An Interview With Charles Groce and Vance Stinson

Transcription

1 Put on t he w hole a mo of G od ( Ephe s ia ns 6 : 1 3 ) Fall 2011 An Inteview With Chales Goce and Vance Stinson fom The Jounal Ove the yeas, the Chuch of God Intenational moved away fom authoitaianism hee s why... by Wesley White Chales Goce TYLER, Texas The Chuches of God continue to demonstate thei ability to divide athe than unite. So say two ministes of the Tyle-based Chuch of God Intenational (CGI). In Mach 2011, in a convesation with this wite, these gentlemen expessed thei concen with what they say is a dangeous tend among some of the beakaway Chuch of God goups towad cultism and mind contol. The following ae excepts of an inteview by this wite with M. Goce, CGI Boad Chaiman, and M. Stinson, CGI Editoial Diecto. Founded in 1978 Wes White: Fo those unfamilia with the CGI, could you povide some backgound? M. Goce: The Chuch of God Intenational emeged fom the WCG (Woldwide Chuch of God) in 1978 and was established in Tyle, Texas. It was founded by fou fome membes of the Woldwide Chuch of God. Gane Ted Amstong was the pesident of the chuch until he esigned and fomed the ICG, the Intecontinental Chuch of God, in (See Gane Ted Amstong and CGI Pating, The Jounal, Issue No. 12, dated Januay 30, 1998.) Since that time, the CGI has gone though quite a leaning cuve, placing an emphasis on the message of the Gospel athe than its messenges. The CGI etains a stong fidelity to the teachings and doctines the oganization had when it began. We advance ou beliefs though ou television pogam titled Amo of God, and have congegations in the United States, Canada, Jamaica, Austalia, the Philippines, along with ou affiliates in Afica. Who Was the Founde? Wes White: You say fome WCG membes founded the CGI. Is it not coect to say it was founded by Gane Ted Amstong? M. Stinson: Let me speak to that point. Yes, it would be coect. Most eveyone in the Chuches of God views him as the founde. Howeve, othes wee involved: Shiley Amstong, Benny Shap, and Guy Canes. All wee fome membes of the WCG. Wes White: Did the WCG disfellowship GTA because of his involvement in the founding of the CGI? M. Stinson: No, he was disfellowshipped befoe he founded the CGI. Wes White: What is you title and pimay esponsibility in the CGI? M. Stinson: I seve as a ministe in the local Tyle congegation and povide editoial ovesight fo ou publications. I also seve on the boad of diectos. Vance Stinson Wes White: Chales, thee seems to be some confusion egading you position in the CGI. Some see you as the pesident o top man. Ae you the pesident, vice pesident, pasto geneal, o what? M. Goce: It is coect to say I am pesently chaiman of the boad of diectos, a position subject to eelection evey thee yeas. We cetainly do not have a pasto geneal. If asked how I should be intoduced, ministe and pasto woks well. Wes White: Can you please give us an update on whee CGI is at this time? Whee the CGI Is M. Goce: It s had to believe, but the CGI has been in existence fo moe than 30 yeas. Those of us aound in the late 70s and 80s can emembe thee was a lot going on in the Chuch of God movement then. It s easy to foget, and maybe we should, given how taumatic those days wee. Thee was a cisis in leadeship. Those in chage esoted to a pimacy-ofpete type of authoity, and this quickly tuned into spiitual abuse. The outcome was devastating. At the time, the CGI was petty much an unknown. To some degee, the same is tue today. Wes White: Why is this tue today? Some Like to Maginalize M. Goce: In the late 70s and ealy 80s, thee was a peception molded by the WCG ministy that any goup othe than the one tue chuch was somehow illegitimate. GTA had been maked, and this negative banding not only delegitimized him, but it also caied ove to the handful of people who joined the CGI in its ealiest days. Gowth came vey slowly. Ou viability was maginalized. In etospect, we didn t fully ealize how we wee peceived. The negative publicity ciculating about GTA in the middle 90s futhe contibuted to the questions about ou viability. Fo undestandable easons, we petty much dopped off the ada. It s safe to say that the CGI of 2011 is diffeent than the one thee decades ago. Oganizations can lean fom thei past. We have. Paul explained thee would be diffeences of administations o sevice, and a divesity of opeations o wokings. We ve expeienced what he efeed to as manifestation of the Spiit, having leaned a good deal moe about demonstating Chistian love. INTERVIEW, continued on page 3

2 2 Why Not Make This You Best Feast Eve? Yea by yea we hea mention of the best Feast eve. How can this be? Does this just happen... o is thee something you can DO to assue each Feast will be you best Feast eve? by Lloyd W. Cay It s coming! FEAST FEVER! Can you feel it in the ai? Do you find you tempeatue ising with excitement as you think and plan fo this yea s Feast of Tabenacles? I can. We hea much talk about this being the best Feast eve. How is this possible? How can each Feast be bette than the last? Does it just happen, o is thee something you can do to assue it? To keep fom having an accidental Feast, some planning is necessay. Thee is an old Lloyd W. Cay saying, Neve put off until tomoow what you can do today. Let s examine some ways to assue this yea s Feast is the BEST FEAST EVER. Make a Checklist Begin a small notebook and make a checklist of the things that you need to do befoe leaving fo the Feast and the items you want to take: Notify wok o school well in advance Stop mail and newspape Make aangements fo pets Motel esevations Maps, tou book, GPS Tavele s checks Ca: tune-up, oil, lube, filte, ties Bible, pen, and notebook Camea Alam clock Foesight saves stess. Now you will have to admit that if you went to the Feast and fogot any of these items, then this could have ceated some stess fo youself at the Feast. Plan Seveal Activities Ahead of Time Each Feast site is unique. Each site offes something special, pehaps the beach, watefalls, theme paks, amusement ides, skiing, hoseback iding, camping, hiking, histoical attactions, etc. To find out about activities and estauants, you can wite to the Chambe of Commece of the festival site city and equest infomation. You could also get on you compute and seach out infomation o contact you automobile association fo maps and infomation. Pehaps the best way is to talk to fiends and people who have been thee befoe. Talk to the family afte you eceive you infomation on activities and plan some activities ahead of time. This helps to build excitement in going to the Feast, especially fo you childen. Pay fo the Best Feast Eve Stat paying ahead of time that God will bless this yea s Feast of Tabenacles. Pay fo the sites whee God will be putting His name. Pay that these sites will be safe havens fo God s people, whee they can woship God in peace and hamony, eat good clean food and paticipate in wholesome activities and eceation. Pay that God would inspie the speaking and the heaing. Pay that the semon messages will be positive, uplifting, and beneficial to all the bethen. Pay fo God s potection fo all of God s people while they ae taveling to, duing, and fom the Feast. Pay fo a positive attitude fo youself, you family, and all of God s people. It seems that at this time of yea, Satan ties to influence us with tials and tests to see if he can get us into a bad attitude. Don t let little annoyances bothe you while you ae at the festival site. Be patient. When you go to a estauant o a eceational activity, thee will be longe lines to wait in due to the influx of people attending the Feast. James 5:16 says: The effectual fevent paye of a ighteous man availeth much. Pay fo the BEST FEAST EVER. Seve the Best Feast Eve Plan now to seve at the Feast. Voluntees ae piceless! Thee ae many, many ways to seve: Fo example: Make someone new in the chuch feel welcome. Voluntee to be an ushe, sing in the choi, o wok in the fist-aid oom o mothe s oom. Voluntee to give ides to sevices. Send cads o phone those at home who wee unable to attend. Keep you hotel oom neat. Plan to leave a geneous tip fo the maid. Othes ae obseving us. Leave geneous tips fo the waite o the waitess. Offe to babysit so a couple can attend special events. Plan to have an evening alone. Invite fatheless childen and thei mothes to an activity. Include those with non-membe mates in you activities. Pick up scaps of pape and tash on the floo. Seve up a smile. Povebs 18:24 says, A man that hath fiends must shew himself fiendly. The main ingedient in being fiendly is to smile. It s FREE! It does not cost anything to smile. You can use you smile to beak the ice in talking with a stange. You smile will put both of you at ease, so you can begin a convesation with you new fiend. In summay: 1) Develop a checklist; 2) Plan seveal activities ahead of time; 3) Pay fo the best Feast eve; and 4) Seve at the Feast. If you apply these fou points, you will have the BEST FEAST EVER. Visit us at TIMMS ST., TYLER, TX is the official newspape of The Chuch of God Intenational, Tyle, Texas, USA. Copyight 2010 The Chuch of God Intenational. All ights eseved. Edito-In-Chief: Vance A. Stinson Edito: Lloyd W. Cay Contibuting Wites: Lloyd W. Cay, Evan J. Chase, Lonnie C. Hendix, Mike James, Bill Watson, and to the many contibutos who made this publication possible, thank you. Poduction: Lloyd W. Cay Chief Executive Office: Chales E. Goce Business Manage: Benny Shap NOTICE: The Intenational News welcomes submissions of aticles, featues, chuch news, pictues, o manuscipts. Howeve, it cannot be esponsible fo the etun of unsolicited mateials. All mateials submitted should be accompanied by a stamped, self-addessed envelope. OVERSEAS OFFICES: Austalia: Ministe, Heb Haupt: The Chuch of God Intenational, PO Box 171, Boonah, Queensland 4310, Austalia Canada: Ministe, John Coish: The Chuch of God Intenational, 900 Oxfod St., PO Box 33034, London, Ontaio, Canada N5Y 5A1 Jamaica: Ministe, Ian Boyne: The Chuch of God Intenational, 60 Caincuan Ave., Westen Dist. PO, St Andew, Kingston, Jamaica Philippines: Ministe, Rene Copuz: The Chuch of God Intenational, 7 Opal St., Seveina Subdiv, KM 18 South Supehighway, Paanaque, Meto Manila, Philippines. ene@cgiphils.og CGI Website: CGI info@cgi.og Phone:

