Greetings from Charlotte,
This week we are working on plans for the Feast of Tabernacles in 2008 and beyond, preparing course outlines and lectures for the second semester of Living University, and planning budgets for the coming year. Last weekend I visited congregations in Jacksonville and Live Oak, Florida. It was very encouraging to meet with the dedicated brethren in those areas. Please announce that registration for the Spring Semester of Living University ends on Tuesday, January 15, and that classes will begin on Wednesday, January 16. Late registration will be allowed from January 16 to January 18. If you plan to enroll, please do so as soon as possible.
From the Presiding Evangelist
Dear fellow servants of Christ,
Thanks to all of you, very much, for your continued service, your loyalty and the encouraging notes and calls. I do thank God regularly for what all of you are doing—and also for the wonderful help that so many of you wives are providing as well in Christ's service.
Things are going well here at Headquarters, for which we are thankful. As you have heard, we had a wonderful 15th Anniversary celebration with an outstanding dinner and dance—with live music. We had quite a number of seminars for the young people, the married people and the singles. Everyone seemed to deeply appreciate all these activities—and the warmth and love which all this generated. We are now hoping to have one of these events every year during the winter break—since so many of our families and young people are off work or away from college and high school. Please let us know your thoughts on this. Also, the income has been satisfactory—though January is normally low. However, we did receive a very fine check from a lady in the Church which will greatly increase our year end income figures. Since anything over $20,000 cannot be included in our "daily income figures"—since it skews the percentages—this will not be shown until the end of the year. But since it was rather large, it is a great blessing to start off the year this way! We continue to get good requests for visits and we are getting reports of new people coming to Church from quite a number of areas.
However, I want to deeply impress on all of you the genuine need to please try to get out to these "Go Tos" as soon as you possibly can! As you know, when people are "new" to the Truth, and "uncertain" as to what kind of people we are and what kind of service they may get, many simply lose interest or get distracted if we are too long in getting to them. Please understand this, fellow ministers! So I want to strongly encourage you to so schedule your time that either you, personally, or one of the leading elders can get out to all these people at the very earliest opportunity. I ask you, in Jesus' name, please make this a top priority! I would appreciate it very much, personally, and I am sure that it will help new people come on into the Church and help us "grow" the Work as we desperately need to do.
As you know, world events continue to fulfill nearly all of the fundamental prophecies we have preached for so long. This is very encouraging—as we see that Christ's coming is going to occur very soon. So we all need to do everything we can to bear down in our personal spiritual lives and take time for personal, in-depth Bible study, heartfelt prayer, and fasting. As we heartfeltly "seek God"—and ask Him to help us learn every lesson and draw us closer to Him—I hope we will also pray that God will begin to give us the "gifts" of divine healing and casting out demons so we can demonstrate to the world that there is a real God and that He has true servants on earth today. This gift of healing—plus casting out demons—will greatly encourage God's people, and it will certainly validate this Work of God even to carnal people to the extent God opens their minds. As you know, it was one of the major things Jesus told His disciples to do as He sent them out (Matt. 10)—and even as He sent out the "seventy others also" (Luke 10). For Jesus commanded them to: 1. Preach the Gospel; 2. Heal the sick; 3. Cast out demons. Since Jesus Christ is "the same yesterday, today and forever" (Heb. 13:8), I think we can absolutely know that it is God's will for us to have these gifts today to the degree that we are close to Him and have real faith in His promises. So let us do our part in these things, fellows, and cry out to God that we—His end-time servants—may have a significant impact on this world and honor Him in the way we prepare for Christ's Second Coming.
My thoughts and prayers are with all of you. I hope that you will pray for us here that we may also do our parts with dedication and wisdom. Thanks again for your help and your prayers.
Your brother in Christ,
Roderick C. Meredith
Church Administration
Healing
Mr. Gary Ehman, pastor of the Statesville, North Carolina, congregation informed us that last Sunday night, the husband of one of our members suffered a stroke, and was taken to the hospital. His daughter phoned him to pray about the situation, "saying her father was barely able to form words and both his left leg and left arm were paralyzed."
While the doctors were working on him in the emergency room, God must have intervened and healed him. Mr. Ehman adds, "My wife and I saw him in the emergency room shortly after and he was speaking normally and had complete use of his left side, as if nothing had happened." We are told that the doctors were amazed and even said there was some sort of intervention.
Church Survey
USA Area Pastors, please be reminded that the Church Survey sent to you needs to be returned to Headquarters by January 23. The Church Survey is important for updating the contact information, as well as baptism and birth dates, of those attending the Living Church of God.
Kenya Update
The trouble in Kenya has been building for some time because of tribal envy and anger. The ruling party (Kikuyu) has been accused of favoring its people and not the people in the west (Luo). Kenya is poor everywhere, but poorer in the west. I can report from our deacon in Kenya, Mr. Simon Muthama, that all of our members are safe and well. Mr. Muthama has visited the regions and the trouble is not occurring where our members are.—Rod King
Spanish Update
On Sunday, January 13, we will begin airing the Spanish radio broadcast, El Mundo de Mañana, for the first time in Cochabamba, Bolivia. We request the prayers of the brethren for the success of this new open door. Additionally, we are in the final production stages of the Spanish editions of the booklets Restoring Apostolic Christianity and Who Controls the Weather? They will be titled, respectively, Restauración del cristianismo original and ¿Quién tiene el poder sobre el clima?
Finance Department
As we put the final touches on our financial statements for 2007, it appears that we will end the year with an increase in regular income of 5.7 percent, which is slightly ahead of our budgeted increase in income of 5.5 percent. When special offerings and restricted donations are factored in, it will be even higher. Complete details will be provided when the books on 2007 are closed.
