi, ‘je li istina da je Bog kazao, “Da ne jedete sa svakoga drveta u vrtu”?’ A žena odgovori zmiji, “Mi jedemo roda sa svakoga drveta u vrtu; samo roda s onoga drveta usred vrta, kazao je Bog “ne jediti i ne dirajte u nj, da ne umrete”’ A zmija reče ženi, ‘ne ćete vi umrijeti. Nego zna Bog da će vam se u onaj dan kad okusite s njega otvoriti oči, pa čete postati kao bogovi i znati što je dobro što li zlo’” (stih 1-5).

Pripovjest ovdje pripisuje prepredeno lukavstvo ñavolu. Prvo, on je zlooglasio Boga.

U stvari, on kaže: “Vi se ne možete osloniti na riječi Boga. On kaže da ste vi smrtni i možete umrijeti. On zna bolje od toga. Vi trebate odlučiti sami od sebe što je dobro a što nije”.

To je isključivo pravo Boga samoga da odluči što je dobro a što grijeh-što je dobro a što zlo.  Bog  nije  povjerio  čovjeku  pravo  ili  moć  da  odluči  što  je  grijeh-ali  on  nas prisiljava da odlučimo da li da griješimo, ili da držimo njegov zakon. Adam i Eva imali su samo Božiju riječ da su oni smrtni i da mogu umrijeti. Sad je Sotona pogovorio to. Kome su onda trebali da  vjeruju? Oni nisu imali dokaz, izuzev Božije riječi. Ali sad Sotona  zlo oglasio to i tvrdio pprečno.

Sotona je rekao da njihova itelektualna moć je tako velika da oni mogu odlučiti za sebe što je dobro a štp je zlo. To je jedno Božije-sključivo pravo. “Pa ćete postati kao Bog!” kaže Sotona. Tako je Sotona uticao na njihovu ljudsku čeznju. Oni su dozvolili da misao uñe u njihov um da oni imaju intelektualnu moć tako veliku da oni mogu da preuzmu pravo da proizvedu znanje što je dobro a što zlo!

Intelektualno uobraženje uhvatilo ih je. Oni su bili podjarmljeni, opijeni sa taštinom na sjajan vidik. Kako, poslje svega, mogu oni biti siguri da im je Bog kazao istinu? Oni su  vidjeli  (stih  6)-oni  su  posmatrali-da  je  zabranjeno  drvo  dobro  za  jelo,  divno  u njihovim očima i poželjno da jednog učini mudrim.

 

Intelektualna čeznja bila je pokrenuta. U njihovoj taštini oni su stavili svoje povjerenje u ljudsko shvaćanje. Oni su odlučili da odbace odkriće dato od Boga i da naprave pravi prvi naučni opit. Oni su uzeli zabranjeni plod i pojeli ga.

Oni su uzeli na sebe pravo da odlučuju što je dobro o što je zlo. Učinivši tako, oni su odbacili  Božiji  zakon  i,  odbacujući  ga,  iz  nužde  oni  su  izabrali  način  koji  ga  je prestupio. Oni su predvodili u odluci za sebe što je dobro a što zlo-što je pravednost a što grijeh. I čovječanstvo to radi što izgleda pravedno u njihovim očima od tada.

I kako su oni to učinili? Oni su 1) odbacili odkriće i oslanjali se podpuna na 2) posmatranje, 3) ispitivanje i 4) ljudsko rezonovanje. I to je stvarno osnovni metod rezonovanja upotrebljeno od modernog čovjeka. I konačni rezultat toga opita? Oni su umrli.   Najglavnija   potrebna   dimenzija   znanja   je   izgubljena   iz   njihove   naučne procedure.

Tu ima mnogo potrebnog, osnovnog i važnog znanja izvan moći čovjeka da se odkrije.  Takavo važno znanje kao što je čovjek, zašto je čovjek-zašto je stavljen na yemlju i za  kakvu  svrhu.  I ako ima svrhe,  kakva  je svrha? I kako mi to možemo doznati? Kakav je način k miru? Mnogi narodi traže mir-ipak mnogi ga ne nalaze.oni ratuju! Kakva je stvarna vrijednost u životu? Ovaj svijet traži lažnu vrijednost. Ovo su mnogo važne stvari da ih čovjek znade. Ipak on mpže da traži za odgovor uzaludo. On može to znati samo kroz otkriće.

Uzimajući na sebe zabranjeni plod, prva živa bića uzeli su na sebe odluku što je dobro a  što  jr  zlo.  Tako  čineći,  oni  su  odbacili  činjenicu  da  Božiji  živi,  neumoljivi duhovni zakon  jeste način dobra-učinak sveg dobra-i njegov prestup jeste način zla- učinak sveg zla. Pošto su oni, i ljudstvo u cjelini poslje njih, uzeli na sebe da odlučuju što je dobro, oni su od nužde  slijedili način koji je kontra Božijem zakonu. Oni su slijedili put koji proizvodi sva bezvrjedna  brda zla koji se sakupio u ovom bolesnom svjetu.

 Žto Je Izgubljeni Obseg

Šta, onda, jeste izgubljeni obseg sveg znanja? To je otkrivenje od Boga!

Iako je namisao odbačena od prvih živih bića-i ako je odbačena od  čovjeka uopšte. Bog je   oporučio čovječanstvu svoje osnovno znanje. Mi to imamo u zapisima. Sveta Biblija jeta to otkriće. Ona sadrži istoriju, upustva, nadahnuće i proročanstvo. Ona ne sadrži sve znanje,  Ona  ima to osnovno, znanje fundamentalno drukčije nedokučivo čovjeku.

Što, onda, je pogrešno sa znanjem proizvedeno danas? Mnogo važna dimenzija je izgubljena!  Greške  obično  dolaze  zbog  preuzetnosti  pogrešnih  obećanja,  uzetih neoprezno bez dokaza, i onda zidati na tom obećanju. Kada ta osnovna predpostavka ili obećanje je pogrešno, cjelokupna gerñevina podignuta na tom jeste pogrešna.

Alat  modernog znanja  jeste motrenje,  ispitivanje i rezonovanje. Dali je ovaj  alat

pogrešan. Nije. Pogreške dolaze od odbacivanja otkrića. Pošto otkrivenje jeste početni uvod.  Kada  čovjek  zamjene  svoju  vlastitu  pogrešnu  predpostavku,  mnogo  važna dimenzija znanja je izgubljena.

Božija Riječ- njegov uputni priručnik za čovječanstvo-jete temelj svemu znanju. To nije iznos-potpunog znanja. To je temelj-iskreno obećanje-ta polazna tačka-pojam koji upravlja pristup ka postizanju daljnjeg znanja.

Čovjek Treba Proizvoditi Znanje

 Bog je naumio da čovjek       pridonese naknadno znanje. On nam je dao osnovu- temelj-uvod-pojam.  Ali  on  takoñer  snabdio  nas   sa  očima  sa  kojima  možemo posmatrati.  Sa  rukama  i  nogama  da  istražujemo  i  mjerimo.  Sa  sredsvima  da uspostavimo labaratorije, istražne-cijevi, ispitivanja. On nam je dao divan um sa kojim mi možemo misliti.

Ako aviom iz Londona krene za New York pogrešnim pravcom, on neće stići na pravo  mjesto. To je isto tako važno da se započne u pravom pravcu, za pravednu predpostavku,  sa  pravilnim  pristupom, u ovom  pristupu znanja proizvodnje. Bog je namjerio da čovjek upotrebljuje razmatranje, ispitivanje i ljudsko rezonovanje. On nas je snabdio sa osnovom-temeljom. Da krenemo u pravilnom pravcu, sa pravim pojmom. Ali naši prvi roditelji odbacili su mnogo važnu dimenziju u svem znanju. I čovječanstvo je produžilo da obacuje taj isti temlje sveg znanja.

Proizvodnja  znanja  počela  je  da  radi  bez  osnove-zasnovane  na  pogrešnom predpostavkom  i  krivom  predpostavkom.  Zbog  toga  je  ljudskog  znanja  proizvod podbacio da rjesi ljudske probleme, i izlječi svjetski problem.

