From the Presiding Evangelist
Dear Brethren and Friends,
I know that most of you have heard about the wonderful celebration we had a few weeks ago thanking God for the 20th Anniversary of the Global/Living Church of God, and for the 60th Anniversary of my ordination as an Evangelist of Jesus Christ. It was indeed a wonderful celebration and I thank God for it. But I also want to take the time, personally, to very heartfeltly thank all of the brethren who have been involved in this.
Many of the Headquarters personnel participated—and I do not know all who did. But I know that Mr. Richard Ames, my dear friend and brother-in-law, my son Jim, my wonderful secretary Monica Cormier, and Mrs. Suzanne Pyle all especially contributed to making this entire weekend a very fine occasion. They all had part in selecting special gifts they gave me for my office and for helping organize the "surprise" reception for me and the excellent banquet and dance for the anniversary weekend. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all of them—and to all the rest of the Headquarters employees who helped make this occasion such a wonderful success. And I want to thank all of you leaders in the Church around the world for your continued love, loyalty and zealous support of the Work Christ is doing through us in this Work of faith. Thank you very much!
I really do mean all of this deeply, dear brethren. For as I get older I have to sincerely and earnestly thank God for the depth of unity, love and loyalty that we have experienced now for so many years. Indeed, we have much to be thankful for and we need to give God praise, honor and glory continually. For this time of comparative peace and joy may not last forever—as we know that the "time of sorrows" Jesus Christ talked about will soon be upon us. So let us deeply appreciate one another and the "family spirit" we have together while we can.
Also, for all of you ministers and elders and leaders in the congregations, I want to urge you, once again, to be extremely zealous in visiting the new people—the prospective members and others who are just beginning to come with us. We have found over the decades that personal contact in their homes or in a private place where you can talk "eyeball to eyeball" is very special in helping you become fully acquainted with these precious human beings whom God is calling into His Family. And you also need this to truly understand them and to help them to grow "to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:13). For we truly want to help everyone God has brought with us into the Living Church of God to begin to reflect Jesus Christ more and more in every aspect of their lives. We need to pray for this, meditate about this and do all we can to help these precious human beings given into our care to truly become worthy of being taken to a Place of Safety, and finally be brought into the very family of God.
There is nothing so vital as that opportunity which we have in this very Work. So I pray that all of us will do all that we can to "reach out" to new people to help them on this journey. And, always, we must reach out to all of our brethren and to one another to give the constant encouragement, love and guidance that each one of us needs to fully reflect Jesus Christ. I would like to suggest that every one of you read and reread the Sermon on the Mount at least several times a year. As I have become older I realize how precious even the "Beatitudes" are as they set the stage for this powerful passage of Scripture we call "The Sermon on the Mount."
Always remember and meditate on Jesus' statement, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6). If we really want to fulfill the purpose for which we were created and for which God called us, we need to beseech God to give us that genuine "hunger" for His righteousness—to truly be filled with God's very nature and reflect our Creator and His character throughout our lives. I will pray for you in this, brethren, and I ask all of you to pray for me and my family. We all need to work on this and draw very close to our God. Then, in His time, I know that He will begin to pour out His Spirit more than ever and will begin to give us the "gifts" of the Spirit so we in this ministry may heal the sick, discern spirits and cast out demons in the name of Jesus Christ. In that way, men may know that the God we serve is "real," and that He does have true servants on this earth and they can begin to respect that fact and openly listen to what we are saying. We need that, God's Work needs that. And I know that God will be truly honored if we develop that spiritual "hunger" through earnest prayer and Bible Study and fasting.
May God bless and guide all of you as you continue to walk with Him. Again, thank you, every one, for your help, prayers and participation in the wonderful occasions we experienced recently in Charlotte, and for your continual help in the Work of God as we try to reach the world with His message as He gives us life and breath.