3 INTERVIEW, continued fom page 1 We feel ou effots to each out to all people, including othe COG (Chuch of God) goups, is what Jesus expects us to do. To that end, we have co-sponsoed festivals with othe COG goups and invited thei speakes to speak at ou sevices. We look fo oppotunities to bing membes of the body togethe athe than keep them apat. Wes White: When you say Chuch of God movement, I assume you mean the Sabbath-keeping Chuches of God that can tace thei oots back to the WCG. Can I assume that fo some eason you ae not including the Chuch of God Seventh Day in this? M. Goce: That s ight. The Chuch of God Seventh Day was viable long befoe the WCG. And since you mentioned the Chuch of God Seventh Day, I think it would be emiss of me not to mention the coutesy of thei leadeship towad the CGI. Fo many yeas, many of us in the Chuch of God movement wee told CG7 (Chuch of God Seventh Day) was Sadis (a efeence to a congegation on a mail oute mentioned in Revelation 3), o spiitually dead. Nothing could be futhe fom the tuth. They imagine this! find it within themselves to speak honoably of diffeent Sabbath-keeping ministies. We should do the same towad them. Wes White: Just what do you mean manifestation of the Spiit? Can you give an example? Using Gifts M. Goce: The use of manifestation of Spiit is meant to be undestood as Paul pesents it to those at Cointh. He s acknowledging thei individual gifts, which eflect the Holy Spiit at wok in them. He exhots them to use thei gifts. He was not advancing glossolalia, o outbusts of unestained chatte o behavio at chuch. If someone has a ecognizable gift let s say in peaching o being compassionate allow them expession within the chuch. Old WCG Doctines? Wes White: Ae the doctines of the CGI still petty much the doctines of the old WCG? M. Stinson: Ou basic doctines emain the same. We have debated items such as the thid esuection and the two goats of the Atonement itual, but we ve made no fomal changes. Unfotunately, the CGI is sometimes accused of changing doctines, o at least holding doctines it does not hold. Fo instance, accoding to a PowePoint pesentation appaently used in one of the lage COG s as pat of its pastoal taining pogam, one of the doctinal diffeences between that oganization and the CGI is that the CGI teaches tithing is pesonal, and not a law. I don t know whee that idea came fom, but it cetainly didn t come fom the CGI s official Statement of Beliefs and pactice, which states plainly that the chuch teaches the giving of tithes because it is the law of God and that the withholding of one s tithes, which violates that law, is a sin. I wote to that oganization about this and othe misinfomation in thei PowePoint pesentation, but I haven t eceived a esponse yet. No Magisteium Wes White: So how do CGI doctines diffe fom those of othe Sabbath-keeping Chuches of God? M. Stinson: We do not have a vesion of holy tadition o a magisteial office as a souce of tuth alongside the Bible. HWA (Hebet W. Amstong, who founded the Radio Chuch of God in 1927 o 1934), was a man of vision and did a geat wok, but he was not the pophesied Elijah. Those who claim he was have ceated thei own vesion of holy tadition which is simila to the Catholic and Othodox view. Thei undestanding of Sciptue is guided by HWA s teaching o the cuent apostle s intepetation of holy tadition. The guys who hold the HWA was Elijah view ae tying to knock each othe off the apostolic thone. This seems to be the pimay teaching authoity of the so-called Philadelphia chuch. (Philadelphia was anothe Revelation 3 congegation.) By contast, the CGI and a numbe of the othe Chuches of God ae much close to the ealie yeas of HWA s ministy, when he opposed the pimacy of Pete and the use of titles such as apostle. Those who believe as an aticle of faith that an infallible magisteial office was established in the ministy of HWA ae being consistent when they insist that doctines such as chuch eas and the place of safety ae dogmas of the tue faith. But any goup that believes the Bible alone sola sciptua is ou authoity fo establishing tuth, as HWA did fo at least the geate pat of his ministy, has absolutely no business dogmatizing such ideas as those. Philadelphia Chuch Wes White: When you say Philadelphia chuch, what ae you efeing to? Geald Fluy s goup? The sixth chuch as mentioned in Revelation? M. Stinson: Fist, I have in mind the belief that the seven chuches of Revelation epesent seven successive eas of the tue chuch, and that the Philadelphia ea exists today. Second, I am thinking of those who believe thei goup is the Philadelphia chuch. Reades of The Jounal will know which goups I have in mind. Thid, I m efeing to a mindset that has gown out of the old WCG s Philadelphia Chuch We e Special sentiment. Geneally, those who claim a special divinely appointed apostolic o pophetic office think of thei followes as the faithful emnant, and othe COG goups as defective, if not outight apostate o simply as Laodicean. Read the ads in The Jounal and you ll find examples. It is a seious mistake to give such impotance to an idea that is, at best, speculative. Chist Himself tells us what the seven lamp stands of John s vision in Revelation 1 epesent. They epesent the seven chuches of Asia, and we e told pecisely whee the seven chuches ae located. If we say the seven chuches may epesent seven successive eas, we must admit that the Revelato Himself does not say so. Theefoe, we must conclude that, at best, the eas view is a theoy. It is not something we can pove, and cetainly not something we should hang ou eschatological hats on. Now, it is possible that someone will claim God diectly evealed to him that the seven chuches ae seven chuch eas. Okay, fine. But, if I accepted that peson s claim as a dogma of faith, then I would be elying on a souce of infomation outside the Bible. When I say we cannot pove the chuch eas theoy, I have in mind people who take the Bible as the only souce of divine evelation. Administative Mattes Wes White: How is the CGI diffeent in administative mattes? M. Goce: We get this question a lot. People want to know how the CGI diffes fom United, Philadelphia, Living, etc. It is easy to point out doctinal diffeences whee they exist. But those diffeences don t fully explain the copoate and associated membe esistance to not only the CGI, but any goup outside thei own. Some COG goups tend to avoid each othe because they woy about losing thei membes. We ve expeienced this when CGI congegations have extended the hand of fellowship to all COG goups within a cetain aea though a picnic, shaing speakes, etc. Almost without exception, the lage copoate oganizations esist o ignoe the invitation, while some splinte goups ae moe inclined to paticipate. We ealize God s people ae not a copoate possession. CGI membes know bethen woship in oganizations outside ou own, and can choose to associate and woship with them without ecimination. Some membes in othe oganizations who would like to do moe with the CGI and othe goups, but feel they can t, will often say, pehaps out of futility, they have to accept that it s going to be that way until Chist comes back, and then He ll get us all togethe. Well, it doesn t have to be that way. Let s not give up what God s Spiit moves people to do; let s give way to it. It makes moe sense if you eally want to live Matthew 5, 6, and 7, to have coopeation now so we will be seving togethe then when He etuns. Leaning to Seve Wes White: You often say the CGI is leaning a sevant leadeship type of ministy. What does that mean? M. Goce: Many people who discove the CGI tend to come fom a hieachical chuch stuctue. By the time they come to one of ou sevices, they have head a lot about govenment fom the top down. They have a peception that the ministe is in a position of divine authoity ove them. It s as if they have been policed athe than nutued. Those in fellowship with the CGI find an emphasis on helping each othe s joy. CGI membes ae encouaged to espond to thei natual impulse fo seving howeve they can. The CGI is becoming inceasingly familia with sevant leadeship. We ae leaning to openly tust the authoity of Sciptue athe than blindly tusting those who claim they have authoity ove us. Some people don t like the expeience. Othes do. Fom what we ve obseved, those who stuggle with sevant leadeship don t undestand how it woks, o they haven t actually given it a good ty. We feel thee is administative guidance to Jesus instuction in Luke 12: He taught the disciples that the faithful and wise stewad was and is, in fact, the sevant mentioned in vese 43. We ae to be sevants one to anothe, especting each othe s gifts. We ae discoveing that pimus inte paes, o fist among equals, is a biblical pinciple ooted in humility. It is not competitive o jealous; it is complementay and suppotive. Walking alongside each othe is diffeent than having to walk behind all the time. Leaning to tust each othe is an eye opene. Appoaching Pophecy Wes White: Many Sabbath-keeping Chuches of God seem to have a totally diffeent appoach to peaching the Gospel and teaching pophecy fom what the WCG did yeas ago. Has the CGI changed in this egad? M. Goce: I ll talk about the peaching of the Gospel. Vance, maybe you d like to talk about pophecy. M. Stinson: Sue. You fist. M. Goce: Like so many COG goups, we too ae attached to the mission of peaching and publishing the Gospel. We have booklets, Bible study lessons, CDs, an Infuse pogam fo young adults, and a weekly television pogam, Amo of God. Pesently, the telecast is viewed on two pimay netwoks. In Canada, we e on the Vision Netwok, and in the U.S., we e on Wod. We have a vaiety of speakes hosting the pogam, each with thei own appeal and appoach. CGI suppotes ae dawn to Jesus pesonal impeative to seek and save the lost. Ou collective effots ae analogous to a community that s woking togethe to find those who ae lost. Although each of us will go looking on ou own, thee is something to be said fo looking togethe. Thee s no doubt that individual, pesonal effot is impotant, but look at what could be accomplished collectively. It seems such a waste of esouces to have so many oganizations peppeing the weekend television slots with thei band of the tuth. Some will say it s bette that way. I don t think so. It s a poven INTERVIEW, continued on page 4 3

4 4 INTERVIEW, continued fom page 3 Do Pogams Contol? fact that too many choices cause people to not Wes White: You talk about the poblem of contol pacticed by othe chuch oganizations. Some choose at all. Has anyone counted the numbe of God s might ague that the CGI s administative body is tue chuches today? The lost see oganizations doing the same thing with a so-called leadeship clamoing to be the one and only tue chuch. I pogam. Aen t leadeship pogams an attempt to don t believe that is what Jesus had in mind fo contol? a witness to the wold. M. Goce: Some ae, some aen t. Ous isn t. We povide a venue fo men and women to come togethe to lean about seving God and each othe. They voluntee to paticipate. They ae encouaged to identify thei pesonal gifts, those natual and spiitual abilities they have to seve the chuch. Pogam fo Young Adults Wes White: A few minutes ago you mentioned something called Infuse. What is that? M. Goce: Infuse is a pogam designed fo young adults. It isn t just fo CGI. It s open to young people in othe chuches. The pogam is led by qualified voluntees who tun to the ministy fo ovesight. Thei mission is to teach biblical pinciples and help young adults establish and maintain thei elationship with God the Fathe and Jesus Chist. The age goup that Infuse cates to is 18 30, but it does involve olde adults who help suppot the pogam. Infuse membes poduce a quately magazine called Infuse. They maintain thei own website, and they wok togethe to seve thei local chuches and communities. Collective Impossibility Wes White: You seem to think the Chuches of God, including independents, should do moe togethe. Is such thinking ealistic? M. Goce: Appaently, at least fo the pesent, it appeas it is not possible fo the vaious Chuch of God oganizations to wok collectively togethe. I ve head it said that chuch leades ae the poblem. I can t dispute that easoning. Too many leades see themselves as being special. Look at all the claims to being the end-time Elijah, o one of the two witnesses, o God s apostle. Whee did all that come fom? Why do we have to be someone special? To my knowledge, no one today has poven themselves to be publicly gifted in pophecy o healing. Those who claim to have those gifts have, at best, a vey spotty ecod. If you want to find the special ones, look at the people we seve. They ae the ones who have suvived the gistmill of ministeial abuse, self-poclaimed impotance, facical pedictions, cultic manipulation, and hypocisy. The fact that a body of believes even exists is a miacle. Seving them is a pivilege that has to be eaned. I wish thee wee some way fo God s people to eally wok closely togethe. The collective voice would be substantially geate than the lesse voices that speak apat. Going Fowad Wes White: Looking ahead, what is the CGI doing fo its futue leadeship? M. Goce: The ministeial council of the CGI the administative body which esponds to ecclesiastical needs has adopted a pogam fo leadeship development. This pogam, based upon pesonal mentoing and tust, is known as the Ministeial Appentice Pogam, o MAP. Those involved ae encouaged to identify thei paticula gifts, whethe as those who, as the apostle Pete put it, speak as the oacles of God, o those who ministe while using the abilities which God gives. In boad tems, those ae seving desciptions which speak to the competence of eldes and deacons. We have focused on discoveing how these appointments ae epesented in Sciptue. Undestanding the ole of chuch leades as well as that of chuch membes has not been easy. We ealized ou pespectives wee skewed because of decades-long exposue to contolling chuch authoity. Unfotunately, in a hieachical stuctue, the ability of deacons and eldes to complement each othe as they seve the chuch demands one be above the othe. Ou leadeship is leaning thee is no elevated status to seving. We ae to wok togethe as fists among equals. You lean to tust each othe s gifts. Headline Theology Wes White: Vance, how about the question of pophecy? M. Stinson: I think we have a moe balanced appoach to pophecy than in past yeas. We don t do the Time magazine in one hand and the Bible in the othe hand when we study o peach pophecy. We call that headline theology. Thee is nothing wong with connecting cuent tends with pophesied events, but we need to ecognize that doing that almost always involves some amount of speculation, and we must be caeful to avoid dogmatizing ou speculative ideas. When I look back though that big pile of Plain Tuth magazines (published by the Radio/ Woldwide Chuch of God) fom the 60s and 70s, I see all those aticles on things going on at the time. Just because some cuent event seems and let me emphasize that wod seems pophetically significant, doesn t mean it is. Chistians of past geneations who expeienced hoible plagues that killed tens of thousands, devastating eathquakes, was, famines, and what appeaed to be signs in the heavens, thought the end of the age was upon them. Some set dates fo the Second Coming. Othes thought they could detemine the geneal time of Chist s etun. But they wee all wong. When it seemed that the end was in sight, conditions impoved and time went on. We sometimes think things couldn t get much wose. But actually, they could get a lot wose. But by the same token, things could get a lot bette. How do we know that conditions will wosen in the next few yeas? We don t. An impotant message of the Olivet pophecy is to be pepaed at all times egadless of the conditions we see aound us. Watch Out Wes White: So do you keep up with wold events? M. Stinson: I cetainly do watch wold events. I watch TV news and ead magazine and newspape aticles on things going on in the wold. I think people ought to be infomed on what s going on. But let s be clea on this. When Jesus said watch ye theefoe, He most definitely did not mean to watch wold events. I emembe being paticulaly annoyed by a statement one self-poclaimed watchman made. He said, When I see all that s going on in the wold, I couldn t take a steady diet of love, faith, and hope. In othe wods, he couldn t undestand how anyone could focus on things like love, faith, and hope when thee wee so many news epots that can be easily tied to vaious pophetic texts. The same watchman made fun of the CGI, claiming that we wee no longe watching. Given the long histoy of failed pedictions and the COG has had its shae wisdom demands that we stay away fom dogmatism, and especially date setting, when it comes to linking cuent events to cheished pophetic scenaios, some of which may tun out to be in need of evision. How God Calls M. Stinson: And let me add a point about the peaching of the Gospel. We at CGI absolutely do emphasize peaching the Gospel. In ou tadition, we hea a lot about God calling people to the tuth. It is citical to undestand how God calls. He calls though the peaching of the Gospel. He may use othe things events in a peson s life, etc. But we must not fail to see that God s calling cetainly involves the peaching of the Gospel. The Holy Spiit acts synegistically with the peaching of the Gospel. When Paul said in Acts 17 that God is commanding all men eveywhee to epent, he meant that God s command to epent is going to all men though the peaching of the Gospel. When Jesus, in John 16, spoke of the Holy Spiit convicting the wold, He didn t mean this action of the Spiit would take place apat fom the peaching of the Gospel. The peaching of the Gospel is the calling o pat of it, at least and the peaching of the Gospel is not meely an announcement about a soon coming Kingdom, a stong hand fom someplace, o the diffeence between the give and get ways of life. It is an invitation to epent and believe. It is an effot to help bing people to convesion. Make no mistake. God does the calling, as we ve head countless times, but He calls though His use of willing human agents. No Pesceening Wes White: Many a COG goup out thee equies passing cetain tests befoe you can be consideed pat of that goup. Is the CGI that way? M. Goce: Ou fellowship is not exclusive. It is inclusive. It includes anyone in whom God is woking, including impefect people, and this cetainly extends to all COG membes. Thee is no sceening o qualifying of new people. It helps if we don t eect middle walls of patition, as mentioned in Paul s witings. These ae aleady boken down by Chist. Chist pomoted acceptance. Maybe all of God s people, including chuch leades, should ty and do the same. Not too long ago, I came acoss an inteesting question. The wite asked what does loving one anothe in the chuch look like. Jesus povided the answe and a desciption: By this shall all men know that you ae my disciples, if you have love one to anothe. The wite who asked the question went on to say, If the wold can know we ae Chistians by ou love fo one anothe, the wold can also fail to ecognize us as Chistians if we don t love one anothe. Gandhi said, I like you Chist, but I do not like you Chistians. You Chistians ae so unlike you Chist. Maybe it s time fo all of us to ty to look fo ways to advance the unity expected in Chist athe than continuing to wok only apat. Discipleship is the esult of a elationship. It s centeed on Chist and each othe. Fiendship among Chistians yes, even those outside you own oganization may not be eveything, but it is a place to stat. Moe Like a Family Wes White: The CGI is a legally incopoated entity like most of the othe goups, isn t it? M. Goce: Although the Chuch of God Intenational is a copoate entity, it is moe so a family. It s been that way since Ou fellowship is a divese goup of men and women with a emakable faith in Jesus Chist. Thei examples of sevice ae inspiational. Chistianity and discipleship ae eally about elationships. It s what people do to people, conveted o not. The CGI thives whee people ae genuinely concened fo each othe, not because they have to be, but because they want to be. Time has a way of smoothing out the shap edges of painful tansitions. At least fo the pesent, moving fowad is a little easie than it used to be. Contact Info Wes White: How can people find you? M. Goce: Ou home office is located at 3900 Timms Steet, in Tyle, Texas. Ou weekly Sabbath sevice is held at 11 AM and is boadcast live ove ou website, Ou office numbe is (903) (M. White and his wife, Nancy, live in Big Sandy, Texas, and attend with the Chuch of God Intenational in Tyle.)