Prisiljen Da Izabere

 Sjeti  se,  rekao  sam  stvaranje  je  još  u  pokretu.  Odnoseći  se  na  zapise  u  1. Mojsijevoj,  Adamu  je  bio  za  badava  ponuñen  vječni  život.  On  je  bio  prinuñen  da izabere.   On  i  Eva  su  odbacili  osnovno  znanje  odkriveno  od  Boga-isto  kao  što čovječanstvo radi  od tadaj. Oni su odbacili način kako je Bog postavio u pogon da proizvodi mir, napredak, radost i veselje.  Oni su ograničili postignuće znanja njihovom ljudskom umu.

I od tada, čovjek pokušava ići svojim vlastitim putom-upravljajući sam sobom-živjeći “uzmi”  način, bez brige za ostale. I ljudski način prouzrokovao je u svim gorama zla koje se skupilo  u  ovome svijetu.   U tom je razjašnjenje o zlu koje postoji u “mnogo unapreñenim” i “razvijenom” dijelu svijeta. Oni imaju naobrazbu-ali sa velikim, djelom dimenzije izgubljene.  Naobrazba bez znanja o smislu života. Znanje koje može da proizvede  kompjutere,  leteće  misije  u  svemir  i  nazad,  ali  ne  može  riješiti  ljudske probleme.

I zašto? Pošto je problem duhovan i čovjek je odbacio znanje Božijeg zakona-način života  koje bi sprovelo mir i svjetsko dobro. Ali Bog je ostavio bolesno čovječanstvo svojoj sudbini? Nikad.  Božije duhovno stvaranje još je u pogonu.

Pravi odgovor je iznešen od Jova. “Kad umre čovjek, hoće li oživjeti? Sve dane vremena koje mi je odreñeno čekaću dokle mi doñe promjena. Zazvaćeš, i ja ću ti se odazvati;  djelo  ruku  svojih  poželićeš””(Jovu  14:14-15).  Poslednji  dio  svog  navoda, mnogi često pregledaju, jeste ključ u svoj ovoj zagonetki. ““jelo ruku svojih poželićeš”.

Razmotri  to.  Job  je  znao  da  je  on  samo  jednostavno  rad  u  Božim  rukama.

Jednostavno jedan komadić ilovače u rukama Majstora Lončara.

 Mi Smo Božija Izradba

 Prorok Isaia takoñer je razjasnio ovo takoñer: “Ali sada, Gospode,  ti si naš otac; mi smo ilovača, a ti si naš lončar, i svi smo djelo ruku tvojih” (Isaia 64:8). I pozivajući nas da izañemo iz  groba, na vaskrsnuću, Bog ima želju da završi rad u svojim rukama. Model,  iz  koga  će  završeni  duhovni  proizvod  će  se  proizvesti,  jeste  materijalna sirovina-smrtna ljudska ilovača.

U 1. Mojsijevoj 1, Bog je uobličio i stvorio čovjeka fizički. Ali mi nemamo, kao živa

bića, duhovni karakter Boga. Za vrijeme ovog života, za one koje Bog pozove, ako se

 

oni pokore i odazovu, Bog odpočne da preinačuje i stvara ih duhovne, tako da oni postaju više i sve više kao on u duhovnom karakteru.

Bog nam kaže da oni koji su pozvani i preobraćeni biće voñeni Duhom svetijem (Rimljanima 8:9, 14). Duh sveti radi u nama i, sa svojim prisustvom u našem životu, mi možemo pridonjeti “plod duhovni” (Galatima 5:22-23). Isus će živjeti svojim životom u nama (Galatima 2:20). Poslije promjene mi ćemo hoditi u “novom životu” (Rimljanima

6:4), oblačeći se u “novoga čovjeka” (Efescima 4:24) i rastući u “mjeru rasta visine

Hristove” (stih 13).

Osim onih koje Bog specijalno  i pojedinačno pozove, Bog ostavlja čovjeka da piše svoje  lekcije u ljudskom iskustvu. Čovjek je izabrao da se oslonja sam na sebe pod uplivom Sotone. Bog dozvoljava čovjeku da dokaže izvan pitanja svoju nesposobnost- bez  Božijeg   Duha   svetoga-da  živi  životom  koji  donosi  mir,  radost  i  sveopšte blagostanje.

Sad  da  se  osvrnemo  u  kratko  na  važnost      izbavljenja  u  svem  ovome.  Što  je izbavljenje?

Mi  čitamo  u Efescima 2:8, 10:  “Jer ste  blagodaću spaseni kroz vjeru…Jer smo njegov  posao, sazdani u Hristu Isusu za djela dobra, koja Bog naprijed pripravi da u njima hodimo”.  “Mi” u Novog Zavjeta jeziku obično znači Hrišćani-oni koji su iskreno preokrenuti. Mi, onda,  smo Božiji posao. Da! “Stvoreni”-sada smo stvoreni-za kakav objektiv-za kakvu svrhu? Vidi  ovo! “Za djela dobra”! Mi nismo spaseni zbog našeg rada (“Ne od djela da se niko ne pohvali”-stih 9), već “za djela dobra”. Mi smo spaseni, ne sa radom, već sa svrhom da mi  sada  možemo proslaviti Boga sa hoñenjem u dobrom radu (stih 10).

Apostol Pavle ovdje ne govori o Adamovom stvaranju. On je govorio o Hrišćanima, sada,  početi stvarani-u dobar rad. Mi smo njegov posao-Tvorac još uvjek stvara. On oblikuje, kroji, promjenjuje nas, prevodi nas u njegov vlastiti plemeniti, pravedni, sveti, duhovni karakter. “Za to ako je ko u Hrist nova je tvar” (2. Korinćanima 5:17). Da, novo stvorenje!

“i da se obnovite duhom uma svojega, i obučete u novog čovjeka, koji je sazdan po

Gogu u pravdi i u svetinji istine” (Efescima 4:22-23). To sve započinje u sposobnosti našeg uma. Pokajanje, prvi korak u spasenju, jeste promjena uma. Primiti i imati Duha svetoga  jeste   jedna  promjena  uma.  I  tako  novi  čovjek  počinje  da  se  stvara  i pravednosti i pravoj svetosti.

 Roditi Se Opet… Kako?

U ovom novom stvaranju Bog radi u čovjeku, čovjek se mora “roditi ponove”. Bog je stvorio  Adama iz stvari.  Isus je rekao Nikodimu, “Što je roñeno od tijela, tijelo je” (Jovan 3:6). Mi se trebamo roditi ponove da bi ušli u carstvo Božije. Ne opet u tijelu-ne ulazeći u materinu  maternicu, kako je to Nikodim mislio da se mora-već roñeni od Duha-roñeni od Boga. Kako  smo se rodili u tijelu od tjelesnog oca, tako sada mi se moramo  roditi  od  Duha-roñeni  od  Boga.  Mi  se  trebamo  roditi  od  Duha  od  Boga, nebeskog duhovnog Oca.

I ovaj postupak učinjen, u Božijoj velikoj namjeri, od osobe prvo da vidi kako je ogrešan  bio  kao  živo  smrtno  biće,  misleći  i  živeći  suprotno  odkrivenom  zakonu Božijemu. Prvi  korak jeste  pokajanje. Predaja svemogućem  Bogu!  Ali mismo sada “model ilovače”, u rukama Majstora Lončara.

Ako  u  ovom  životu  naše  mišljenje,  naš  stav,  je  promjenjen  dok  mi  stvarno postanemo-u duhovnom  karakteru-novo  stvorenje  u  Hristu Isusu, pokoren  njegovoj volji,  onda  taj  model ilovače, izrañen,  uobličen i napravljen onako  kako  Bog bi to uradio, jeste konačno pretvoreno  završeno stvorenje. Ovo podpuno stvorenje, potom, sazdan u Hristu i jeste završen od njega.