This fine increase in income is convincing proof that God's people have their hearts in doing the Work of preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and in "Feeding the Flock." As a Church, we are few in number, but, with God's help, our combined efforts make it possible to have an impact around the globe.
A hearty "Thank you" to all of you, members, co-workers and donors, for your financial support made up of tithes, offerings and special gifts. Thank you, especially, for your prayers for the success of the Work.—Davy Crockett
Media
New Booklet: Armageddon and Beyond
Armageddon and Beyond, Mr. Richard F. Ames' new booklet—which was offered in Dr. Meredith's most recent "semi-annual" letter to Tomorrow's World subscribers—has been mailed to all Living Church of God member households. If you have access to the MyLCG area of the Member Resources website (www.cogl.org -- the same site you may have used for Festival registration last year), please go to the site's Literature Tracking area when you receive your copy, and record the date on which it was delivered. This will help the Mail Processing Department work with the U.S. Postal Service to improve delivery times. Thank you for your help!
Reviving the Work (DVD)
For the 15th Anniversary Sabbath service here in Charlotte, the Media Department put together a sermonette-length DVD (from clips of recent Feast films) recounting some of the significant milestones of the Church during the last 15 years. We are planning to duplicate and distribute this 15th Anniversary DVD, "Reviving the Work," to all our congregations with the next package of regular sermons. We hope you will enjoy it!
Mail Processing
Once again, we are asking for those who have Internet access to report online when they received mail from Headquarters. We appreciate your help in this project, as it greatly enhances our ability to work with the postal services, and hopefully to improve delivery times to all our brethren. To participate, go to the LCG Member Resources website www.cogl.org and click on MyLCG. Then enter your username and password, or follow the instructions to create an account, then go to "Literature Tracking" and enter the date on which you received your literature.
Comments
The Value of Counsel: One of the common pitfalls of life is trusting in our own judgment when we only see part of a picture. When we make decisions or take actions based on how we see a problem, the results can be costly to ourselves and to others. This is why Solomon wrote in Proverbs 3:5, "lean not on your own understanding;" and in Proverbs 3:7, "Do not be wise in your own eyes;" and again in Proverbs 28:26, "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool…" Solomon also warns in Proverbs 14:12 "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." To help us avoid making serious mistakes in life, God inspired Solomon to write in Proverbs 11:14, "Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety;" and again in Proverbs 15:22, "Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established." We can obtain wise and valuable advice from prayerfully studying the book of Proverbs and from seeking counsel from parents, the ministry, and from more experienced friends and associates who can be objective and help us see a bigger picture than we perceive on our own.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—January 10, 2008
Middle-Eastern Common Market. Six wealthy Persian Gulf nations are working to create a "Common Market" where each will recognize the others as economic equals. Although some forecast this common market will strain the economies of some of the nations, the overall prognosis is positive. Workers and citizens from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will also be able "to work, buy houses and companies, trade shares, go to school and receive medical treatment in all six states" (BBC.com, January 2, 2007). This new group will work together for the benefit of the entire group. God prophesied of a future league of Middle East nations known as the King of the South. This powerful group of nations will be primarily located "south" of Jerusalem and will eventually push hard against the King of the North, or Beast power, in order to rid the Holy City and region from the power and influence of the "infidel." Eventually, the King of the South will be overrun by this Beast power (see Daniel 11). The creation of this "Gulf State Common Market" could facilitate the development of the prophesied King of the South.
France Leads Europe Closer to "The Church." In a recent statement, French President Nicolas Sarkozy appealed to the French to remember their "Christian" [Catholic] roots. In a speech at the Vatican, Sarkozy referred to the French as the "eldest daughter of the Church"—a historical title now seldom used in France. Playing to strong nationalistic sentiments that the French place on their own culture, Mr. Sarkozy observed, "Like Benedict XVI, I think that a nation which ignores the ethical, spiritual and religious legacy of its history commits a crime against its culture." He also noted, "We need the contribution of the Catholic Church as well as that of other great religious and spiritual movements to enlighten our choices and build our future" (International Herald Tribune.com, December 20, 2007). As a leader in the European Union, France's attitude toward the Catholic Church sets an example for other nations to follow. God predicted a time when a world-church would again lead the nations of Europe. Mr. Sarkozy's recent statements are certainly in keeping with God's prediction that the nations of Europe will return to the mother-church (Revelation 17:1-6, 17-18).
Are "Major" Earthquakes Increasing? According to a recent analysis of earthquakes worldwide by the U.S. Geological Survey, major earthquakes of a magnitude 8.0 and above increased dramatically in 2007. Since 1990, the average number of 8.0 or higher earthquakes worldwide was "one." In 2007, this number increased four-fold, to "four" (neic.usgs.gov/neis/eqlists/eqstats.html, December 27, 2007). At this point, there is insufficient data to suggest a "trend" in increased "major" seismic activity, however, powerful earthquakes are something that God tells us to watch for as signs of Christ's second coming and of the end of the age (Matthew 24:7). Scientists around the globe are predicting the "big one" that is overdue in various locations. New Zealand, for example, is a pair of volcanic islands that scientists predict could see major seismic activity in the future. Some scientists predict that a "major blow" of Mt. Taupo could literally take out the entire North Island (Sunday Star Times, October 1, 2006). A recent quake off the coast of New Zealand reinforces this concern (ABC News, December 21, 2007). God also warns that "earthquakes in various places" are just one of the signs that are identified as "the beginning of sorrows" (v. 8). Increased seismic activity is definitely something that bears close watching, as God's end-time prophecies continue to come to pass.—Scott Winnail and Phyllis Api