Greetings from Charlotte,
We have received some much needed rain here in the Charlotte area, while parts of the Midwest are cleaning up after floods and parched areas of California are still burning. Weather conditions around the world are making life difficult for many. Mr. Meredith has been writing and recording lectures for his upcoming Living University class. Mr. Ames has been focused on the Living Church News and other editorial issues. Several of us will be heading up to the Living Youth Camp (for teens) in Michigan for varying periods of time. Please remember in your prayers everyone traveling to camp, and pray that the weather will be favorable for the two-week period. Camp begins next Wednesday. I received an encouraging report from our elder in Kenya, Mr. Simon Muthama, that conditions there have returned to normal and that those planning to attend the Feast in Kenya should proceed with their plans. He also mentioned there is a food shortage in the Eastern province of Kenya, as no crops were harvested there this year. The Apartians and the Crocketts are back from their trips to Arkansas. Mr. Apartian is preparing to celebrate "Bastille Day" next Monday!
Living University
Living University Registration
Pre-registration for the fall semester at Living University is underway. Classes begin Wednesday, August 13. Courses include several basic theology courses taught by evangelists Roderick C. Meredith, Richard Ames, and Douglas Winnail. In addition, the University offers courses in health, nutrition, mother and infant care, written expression, introduction to computers, and socio-cultural anthropology. The latter is an introduction to the various peoples and cultures around the world. If you plan to study with us this fall, now is the time to register. Visit the University website at www.livinguniv.com and follow the instructions for enrollment. You can view the full schedule of fall 2008 courses by clicking on either "Browse Courses" or "See Fall 2008 Schedule of Classes."
Church Administration
Kenya Update
Mr. Simon Muthama, our elder serving in Kenya and in Tanzania, reports: "I returned home last night from an uplifting trip to western Kenya, where I visited 32 men and women. They had written a letter to Dr. Meredith requesting a visit. This group is in Migori, about 420 km from Nairobi and 100 km from Kisii town, near the border of Kenya and Tanzania. From Migori town to where they meet for Sabbath services are about 15 km towards Lake Victoria. On my arrival at Migori, I found… the group leader waiting for me…. Through our Official Statement of Fundamental Beliefs, which they downloaded from our website, they were convinced that we are teaching the true gospel which they had at WCG, and especially Church government. From Migori, I went to catch up with the Ndhiwa group for Sabbath services. We were 32 brethren in attendance. From Ndhiwa I travelled back home to Nairobi."
Situation in Papua New Guinea
Mr. Bruce Tyler, Australasia Regional Pastor, reports: "Here's a bit of an update on the situation in Papua New Guinea as the world economic meltdown continues to gather pace. Warning signs for us in the West! Our local elder in Papua New Guinea just sent this to me a couple of days ago: 'Our towns and cities are in a chaotic situation. Most of the vehicles are off the road. The people are using public transport to get to work and now the owners of the public transport have pulled them off the road. The situation is worse; most of the fuel service stations are closed because of no fuel due to rising cost of fuel. The police force cannot do its job due to fuel shortage. People have demanded Prime Minister Mr. Somare to find a way to urgently subsidize the cost of fuel. The food prices have skyrocketed also. The youths have formed gangs roaming the streets with bush knives, attacking innocent people; they break and enter into other people's properties, plus business houses, it is just chaotic…. The good news is that our members are safe so far.'"
Myanmar Update
Mr. Rajan Moses reports on Mr. Thomas Tial Hoe's visit to our brethren in Sakahn Gyi village last week: "I just telephoned Thomas Tial Hoe in Myaung Mya town. He left Yangon on Tuesday 1 July at 8:30 a.m. by bus. He arrived safely in Myaung Mya at 3:00 p.m. He said roads were very bad with big holes here and there. He saw many uprooted and fallen trees on the way. Upon arrival, the brethren were very happy to see him. They were very sad when Thomas informed them that I was not able to visit them. Thomas told me none of the brethren were affected by the cyclone. Only trees have fallen in between the brethren's houses. Due to the price increase in oil, rice and other commodities, they face some financial difficulties. The money I gave him is sufficient for the next two months. I have also given a box of clothing for the brethren. He will be keeping the Sabbath in Sakahan Gyi village and will return home on Monday, 7 July, reaching Kalaymyo on 11 July. Thomas thanked the Church for the financial help and mentioned that the brethren's houses need some repairs in Sakahan Gyi village."
South Africa Update
Mr. Pieter van der Byl, South Africa Area Pastor, writes: "We have been experiencing good growth in contacts with the Church—especially in the Johannesburg/Pretoria area. Mr. Louis Bouwer has had visits with some eighteen new people (a few of whom are now attending). Five of these are near candidates for baptism, while three others are potential baptisms a little further into the future. We've also had eleven new visits in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces with some very motivated new people."
Northeast USA Update
Mr. Jonathan McNair, Northeast Area Pastor, reports: "The summer is off to a busy start. On the first Sunday in June, I enjoyed the opportunity to visit with the Maine brethren at a Bible Study…. Pentecost went well throughout the area [….] Our Holy Day attendance for the area is averaging 183, while our regular Sabbath service attendance was at 154 for June, 154 for May, and 164 for April [….] We had three baptisms in the Long Island/New York congregation this month, with more counseling for baptism right now [….] As far as responses to the telecast, currently, we've had 22,434 new adds. The majority of them are in the New York area, which explains why we have the most GOTOs from New York. The commercial stations in Providence and Boston also have a strong impact [….] We had a Church picnic in Corning on June 22, which was the first for that congregation in many years. We had an enjoyable Campout/Picnic in the Poconos area for New Jersey/New York members on June 28. Forty people attended the Sabbath activities, though only a handful camped overnight."