5 A Wold In Tansition Pat 8 5 The wold is diffeent today! Many nations ae vey toubled. Thee is a lot of uncetainty, and fo some, it s vey distubing, because it s finally beginning to pesonally affect us. Is thee something we can do that will help us cope as this appoaching global tain weck gets close? Jesus Chist said, I will give you est and be of good chee What exactly did He mean by these statements? Bill Watson Ican assue you, evey time I conside what I m paying fo a gallon of gas, a loaf of bead, milk, butte, eggs, o a cotton shit, I shake my head in disbelief of just how much the wold has changed. When I find myself going though an aipot, I ealize how diffeent the wold is. When I walk though a shopping mall and see amed police on occasion, I ecognize the wold is not like it once was. Knowing thee ae vaying degees of national tumoil, egime ovethows, teoist alets, and assassination isks fo leades thoughout the wold, and fom time to time the geneal public, I m eminded we live in peilous times. When I watch television o go to a movie, I undestand it s a fa cy fom Gone With the Wind, Fathe Knows Best, o Leave It To Beave and Gunsmoke, obviously indicative of a much simple time. Even catoons and video games today ae consideable contasts when compaed to Pac-Man, Mickey Mouse, o M. Magoo and Tom Teific with his mighty dog Manfed. When I hea of cimes like the Geen Rive seial kille in Seattle, Washington, who may have allegedly killed as many as 80 people, o the Kensington Stangle who may have killed as many as seven o eight women, o Anthony Sowell who allegedly killed 11 o moe women in Cleveland, Ohio, I m in shock! Combine that with mothes killing thei childen in vey guesome ways while at the same time occasionally committing suicide, too compounded by the unfotunate abuses of young childen, including a hoible numbe of pedophiles which sadly include people of tust like teaches, piests, and yes, even policemen it s enough to tea you heat out! Clealy, most of us would agee, the wold is quite diffeent and has gone though some vey shocking changes in just the last yeas. As was said at the outset of this seies, we ae now having debates about issues that shouldn t be debated. They ange fom legalizing maijuana to nomalizing homosexuality, plainly leading to edefining maiage. Additionally, we contend with whethe we should be allowed to kill an unwanted baby, while disguising it all unde the boad categoy of human o civil ights. Also, we ae losing the at of civility that comes with the esponsibility of fee speech. The hetoic and name calling of leades fom opposition paties, as well as some of the oganizations pushing o esisting the political/social change is occasionally downight uthless and uncouth. We have finally come to a place that can honestly be descibed as epobate in behavio and judgment! The Apostle Paul makes it butally plain that people s losing of thei moal compass is simply due to the fact they did not like to etain [acknowledge] God in thei undestanding Notice the context of this statement fom Paul: Pofessing themselves [mankind in geneal] to be wise, they became fools, And changed the gloy of the uncouptible God into an image made like to couptible man Wheefoe God also gave them up to uncleanness Who changed the tuth of God into a lie, and woshipped and seved the ceatue [ceation] moe than the ceato fo this cause God gave them up unto vile affections And even as they did not like to etain God in thei knowledge, God gave them ove to a epobate mind, to do those things which ae not convenient (Romans 1:22 28). Read this whole passage. It s a stunning indictment against homosexuality, and how this is a eflection, o an effect, of impope judgment. But moe impotantly, with espect to the boade scope of his point, it illustates mankind s desie to cicumvent and undemine God s influence in thei lives as a guiding foce fo defining ight fom wong! That s what Paul eally wants us to compehend. Unfotunately, this esistance to God undescoes the vaiety of issues, movements, and attitudes we find ouselves westling with be it in ou pesonal lives, o to the bigge pictue of what s diving the geopolitical initiatives on a global scale. Clealy, mankind s poblems stem fom the eality that he (mankind) does not have a elationship with the eal living God of Abaham, Isaac, and Jacob, who ae the spiitual fathes we as His ceation need to emembe, lest the wold be cused with a cuse (Malachi 4:6). If mankind would ecognize these ae the fathes, i.e., the lineage, the connection, that leads to the tue God, humanity would eventually be tuned to the Messiah and Savio of mankind, Jesus the Chist! Obviously, this would lead to woldwide epentance, with His ceated ceatues epesenting the God kind avoiding the toubles we by Bill Watson have been outlining thoughout the couse of this seies. Call me a ealist, o pehaps a pagmatist, but consideing the woldwide tajectoy humanity seems to be on, the cuse that could be avoided appeas to be unavoidable! I hope I m wong! but if I m not, the scipt has been witten, and we ae on couse to collide with a destiny that is pesented in no uncetain tems as viciously hoific! As a matte of fact, Chist Himself said, Fo then shall be geat tibulation, such as was not since the beginning of the wold to this time, no, no eve shall be [thee has neve been a time like what s coming]. And except those days should be shotened, thee should no flesh be saved [the wold would end as we know it]: but fo the elect s sake [those called- out ones, the chuch] those days shall be shotened (Matthew 24:21 22). This is quite a chilling waning fom ou Lod. What Can We Do to Pepae? This question has been at the foefont of evey geneation having to confont difficult times. Thoughout histoy, mankind has faced difficult peiods, unfotunately esulting in a lot of destuction, pain, anguish, and suffeing. Think of civil ebellion and intenational was, natual disastes like famines, dought, stavation, eathquakes, tonados and huicanes o mude, couption, extotion, and thievey man s histoy is loaded with it! God has conceded the notion that thee is no end to the evil man can cause. The evil that mankind has pepetated has been elentless! Jeemiah confims this when he claims that man s heat is deceitful above all things, and despeately wicked: who can know it (Jeemiah 17:9)? This has been man s legacy. His tack ecod is litteed with injustice, malfeasance, depavity, faud, violence, and dishono. Natually, this has led to the downfall of many empies, nations, families, and individuals thoughout the eas of time, including ou own! The Bible tells us, The ways of peace they know not. Also, the heat of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in thei heat while they live, and afte that they go to the dead. Regettably, mankind has not leaned the conclusion of the whole matte of life. Solomon wote and identified it in the book of Ecclesiastes. He said, Let us hea the whole matte: Fea God and keep his commandments: fo this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13). This is key to the success of man s existence, but he has failed to ecognize it, and insists on doing things his way! It becomes impotant we pepae, since it s evident ou wold is about to epeat a cycle of immense devastation as it geopolitically shifts into the times of the Gentiles. It is obvious that the stange (foeigne) has isen up and is now making the moden day Isaelite cultues the tail, while they (the Gentiles) become the head (Deuteonomy 28:43 44). The emeging makets of Asia, the Middle East, South Ameica, and Russia s ecovey attest to this fact; they have become the beneficiaies of the affluence of the United States and Bitain s mateial wealth and intenational leadeship that has influenced the community of nations fo the last yeas, and especially since Wold Wa II. The exploitation and podigious amounts of boowing have un its couse, and now weighs heavily on the United States, Bitain, and the Euopean Union as well! Westen money has given ise to what will become the Fankenstein facto fo much of the wold as the Ameican dolla continues its decline and the United States becomes deailed. It s eoneous to think the United States is a supepowe any longe, when it s the wold s lagest debto county on the globe! We ae only kidding ouselves, and ou allies know we ae delusional. The United States is well on its way, going the same diection its bothe nation, England, has gone; and it appeas the dolla will also go the way of the steling losing its status as the wold s eseve cuency at some time in the futue! Hosea the pophet said to the people of his nation Isael, pio to the time of the Assyian invasions (about B.C.E.), Ephaim [an inclusive tem in this context fo the U.S. and Geat Bitain] is joined to idols: let him alone. Thei dink is sou: they have committed whoedom continually: he ules with shame do love [o he ules love shame, confusion, ignominy, dishono], Give ye [let them have it]. The wind hath bound he up in he wings [the nation will be taken away], and they shall be ashamed because of thei sacifices (Hosea 4:17 19). And so it is again today! Admittedly, this is a statement fo Isael in Hosea s time, but when applying it in paallel as pophetic duality to the moden day cultues of the TRANSITION, continued on next page