Bog je sazdao sve kroz Isusa Hrista (Efescima 3:9). Isus je bio radnik, onda, koji je stvorio  Adama. Ali naš duhovni početak je u njemu, takoñer. On je postao naš živi primjer-on je  došao u svijet da povede putom. Cjelokupna knjiga o Jevrejima jeste posvećena da nam kaže što je Hristos započeo da radi, šta on sada radi i šta će raditi u buduće: “Bog koji je negda mnogo puta i različitijem načinom govorio ocevima preko proroka, govori i nama u pošljedak dana ovijeh preko Sina. Kojega postavi našljednika svemu, kroz kojega i svijet stvori” (Jevrejima 1:1-2).

“Sve stvari” odnosi se na cijeli svemir, kako je prevedeno na Mofatovu prevodu. Produžujući dalje u istoj rečenici, “…Koji budući sjajnost slave i obličja bića njegova i noseći  sve  u  riječi  slave  svoje…”  (stih  3).  U  drugoj  riječi,  Bog  svemogući,  Otac, zadužio je  vaskrsnutog, živog Hrista, svog  sina, da upravlja upravom Božijom nad svim cjelim svemirom!

Nekolko  puta  u  Bibliji,  peokrenuti  Hrišćani,  u kojima  živi  Duh  sveti,  nazivaju  se našljednici Božiji i sunašljednici Hristovi (za primjer vidi Rimljanima 8:17). Može li to značiti da  smo mi odreñeni da djelimo tu upravu beskrajnog svemira sa Hristom? Započeti sada u Jevrejima 2:6, navedeno iz Psalma 8:4-6, pitanje se postavlja: “Što je čovjek, te ga se opominješ, ili sin čovječiji, te ga polaziš?”

Da, što je tu o grešnom, smrtnom čovjeku da se Bog treba brinuti o njemu? Ko si ti-

da se Bog brine za tebe’ Vidi ovaj veličanstveni odgovor?

 Izvanredna  Namjera

“Učinio si ga malo manjeg od anñela” (stih 5). Jeste, sad, mnogo većeg od životinje, ali  još  manji  od  anñela  koji  su  sastavljeni  od  duha  (vidi  Jevrejima  1:5-7,  13-14). Nastavlja,  Jevrejima 2:-10: “Umalio si ga malijem nečim  od anñela, slavom i časti vjenčao  si  ga,  i  postavio  si  ga  nad  djelom  ruku  svojih.  Sve  si  pokorio  pod  noge njegove. A kad mu pkori  sve,  ništa ne ostavi njemu nepokoreno… A umanjenoga malijem čim od anñela vidimo  Isusa…” smrtnoga kao što smo mi sad- “…koji je za smrt što podnese vječnom slavom…” kako je to razjašnjeno u prvoj glavi-proslavljen- vladar svemirom- “…Da bi po blagodati  Božijom za sve okusio smrt. Jer prilikovaše njemu za kojega je sve i kroz kojega je sve, koji  dovede mnoge sinove u slavu, da dovrši poglavara spasenja njihova stradanjem”.

Dali ti shvaćaš što ovo kaže? Mi živa bića koja se pokaju, i počnu vjerovati u Boga- vjer ono što on kaže u Bibliji-i prihvatiš žrtvovanje Isusa Hrista-mi ćemo “moći vidjeti koje je nad njegova zvanja, i koje je bogastvo slave nadšljedstva njegova u svetima” (Efescima 1:18).  Odkup, onda, popravka oštećenja-nije uspostava u jednu kondiciju “baš kao dobar” kao Adam prije “pada”. Ne, to je jednostavno bio početak-materijalno stvaranje. Odkup jeste jedno veliko  duhovno stvaranje. Sa tim, Bog stvara u nama nešto mnogo veće i moćnije od Adama prije nego je on zgriješio.

Dali ti vidiš sada što Bog stvara, u tebi i meni? On stvara nešto veće od anñela. On stvara  skrajnje majstorsko djelo u svom cijelom stvaranju. Bog je prvo formirao iz praha  zemaljskog-iz tvari-krv-i-tijelo čovjeka, u obliku Boga. I Bog uzima tu ljudsku familiju kroz  proces, rezultat od kojeg, čak “i kako nosimo obličje zemaljskoga tako ćemo nositi i obličje nebeskoga”-Hristos Isus besmrtni, “drugi” Adam (1. Korinćanima

15:49).

Da, jednom uobličeni, oblikovani, iskrojeni odnoseći se na Božiju svrhu, čak bićemo kao i on, jer ćemo ga vidjeti kao što jest” (1. Jovanova 3:1-2).

Sada Razumiješ Zašto Si Roñen

Petar je to učinio prosto: “Budući da su nam sve Božanstvene sile njegove, koje trebaju k  životu i pobožnosti, darovane poznanjem onoga koji nas  pozva slavom i dobrodjetelju. Kroz  koje se nama darovaše časna i prevelika obećanja, da njih radi imate dijel u Božijoj pravdi,  ako utečete od tjelesnije želja ovoga svijeta” (1. Petrova

1:3-4).

Bog otkriva nama svoj plan odkupa kroz Isusa Hrista. Mi možemo biti spašeni od putova ovoga svijeta. Umjesto izabrati smrt, kao što su Adam i Eva učinili, mi možemo izabrati život.  Kada ti podpuno shvatiš ovu veličanstvenu, divnu istinu, toj će um biti ispunjen sa izvanrednom radosću i slavom. To daje novi smisao životu tako divno da ti nikad nećeš shvatiti puninu veličine njenog sjaja.

To znači, svakako, podpuno odricanje, odbijanje, od tih povredljivih stvari i načina koji  pogrešno izgledaju tako sjajani i privlačljivi u ovom svijetu. Ali tvoje će oči biti otvorene na posljetku prema velikoj obmani-ljuske će odpasti sa tvog slijepog vidjela-ti ćeš vidjeti značaj  života, to je velika namjera, koji ti nikada nisi sanjao da može biti. Odustajući od ovog  svjetskog zla, iskušenja i jama-koje love i razočaravaju, koje se sjaje  i  onda  se  završavaju  u  tugi  i  patnji-jete  ali  pojavljuje  se  iz  velike  tame  u veličanstveno pravo svjetlo, i radost i veselje za uvjek.

U rječima 1. Petrove 1:8, ti ćeš “Radujte se radošću neiskazanom i proslavljenom”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9

Letter: August 2, 2013

Posted on by

Dear Brethren and co-workers in Christ:

Another full week here in the Five Cities region of California.

So there is a lot to cover ranging from the upcoming Holy Days to the final phase of the work to hymnals to proclaiming the gospel to world news happenings to preparing the materials for this upcoming Sabbath.

Upcoming Holy Days

Several Holy Days will be here next month! Some videoing for a ‘behind the works’ type presentation was done this week and it is hoped that this will be ready in time for the Feast of Tabernacles.

As far as the Holy Days go, the next one will be the Feast of Trumpets.  It will be observed from sunset September 4 to sunset September 5, 2013.

Other than the weekly Sabbath, the next Holy Day will be the Day of Atonement.   It will be observed from sunset September 13 to sunset September 14, 2013.

If any of you wish to host services in your area for those Holy Days, please email me:cogwriter@aol.com.

The Feast of Tabernacles is also coming up.  This year it begins the evening of September 18th and continue until the Last Great Day which is September 26, 2013.

Here is a link to a listing of the biblical holy days, through 2024, with their Roman calendar dates: Holy Day Calendar.

As mentioned before, we have a webpage with information on the Feast of Tabernacles this year. You may wish to view from time to time as we updated it with more information this week:Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2013.

Please think about where you may attend this year and let the coordinator for your preferred Feast site know via email.

Please try to decide where you plan to attend.

The Final Phase of the Work

We heard from two new groups in Africa, one in Zambia and another in Kenya.  Those in Kenya have a Church of God background, while those in Zambia seem very interested in the Church of God and are specifically checking out the Continuing Church of God (CCOG).

There are also others in other areas that are checking us out as well.  We also received a report from Ghana that books sent there are producing fruits.

