Greetings from Charlotte,
America now has a new President in office, and it appears that his agenda will take the nation in a different direction that will reshape our society. In the name of equality and fairness, more liberal policies will be promoted on controversial issues like same-sex marriage and abortion—referred to as "reproductive choice." While God has strong words in the Scriptures on these issues, our society's "enlightened" views will eventually bring serious consequences to our nation and others who follow our example. Here in Charlotte, snow on the day of the Presidential inauguration made traffic pretty light. We are working on budgets for the coming year and finalizing arrangements for Festival sites. This week, the lighting is being installed in the new TV studio. Your prayers are appreciated for this weekend's public appearance in Atlanta.
Church Administration
United Kingdom and South Africa Update
Regional Director Rod King reports: Due to events of the past few weeks it has become necessary for us to increase the number of congregations in the U.K. and Ireland. We now have 13 groups that we are taking care of. The latest one that I have added is East Midlands. Sheffield, Nottingham and South Yorkshire have all experienced growth so we want to be able to serve them. We have found that when we start a congregation, God adds growth. Now we need some more manpower to serve these areas.
Channel G in South Africa is producing some good fruit, so we have ended our contract with CSN. The new station is airing over a larger "footprint" and we even received a response from Greece! We are receiving more responses from other parts of Africa, including the most populous country, Nigeria.
Tomorrow's World Magazine in Spanish
The first edition of our Tomorrow's World magazine in the Spanish language was printed last week. The magazine, titled El Mundo de Mañana, had an initial print run of 1,500 copies. The first print issue, January-February 2009, consists of 16 full-color pages of articles selected from the English version of the magazine and professionally translated into Spanish. Subscription requests can be sent to our office in Costa Rica to [email protected]. Your prayers for this new venture in the Work of God are much appreciated.
Spring Holy Days Singles and Family Weekend in Greenville, South Carolina
The Anderson, South Carolina congregation of the Living Church of God is pleased to announce the second Upstate South Carolina Singles and Family Weekend! The weekend is planned for April 10-12. Sabbath services and the accompanying banquet and semi-formal/formal dance will be held at the Greenville Hilton in Greenville, South Carolina. Complete details will be announced soon. You may go to www.lcg-anderson.org (not an official Church website) or e-mail [email protected] for more information.
Personal Correspondence Department
Mr. Gary Ehman's year-end report states that we set a new record for responses to questions. In 2008, Mr. Ehman answered 3,953 e-mails and sent out 2,181 letters for a total of 6,134 responses to questions. We certainly appreciate his efforts in addition to his other duties serving God's people.
Finance Department
USA Contribution Receipts 2008
The USA Contribution Receipts for 2008 have been mailed this week. Please carefully review your receipt. If you find any errors, please report them to Jerry Ruddlesden at [email protected] or call 704-844-1960, ext. 231. This is very important if you plan to report your contributions for USA income tax purposes.
We ended 2008 with a very good increase over our budgeted income, which strengthens our financial statement and better enables us to do the Work. This is good news as we strive to reach the world with the Gospel message. We are very thankful for your generous support of the Work in your prayers and financial contributions.
Feast of Tabernacles 2009
Early International Registration (REPEAT)
The Festival Office is preparing for an early International Site Registration date of Sunday, February 22. Brethren planning to travel to sites in international areas are welcome to register starting on this date at the MyLCG website (www.cogl.org).
Early registration on February 22 will also include the site in Hawaii. If you would like to attend the Feast in Hawaii, you are asked to pre-register for planning purposes at the website: www.fothawaii.org. Once you have accessed the website, click on the "contact me" tab and follow the instructions. If you do not have computer access, please see your Pastor or Festival Advisor for help in pre-registering. Check the www.fothawaii.org for updates about this site.