6 6 TRANSITION, continued fom page 5 paticula acts of chaity, which obviously is what He expected, because it emnants of Isael today, it s a stunningly cyptic waning fo the cultues esulted in ewading them with the pomise of enty into the Kingdom of of the United Kingdom and its loosely associated commonwealth nations, and God. the United States! So, how do we pepae fo the inevitable? What is it that Jesus Chist would want His followes doing to pepae fo this coming intenational stom this time of the Gentiles? Inteestingly enough, in Matthew 24, this same topic was on the disciples minds. They asked Him, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the age (Matthew 24:3)? He poceeded to explain some signs of the times, but then became athe specific and pesonal about how to get eady fo the coming times of touble. Jesus Said: Now Lean a Paable Conside what Jesus said afte He listed these signs of the times: Now lean a paable of the fig tee. He then went on to descibe an example, likened to what He suggests we do in ode to get pepaed fo the changing of the yealy seasons. And the vey fist thing He suggests is to eschew denial. Accept the season is changing! Notice, afte explaining that summe can be foetold by means of ecognizing the evidence of leaves budding on the fig tee, He then appeals to those listening: when you shall see all these things, KNOW [be esolved, be sue] that it [the time of the end and Chist s etun] is nea, even at the doos (Matthew 24:33). This wod know is the same as in the pevious vese that says we should know with equal suety that summe is nea when the leaves on the fig tee begin to bud. That s how confident and sue we should be as well, about the pophetic times in which we ae now living. In othe wods, have the couage to ecognize things fo what they ae so you don t lose heat and become discouaged when conditions acceleate and become inceasingly moe distubing in this changing pophetic season. With this in mind, it s obvious that the soone we begin to accept things fo what they ae, and concede the times of the Gentiles is fast appoaching, we will be bette fo it. This should help us to clealy undestand that the maginalization of the United States and the United Kingdom s woldwide influence and militay/political powe will soon be upon us. Theefoe, upon ealizing an enomous downtun and eduction of pesonal wealth, coupled with ising costs fo the staples of life and the loss of puchasing powe due to inflation and a declining dolla is coming ou way along with additional social decay, followed by moe political disappointment/gidlock and potential anachy inceasing in the United States and much of the wold we must be detemined to be moe emotionally matue, focused, and fimly established in ou minds and heats about what ou Lod continued to say in this potion of Sciptue. Notice and listen to what He says: Watch theefoe: fo you know not what hou you Lod does come Theefoe be you also eady: fo in such an hou as you think not the Son of man comes. Who then is a faithful and wise sevant, whom his lod has made ule ove his household, to give them meat in due season (Matthew 24:42 45)? This is the question we need to answe in light of the coming social, political, and global unest. What is it that we can do that will affod us to be pofiled by ou Lod as a faithful and wise sevant? This is a vey poignant question fo all Chistians to face and answe! Now notice: Blessed is that sevant, whom his Lod when he comes shall find so doing. Veily I say unto you, that he [Chist] shall make him [you] ule ove all his goods (Matthew 24:46 47). But what is it that Jesus Chist consides so doing? This needs some definition. As this theme continues, we pick it up in the next chapte. Notice: When the Son of man shall come in his gloy, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the thone of his gloy: And befoe him shall be gatheed all nations: and he shall sepaate them one fom anothe, as a shephed divides his sheep fom the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his ight hand, but the goats on the left (Matthew 25:31 33). Jesus is descibing the Day of Judgment, and He is about to detail why those who wee awaded enty into the Kingdom of God wee consideed acceptable, while othes wee ejected. This is a vey significant disclosue He s about to eveal. He descibes cetain acts of chaity, and claims that those who gained enty did these things (Matthew 25:35 37). He then poceeds to detail and identify these individuals paticipating in If my people, which ae called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pay, and seek my face, and tun fom thei wicked ways; then will I hea fom heaven, and will fogive thei sin, and will heal thei land (2 Chonicles 7:14). It is inteesting, because His statement stunned those who wee being ewaded fo the many acts of chaity they allegedly pefomed. They didn t quite undestand what He meant, so they asked: When saw we thee a stange, and took thee in? o naked, and clothed thee? O when saw we thee sick, o in pison, and came unto thee (Matthew 25:38 39)? And He simply answeed them by making it plain that when they seved thei fellow man, they wee doing it equally to Him (Matthew 25:40). This should be at the foundation of ou Chistian way of life. At the end of the day, a Chistian with no evidence of chaity is not a Chistian. We ead this same lesson in James 2: Thee must be a level of love (cae and affection agape in the Geek) that geneates behavios of chaity actual giving, which esults in eal benefit to othes. This is what Jesus claims makes the diffeence between His tue followes and those who ae just petending (John 13:35). On the othe hand, He says this to those on the left, those He ejects: Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depat fom me, ye cused, into evelasting fie, pepaed fo the devil and his angels: fo I was an hungeed, and ye gave me no meat: I was thisty, and ye gave me no dink (Matthew 25:41 42). The point of this is simple: Those of us who ae not developing a way of life that exemplifies giving ae missing the lesson concening the foundational pemise undescoing the Chistian way, which simply is built on chaitable woks. This is at the heat of the teachings of Jesus Chist. This is an impotant fundamental if we ae going to be found so doing because that is the definition of what so doing is! Fo some of us, this will become a hade chaacteistic to expess as we become moe entenched in the tumultuous tials of cicumstances coming ou way. But egadless, it emains an expectation of ou Lod, no matte how had the times may get, because this is what we ae being called fo to become sevants to mankind. But, Is That All Thee Is? Going back to Matthew 24, we find thee is an additional pecautionay obsevation mentioned, waning us about a few things. He descibes the latte days as being like it was in the days of Noah. In othe wods, it would be athe typical, compaably speaking. People would be going about thei daily lives doing what they would nomally do within the society of the time (Matthew 24:37 38). Howeve, He illustates an inteesting point of consideation. Those who wee taken away by the flood (the event) wee completely clueless, oblivious, and completely ignoant of the times they wee living in. Notice: And [they] knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be (Matthew 24:39). What didn t they know? That the buds on the fig tee wee budding! Figuatively speaking, they wee totally unawae of the significance of the times of the pophetic season they wee living in. They didn t see the buds o pehaps, they wouldn t accept what they saw, and theefoe efused to place any significance on the signs of the times they wee suounded by. Fo whateve eason, they allowed thei lives to consume them. They became distacted with the secula, humanist, and mateialist inteests of life in geneal. They allowed thei lives to get away fom them, causing them to dift fom the moe impotant objective of why they wee bon. This caused them to get blind sided. They ween t pepaed spiitually to deal with the event! And so, some wee taken away as by the flood those caught unawaes while othes wee left behind to be with God as Noah s family was, upon enteing the ak (Matthew 24:40 41). Jesus ecommends we watch to emain vigilant. He likens it to a goodman watching his house to potect it fom a thief. He explains that if we watch and emain pepaed, staying motivated with the undestanding that being ugent and eady at all times will pevent the loss of ou goods (figuatively efeencing ou salvation Matthew 24:42 44) that it is this individual who is consideed a faithful and wise sevant, because he emains motivated to be chaitably so doing, even in times of touble (Matthew 24:45 47). As the chapte concludes, we discove a waning against complacency (Matthew 24:48 51). This theme is caied though into chapte 25, and is again chaacteized in the paable of the ten vigins (Matthew 25:1 13). Inteestingly enough, this subject is TRANSITION, continued on next page

7 TRANSITION, continued fom page 6 expanded upon with the additional instuction of gowing in gace and knowledge, as illustated in the paable of the talents (Matthew 25:14 30). It then concludes with the gaphic naative of Chist s expectations of chaity, accentuated with specific explanations of paticula acts that ae consideed acceptable by God s standads, coveed peviously. Ae You Building You Ak? The Phaisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. He cautioned that it was not fom obsevation, o by outwad show, but athe though Him, because He claimed it was among them. In othe wods, He was among them, and in that espect, the Kingdom of God had finally come to eath fist, howeve, to suffe, then to ule. Unfotunately, the Phaisees didn t undestand that (Luke 17:20 21). He then continued this convesation with His disciples and explained a simila stoy, as ecoded by Matthew. He waned them that the day would come when you shall desie to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you shall not see it (Luke 17:22). Some would ague He was efeencing and pophetically speaking of the invasion and destuction of the temple by Titus in A.D. 70; and admittedly, that was a teibly hoific time fo those Jews. It was a time in which many of those victims geatly desied the Kingdom of God to come, but it didn t. Howeve, the context clealy goes beyond the moe immediate futue and on out into the last days and Second Coming of Jesus Chist. With that said, again we find ouselves eminded by the wods of Jesus Chist to be eady at all times and to be busy building ou ak of salvation and not looking back, as Lot s wife did. We ae being waned continually that many will be supised by the finality of events binging suffeing and destuction of such magnitude, that we too will hope the Kingdom of God will come, but it won t at least not just yet. Why? Because ou Lod is on a mission! He is not puposely delaying His etun. Remembe, The Lod is not slack concening his pomise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffeing to us-wad, not willing that any should peish, but that all should come to epentance (2 Pete 3:9). This is what undepins ou Lod s timing. He wants to know how many of us ae eally committed to this way of life. How many of us ae willing to lose ou lives to gain etenal life? This is what He needs to know fom us. That s why we ae told, Whosoeve shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoeve shall lose his life shall peseve it (Luke 17:33). The momentum of this wold s tends is now unstoppable unless mankind would epent wholesale, which is highly unlikely! Instead, it appeas we have begun to move up onto the theshold of the times of the Gentiles. Those buds ae fast becoming appaent by ou economies, politics, militaies, coalitions, egime changes, and the elentless effots fo global unification. The United States and the Bitish Commonwealth ae in decline. Ou govenment models, used fo centuies, ae cuently being eplaced by the moe popula fom of govenment called State Capitalism (socialism). The stange is indeed ising up and becoming moe of the head (the tend settes), while the bith ighted nations ae fast becoming the tail, indebted beyond thei GDP to those they have boowed fom. Ameican exceptionalism is fast becoming a thing of the past! We ae beginning to see pophetic wanings playing out befoe ou vey eyes, defining the season we ae in and it appeas a pophetic seasonal change is appoaching! Notice what is said in the Toah about the nation of Isael if they wouldn t heed the instuctions of God. The stange that is within you shall get up above you vey high; and you shall come down vey low. He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him: he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail (Deuteonomy 28:43 44). I don t need to belabo the point about China owning ove $1 tillion of U.S. debt. Pesently, the United States boows 40 cents on evey dolla spent. Additionally, ou total unfunded debt liabilities, which include pensions, motgages (Feddie Mac and Fanny Mae), Medicae, Medicaid, and Social Secuity ae now in excess of appoximately $90 tillion; and we ae accuing additional debt liabilities at the ate of $1.5 to $2 tillion pe yea. Pathetically, the pesent U.S. administation has spent moe money in the fist thee yeas in office than what was spent ove 220 yeas of Ameican histoy! And egettably, thee doesn t seem to be any coopeative leadeship fom any of the political paties to date, with any answes to the Ae you building you ak of salvation? gidlock pesently blanketing the political stage. As Pogo once said, We have met the enemy, and the enemy is us. It Is Time to Make a Real Commitment to God This is a time of salvation. It is a time we should be woking out ou own salvation by building a stong elationship with God though Jesus Chist (Philippians 2:9 13). We ae told in Hebews, God, who at vaious times and in diffeent mannes spoke in time past unto the fathes by the pophets, Has in these last days spoken unto us by a Son, whom he has appointed hei of all things, by whom also he made the wolds; Who being the bightness of his gloy, and the expess image of his peson, and upholding all things by the wod of his powe, when he had by himself puged ou sins, sat down on the ight hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much bette than the angels, as he has by inheitance obtained a moe excellent name than they (Hebews 1:1 4). We have such an awesome destiny, and it s had to believe it s ous if we will only believe in faith and obey ou Lod s instuctions about so doing. Paul affimed that the suffeings of this life ae not wothy to be compaed with the gloy etenal life as a bon-again spiit being which shall be evealed in us upon the esuection (Romans 8:16 18). Conditions ae building that potend to become intensely difficult. Thee will be many easons fo attempting to justify pulling back, ecoiling, and not expessing the kind of affection and cae fo one anothe that is mandated by Chist fo poving we ae His disciples (John 13:33 35). The pices of goods and sevices will undescoe some of ou peceived limitations, but we must be caeful not to allow the suounding difficulties to hampe ou sevice to God and ou fellow man within the chuch, o outside of the chuch. Remembe, all human beings ae potentially a son of God, and will have thei oppotunity soone o late to be pat of the God Family. Theefoe, it s impotant we ecognize ou sense of obligation to the unconveted also, especially as the times become moe distubing, and othes become moe inquisitive about answes as to why things ae happening the way they ae. We need to be thee fo them, too, as lights in the suounding dakness. The answe Jesus povides ove the couse of Matthew 24:32 though chapte 25 speaks to the fomula fo successful achievement and entance into the Kingdom of God! It is famed in the context of the last days fo a vey impotant eason, and it s citical we ecognize it. The wanings against complacency, selfishness, and had-heatedness, and ou vulneabilities to these chaacteistics duing times of touble, is a point well taken. It s appaent that as difficulties become moe pesonal, we become moe withdawn and attentive to ou own pesonal needs athe than those of God s people o othes. This can be dangeous fo peseving ou elationship with God and the assuance of enteing into Gods Kingdom as one who has maintained a so doing attitude and wok ethic. With all the acceleated conditions of umos of wa, exteme weathe, and the dismal political and economic ealties now being faced by so many nations aound the wold, at some point these cicumstances will touch us, and affect ou pesonal lives, if they haven t aleady. We must be eady to accept the stess that will be upon us in the coming yeas (i.e., loss of employment, etiement funds, pensions, health, homes, etc.) and not allow them to cause us to become dysfunctional Chistians. Regadless of the negative foces we may face, emembe: All things ae possible though Chist Jesus. Paul futhe eminds us, If God be fo us, who can be against us? And Jesus says, Come unto me, you who ae heavy budened, and I will give you elief. With all that s been said thoughout the couse of this seies, the solution to successfully coping with the wold we find ouselves in is to simply GET RIGHT WITH GOD. Follow the instuctions of Pete and do what he said when he was asked, what shall we do? Pete stated vey assuedly and plainly, Repent, and be baptized evey one of you in the name of Jesus Chist fo the emission of sins, and you shall eceive the gift of the Holy Spiit (Acts 2:37 39). It is time all of us conside ou elationship with God the Fathe and ou Lod and Savio Jesus Chist. Those of us who ae baptized need to undestand that God has cetain expectations of us. It s incumbent upon all Chistians to ise to the calling we ve been given and achieve the pofile descibed as one who has been found so doing in the wok of seving chaitably, both God and mankind in geneal within the chuch and/o outside of it. Those of us who ae not baptized need to begin to seiously conside a elationship with God the Fathe, though Jesus Chist, because They ae the keys to a life beyond the pains and woies of this wold. They offe quality of life pesently in the shot tem, if we will believe and obey but moe impotantly, in the long tem, etenal life with Them as sons of God in the God Family! 7