Several articles were translated in the Spanish language and put on some of our websites. It was slightly delayed because we wanted to put a new URL (www.cdlidd.es) on the front and back covers.

The Mandarin Chinese version of Bible News Prophecy magazine was printed and picked up.  So, we now have printed materials in three languages, and have some other languages on some of our websites as well.

Someone has also expressed a willingness for us to use materials translated into another European language.  If this does happen, we plan to activate another URL we purchased this past Spring.

Regarding other media, I was a guest on the radio for about an hour yesterday.  I focused on what has been happening with the false gospel message involving ‘Mary’ that Pope Francis has been promoting.  Much of what was covered is included in this week’s recommended sermonette.

We also spent a lot of time this week on internet matters. We in the Continuing Church of Godare reaching people all over the world and leading the final phase of the work.

Hymnals

Finally had a little time to get back to the hymnal project. We are basically looking at producing an updated version of the 1974 hymnal. Basically what that means is that we will add our own front and back cover, but we are also trying to add some additional hymns that Herbert Armstrong approved after the 1974 hymnal came out. We have a tentative arrangement with Dr. Ross Jutsum to include several of his hymns that were often favorites of Herbert Armstrong in our upcoming hymnal.

However, this has resulted in having to modify the back of the book and index, so this will delay this project a bit. But it is my hope and prayer to get this out prior to the Feast of Tabernacles this year.  Please pray for that.

Administrative Matters

July was the first month that expenses for CCOG exceeded donations.  This was primarily because of magazine costs (including postage) and providing some assistance to our existing congregations in Kenya.

Overall, God has seemingly seen fit to move many of you to provide financial support through your tithes and offerings.  We are grateful for that.

World News Events

As most of you are aware, there were still issues in Egypt this week (e.g. Muslim Brotherhood insists on President Morsi’s return, while Obama Administration wants quick elections apparently to reduce its embarrassment).  Ultimately Egypt will change enough to support a leader that the Bible calls the King of the South (Daniel 11:40-43).

Iran is to get a new president this weekend.  Many in the West have hope in him, but (as expected) he seems to have views consistent with Iran’s ‘Supreme Leader’ Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (Iran is changing a speaker, but not its nuclear message).  This probably will not bode well for Iran.

There were various reports of some type of a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians this week (e.g. Israel took official ‘peace deal’ step).  Yet, until both sides feel more pressure, the deal related to Daniel 9:27 will not happen.  If it does not happen by next month, this would suggest that the Great Tribulation will not begin before 2018.

On morality matters, Rhode Island and Minnesota began having homosexual ‘marriages’ yesterday.  It seems that more and more states in the USA are turning in that direction.  This will not bode well for the USA.

Speaking of the USA, it announced that it will close a lot of its embassies in Muslim lands (and also Israel according to one report) this Sunday because of fears of terrorist attacks (seeFearing terrorists, USA announces the closing of several embassies on Sunday).  Terrors are one of the prophesied curses that the USA is experiencing (Leviticus 26:14-20).

Suggested Sabbath Service

Here is our suggested format for Sabbath services on August 3, 2013:

Note: If you have a slow internet connection and/or prefer audio messages to audio-visuals ones, go to the YouTube link for the message, click on SHOW MORE related to the description. You will then see something that says, “Download MP3.” Below that is a link to an MP3 file. Most computers (and even some cellular telephones) will allow MP3 files to be downloaded and played. So, this is an option we have made available.

Some times putting all this together seems overwhelming.

Please pray as Jesus taught:

The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.  (Luke 10:2)

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel, Pastor and Overseer
Continuing Church of God

Letter: July 26, 2013

Posted on by

Dear Brethren and co-workers in Christ:

Another full week here in the Five Cities region of California.

So there is a lot to cover ranging from the Feast of Tabernacles to the final phase of the work to positive administrative news to world news happenings to preparing the materials for this upcoming Sabbath.

Feast of Tabernacles

First, there is something from the Bible to notice related to the Feast of Tabernacles:

“At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of release, at the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear the LORD your God and carefully observe all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess” Deuteronomy 31:10-13).

Notice that this reading of the law was to happen every seven years. I had long felt that this needed to be done, but had been overlooked by most COG groups. So in 2006, when I was first asked to give full sermons at the Feast of Tabernacles, I decided that I had to try to do this myself, so I did (see The Feast of Tabernacles: A Time to Learn the Law).

As it turns out, 2013 is seven years later. I believe that this was God’s timing, and perhaps one of many reasons that God wanted the Continuing Church of God to form prior to the start of the Feast of Tabernacles in 2013. Since the Bible teaches that the “word of the law” needs to be preached as part of the Feast of Tabernacles every seven years (Deuteronomy 31:10-13; cf. Nehemiah 6:73;7:1-3,8,13-17; Joshua 8:34), instruction about covering the law, especially through the light of the New Testament, has been conveyed to those giving sermons at the CCOG sites for 2013.

So, this will be another way that the Feast sites affiliated with the Continuing Church of  God will differ from those of many other groups.

As far as Feast sites, as mentioned before, we have a webpage with information on the Feast of Tabernacles. You may wish to view from time to time as we updated it with more information this week: Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2013.

Please think about where you may to attend this year and let the coordinator for your preferred Feast site know via email.

All those sites are intending to have one of more sermons that will fulfill God’s commands in Deuteronomy 31:10-13.

The Final Phase of the Work

Work related to various aspects of the final phase of the work was accomplished this week.  This week I spoke to a pastor in India and sent him copies of the English version of Bible News Prophecy magazine.  He has stated that he would like to translate future versions into his native language of Telugu.

The week before I was speaking with John Hickey of New Zealand about aspects of the work and its final phase.  I mentioned to him that we in the Continuing Church of God need to go through doors that God opens, even if those are doors that others are not interested in or would be too concerned about how others would view them to actually go through them.

One radio door that has opened for me is to be a guest on the Nutri-Medical Report radio program on August 1, 2013 at 12:00 pm, Pacific Daylight Time over the Genesis Communications Network.  Despite the show’s title, the topics discussed will mainly be of a biblical/news/prophecy perspective when I am on.

Going over to Asia, we received a letter from the region of Kachinland from a Sabbath-keeping pastor there requesting literature and information about the Continuing Church of God.  Kachinland is in the northern region of Burma (and is considered a part of it by most outsiders).  We sent our Statement of Beliefs, Bible News Prophecy magazines, and other information there.  If he and those there remain receptive, this could be another door to go through.

The Spanish language version of Bible News Prophecy magazine was finalized and printed and put on one of our websites.  It was slightly delayed because we wanted to put a new URL (www.cdlidd.es) on the front and back covers.  Here is a link to the pdf version in Spanish:Noticias de la Profecía de la Biblia: Julio – Septiembre 2013 (note: the pdf magazine takes a little while to load and view).  We continue to have more materials translated into the Spanish language and believe that, over time, this will be a more effective open door.

The Mandarin Chinese version of Bible News Prophecy magazine was finalized, announced, and put on our www.ccog.asia website and is in the process of being printed.  Here is a link to the pdf version in Mandarin: 圣经新闻与预言2013 (note: the pdf magazine takes a little while to load and view).  This is one of the first times, if not the first time ever, that a timely COG periodical has come out in Mandarin Chinese that I am aware of.  We are excited about this door and hope to go through it as long as we can.  Our reach into China has increased tremendously in the past couple of months, and having earlier materials in Mandarin Chinese seems to be a factor (even though most article views from China are of English language articles).

Research was also conducted in the areas of church history and prophecy that I believe will bear fruit in the future and help with the fulfillment of Matthew 24:14.

We also spent a lot of time this week on internet matters.   We in the Continuing Church of Godare reaching people all over the world and leading the final phase of the work.

Administrative Matters

Good news!

The State of California formally approved the tax exempt status of the Continuing Church of God.  Unlike other states in the USA, the State of California requires churches to fill out a very long form and provide a lot of information for churches to be considered tax exempt in that State.