Your brother in Christ,
Roderick C. Meredith
Church Administration
Greetings from Charlotte,
This week Mr. Meredith conducted meetings and completed a Co-Worker letter that was mailed to more than 11,470 individuals. The Tomorrow's World program this past weekend by Mr. Ames, entitled "Can You Trust Bible Prophecy?," is expected to draw more than 6,200 responses. Mr. Meredith's program the previous week on the Great Tribulation received a total of 6,259 responses. We are finalizing Feast sites for 2013 and making decisions on assigned sites for local congregations. Living University classes for the Spring Semester began this week with 208 students enrolled, which represents a 5.6 percent increase over the Spring Semester last year. Dr. Germano released a very encouraging Annual Report for Living University (see LU announcement below).—DSW
News from France
I am very happy to share with you the good news that the Church in France (the three congregations) has grown by 14 persons in six months (six former members of the WCG and eight new). [One new family] drove 10 hours (roundtrip) to attend services. For ten years, they faithfully kept the weekly Sabbath and annual Holy Days at home. They didn't forsake God and God, according to His promise, did not forsake them. In Paris, we have five adults who are preparing for baptism.—Vincent R. Lardé
Living Youth Programs
Online Teen Bible Study—Sunday Evening
Last year the teen Bible Studies focused on various "People of the Bible." In 2013 we will be covering "The Fundamental Doctrines" of the Living Church of God. This Sunday evening we plan to cover the first two doctrines of Hebrews 6—"Repentance From Dead Works" and "Faith Toward God." The Bible Study is to be presented by Mr. Sheldon Monson. The chat room is open at 6:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) and the Bible Study runs from 7:00-8:00 p.m. You can access this Bible Study at www.livingyouth.org.
Feast of Tabernacles 2013
USA Feast Sites Announced (Complete List)
Here is a repeat of the USA Feast of Tabernacles sites for 2013, including the last one to be finalized, Snowshoe, WV:
Anchorage, Alaska (Mr. Rodger Bardo)
Boerne, Texas (Mr. Dan Hall)
Chattanooga, Tennessee (Mr. Ron Poole)
Innisbrook, Florida (Mr. John Strain)
Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri (Mr. Wallace Smith)
Newport, Oregon (Mr. Glen Gilchrist)
Indian Wells (Palm Springs area), California (Mr. Darrell Lovelady)
Park City, Utah (Mr. Ben Whitfield)
Snowshoe, West Virginia (Dr. Scott Winnail)
Tannersville, Pennsylvania (Mr. Jonathan McNair)
Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin (Mr. Phil West)
Please do not make housing reservations yet—we will be announcing the date for online festival registration soon. Stay tuned!—Festival Office
Living University
The Living University Annual Report for 2012 is very encouraging. Beginning in 2007 with 114 students enrolled in three classes, the University now enrolls over 200 students each semester in nearly two dozen different classes, serviced by a qualified faculty of 16. The University offers seven Certificate programs in addition to several degree programs. Most of our students are part-time and take classes on-line, while students in Charlotte and Clarendon, Australia also work part-time in Church offices. Senior citizens may audit one course a semester free of charge. In 2012, more than 1,000 books were donated to the LU library that has been assembled in Charlotte. Donations this year to Living University increased 100 percent over 2011, for which we are very grateful. The goal of Living University is to develop leaders to serve God and His people.
Mail Processing Department
International Deliveries—Repeat Announcement
We have been experiencing problems with our international Tomorrow's World and Living Church News deliveries so we have implemented a different process to speed up delivery. We hope that the problem can be fixed by rerouting the deliveries. If you are outside the USA and do not receive your January-February Tomorrow's World magazine by the end of this month, please e-mail us at [email protected]. Or you can contact your local minister and he will pass the information on to us. Thanks to all of you for your help and patience as we work through this problem.—Gaylyn Bonjour
Internet Operations
Tomorrow's World Presents: Dr. Meredith online! (Repeat Announcement)
Join Dr. Meredith and thousands from around the world for a special, online, live "Tomorrow's World Presents" February 10 at 3:30 p.m. EST, entitled "What's Ahead for America and the World." Dr. Meredith will discuss powerful prophecies about events leading up to the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on this earth. Dr. Meredith will also explain what true Christians should be doing today, what original Christianity is, and what is the real Work of the Church of God. For more information and to register, please visit the following Web page: TomorrowsWorld.org/online-TWP. Register soon and mark your calendars for February 10 at 3:30 p.m. EST. We will live-stream this presentation directly to your computer.