8 8 Nea-Death Expeience? Mike James Some claim that a nea-death expeience poves life beyond the gave. But how does this compae with the plain teachings of you Bible? Fo those of us who believe that we ae unconscious at death, the nea-death expeience (NDE) must be addessed. Fist of all, let s establish what the Bible has to say about the state of the dead, because nea-death expeience poponents say the opposite. Numeous sciptues state that the dead ae unawae (Ecclesiastes 9:5 6; Psalm 146:4; Psalm 6:5). Othe sciptues liken death to sleep (Daniel 12:2; John 11:1 12). The Bible also makes it clea that God alone is immotal (1 Timothy 6:15 16) and that immotality is something we have to gain (1 Cointhians 15:53 54). Now keeping in mind what the Bible has to say about death, what is a nea-death expeience? An NDE is when a peson is clinically dead. In othe wods, thei heat has stopped beating and they have stopped beathing. The peson is unconscious, and sometimes he/she is unde the influence of anesthesia duing the expeience. Duing this time, these individuals have stated that they expeience a vey lucid memoy of being awae and conscious of an amazing expeience. This expeience leads many of them to believe thee is life immediately afte death. Accoding to Jeffey Long s eseach of NDE s, addessed in his book, Evidence of the Afte-Life, thee ae 12 elements that most of these individuals expeience. One of the elements is an out-of-body expeience. This consists of what they believe is thei spiit leaving thei body. They epot that they can see thei body being woked on by doctos and nuses if they ae in an opeating oom. Othes tell of leaving the opeating oom and seeing loved ones in the waiting oom o down the hall of the hospital. The inteesting thing about this is that some epot accuately about what was happening in the waiting oom o down the hall. Some elatives have been statled to lean that thei convesation outside of the oom thei loved one was in was head by thei loved one while they wee in an opeating oom. Many of these people also expeience heightened senses. They epot that they ae moe conscious and alet than at any time in thei life. This is inteesting, because one of the aguments against the NDE is hypoxia, which is caused when thee is a loss of oxygen to the blood. Those who emembe things afte suffeing hypoxia say that the memoies ae fagmentay and not clea, which is the opposite of the lucid memoy in the nea-death expeience. On the othe hand, it could just be that some expeience the loss of oxygen in thei blood in diffeent ways. It s also impotant to mention that despite the lack of blood flow, thee is still some electical activity in the bain stem. Othe elements that ae expeienced include intense positive emotions. Accoding to Long, only a small pecentage of these folks wee fightened by the expeience, but othe eseach shows that some do expeience negative emotions, especially those who epot ending up in a hell-like envionment. Many of those who have a negative hell-like expeience wee bought up in Chistian homes that believed in a liteal eve-buning hell. A numbe say they passed into o though a tunnel of some sot. Childen have mentioned going though a noodle of some sot. This would make sense due to the child s geate expeience with noodles than tunnels. Some say they ae dawn towad a mystical bight light as they pass though the tunnel. Othes epot encounteing othe beings. Many times, these beings ae dead elatives of those having the NDE. A few times, they have epoted meeting elatives who ae still alive. Seeing live elatives duing this expeience would lead me to believe this is something occuing in the peson s mind athe than a tue afte-death expeience. Othe beings have been epoted as being of a mystical natue. Angels, May, the mothe of Jesus, and even God have been mentioned. Some have also encounteed mystical beings of an unknown oigin. This leads me to wonde a little bit about who these unknown beings might be. Could it be some fom of Satan o demons? I will addess that a little late in this aticle. The alteation of time o space is anothe element. Some say they seemed to be in the expeience fo a vey long time, when in actuality only five o 10 minutes had passed in eal time. A numbe of othes mentioned that eveything seemed to be happening all at once. by Mike James Some have said they expeienced a life eview. They saw vaious memoies of thei life flashing befoe them. In Long s eseach, 40 pecent went to an enchanting, unwoldly ealm. They descibed the place as beautiful, and like no othe place. Some thought this was a heavenly ealm. The attainment of special knowledge was anothe element. Some said this was a feeling of knowing how eveything woked. Finally, many stated they encounteed some baie o bounday fom which they could not ventue any futhe. And the last thing they expeienced, the twelfth element, was a etun to thei body fo those who said they had left thei body. Fou of these elements seem to fly in the face of what the Bible has to say about death. Fist is the out-of-body expeience. If this wee tue, it would go against sciptues that teach we do not have an immotal soul that is conscious at death. Remembe, the Bible says immotality is something we have to seek (Romans 2:7). Daniel 12:2 tells us we will awake fom death in a esuection. A ecent book, The Spiitual Dooway in the Bain, appeas to cast doubt on some of the chaacteistics of an NDE being the expeiences of an immotal soul. The book s autho, Kevin Nelson, M.D., povides some scientific data that would lead one to believe that some of the NDE chaacteistics could be the esult of natual occuences in the bain. Fo example, Nelson povides data on a woman who had something simila to an out-of-body expeience when he bain was manipulated by electodes. Nelson also believes that the tunnel expeience some have duing an NDE could be explained by eseach that was conducted on fighte pilots who had a tunnel vision-type expeience as they expeienced test flights which bought them close to the state of unconsciousness. Anothe element I take issue with ae the positive emotions that many of these people expeience. This would lead one to look at death as a positive thing to be sought afte. That was the impession I got in eading the quotes fom those who had that feeling in Long s book about nea-death expeiences. Many said they wanted to stay and not etun to thei body, because the expeience of joy, peace, wamth, and love was so intense. Once again, the Bible makes it clea that death is an advesay, not a state we should want to go to (1 Cointhians 15:16 18, 26, 51 55). The Bible makes it clea that death is ou enemy, not ou fiend. I m also a little concened by the othe beings that these folks encounteed duing thei expeience. Many of these folks thought they wee dead because they wee seeing dead elatives. We need to emembe that some of these folks (a smalle numbe) actually saw elatives who wee still alive duing thei expeience. A few people have claimed to have seen May, the mothe of Jesus. Once again, this all goes against Sciptue, which says we ae all dead until a esuection at Chist s Second Coming (1 Cointhians 15) o a esuection at the end of the 1,000-yea eign of Chist on eath (Revelation 20). Let s not foget that Satan blinds us to tuth (2 Cointhians 4:4). We also need to emembe that Satan is an angel of light (2 Cointhians 11:14). He can make the bad look good. The last element I would like to comment on is the special knowledge that many of these people talk about. Listen to some of the quotes fom these individuals: The being told me I would know the secets of the univese. I know eveything thee was to know. All the mysteies of the wold wee being evealed to me. I know how eveything woks because I looked into his eyes fo a moment the secets of the univese, all knowledge of all time, eveything. Does a nea-death expeience pove life beyond the gave? CONTINUED on next page Fo the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neithe have they any moe a ewad; fo the memoy of them is fogotten (Ecclesiastes 9:5).

9 9 His beath goeth foth [in death], he etuneth to his eath; in that vey day his thoughts peish (Psalms 146:4). Keeping these quotes in mind, tun back to Genesis 3:5 6 and notice what Satan said to Adam and Eve. He told them they would be like God in thei knowledge base when they ate the fobidden fuit. They would know all. Could Satan and his demons be playing with the minds of those who expeience nea death? I believe this is a possibility. I do not believe that these individuals ae expeiencing the next state that follows ou death. I believe we ae not awae until we ae esuected. But what could be going on with these folks? The fist thing to keep in mind is that not eveyone who suffes an NDE has an expeience like this. Many don t have any memoy of anything. Hypoxia is a possibility, but again, those who expeience this have fagmentay memoies that ae not clea like the lucid NDE memoies. Some scientists theoize that the bain may be able to pick up moe infomation at a distance than we ae awae of. Othes say that anothe eality is being expeienced by the ight tempoal lobe of the bain. Nelson s book, addessed above, finds natual examples of many of the chaacteistics of an NDE. Finally, I believe this could be a deception fom Satan to lead people to believe in an aftelife that is not eal. What eally concened me, was nea the end of Long s book, the autho quoted a Colombian woman whom he said encompassed most of the expeiences of the aveage nea-death expeience. This woman stated the following: We live in a plual unity o oneness. Ou eality is unity in pluality and pluality in unity. I was eveything and eveything was me. Thee is no God outside ouselves; God is in eveything and eveything is pat of God. The scay thing fo me in these thee statements is they could be said by many poponents of Easten eligions o New Age eligion. As moe and moe people become awae of these expeiences, we will need to defend what the Bible teaches and wan those who may be in the pocess of being hoodwinked by a foce they ae not even awae of. This foce may be attempting to bing people fom diffeent belief systems togethe into a single false wold system. Long appeaed to be pushing the idea that we all live on afte death egadless of what we believe. That is a lie Satan has been tying to push on mankind since the beginning. QWhy does God allow suffeing? It seems that God could devise a system to daw us to Him without having to inflict pain on us, o ou loved ones, o ou pets, o ou neighbos. Even as limited as ou intelligence is, I think God could have devised a way fo us to undestand without pain. Angels do not suffe they believe in God. AThis dilemma has haunted mankind fom time immemoial. If God is all knowing, all poweful and all good, it is asked, why does He allow pain, suffeing and evil to exist in the wold? It is the tindebox of atheists and agnostics. The question implies that allowing pain and suffeing, wa and evil is somehow incompatible with God s goodness, o that somehow God is eally to blame. Be assued, howeve, this is not the case. Fist of all, it is commonly assumed that this is God s wold. Yet His Wod, the Holy Bible, eveals that Satan is the god of this wold (2 Cointhians 4:4). Thee is no contest between God and the devil. If thee wee, it would appea that the evil one is wining hands down, and God would not be all poweful! Adam and Eve made a poo choice in the Gaden of Eden when they went independent fom God and chose the tee of the knowledge of good and evil ove the tee of life (see Genesis 2:15 17;3:1 6). Thei pogeny has been going the way contay to God s evealed laws and commandments eve since (1 John 1:8). At vaious times God announced, Behold, I set befoe you this day a blessing and a cuse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD you God, which I command you this day: And a cuse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD you God, but tun aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go afte othe gods, which ye have not known (Deuteonomy 11:26 28). Again, He said, I call heaven and eath to ecod this day against you, that I have set befoe you life and death, blessing and cusing: theefoe choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live (Deuteonomy 30:19). It is man s ways, so contay to God s ways, that have bought the wold to its pesent condition. God has always evealed His ways His laws, His commandments, His statutes to mankind. Yet He obseved, Fo My thoughts ae not you thoughts, neithe ae you ways My ways, saith the LORD (Isaiah 55:8,9). Secondly, suppose God had taken the only altenative, FORCING man, against his will, to live accoding to His laws? Can you imagine, fo instance, the utte fustation of a peson wanting to light up a cancecausing cigaette and, lo! some invisible angelic foce suddenly pevented him fom moving his hand to his face? O a peson wanting to say an unkind wod to anothe human being suddenly being stuck dumb? Mankind, with his pesent natue, would ebel and tell God to go mind His own business and Stop shoving You eligion down ou thoats! Thus, God has given mankind fee moal choice. Thidly, many skeptics have set up a humanistic syllogism in blaming God fo man s suffeing. It goes something like this: Pain is bad. A loving God would eliminate all pain. He has not done so. So theefoe thee cannot be a God like the one you Chistians woship. Think fo a moment! It is tue that pain is not fun. It was not meant to be! But pain is thee fo vey good and helpful easons. Have you eve thought of the downside of insensitivity to pain? It wans. It potects. It teaches. We nomally avoid painful situations; it is necessay fo ou gowth and development. Fa fom being an agument against God s ceative powe and edemptive love, pain attests His goodness as a natual alam to ou physical bodies a waning that something is amiss. It is also a geat incentive fo mutually caing about othes, as in helping less fotunate pesons in the community. And, most of all, pain and suffeing ae easons to seek the One who alone can deal with ou etenal needs. In Romans 8:22 we ead, Fo we know that the whole ceation goaneth and tavaileth in pain togethe until now. In othe wods, all natue stuggles unde the buden of suffeing and distess which sin has caused. Fouthly, the Sciptues make it plain that God did not ceate the wold in the state we find it now, but evil came as the esult of the selfishly independent natue of man. Man has bought evil upon himself by egotistically choosing his own way apat fom God s way. Remembe, mankind has sepaated himself fom God, not vice vesa (Genesis 3:8). Jesus, though His selfless suffeing and sacifice, shows us the way back. And lastly, God s plan fo man is to ultimately epoduce His own kind the God kind though mankind (Genesis 1:26). This involves a change in human natue by developing godly chaacte the ability to think and act as God thinks along with a metabolic change fom physical to spiit by means of a esuection. Godly chaacte cannot be ceated automatically by fiat it must be developed though sometimes painful expeience! Mankind must tun fom his own ways, thoughts, and habits to become God-minded. It is ightly said that expeience is not always the best teache but it is the deaest! And ighteous chaacte cannot be instilled without fee moal agency: the desie to choose ight ove wong evey time. You also noted, Angels do not suffe they believe in God. Tue, good angels do not suffe. They ae locked in to God s ways. But in Matthew 8:29, we ead whee cetain demons cied out to Jesus, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? At thou come hithe to toment us befoe the time? These wods show they ecognized Jesus Chist and anticipated His final tiumph and judgment. 2 Pete 2:4 and Jude 6 show that a time of toment is coming fo evil spiits. Although these wicked angels (demons) ae not physical and do not have physical neve endings as do human beings, thee is a toment and suffeing awaiting them. In Matthew 25:41, Jesus says to the wicked egading the Day of Judgment, Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depat fom Me, ye cused, into evelasting fie, pepaed fo the devil and his angels. God has given mankind appoximately 6,000 yeas to go his own way and lean though the lessons of avesion theapy and the school of had knocks that it is not in man that walketh to diect his steps (Jeemiah 10:23) apat fom God. The good news is, that although evil is hee and it is eal, it is also tempoay! Jesus is coming again, this time to estoe all things and to enfoce His ule; and as a esult, utopia will envelop the eath (see all of Zechaiah 14; Isaiah 2:3; Jeemiah 50:4 5; Psalm 110:2). May God haste that day! Suggested eading and listening: The Real Reasons Why Chist Came to This Eath [CCE] What Is the Real Gospel Tuth? [RGT] God s Hand in Healing [CD# C613] Can Good Come Fom Evil? [CD# C665] Why Chistians Have Poblems [CD# C682]