While contributions from the other 49 states in the USA were automatically ‘tax-deductible,’ we needed to get this letter so that all contributions from those in the State of California were also tax deductible.

Because of our status as a ‘corporation sole’ and other administrative decisions, I had concerns that there could be delays and issues getting the determination letter from the State of California.  I wish to thank all of you for your prayers on this.

As the result of getting State of California tax exempt status, we have also asked California if it is possible to receive an exemption from paying sales tax related to the production of our magazines.  This seems to be somewhat unlikely, but I request your prayers because this would save us a lot of money related to magazine production if this could happen.

Also, let me add that we are in the process of applying for tax exempt status in the nation of New Zealand.  I sent them various papers earlier this month to assist with this.  Earlier this week, I also sent them a scanned copy of the determination letter from the State of California.  Your prayers that the Continuing Church of God will find favor in the site of government officials in New Zealand on this matter would be appreciated (cf. 1 Timothy 2:1-3).

World News Events

Israel made various statements suggesting that Syria is provoking them to consider war, while a Syrian official at the United Nations made various statements suggesting that certain Israel actions need to be stopped and hinting that this may provoke Syria to consider war.  At the same time, some analysts have suggested that the USA is intentionally leaking information about certain Israeli military actions against Syria in order to provoke a war between the two.  Some information about all of this is in the article Syrian and Israeli officials seem to talk war; Some suspect that Obama Administration leaks are intended to get a war started.

In the meantime, Iran continues to have bought itself some time from direct military assaults and is working on its nuclear ambitions.  The situations in Syria and Iran must change and actions happening this week are consistent with that.  A King of the South will arise in the region of the Middle East and North Africa (Daniel 11:40-43), Syria will be involved, and Iran will not lead it.  Hence, if we see military conflict involving Syria, Iran (who is Syria’s closest ally), Israel, and/or the USA, understand where this will lead.

Over in South America, Pope Francis is visiting Brazil.  He made a visit to a Marion shrine over there (see Massive crowds meet Pope Francis at Marion shrine in Brazil and he speaks of ‘Mary’).  His continual focus on his version of ‘Mary’ may be setting the world up for ‘signs and lying wonders’ that the Bible warns about (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12), as female apparitions may have end time involvement in deception (cf. Isaiah 47; Revelation 17 & 18).

In North America more political posturing was occurring as another ‘budget crisis’ is expected (see Obama, McConnell, and the next budget crisis).  The Bible warns against debt accumulation and the USA seems determined to overlook this warning, despite statements from some politicians that recognize some of the dangers of it.  But the dangers are even bigger than most realize:

3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry…5 Indeed, because he transgresses by wine, He is a proud man… 6 “Will not all these take up a proverb against him, And a taunting riddle against him, and say, ‘Woe to him who increases What is not his–how long? And to him who loads himself with many pledges’? 7 Will not your creditors rise up suddenly? Will they not awaken who oppress you? And you will become their booty. 8 Because you have plundered many nations, All the remnant of the people shall plunder you (Habakkuk 2:3,5,6-8).

The above prophecy will be fulfilled at the time of the end (cf. “The message was true, but the appointed time was long…in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come,” Daniel 10:1,14).  The nation with the greatest debt of all time is the United States of America, and on a per capita basis one of the top ones may be the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is the the United States and its Anglo-allies that have loaded pledges of debt in these end times that they really do not expect to pay back.

Now, the real cause of all of this overspending is sin. The USA has moved away from traditional marriage, expanded homosexual “rights,” increased its tolerance for pornography, exports entertainment with lower and lower standards, has violence in the land, encourages/engages in violence elsewhere, seeks to expand abortion, does not truly value truth, and basically is turning further and further away from biblical morality.

And while this is true for some other lands as well, the USA, with its earlier respect for certain Judeo-Christian values should know better. The New Testament clearly teaches:

48 For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required (Luke 12:48).

The U.S.A. and its Anglo-allies have been given much. The three “most sinful nations” according to a 2010 BBC report based on the classic ‘seven deadly sins’—lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride’— were Australia, the United States, and Canada (‘The Most Sinful Nation on Earth,’ February 2010, p. 30). The United Kingdom was 6th on that list. And while one can argue if other nations should be ahead of them on a sin-list, the reality is that the Anglo-nations promote a lot of sin. And they accept more and more sin.

Despite its military strength (which is getting affected by the debt situation as well as homosexuality, etc.), destruction is coming to the USA (Daniel 11:39).  While the return of Jesus and the establishment of His Kingdom will reverse these and other problems, it is fairly clear that USA politicians will not.

Suggested Sabbath Service for July 27, 2013

Here is our suggested format for Sabbath services on July 27, 2013:

Note: If you have a slow internet connection and/or prefer audio messages to audio-visuals ones, go to the YouTube link for the message, click on SHOW MORE related to the description. You will then see something that says, “Download MP3.” Below that is a link to an MP3 file. Most computers (and even some cellular telephones) will allow MP3 files to be downloaded and played.  So, this is an option we have made available.

The gospel of the kingdom is being preached to the world as a witness and the end will ultimately come (Matthew 24:14).  Thank you for your prayers and support.

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel, Pastor and Overseer
Continuing Church of God

Letter: July 19, 2013

Posted on by

Dear Brethren and co-workers in Christ:

What a week this has been!

We in the Continuing Church of God are leading the final phase of the work and many events this week, as well as earlier, help show that.

Bible News Prophecy Magazine

At the beginning of the week, the English version of Bible News Prophecy magazine was mailed out to subscribers.

The Spanish language version of Bible News Prophecy magazine was finalized and is to be printed, and put on one of our websites.  It was slightly delayed because we wanted to put a new URL on the front and back covers.

The Mandarin Chinese version of Bible News Prophecy magazine is being finalized, to later be put on one of our websites, printed, and mailed.

Translations of the Bible News Prophecy magazine in Tagalog are in progress.

We also now are looking at getting the October-December 2013 edition of Bible News Prophecymagazine translated into the language of Kiswahili. Kiswahili (often just referred to as Swahili) is the native language for many in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as Mayotte.

Additionally, we were asked this week if we would consider putting together a Telugu language version Bible News Prophecy magazine for the 74 million or so in India who read that language.  We have agreed to do so.  Presuming that we receive the translation of the October-December 2013 edition of Bible News Prophecy magazine into Telugu back in time (and it is not yet been put together in English yet), we expect to have this available in the Fall of 2013.

Reaching the World

Telugu has the thirteenth most native speakers of any language in the world.  By having many of our materials in Telugu and English this should better help us reach people in India (India is the second most populous nation in the world).

Speaking of India, the website www.ccog.in went live this week.  While it currently looks pretty much the same as our English-language website www.ccog.org, it is our intent to have information in Telugu, and perhaps also later some in Hindi (the Hindi language has the fifth highest number of native speakers).

Mandarin Chinese has the most native speakers of any language in the world (and China is the most populous nation on earth). About one out of every seven people on earth speaks Mandarin Chinese as their native language.  More information was added to the related website, www.ccog.asia, this week.

Spanish has the second highest amount of native speakers in the world.  Spanish is the official language of twenty countries.  More information was put online this week in the Spanish language.  We are still working on a separate Spanish language website, URL www.cdlidd.es (it is currently only slightly functional).  That URL is an abbreviation for Continuación de la Iglesia de Dios, which is a translation into Spanish of the “Continuing Church of God.”

English, while not having the greatest number of native speakers (it is third in the world), does have the greatest number of total speakers in the world and is currently the most understood language in the world.  English is the official language of 54 countries and 27 non-sovereign entities.  Additionally, it has become the language of international trade and even international pilots (amongst others) are required to learn it.

As far as doors in English, twice in July 2013, I was a guest on a syndicated radio program (on around 60 stations worldwide, plus the internet).   According to the program host, I was able to reach millions this month with the Church of God message.  As I have been on radio each month this year, according to his numbers, over one million people have been reached every month in 2013.  We also have a radio idea that we expect to try in about six months to try to reach other audiences.