Bluegrass Weekend Festival
The Columbia, Missouri congregation is hosting the First Hopefully-Annual LCG Bluegrass Campout over Labor Day weekend, from August 29 through September 1. We will have Sabbath services under the tent, followed by an evening of pickin' and grinnin' around various campfires, climaxing in stage performances under the tent on Sunday. If you play bluegrass music or are just looking to come camp out and enjoy some great music, this is the weekend for you! We have reserved space for the event at the Kan-do Kampground, and we absolutely must have an accurate count of those attending, whether you are performing or just enjoying the music. Please visit www.eastmissourilcg.org (not an official Church website) and click on "LCG Bluegrass Weekend" under the "Links" section for detailed information, including costs and registration forms. We need everyone registered no later than August 8, so get going—and we'll see you there!—Wallace Smith
Comments
Are You Positive or Negative? Are you a positive or negative person? Do you grumble and complain about things and find fault with people? Or do you see the positive aspects of situations? The Apostle Paul emphasized that real Christians are positive people with a positive outlook on life. He writes, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31) and "we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). Paul encouraged Christians, "Rejoice in the Lord always" and think on those things that are noble, just, pure, lovely, and whatever is of good report (Philippians 4:4, 8). He also admonished Christians, "Do all things without complaining and disputing [without grumbling, arguing and finding fault with others]" (Philippians 2:14). His message is essentially "focus on the positive and eliminate the negative." Long ago, Solomon wrote, "An ungodly man digs up evil, and it is on his lips like a burning fire" (Proverbs 16:27). Jude warns Christians that people who murmur and complain—and cause divisions—do not have or are not being led by God's Spirit (Jude 16-19). Sometimes, even in the Church of God, we can forget that when we make or listen to accusations about other people, we can become tools in the hands of "the accuser of our brethren" himself, Satan the devil (Revelation 12:10). Let's remember these biblical admonitions to be positive, and resist temptations to make negative accusations about others.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—July 10, 2008
Preparing for the Third Temple. Last week, the "Temple Institute [in Jerusalem] started preparing to build a Third Temple on Jerusalem's Mount Moriah, the site of the Dome of the Rock and the Aksa [Al-Aqsa] mosque, by inaugurating a workshop that manufactures priestly garments… Priestly garments have not been worn since the destruction of the Second Temple by Rome in 70 CE and cannot be functional until a Third Temple is constructed." High ranking leaders of the Temple Institute feel that Muslims will be "supportive" when the Temple is ready to be built. "We already have some Muslims who are secretly in touch with us," said Rabbi Yehuda Glick, director of the Institute (Jerusalem Post, July 1, 2008). The Temple Institute has already constructed many of the implements necessary to conduct the Temple rites. Critics dismiss ideas of a future Temple or Temple rites, but the Bible speaks of the resumption of Temple sacrifices, and their termination, three and a half years prior to Christ's return (Daniel 9:27; 11:29-31; 12:11; Luke 21:19-20). Temple sacrifices are a sign we are approaching the end of the age, and there is movement within Israel to make them a reality again.
America on a High! According to a World Health Organization study, the United States leads the world in the use of marijuana and cocaine (Reuters, July 1, 2008). Researchers writing for the journal PLOS Medicine found in a study surveying 54,000 people in 17 countries, that 16% in the U.S. had used cocaine at some time in their lives, while 42% had tried marijuana. Forty-nine percent of New Zealanders reported marijuana use; 4.3% of Kiwis acknowledged cocaine use, putting their nation in the number two spot for drug-use behind the United States. Tobacco use is on the decline; though 74% of Americans reports having used tobacco in the past, just 21% are currently using it. Alcohol consumption is widespread; 60% of Western European teens start drinking by their 15th birthday, and 99% have tried alcohol by age 21—which compares to 94% in New Zealand, 93% in North and South America and 92% in Japan. Affluent Western nations' demand for illegal drugs continues to fuel a lucrative market serviced by criminal drug cartels and revolutionary movements in South America and Asia. Many of the world's youth see no future, and seek to numb life's sorrows with mind-altering substances. "Their soul melts because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end" (Psalm 107:26-27).
A North Pole Without Ice? What would happen if Earth's northern polar ice cap were to melt? We may soon find out! Researchers at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado say there is a 50% chance that the thin Arctic Sea ice will soon melt away completely at the geographic North Pole—possibly by this coming September. Mark Serreze, senior research scientist at the Center, told CNN correspondent Alan Duke, "We kind of have an informal betting pool going around in our center, and that betting pool is, 'does the North Pole melt this summer?'—and it may well." Serreze and many of his fellow scientists had long predicted that the North Pole ice would melt. However, they had estimated a melting date sometime between 2050 and 2100, and are astonished by the increased pace of melting in recent years. The Arctic ice cap has been growing thinner over the last few decades, as the Earth has warmed. In 2007, the ice receded enough to open the fabled "Northwest Passage" allowing ships to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean by following a route between Canada and the North Pole (The Independent, June 27, 2008; CNN, June 27, 2008). The Creator God, who controls the weather, is moving quickly to bring His plans to fruition. "From the chamber of the south comes the whirlwind and cold from the scattering winds of the north. By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen" (Job 37:9-10). As massive areas of ice thaw, revealing open ocean, this has the potential to also greatly affect global weather patters—weather patterns that God prophesies will greatly impact the Earth at the end of the age.—Don Davis and Scott Winnail