10 10 God Is Not Woking On Plan B by Lonnie C. Hendix Fo many yeas now, it has been accepted among many membes within the Chuch of God cultue that God s plan to epoduce Himself was not His oiginal plan. Many of ou bothes and sistes in Chist believe that God oiginally gave this eath to the angels and offeed them the potential to take ove the entie univese and finish His ceation. Accoding to this line of easoning, when the angels Lonnie C. Hendix ebelled, God decided to depive them of thei potential and ceate mankind. As a consequence of angelic sin, they believe that God detemined that only God was incapable of sinning. Hence, God then decided to epoduce Himself though mankind and offe them the incedible potential that had fomely been offeed to the angels. Likewise, because angels wee immotal and could not die, God decided to make man motal so that He would not have to exist in a state of sin fo all etenity. In othe wods, God s plans fo mankind wee entiely a eaction to the failue of His plans fo the angels. These beliefs, howeve, contadict what is CLEARLY evealed in Sciptue concening these mattes! In the Holy Bible we ead: Fo unto which of the angels said he AT ANY TIME, thou at my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Fathe, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bingeth in the fist begotten into the wold, he saith, And let all the angels of God woship him. And of the angels he saith, who maketh his angels spiits, and his ministes a flame of fie. But unto the Son he saith, Thy thone, O God is fo eve and eve: A scepte of ighteousness is the scepte of thy kingdom (Hebews 1:5 8). Notice that God neve addessed any angel as His begotten Son. Continuing in vese 13, we ead: But to which of the angels said he AT ANY TIME, sit on my ight hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? ae they not all ministeing [seving] spiits, sent foth to ministe fo them who shall be heis of salvation (Hebews 1:13 14)? Hence, we can clealy see fom these sciptues that angels wee ceated to seve God and His begotten childen. They neve had the potential that was given to mankind NEVER. Fo unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the wold to come, wheeof we speak (Hebews 2:5). Laying aside the Sciptual evidence fo just a moment, we also have to question the logic behind these beliefs. Does it make any sense to depive the entie angelic host of thei potential if only one thid of them sinned? How is that fai? What about the two thids of the angelic host who emained faithful and loyal to God? God s modus opeandi is to hold each individual esponsible fo his own behavio (Ezekiel 18:1 20). God is the epitome of fainess and justice, and He would neve contemplate o condone anything that would compomise His eputation in that egad! Likewise, it should also be appaent that God s plan to epoduce Himself was not the poduct o esult of angelic ebellion. God planned to epoduce Himself befoe the eath was ceated. Chist told His disciples, Then shall the king say unto them on his ight hand, Come, ye blessed of my Fathe, inheit the kingdom pepaed fo you FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD (Matthew 25:34). Paul wote the chuch at Ephesus: Blessed be the God and Fathe of ou Lod Jesus Chist, who hath blessed us with all spiitual blessings in heavenly places in Chist: Accoding as he hath chosen us in him befoe the foundation of the wold, that we should be holy and without blame befoe him in love: Having pedestinated us unto the adoption of childen by Jesus Chist to himself, accoding to the good pleasue of his will (Ephesians 1:3 5). Pete wote that Chist s sacifice on ou behalf had been foeodained befoe the foundation of the wold (1 Pete 1:18 20). Hence, the Sciptues clealy suppot the notion that God s plans wee centeed on mankind fom the vey beginning. Angels wee neve offeed what was eventually offeed to mankind. They wee ceated to assist God and His childen in the fulfillment of His geat pupose. In othe wods, angels wee given a seconday o subodinate ole within God s oveall plan to epoduce Himself, and that was the plan fom the beginning. Man s ceation was not a eaction to the failue of Plan A. On the contay, it was an integal component of that plan. Moeove, those same sciptues clealy demonstate that His plan was designed to be failsafe. God knew that it would be possible fo man to sin. As a consequence, He povided the means to edeem mankind if that happened. In the book of Revelation, we ead that the Lamb (Chist) was slain fom the foundation of the wold (Revelation 13:8). God s plan was stong. It was not subject to happenstance o failue! God ceated mankind in His own image and likeness and gave them dominion ove this planet we call eath (Genesis 1:26 28). The autho of the lette to the Hebews expanded on this theme. Quoting David, the autho wote: But one in a cetain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou at mindful of him? O the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lowe than the angels; thou cownedst him with gloy and hono, and didst set him ove the woks of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection unde his feet. Fo in that he put all in subjection unde him, he left nothing that is not put unde him. But now [cuently] we see not yet all things put unde him (Hebews 2:6 8). The autho then goes on to explain that Chist had to take on the natue of humankind to tiumph ove death and make sue that they qualified to assume contol ove all things (Hebews 2:9 15). The thought concludes, Fo veily he took not on him the natue of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abaham (Hebews 2:16). Bethen, it should be abundantly clea to all of us by now that God gave this eath to humankind and offeed US the potential to assume an even geate ole thoughout the univese! Having set the ecod staight on that scoe, we ae foced to eexamine the issue of pecisely what caused the angels to sin, what that sin was, and the consequences that it evoked. Fom the Sciptual evidence available to us, we can agee with the opposing viewpoint on one item: angelic sin was intimately associated with thei ejection of thei God-odained pupose. In beginning to untangle this theological mess, we need to look moe closely at the Sciptual evidence egading the angelic host. If the angels wee not given this eath o offeed the physical univese to eign ove, whee was thei oiginal abode o home? In the 12th chapte of Revelation, we ead that thee was a wa in heaven between Michael s angels and the Dagon s angels (Revelation 12:7). Moeove, we ae told that the Dagon s team was defeated and NEITHER WAS THEIR PLACE FOUND ANY MORE IN HEAVEN (Revelation 12:8). John continued: And the geat dagon was cast out, that old sepent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole wold: HE WAS CAST OUT INTO THE EARTH, AND HIS ANGELS WERE CAST OUT WITH HIM (Revelation 12:9). That seems petty clea to me. The entie angelic host was oiginally headquateed in heaven, and they lost thei place thee, and ended up on the eath as a consequence of being defeated in an angelic wa! But why did they ebel against God and fight against the angels who emained loyal to Him? Speaking about Satan, the pophet Isaiah wote: How at thou fallen fom heaven, O Lucife, son of the moning! How at thou cut down to the gound, which didst weaken the nations! Fo thou hast said in thine heat, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my thone above the stas [angels] of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congegation, in the sides of the noth: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High (Isaiah 14:12 14). The Hebew wod tanslated hee as like is damah, and it means to be compaable to, o to esemble, o to be like someone. Satan wanted to be like God. He esented that he was not given the potential which was offeed to man. He esented the subodinate ole that God had designated fo him to play in His gand plan to epoduce Himself. Howeve, the folks who adhee to the Plan B theoy believe that Lucife wanted to knock God off His thone and eplace Him. Once again, this defies the vey logic they employ to aive at thei conclusions. Think about it if Satan eally did epesent the pinnacle of God s ability to instantaneously ceate anothe being, if he eally did epesent the sum, full of wisdom as Ezekiel asseted in his witings (Ezekiel 28:12), then it is not vey likely that Satan failed to undestand that God could not be eplaced. He wanted to be LIKE God. He wanted to be pat of God s family. He felt slighted by God. He did not want to be a sevant. He wanted to ule with God. In shot, he was jealous of man s potential and was guilty of coveting it! In those same Sciptues, we ead: Thou hast been in Eden the gaden of God Thou at the anointed cheub that coveeth, and I HAVE SET THEE SO: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fie. Thou wast pefect in thy ways fom the day that thou wast ceated, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy mechandise [possessions] they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned (Ezekiel 28:13 16). Seveal things stand out to us fom this sciptue: 1) We know that this being is the same individual who appeaed to Adam and Eve as the Sepent (compae to Revelation 12:9); 2) God had appointed this individual to seve as one of the two high anking angels who was stationed as a sentinel at God s thone in heaven (compae Exodus 25:18 22); and 3) All of his temendous gifts went to his head and caused him to sin. Likewise, these evelations shed some impotant light on some of the othe sciptues concening Satan, his angels, thei sins, and thei ultimate punishment fo those sins. In the book of Genesis, we ead: And the LORD God fomed man of the dust of the gound, and beathed into his nostils the beath of life; and man became a living soul. And the LORD God CONTINUED on next page