We also spent a lot of time this week on internet matters. We also added a few links to www.cogwriter.com and other sites that should help us better reach people in Asia. We also took steps that will help us better reach people who understand English. We also looked at how to better reach those in Africa, Latin America, and elsewhere on the internet.

Since it was necessary for the Continuing Church of God to form on 12/28/12, over 2,600,000 of our articles/pages have been viewed on the internet.  We had over 600,000 cumulative monthly unique visitors since we formed. According to AWstats (which was down at least three times this year, so it has under-counted certain periods) we have had visitors from at least 223 countries/territories connect with our materials at our websites.

As of yesterday 1,341 per day have subscribed to and receive our electronic Church of God News e-zine.

Additionally, as of this morning, we have had at least 79,307 views of the YouTube videos that we have on our ContinuingCOG and Bible News Prophecy channels.

Never before in the history of Church of God has any group reached so many with so little money by so few.

But some scoffed at the beginning of the efforts of the Continuing Church of God and others have discounted and/or despised what we have accomplished.

Yet, the Bible teaches:

1 ‘Behold, you despisers,
Marvel and perish!
For I work a work in your days,
A work which you will by no means believe,
Though one were to declare it to you.’ (Acts 13:41)

6 ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the Lord of hosts.  (Zechariah 4:6)

This work is truly starting to come to pass, though relatively few will believe it.  We in theContinuing Church of God are leading the final phase of the work.

YouTube Technical Matters

Of course we want to reach more than we have, and we will (cf. Matthew 24;14).

So to make that easier for some, as mentioned last week, if you have a slow internet connection, you can now simply listen to the YouTube sermon and sermonette videos.

Basically, if you go to the YouTube link (and we are also trying to put this in other places), click on SHOW MORE related to the description. You will then see something that says, “Download MP3.” Below that is a link to an MP3 file. Most computers (and even some cellular telephones) will allow MP3 files to be downloaded and played.

We went back to the past several sermons and sermonettes and added this audio file.

World News Events

Despite the goings on in Egypt, there are still calls for an Islamic caliphate in the Middle East as one Imam called for that amid cries of  from his supporters of “Down with peaceful solutions” (see Imam calls for Islamic empire and warns Obama).  The reality is that the Bible foretells the rise of a leader called the King of the South who rules lands that are currently predominantly Islamic (cf. Daniel 11:40-43; Ezekiel 30:1-9).  So, this type of leader will rise up.

Over in the West, the homosexual agenda moved forward in England and Wales this week with “royal assent” of homosexual ‘marriage’ (see Royal Assent given, England and Wales to have homosexual ‘marriage’).

Related to the Middle East, top military generals in the UK and USA announced that their governments may launch attacks into Syria to prevent various ones (including rebels that both those nations have claimed to support) from getting access to Syria’s chemical weapons (UK and USA reportedly considering invading Syria because of chemical weapons concerns).  The Bible teaches that Damascus will be destroyed (Isaiah 17:1) and military action is likely to be the cause.

The German press reported that former USA President Jimmy Carter who stated that it was his view that “America has no functioning democracy.“  He also said that the moral authority of of the U.S. has sharply declined due to excessive restriction of civil rights (see International survey reflects rise of China’s power and influence, and some USA issues.).

Things are changing in the Anglo-descended nations and many of those changes are not good.

Feast of Tabernacles

As mentioned before, we have a webpage with information on the Feast of Tabernacles this year. You may wish to view from time to time as we updated it with more information this week:Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2013.

Please think about where you hope to attend this year and let the coordinator for your Feast site know via email.

We received a request from the Philippines to try to provide Feast of Tabernacles’ services there this week.  We now tentatively plan to do this.  And for several of the days, as well as possibly the Day of Atonement, we hope this will be a live feed or live Skype there.  More is expected to be reported about this later.

There also is expected to be an affiliated Feast of Tabernacles’ site in southern India.  If you are not currently part of the group there, but now may wish to attend, please email me (cogwriter@aol.com) for more information.

We finalized the decision this week on holding the Feast of Tabernacles in the USA at the Santa Maria Inn, in Santa Maria, California (about 160 miles north of Los Angeles). I was able to go and view the site on Sunday, but have not yet signed a contract for which of the meeting rooms.  If you plan to attend in Santa Maria we do need to hear from you.

If you are considering coming to Santa Maria, California for the Feast of Tabernacles, please email me. Currently, Santa Maria looks to be our smallest Feast site, so those of you in North America (or elsewhere) that plan to attend, please let me know so we will reserve the best possible room for services to meet our needs and size.

Suggested Sabbath Service for July 20, 2013

Here is our suggested format for Sabbath services on July 20, 2013:

Have a great and uplifting Sabbath.

Brethren you are in my prayers.

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel, Pastor and Overseer
Continuing Church of God

Letter: July 12, 2013

Posted on by

Dear Brethren and co-workers in Christ:

There has been a lot going on here from radio, to working on the Feast of Tabernacles, to working on the magazine, writing articles, to working on the websites, and working with multiple languages.

Bible News Prophecy Magazine

Because of miscommunications, technical problems, and travel, the July-September edition ofBible News Prophecy magazine was delayed.  The English version was finalized this week and is to be delivered to our office later today.  For those who have asked for more pre-addressed envelopes, they should be added to the mailing to include that magazine, which we plan to do next week.

The online version of the English edition is now available in pdf format: Bible News Prophecy, July-September 2013 edition.

The Spanish edition of the magazine (which is all translated) is expected to go to press next, and then also be available online as well.

After that, for the first time,we expect to have a version of the magazine in Mandarin Chinese!  This could be a first for any Church of God.  And even if not, I am unaware of any other group that has done this approach this year.  Whether we in the Continuing Church of God are first or not, putting materials out in Mandarin Chinese is a door to reach people that were not as reachable before.

Mandarin Chinese has the most native speakers of any language in the world.  About one out of every seven people on earth speaks Mandarin Chinese as their native language.  We worked with the graphics company on that this week and hopefully it will be ready within the next two weeks (as soon as they finish with the Spanish edition, Mandarin is next).

Spanish actually has the second highest amount of native speakers, and every edition of our magazine has so far been translated into the Spanish language.

English, while not having the greatest number of native speakers (it is third), does have the greatest number of total speakers in the world and is currently the most understood language in the world.

Reaching the World

The amount of people from China who have been reading our materials in English has basically tripled since January.  China is a country that seems to be showing more interest in what we are teaching, than they had in the past.

As far as other languages, we currently also have a couple of items at the website in the Tagalog language, which is the primary native language of the Philippines.

We also are looking at putting materials together in Kiswahili.  Kiswahili (often just referred to as Swahili) is the native language for many in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as Mayotte.  We currently have many congregants in several of those countries, and based upon the growth there believe that getting materials in the Kiswahili language is a door that God is opening for us at this time.

As far as doors in English, on July 8, I was again a guest on a syndicated radio program. I was able to bring up matters such as abortion and changes that are happening that will allow the rise of the Beast power.

I had meant to pre-announce this interview last week in the weekly letter for those who would have liked to listen to it, but the Monday date slipped my mind then.  I will try to pre-announce one or more other radio interviews in the future if I get a chance.  Since I am normally a guest, sometimes I get last-minute invitations, which do not allow for pre-announcement.  And when I can, I normally accept interview offers.

We also spent a lot of time this week on internet matters.  We added a few links to www.cogwriter.com that should help us better reach people in Asia.  We also took steps that will help us better reach people who understand English.  We also are looking how to better reach those in Africa, Latin America, and elsewhere on the internet.

YouTube Technical Matters

We realize that watching YouTube videos can be problematic, especially if you have a slow internet connection.  We are still looking at better ways to handle this.  The first move we made, months ago, was to use less megapixels as that was not only a possible problem to view (because of internet speed), but also for us to upload (took over 24 hours to upload one sermon).

Anyway, we have an interim solution for those who would prefer to simply listen to the sermon and sermonette videos.

Basically, if you go to the YouTube link (and we are also trying to put this in other places), click on SHOW MORE related to the description.  You will then see something that says, “Download MP3.”  Below that is a link to an MP3 file.  Most computers (and even some cellular telephones) will allow MP3 files to be downloaded and played.