Comments
Pay Attention to Prophecy: Jesus told His disciples to stay alert and watch for the fulfillment of specific prophecies that will mark the approaching end of this age (Matthew 24). Jesus also warned in the parable of the foolish virgins that many will be caught napping and unprepared by the surge of events that will precede His return to this earth (Matthew 25:1-13). God has given His Church a "more sure word of prophecy" (2 Peter 1:19, KJV) so His Church can warn this world about the prophetic significance of both current and impending world events (Ezekiel 3 and 33). Yet, over the years, misguided teachers and preachers have ridiculed the Church's understanding of prophecy and accused Church members of suffering from "prediction addiction" instead of talking more about love and grace. However, as we see world events building to a prophetic crescendo, let's make sure we are building a closer relationship with God and that we are learning to live by every word of God as we continue to pay attention to prophecy.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—January 17, 2013
France Cracks Down on Religious "Extremists": "The French government has announced a plan to combat religious groups that are judged 'potentially violent' including both militant Muslims and traditionalist Catholics." According to the Interior Minister, "the government will protect the French tradition of secularity in government by fighting religious extremism which he called 'an offense to the Republic.'" He stated that his office "will try to determine 'when it's suitable to intervene to treat what has become a religious pathology'" (Catholic World News, January 13, 2013). Other examples he mentioned of religious extremism were "creationists in the United States... and ultra-Orthodox Jews who want to live separately from the modern world" (Reuters, December 12, 2012). Last week, at least 340,000 marched in protest against a same-sex marriage and adoption proposal by President Hollande. Public support in France for same-sex marriage has been dropping in recent months (The Guardian, January 13, 2013). If France takes more conservative actions related to religion and human rights, its relationship with other, more liberal, European nations may be affected. Bible prophecies indicate that a European Beast power will arise that will ultimately take many of the Israelite nations into captivity (see Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28). France could be one of those nations. Meanwhile, it is important to watch events in France as they relate to Germany. For more information on this topic, see our article The End of Liberté?
Egypt's Increasing Anti-Jewish Attitudes: The Muslim Brotherhood holds a historical hatred for Israel. Following his election, Mohammed Morsi (a member of the Brotherhood) promised to respect a long-standing peace treaty with Israel. However, the future of this treaty is questionable after an advisor to Mr. Morsi stated in an interview that within a decade, "There will be no such thing as Israel" (Israel National News, January 2, 2013). He noted that the region of Israel would again be Palestine and that "Jewish occupiers" are now "an obstacle to the Palestinians' right of return" (ibid.). This anti-Semitic attitude is shared by the president, who once encouraged Egyptians to "nurse our children and our grandchildren on hatred" for Jews and Zionists whom he described as "bloodsuckers who attack the Palestinians, these warmongers, the descendants of apes and pigs" (Telegraph, January 15, 2013). God foresaw that in the end times a Middle Eastern "confederacy" of nations will move against Israel (Psalm 83:5-8), saying, "let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more" (verse 4). With the Brotherhood's rise to power in Egypt, leaders there could be in the forefront of efforts to unite other Muslim nations against the nation of Israel. For more information on this topic, request or read our free booklet The Middle East in Prophecy and our article The Future of Jerusalem.
Sunday Protections Erased in the UK: Sunday, the day many professing Christians today view as the Sabbath, is losing its protections in the UK. "Judges have been accused of diluting the rights of Christians after a key judgment on whether they can refuse to work on Sundays." In a recent court case, a High Court judge ruled that "Christians have no right to decline working on Sunday as it is not a 'core component' of their beliefs" (Telegraph, December 29, 2012). When examining worship practices of most Sunday-keeping Christians, the judge's ruling seems to make perfect sense—"most" who worship on Sunday do not believe the day must be kept by not working. Opponents of the ruling note that the court decision "puts Christians at a disadvantage to other religions and means the judiciary are deciding what the core beliefs of Christians can be, which they say is an interference in the right to practise religion" (ibid.). Opponents also point out that "Christians are being treated less favourably than people from other religions, such as Muslims, Jews and Sikhs. They point to cases where the courts offered protection to other religions even when only a minority of adherents were affected" (ibid.). In society today, we see an ever-increasing marginalization of Christian beliefs. How long until judges decide cases against Saturday-Sabbath keepers too? Christ warned of the last days, "And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved" (Mark 13:13). Times will become increasingly difficult for those who obey Christ's commands, but the rewards will be worth it for those who endure (Matthew 5:10).—Scott Winnail, Justin Ridgeway and Stuart Wachowicz