11 CONTINUED fom page 14 planted a gaden eastwad in Eden; and thee he put the man whom he had fomed (Genesis 2:7 8). Notice that the Gaden of Eden was ceated fo MANKIND, not Lucife. Yet, we find Lucife, also known as the sepent, pesent in poximity to the tee of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:1 5). Moeove, we ae told that the sepent was moe subtil [cunning, cafty, and pudent] than any beast [ceatue] of the field which the LORD God had made (Genesis 3:1). Sounds like the desciption of Lucife s intelligence found in Ezekiel, does it not? So why was Lucife thee? You know the stoy he pesuaded Eve to disobey God. Why? Because he was jealous of the human couple s potential he wanted to be God s son! Aftewads, when the deed was done, God told the sepent what his punishment would be. We ead: And the LORD God said unto the sepent, Because thou hast done this, thou at cused above all cattle, and above evey beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity [hostility] between thee and the woman, and between thy seed [fallen angels] and he seed [Chist]; it [He] shall buise [cush] thy head, and thou shalt buise his heel (Genesis 3:14 15). Notice that the sepent was tied to the soil of the eath theeafte, and that someday he would be pemitted to inflict an injuy on the Messiah s heel. Nevetheless, the Messiah would delive a blow to the sepent s head, which signifies the ultimate defeat of Satan. Bethen, thee is no evidence that Lucife o any of the angels wee eve offeed the salvation God foeodained fo mankind. They ae spiit beings, but it is not just any spiit that impats etenal life and makes us membes of the family of God it is the Holy Spiit of God (Romans 8:10 17)! Lucife and his angels wee neve offeed God s Holy Spiit; but mankind was offeed that Spiit, and it lives in God s people today! In fact, this vey tuth undescoes the incedible human potential. We ae to put on that immotality, to finally become pat of the vey family of God (1 Cointhians 15:49 57)! Hence, the angelic ebellion did not cause God to change His plans fo the univese. The ceation of mankind was not Plan B. Satan neve has deailed God s plans o alteed His puposes, and he neve will. Paul made this clea when he wote to the saints at Rome: The ceation waits in eage expectation fo the sons of God to be evealed. Fo the ceation was subjected to fustation, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the ceation itself will be libeated fom its bondage to decay and bought into the gloious feedom of the childen of God (Romans 8:19 21, N.I.V.). God allowed the ceation to be subject to futility and fustation to futhe His own pupose and agenda. Plan A is still on tack, and it will emain on tack until it is finished. Thee neve has been a Plan B, and God s pupose fo mankind and the angels will stand foeve! 11 Ministeing Spiits The wite of the book of Hebews, citing Psalm 104:4, states that the angels ae ministeing spiits sent foth to ministe fo those who will inheit salvation (Hebews 1:14). The heis of salvation ae, of couse, human beings. The angels, on the othe hand, ae poweful spiit beings who seve as God s agents assigned with the pimay task of assisting the human heis of salvation. The Sciptues show example afte example of the angels of God doing just that assisting the people of God and thee is not the slightest hint that God oiginally had a diffeent plan o pupose fo these poweful spiit agents. When Elijah fled fom the mudeous Jezebel, an angel came to him and povided food and dink so he would have sufficient stength fo the 40-day jouney ahead of him (1 Kings 19:5 8). The pophet Daniel, on the moning afte a night locked in a den of lions, was able to announce to King Daius, My God sent His angel and shut the lions mouths, so that they have not hut me, because I was found innocent befoe Him (Daniel 6:22). Like the ighteous sevants of God befoe Him, Jesus eceived help fom God s agents. When He was a young child, an angel appeaed to Joseph in a deam and waned him of Heod s plot to kill the child, instucting him to take the young Jesus and His mothe to Egypt and stay thee until futhe instuctions (Matthew 2:13). At the end of the intense odeal of Jesus temptation in the wildeness, the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministeed to Him (Matthew 4:11). And then again, at the end of His eathly mission in the night of His betayal, when He payed with geat fevency that His Fathe might emove this cup fom Me an angel appeaed to Him fom heaven, stengthening Him (Luke 22:43). An angel announced the bith of Samson (Judges 13), John the Baptize (Luke 1:11 20), and Jesus (Matthew 1:20 21). In the vaious visions that make up the book of Revelation, angels ae involved in evealing God s intentions and caying out God s will on the eath. In the book of Acts, we find angels assisting the human heis of salvation in vaious ways. See, fo instance, Acts 5:19 20; 10:3 6; 12:7 10; 27: Thoughout Sciptue both the Old Testament and the New we find the angels of God busily engaged in caying out thei pimay mission of assisting human beings, who wee foeodained to be heis of God and fellow heis with Chist (Romans 8:17). Angels ae not to be payed to o woshiped, fo, like the humans they assist, they ae ceated beings. But we can expess ou thanks to God fo the assuance He povides though setting these poweful agents about His people. Thei pupose is summed up succinctly in Psalm 91:11: Fo He shall give His angels chage ove you, to keep you in all you ways. Ae You a Disappointment to God? Evan J. Chase by Evan J. Chase I m sue we can all elate to ou best intentions and wishes going wong and the disappointment that followed. An example of this is when a child goes the wong way in life and the deep disappointment and hut it causes to the paents of that child. In a Chistian s life, he o she is called by God the Fathe (John 6:44,65), who knows His new child has the ability, with God s Holy Spiit dwelling in him, to gow, develop and be eventually bon into God s own family (John 6:39). When we as Chistians tun off that oad, o by the fuits of ou lives show we ae not seious about God s way of life, imagine how that disappoints the Fathe and Jesus Chist! This subject is well documented in the Bible. Tun to Genesis 6:5-6. This is the account of the state of the wold just befoe the Flood, and how disappointed and gieved God was as a esult. Notice the last pat of vese 6:...it epented the LORD that He had made man on the eath, and it gieved Him at His heat. Sadly, thee wee times that God s infinite patience was soely tied due to man s sinning ways! Anothe example of this is Isaiah 63:10, speaking of ancient Isael s bad habit of tuning fom God in spite of His miaculous deliveance ove the yeas: But they ebelled and vexed His Holy Spiit, theefoe He was tuned to be thei enemy, and He fought against them. Yes, even allpatient and all-longsuffeing God Almighty has a point at which He takes majo action against sinnes. How do ou lives eflect God s calling? Ae we caeful to obey Him in the lette and spiit of His laws and ways? Do we immediately epent and get back to God s way of life if we sin? The Apostle Paul had a lot to say about the Chistian life and what God expects fom us. The book of Ephesians is a gold mine of instuction and exhotation fo us all. Read in chapte fou as Paul descibes ou enewed life living as Chist did: And gieve not the Holy Spiit of God, wheeby you ae sealed unto the day of edemption. Indeed, it is possible to gieve God the Fathe and Jesus Chist by ou lack of commitment, diligence, and lack of consistency in living His way. Ou etenal futue is on the hoizon. Rathe than gieving God s Spiit, we can sti it up within us (2 Timothy 1:6 7) to please Him and confim His confidence in calling us!

12 12 Ove 400 Obseve Thilling Pentecost in Jamaica C h u c h N e w s Membes Say Goodbye The Feast of Pentecost was obseved by 404 pesons in the Jamaican CGI. The Sagico Auditoium in Kingston was packed to capacity by 344 pesons fom the Kingston and Spanish Town congegations. Meanwhile, 50 and 10 pesons obseved the holy day in Maoon Town and Ocho Rios, espectively. The Kingston assembly enjoyed an exhilaating paise and woship expeience, as is usually the case when both congegations meet. The day was memoable fo moe than that, howeve. The odination of two new deacons, the honouing of a vetean Chuch of God couple, along with Pasto Ian Boyne s scintillating semon on the pophet Ezekiel, wee the highlights of a tuly wondeful Pentecost. Deacon Chis Hendicks led the congegation in the singing of taditional Pentecost hymns, followed by seveal inspiing musical items by individuals, vaious ensembles, and the choi. Pasto Boyne then made a special pesentation to Juston and Maion Sutheland in honou of thei moe than 40 yeas of sevice in the Chuch of God. Pasto Boyne commended Deacon Sutheland and his wife fo thei unwaveing and exemplay ecod of sevice, sacifice, and peseveance in the faith. Amidst sustained applause, M. Boyne pesented the Suthelands with a special plaque on behalf of the chuch. Pasto Boyne s choices of Solomon Bleay and Oion Bown fo odination to the deaconate wee enthusiastically endosed by the congegation, as indicated by thei esounding applause. This was no supise, knowing the two men. M. Bleay joined the CGI in the ealy 90s as a young man, and has been an indefatigable woke since. His odination is meely an official ecognition of his ole as a leade and sevant which he has aleady been fulfilling. He is maied to Oddette, who is also vey active in the congegation. M. Bown gew up in the Woldwide Chuch of God, and has been with the CGI seveal yeas now. He and his wife Simone have been models of sevice to the congegation. M. Bown has been seving as Pasto Boyne s pesonal assistant, and has eaned a eputation fo diligence, esoucefulness, and eliability. Following an enegizing session of paise and woship led by Deacon Hendicks and his team, Pasto Boyne deliveed a dynamic and pofound exposition focused on the pophet Ezekiel. He explained the context of Ezekiel s ministy and elucidated seveal impotant lessons fom the pophet s life elevant to ou lives as contempoay believes. He especially highlighted how Ezekiel was called, not just to peach His message to the Isaelite captives in Babylon, but to actually live it. M. Boyne explained that duing Ezekiel s ministy, God told him to illustate his messages with damatic object lessons. These included such acts as lying on his side fo 390 days duing which he could eat only one meal a day cooked ove manue, shaving his head and bead, and showing no soow when his beloved wife died. Though eveything, Ezekiel demonstated tue obedience and faithfulness to God. Though suggesting that God may not ask us to do anything quite as damatic o difficult, M. Boyne challenged the audience to conside thei willingness to do whateve God may equie of them. He also showed that though Ezekiel s message was one of condemnation fo Isael s sinful actions, yet ultimately it was also a message of hope of futue estoation fo God s people. Ezekiel gave a vivid pictue of God s unchangeable holiness and inexpessible gloy, which we need to captue as we face the stuggles and challenges of ou daily lives. One membe, who also communicated with me, was compelled to expess to Pasto Boyne how geat an impact his semon had on he. She wote him to say, you semon was one of the best I have head in 40 yeas. It was amazing on evey count. Thank you. I think he sentiments wee shaed by many othes. Submitted by Glenfod Smith ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE MIDLAND FEAST SITE Ms. Ramocan is oganizing an Intenational Fashion Show fo the Midland, Ontaio Feast site. Please bing you fashion ensembles and appopiate music if you would like to paticipate. Congegation in Canbey Township, Pennsylvania On May 21, 2011, the Canbey Township congegation of the Chuch of God Intenational gatheed fo this photo to mak the event of Chales Chuck Calahan s last Sabbath with us befoe moving to Texas to be nea his family membes. He will be dealy missed. Chales is pictued standing at the fa ight in the font ow. (Not all membes wee pesent fo this photo.) Submitted by Ronald C. Bachne Bewae of Teoist Goups in Chuch! Bewae of teoist goups in chuch! Repots ae that five teoist cell goups have been opeating in many of ou chuches. They have been identified as: Bin Sleepin, Bin Gossipin, Bin Aguin, Bin Fightin, Bin Complainin, and Bin Missin. Thei leade, Lucife Bin Wokin, tained these goups to uttely destoy the Body of Chist. The plan is to come into the chuch disguised as Chistians and to do the wok within the chuch to discouage, disupt, and destoy. Howeve, thee have been epots of a sixth goup. A tiny cell known by the name of Bin Payin is actually the only effective counte teoism foce in the chuch. Unlike othe teoist cells, the Bin Payin team does not blend in with whoeve and whateve comes along. Bin Payin does whateve is needed to uplift and encouage the Body of Chist. We have noticed that the Bin Payin cell goup has diffeent chaacteistics than the othes. They have Bin Watchin, Bin Waitin, Bin Fastin, and Bin Longin fo thei Maste, Jesus Chist, to etun. No chuch is exempt! Howeve, you can spot them if you bin lookin and bin goin. Submitted by Chistine Tonjes A peview of ou new booklet, The Q&A Book, Volume 2, can be seen on ou website at the-qaa-book-volume-2 MUSIC ANNOUNCEMENT MIDLAND FEAST SITE Ou choi will be between membes this yea. We ae developing an ochesta to help back up the hymns. We will have the hymns fo E-flat and B-flat instuments. If you play alto o teno sax, o bass instuments, tumpet, tombone, tuba, o hon in F, please contact me quickly so that a small oganized ochesta can be fomed. Fank Klett 5940 Budette Steet Toledo, Ohio (419) (419)