We went back to the past several sermons and added this.  We also are adding it to some of the sermonettes which are on the BibleNewsProphecy YouTube channel.

World News Events

The situations in Egypt (Egypt’s military-backed government orders arrest of Muslim Brotherhood leaders) and Syria remained in the news. Russia’s President Putin warned the West that it may not like what will happen in that region because of its desire to remove Syria’s President Assad (see Russia’s Putin blasts West on Syria and Western media disapproves of his position on homosexuality).  Although Vladimir Putin is right about that (and he is right to oppose marriage between homosexuals), the Bible clearly teaches that a power will rise up in the Middle East and North Africa known as the King of the South (Daniel 11:40-43; Ezekiel 30:1-9).  What the West has been doing has been helping facilitate his rise.

Yet, this will rise will result in a plan to destroy the Anglo-nations and the Jewish nation of Israel (Psalm 83) as well as an eventual, but less successful, attack on Europe (Daniel 11:40-43).

Feast of Tabernacles

As a reminder, we have a webpage with information on the Feast of Tabernacles this year. You may wish to view from time to time as we expect to update it with more information as it becomes available: Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2013.

Please think about where you hope to attend this year and let the coordinator for your Feast site know via email.

We have tentatively decided on holding the Feast of Tabernacles in the USA at the Santa Maria Inn, in Santa Maria, California.  I sent emails and made telephone calls to them and hope to possibly visit them again this Sunday.  More information about that is expected for next week.

If you are considering coming to Santa Maria, California for the Feast of Tabernacles, please email me.  I need to decide how large of a room to reserve and have other matters to deal with that hearing from those of you who plan to come will be helpful.  Currently, Santa Maria looks to be our smallest Feast site, so those of you in North America (or elsewhere) that plan to attend, please let me know so we will reserve the best possible room for services to meet our needs and size.

Suggested Sabbath Service for July 13, 2013

Here is our suggested format for Sabbath services on July 13, 2013:

Brethren, there is a lot of work to be done.  Remember the words of Jesus:

37…”The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38)

And yes, I know I have ended with those verses before, but the need for more laborers still exists.

Brethren you are in my prayers.

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel, Pastor and Overseer
Continuing Church of God

Letter: July 5, 2013

Posted on by

Dear Brethren and co-workers in Christ:

It has been another busy week here in the Five Cities region of California.

From the daily news posts, to magazine issues, to research, to handling emails, to working on the Feast of Tabernacles, reviewing baptismal procedures, and radio, a lot has been going on.

Crying Aloud, Sparing Not

On July 1, I was a guest on a syndicated radio program.  I was able to bring up the biblical connection between the record heat in parts of the Western USA with the overturning of theDefense of Marriage Act and biblical prophecies, such as Deuteronomy 29:23-25 (see alsoAfter DOMA overturned, Western USA hit with massive heat wave: any connection?).

The Bible teaches:

1 Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.  (Isaiah 58:1)

And, I also cited the above scripture.  But brethren, there is more disturbing news that governments do not wish to be told about sin.

Several days ago in the United Kingdom, an American street preacher was arrested and questioned about his beliefs after saying that fornication and homosexuality are a sin (American street preacher arrested in the UK for declaring homosexuality ‘sin’).

While we in the Continuing Church of God still declare those transgressions of God’s law sin (1 John 3:4, KJV), since this is an evil time, there will be time for that the prudent will not always speak out (Amos 5:13).

However, because we primarily utilize the internet, radio interviews, and our own printed publications to declare the truths of the Bible, we can still speak out more than others who are often more concerned about their image and/or being on certain television stations.

As far as the internet goes, we are looking at expanding the low-cost Google campaign we began last month.  Basically, we are looking at adding more “key words” that other churches are not particularly interested in that we in the Continuing Church of God can target at a very-low cost.

Two Items Affecting End Time Prophecy

While a lot is going on, there are two items that will impact end time prophecy that have recently been in the news.

The first to mention here is the situation in Egypt.  Presuming the Egyptian military keeps elected President Morsi from being president (they declared someone else as interim president, see Adly Mansour installed as Egypt’s interim president), this will represent a major setback for the Muslim Brotherhood and its ambitions, at least in the short-run.

The Muslim Brotherhood wants to basically put together a confederation of Islamic nations that will resemble the biblical King of the South, with a leader that they call a Caliph.  Bible prophecy shows that ultimately this type of confederation will form (Military’s deadline passed for Egypt’s President Morsi to step down and it has stepped in: What is ahead for Egypt?).  So, whatever seeming setbacks there have been in Egypt should be understood in the light of biblical prophecy, such as those found in Daniel 11:40-43 and Ezekiel 30:1-8.

The second to mention is the news about the USA’s reported espionage of the European Union in general (including the USA allegedly placing listening devices in some of the EU’s important buildings) and Germany in particular (see Germany: USA is engaged in ‘cold war’ against us, Europe furious and EU tells USA to stop spying on it as it asks for more information andGermany most upset by USA espionage).

Allegedly, the USA collects about as much information on Germany as it does the nation of China.  It is obvious that some in the government of the USA do consider that the European Union (and in particular Germany) as a major threat.  The Europeans, including the Germans, are discussing issues and have grave concerns about the USA.  While most in the USA do not consider that the Europeans could be a threat, some who have inside information apparently see this differently.

Because of these news reports, even if the allegations are not true (and they have not been publicly denied by the USA as I write this), this is going to result in the USA telling the European Union a lot about what it has been collecting, how it has collected the information, and what it does with the information.  Furthermore, this will result in the USA reducing some of its espionage (at least for a time) against the Europeans.  This will make it easier for the coming European Beast power to launch a surprise attack against the USA.  The sermonette recommended for today covers some of this.

And though most do not seem to believe that this is possible, the Bible clearly teaches that the power with the strongest military fortresses (which is currently the United States) will be taken over by the final European King of the North per Daniel 11:39.

While the USA does seem to spy on everyone it can, it is interesting to note that according to a 2010 document allegedly from its NSA (referred to in various news reports this week), the nations of Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand are considered to be ‘close friends’ and do not need to be spied on like other nations.  The USA is tied closer to its Anglo-allies than most have realized.  And the fate of those nations will, to a major degree, be tied into the fate of the USA.

Feast of Tabernacles

As a reminder, we have a webpage with information on the Feast of Tabernacles this year.  You may wish to view from time to time as we expect to update it with more information as it becomes available: Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2013.

Please think about where you hope to attend this year and let the coordinator for your Feast site know via email.

John Hickey sent in the following information about the site in New Zealand:

The name of the place is Cheviot Park Motor Lodge and their website ishttp://www.cheviot-park.co.nz/ .  They are prepared to offer a 10% discount on accommodation to any of our members who are attending so long as they mention it when booking.

Whangarei District will pleasantly surprise you. Unspoilt landscapes, truly spectacular coastline and variety plus. A space to experience adventure, warmth, culture, excitement and peace. The perfect place to revive, to breathe, to reconnect. That’s why we love it here.

Just two hours from Auckland, our sub tropical region is the perfect base to explore the rest of Northland – you may never want to leave.

We have tentatively decided on holding the Feast of Tabernacles in the USA at the Santa Maria Inn, in Santa Maria, California.  More information about that is expected for next week.

Matthew 28:19

One issue that the COG I was last part of that was not resolved before I left it had to do with Matthew 28:19 and baptism.

I had discussed the matter once with a leading evangelist and he told me that he was not sure that Matthew 28:19, as found in most Bibles, including the NKJV, should be there.  Because of this, that church put out a baptismal letter allowing the baptismal statements to be done one of two different ways.   This seemed to blatantly go against the biblical admonition about speaking “the same thing” (1 Corinthians 1:10) and raised concerns as there is supposed to be “one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5).

Anyway, that COG also had not resolved the matter for another man who now is currently part of the Continuing Church of God, so he asked me to look further into this matter, and I did.