Comments
The Importance of Humility: One of the biggest problems that can limit our effectiveness in serving God and His people is a lack of humility. Even though we may be gifted in certain areas, pride and vanity can become stumbling blocks that limit how God can use the talents that He has given us. Unfortunately, we seldom see these problems in ourselves. This is why the Bible repeatedly warns against pride and its consequences (see Proverbs 8:13; Daniel 4:37; Mark 7:21-23). God clearly spells out what He is looking for in all of us. He says through the prophet Isaiah, "on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word" (Isaiah 66:2). Jesus taught, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). If we are humble and teachable, willing to take direction and work as a team, God will use us in His time and in His way. However, without real humility, we cannot be very effective instruments in our Father's hands.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—January 22, 2009
Growing Power of the Euro. The popularity of the euro appears to be growing, despite the euro's fall against the U.S. dollar in recent months. European Commission President Barroso recently commented that the global financial crisis has "sparked a debate… among people who matter in Britain," about joining the euro. The sterling pound recently fell to its lowest level ever against the Euro—almost equaling it in value. Denmark is seeking entry into the Eurozone, while Iceland is "considering switching to the euro even without a green light from EU institutions and despite their warnings against such a unilateral move" (EU Observer, December 1, 2008). As cries for the euro to become the world currency increase, the European Central Bank just declared that Britain is "unfit" to enter the Eurozone because of its current financial crisis (Telegraph, January 8, 2009). The stage is being set for a strong nation or group of nations to take the world stage in an attempt to lead the world into a new era of apparent peace and relative prosperity (Revelation 13:1-7, 18:9-15). The nations of the world appear to be growing amenable to relinquishing more of their sovereignty in return for economic stability. Exactly how these prophecies will play out remains to be seen, but a worldwide currency could play into this prophetic scenario.
Sacrificing Children. Britain leads Western Europe in a tragic area of statistics. The last several years have seen a steady rise in abortions performed on British soil. In 2007, more than 200,000 abortions were performed in Britain – 4,400 were performed on teen girls under age 16. Experts project that, at the current rate of increase, Britain will surpass the abortion rates of the U.S. A British MP commented that the current high abortion rate "has been brought about as a result of an ill-conceived notion that it is just a minor procedure with no side or lasting effects, but this is not the case" (Daily Mail, November 28, 2008). In Leviticus 18:21, God warned the Israelites not to sacrifice their children to false gods. The prophets railed against this evil practice that led to God's punishment and national captivity. Jeremiah spoke of "wicked women" who are guilty of "the blood" of their own children, and a people who "have filled this place with the blood of the innocents" (Jeremiah 2:33-37; 19:4). Ezekiel condemned similar practices, "Were your acts of harlotry a small matter, that you have slain My children and offered them up to them by causing them to pass through the fire?" (Ezekiel 16:15, 20-21). Although God clearly condemns the practice of abortion and infanticide in the Scriptures, today our "enlightened" world refers to this practice of killing children as "reproductive choice." For this, we will pay a great price.
Beasts of the Field Waste Away. In Texas, cattle are dying "in the fields" due to extreme and exceptional drought in certain areas. The grass is dead and no longer provides life-sustaining nutrients to the cattle. Other cattle are getting stuck in the mud in drying water holes (AP, January 16, 2008). Meanwhile, tremendous flooding has moved across the state of Washington in the Pacific Northwest. A wave of storms dropped copious amounts of rain, filling rivers and melting this year's snow pack. Avalanches and overflowing rivers have caused destruction and closed portions of highways and stranded drivers (Seattle Post Intelligencer, January 7, 2009). Long ago, God warned Israel that consequences follow disobedience, "There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land… they break all restraint… therefore the land will mourn; and everyone who dwells there will waste away with the beasts of the field…" (Hosea 4:1-3). In addition, God warned that because of Israel's rebellion against Him, He would cause it to rain on one city and become drought in another (Amos 4:7). As prophecy marches on, we are seeing further evidence that God is beginning to punish the Israelite-descended people—which is even more reason God's Church must "cry aloud and spare not," lifting up its voice like a trumpet to tell Israel of its sins (Isaiah 58:1). In this way and with His help, God can use His Church to cause sinners to turn from their evil ways (see Ezekiel 3 and 33).—Daniel Bennett and Scott Winnail