Basically, the conclusion of the matter is that the following verse is actually in the Bible:

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  (Matthew 28:19, NKJV)

For those that I have personally baptized already, I had included the appropriate part of this as part of your ceremonies in the past and plan to continue to keep it in for others.

More on Matthew 28:19 can be found in a new article titled: Is Matthew 28:19 in the Bible?

More on baptism can be found in the article: Baptism and the Early Church.

Suggested Sabbath Service for July 6, 2013

Here is our suggested format for Sabbath services on July 6, 2013:

Brethren, pray for spiritual gifts and the fruit of the Spirit as the Apostle Paul wrote:

1 Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts…(1 Corinthians 14:1a)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.  (Galatians 5:22-23)

Brethren continue to set your lives according to the teachings of the Bible.  You are in my prayers.

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel, Pastor and Overseer
Continuing Church of God

Letter: June 28, 2013

Posted on by

Dear Brethren and co-workers in Christ:

After 22 hours of straight travel, my wife Joyce and I returned from Italy and back to the Five Cities region of California on Sunday.

Because of limited internet access while in Europe, it has taken most of this week to get somewhat caught up from being gone.  We were far enough behind that I asked someone else to assist with uploading various translations into Mandarin Chinese as well as Spanish to two of our sites, as opposed to me doing all of that myself as I usually do.  This should be completely caught up later today.

Also, on administrative matters, we have had a ‘temporary’ bank account that was needed until certain corporate documents were received back from the State of California, and then needed to wait over six weeks for delays from the bank (with no explanation from the local branch other than them telling us that they had no idea why their corporate office kept delaying this) in order to open the regular bank account.  The experience reminded me of the following:

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  (Ephesians 6:12)

Anyway, the temporary account was closed yesterday and the regular corporate bank account was opened yesterday as well.

Speaking of delays, while the Continuing Church of God has tax federal exemption in 49 US states and all US territories, we ask your prayers that our State of California exemption request would be processed quickly and that we will find favor in the site of the officials reviewing it would be appreciated (cf. 1 Timothy 2:1-2).  With the problems that some groups have had with the IRS (and that does not include the Continuing Church of God), and the fact that our position on matters such as abortion, homosexuality, etc. differ from those held by many government officials, political bias against those of us who dare to stand for biblical morality is a concern in California.

Matthew 24:14: Reaching the World

We had looked to doing a major Google campaign to promote our videos last month, but the proposal from the “expert” there showed that he did not really understand our needs, so that project has been temporarily shelved.

However, we did begin a lower-cost campaign that seems to have successfully reached thousands in the month of June.  Basically, there are “key words” that other churches are not particularly interested in that we in the Continuing Church of God can target at a very-low cost.

Why?  Basically because there is no competition to drive up the price.

Currently, not only do we in the Continuing Church of God reach more people than the vast majority of Church of God groups combined, on a per member basis, we reach several times as many as any group I am aware of ever has in the history of Christianity (though possibly excluding the Apostle Peter’s first sermon in Acts 2).  We in the Continuing Church of God are leading the final phase of the work.

We have other ideas that I believe will help us reach more in a very cost-effective manner, including a unique video project that I hope we will be able to get to this summer.  It may be an interesting and effective “door” to reach those who are unsure what to so (cf. 1 Corinthians 16:9; 2 Corinthians 2:12.   More information on that is planned to be discussed as that project moves further along.

In terms of literature, I worked on the Bible News Prophecy magazine this week, including communicating with a couple of our translators and meeting with the layout company.  The layout company and two of the translators are a little behind, but we still intend to get the next edition out in multiple languages.

Our translator for Mandarin Chinese asked for statistics on reaching those in the People’s Republic of China this month, and since I shared those with him, thought that many of you may be interested in this.  As of a few moments ago, we have had just about 10,000 articles viewed from locations that AW Stats identifies as coming from China during the June 2013.  And if you add those in Taiwan and Hong Kong, then it is well over 10,000 so far this month.  The internet seems to be the best way to directly reach China at this time as the Chinese thus far have seemed to block our physical literature when we tried to send it in.  I believe that the internet is one of the doors that God has opened up for His Philadelphia remnant (cf. Revelation 3:7-8; 1 Corinthians 16:8-9).

We are on track to have about 300,000 article views on the websites this month, as well as thousands of YouTube channel views.  The message is getting out, but we have so much more to reach.

World News Trends

Last week I mentioned the trend towards civil unrest and protests.  Protests have continued in Brazil and are expected to greatly increase in the next couple of days in Egypt.  As I mentioned last week, protests were a factor in the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ and hence seem to be playing into the rise of the prophesied King of the South.

On the world scene, the USA is losing a lot of respect.  The Russian newspaper Pravdaessentially said that Barack Obama was the President of Sodom and Gomorrah because of the increasing acceptance of homosexuality and the homosexual agenda in the USA.  Pravda’s article basically said that the USA was getting weaker in many areas and that no one, including “Tiny Britain” will be able to back the USA up in the future.

On June 24, 2013 in the USA, a civil rights panel ruled that an elementary school was discriminating against a cross-dressing 7 year old boy because it would not allow him to regularly use the girls’ toilet (Civil rights panel rules it is discriminatory to not let a boy regularly use girls’ toilet).

On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court of the USA rule that the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional (Russia calls Obama President of Sodom and Gomorrah and the US Supreme Court ruling on homosexuality today confirms it).  Supreme Court Justice Kennedy claimed that there was “no legitimate purpose” in defining marriage as between a man and woman and not equating that to homosexual unions.  Apparently, he does not agree with the words of Jesus:

4 “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’  5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?  6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”  (Matthew 19:4-6)

Homosexuality is condemned by the Bible and the Bible does not condone homosexual marriage. but refers to homosexuality as an abomination (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13).

Someone sent me the following news excerpt, and I have included some his comments in italics below it:

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had a two-word response on Wednesday to Rep. Michele Bachmann’s (R-MN) assertion that the Supreme Court tried to “undo what a holy God has instituted” by striking down the federal same sex marriage ban: “Who cares?”

To me it may be the defining comment of our nation in this age. It is so profound when you think about it.

The USA, in my view, has past the point of no return.  While there are Americans (including Canadians) that hold views closer to the Bible on certain points, the reality is that the governments of the USA and its Anglo-allies seem determined to march towards immorality and destruction.

Many of the leaders in the USA and other Anglo-lands do not care about biblical morality.  In Romans 1:18-31, the Bible condemns various forms of immorality, including homosexuality and lesbianism.  It then concludes with the following:

32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.  (Romans 1:32)

Notice that not only those that participate in immorality are condemned by the Bible, but also those that approve it.   Surely this is a prophecy for our time!

The end-time sorrows and troubles in Western society have begun (Matthew 24:5-8), and the acceptance of immorality will lead to destruction (Romans 1:18-32; Daniel 11:39).

Furthermore, there were indications that the leadership in Germany wants increased acceptance of its military (see Germany’s elites want more acceptance of its military; How can the coming European power defeat the USA?) while the USA made another announcement relating to reducing its (US Army announces cuts).  The world is more dangerous than many in the USA seem to realize and the USA pulling troops (and earlier tanks) out of Germany will make the Germans more likely to attack the USA.

Feast of Tabernacles

As a reminder, we have a webpage with information on the Feast of Tabernacles this year that you may wish to view from time to time as we expect to update it with more information as it becomes available: Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2013.  Please think about where you hope to attend this year and let the coordinator for your Feast site know via email.

We have heard that more and more plan to attend the Feast site in Kenya.  The growth in that part of the world (some are in Tanzania and Uganda) is very encouraging.

We expect to have more information on the USA and New Zealand Feast sites next week.

Suggested Sabbath Service for June 29, 2013

Here is our suggested format for Sabbath services on June 29 2013:

As the Apostle Paul wrote:

2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; 3 meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ (Colossians 4:2-3)

Brethren, you are in my prayers.  Please pray for us and that God will open the doors for us and that we will have the wisdom to recognize and go through them.

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel, Pastor and Overseer
Continuing Church of God