13 13 Chuch News New Location fo Aubundale! T he Chuch of God Intenational of Aubundale, Floida has been meeting at the Aubundale Women's Club fo ove 17 yeas. We neve eally had a place to call ou own, and holy days wee especially difficult, because sometimes the Women s Club had aleady booked the building fo anothe event, causing us to have to move. With guidance fom God, a building came up fo sale less than a mile away fom the Women s Club. With much help fom the Aubundale congegation, hous and hous of woking diligently to get the building eady fo fellowship and woship, we wee able to each ou goal of having ou fist sevice on June 11, with ou fist Pentecost on June 12. It was amazing to have this new beginning on Pentecost Weekend, as Pentecost pictues the enewal of life and the beginning of the chuch. It is tuly an incedible thing to see men and women of God come togethe in binging about such a wondeful place fo fellowship and woship. Ou fist sevice was with the Miami Chuch of God, fo a total of 56 in attendance. The semon was given by Bill Hakins of the CGI Aubundale. On Pentecost, we had both the Chuch of the Soveeign God and Miami Chuch of God gathe with us fo a total of 72 bethen. Offetoy was given by Raymond Wendle, semonette by Alex Fontao fom the Miami Chuch of God, and the semon by Ben Faulkne fom the Chuch of the Soveeign God. We cannot thank God enough fo giving us such a wondeful place of woship. Eman Jackson Febuay 18, 1926 May 6, 2010 Submitted by Rachel Simpson I have fought a good fight. I have finished the ace, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). The Memphis, Tennessee congegation was saddened when one of ou deaest membes died on May 6, M. Eman Jackson of Genada, Mississippi had been in ill health fo a while and passed away at Baptist Memoial Hospital. He was bon on Febuay 18, 1926 in Byant, Mississippi, and accepted Jesus Chist as his pesonal Lod and Savio as a teenage. He was maied on July 16, 1948 to Bessie Ann Feelon, and they had five childen. His mothe woked fo Hebet Amstong in the 1950s, and Eman stated attending the Radio Chuch of God in 1956, whee he became active in the Spokesman s Club. He moved fom Califonia to Genada, Mississippi in He joined with the Chuch of God Intenational and was an active and faithful membe in the Memphis congegation fom 1995 until his death. Sevices wee held on May 15, 2010, and he was buied in the Coffeeville Cemetey. He will be soely missed by us all. Submitted by Shaon Richadson The Feast of Tabenacles Infuse meetings will be in Mytle Beach, South Caolina this yea! We have a lot of events in the woks!! Volleyball Tounament and Cookout Infuse Kickoff Luncheon Paent s Night Out Ice Ceam Social and Moe! All voluntees ae welcome. Let Cody o Mike James know if you plan on volunteeing. (olympicweight@yahoo.com o mhjames6043@yahoo.com) Attention Musicians: Infuse needs playes and singes fo the Mytle Beach Paise Band this yea. If you can play dums, keyboad, guita, o bass, o if you can sing and would like to be pat of the Paise Band, please contact Vivian Rust fo details at vivianust@aol.com Website: The new website is up and unning. Check it out! We have new featues like Sciptues and Bible Studies. Let us know what you think (infusecgi.og). Reteat: Anyone have ideas fo next yea? We ae looking fo locations and times fo next yea. Speak up now and have you voice head! C o d y a t o l y m p i c w e i g h y a h o o. c o m o M i k e a t mhjames6043@yahoo.com Magazine: Contact Adam Boyd at wboyd56@yahoo.com if you have ideas o want to contibute aticles to the Infuse magazine.

14 14 C h u c h N e w s Clyde Bost Honoed Electing to make it a pivate affai, the childen of Clyde Bost gatheed in Statesville, Noth Caolina ecently to celebate thei dad s 90th bithday. Escoted by his fou daughtes, Kaen, Fances, Helen, and Janet, Clyde Bost had no idea whee he was going when he was pinned with a ose boutonniee befoe stepping into the 1941 black Chevy Deluxe sedan, picking him up at 5 PM on Fiday, Mach 18, The ca was povided by Achie and Kelly Johnson of Statesville. M. Bost didn't have long to wait, as the event scheduled was a shot distance away, an evening aound Lake Noman, aboad the nostalgic Mississippi paddleboat, The Catawba Queen. One of the highlights of the evening was his being allowed to actually stee the old steamboat. As is always the case when the gang gathes, thee was much to talk about, much to laugh about, and lots of good memoies to shae. A wondeful dinne of pime ib, gilled salmon, and heb oasted chicken was povided. The bithday cake, designed by Ingle's Bakey, was in the shape of a Bible with Clyde's favoite sciptues inscibed: John 3:16 17; Psalms 100; Galatians 3:29; Psalms 19:14; Psalms 24; and Revelation 4:6. The fathe of eight childen, Clyde is a native of Statesville and the son of the late Betha Idella and James Osca Bost. The house he was bon in on Mach 21, 1921, still stands today in Statesville. The aea back then was known as the Celeste Eufola Whistle Stop. His mothe was a membe of Font Steet Baptist Chuch of Statesville. Clyde was maied fo almost 70 yeas to the love of his life, Effie Fances Fincannon Bost, who sadly passed away on June 3, Memoies of thei life togethe wee vey much a pat of the evening. Duing the evening, Clyde's sons shaed some of thei favoite memoies of times with Dad. David said he emembes, as a child, the habit of telling his dad, I can't. He taught me a valuable lesson, David said. I had to copy a poem by Enest Albet Guest 50 times, and it went something like this. David then began to ecite what he emembeed of the poem so long ago: Somebody said that it couldn't be done but he with a chuckle eplied, that maybe it couldn't, but he would be one who wouldn't say so till he'd tied. So he buckled ight in with the tace of a gin on his face. If he woied he hid it. He stated to sing as he tackled the thing that couldn't be done, and he did it!! David declaed the poem has stuck with him thoughout his life. Bill, the eldest son, emembes fishing as a young boy with his dad. Dad owned a little boat and we would go fishing out on the Chesapeake Bay and the James Rive in Viginia. One day, no kidding, we caught ove 100 fish! Jeff smiled as he spoke of his many good memoies with his fathe. I emembe Dad taking me out to fly a kite and I let the kite go. I poceeded to chase that kite all the way to school while Dad stood and watched and laughed at me, believing that I could catch that kite. I emembe many hunting excusions and spying out the land, and ou picnics. Jeff said he has a lot of good memoies and that he could eally go on foeve. When asked what they have taken away fom Clyde s 90 yeas of wisdom, his daughtes wee delighted to espond. Kaen said he gave he his stength and taught he neve to give up. Can t neve did do nothing! he would say. He taught me to believe in faith. Recalling a time she will neve foget, Kaen shaed anothe stoy. One Clyde Bost time, he caught me slouching, so he taught me good postue and how to walk like a lady by making me walk with a book balanced on my head fo 30 minutes a day. This is a lesson I emembe to this day when I catch myself slouching, I emind myself to sit up staight. By including Sunday dives in thei upbinging, Kaen declaes, Clyde taught all of the kids to appeciate thei suoundings. With geat admiation, Kaen closed with, I know thee is not anothe man like him. Fances stongly declaed, I think it took me well into my adult yeas and having childen to ealize how appeciative I am of Dad s hands-on paenting. He wasn t ou fiend, but ou paent. I emembe his help on at least two majo pojects I had in school (a bug display and a seashell display). He definitely pepaed all of his childen fo the eal wold. I get my tenacity o pesistence fom him, my love of eading and music, my love of God, and my stong wok ethic. He taught me to do my pat in life, take a stand, and speak up if the need aises. Fo that I am most gateful. Helen clealy knew the answe fo heself. My stong will! Who can doubt that? My love of histoy, of tavel, my continued thist fo discovey, adventue, and knowledge all I cedit to my fathe. Books, many of them, ae and always will be a pat of my life because of his example. I emembe ou ealy days as patnes in cime. I wecked my siste s ca and was so afaid Dad was going to kill me. Instead, he woked all night to fix that ca, emoving evey dent, to a point you couldn t even tell that ca had eve been wecked! Poof positive of my belief Dad could eally do anything he set his mind to. Janet can definitely thank him fo his old fashioned upbinging and how it s helped he in aising he own child, all of his help with school, especially those long nights of leaning algeba, and how he taught he to neve give up on anything. She has fond memoies of how he taught he to build and colo he own kites ight down to making he own glue, going to the gocey stoe togethe and getting a box of animal cackes to eat while shopping, and how he taught all the guys that came to cout what it meant to date a lady. All the gils emembe giving thei dad a good-night kiss befoe bed, even in thei teen yeas. They can still see his pleasing smile, a wondeful memoy. The childen asked thei fathe what he thought of the family sitting in font of him now. He eplied with a sincee voice, I want you all to know that even though I haven t always said it, I love you all dealy. Submitted by Diane Sain Notice! It is the desie of the staff to publish The Intenational News quately. We can do this only if you, the eade, help by submitting timely aticles, epots, and pictues. With few exceptions, submissions should be fom wods in ethe.doc, tf, o.txt fomat. Submissions may be sent eithe to vancestinson.og o lloydcay@gmail.com, o pefeably, to both. DEADLINE fo the next issue is Novembe 15, The Edito These ae the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall poclaim in thei seasons (Leviticus 23:4). The dates fo God s Fall Feasts in 2011 ae: Feast of Tumpets: Septembe 29, 2011 Day of Atonement: Octobe 8, 2011 Feast of Tabenacles: Octobe 13 19, 2011 The Last Geat Day: Octobe 20, 2011 Detailed infomation on ou vaious Feast of Tabenacles sites fo 2011 is posted on ou website at and in the pevious issue of The Intenational News. Request you back issue today!

15 15 Chuch News London Fellowship Enjoys Gaden Sevice O n Satuday, July 30, it was ou distinct pleasue to host a Gaden Sevice fo the local London Fellowship Goup hee in Chatham, Ontaio, Canada. We ae a athe small, insignificant goup, with sevices twice monthly, on the fist and thid Sabbaths of each month. Also, we usually host one holy day sevice duing the yea. I like to call us the weak, the halt, and the lame, as most of us ae senios, handicapped, and/o have medical issues, but manage to be at sevices faithfully. The day stated out with beautiful sunshine and a slight beeze, but pomised to be a geat day. The weathe coopeated. The fist to aive wee Bill Watson and his wife, Magie. We had a few moments to get e-acquainted befoe the membes began to aive. Just as sevices wee getting stated, eveyone was supised to see Chales Goce nonchalantly stolling in he had taken time fom his busy schedule to attend sevices with us. M. Watson went on to delive a timely semon fo ou goup egading God s geat plan of salvation, and how we will be changed to spiit beings to become membes of God s family something the wold does not undestand. He emphasized that flesh and blood cannot inheit the Kingdom of God, and that we do not leave ou bodies at death to continue living in some othe dimension until Chist s etun and the esuection. He also commented, as he walked among us, on how he thought this gaden setting might have been close to the atmosphee that Chist taught in duing His Semon on the Mount. At the close of the semon, a goup of young people we ll call the Delacuz-Jaspe Family Band, teated us to Sabbath-appopiate backgound music while the BBQ and food tables wee set up. Duing this time, M. Goce and M. Watson ciculated among the 30-some guests and fellowshipped. This was the fist time they had a chance to meet and talk with M. Goce and M. Watson. The meal offeed a vaiety of foods and dessets fo all. It was athe entetaining to see people caying thei lawn chais fom one location to anothe in ode to stay in the shade I even saw a bench being elocated to a coole spot. M. Goce thought it was much coole than Texas, but a little wame than he expected. Finally it was time to leave, as eveyone had at least an hou-and-a-half jouney to etun home. Last Sabbath at sevices, we noticed a definite boost in moale fo ou little goup, and so ae hoping to plan a simila event next yea. Submitted by Loetta and Leland Jaspe Eica, Calos, Z ackay and Loi e pat of the Delac uz-jaspe Family Band Bill Watson (cente) with LouAnn and Dave Copeland The Chuch of God Intenational is an open chuch. We have many people attending who ae new in the faith. Please be awae that some may not always keep each of God s laws as they should, and some may not believe eveything we teach. We pay that they may be stengthened though the sevices we ende and the examples we set as they come to a close walk with thei God. We equest that you be neithe judgmental no base you standad fo obedience on what you see you bothe do. Chist is ou standad, not weak and sinful men o women. Always emembe that you will be judged fo what you do, not what othes do. You job is to pay fo them, set the ight example, and please God ou Fathe and Jesus Chist in all that you think, say, and do. A paye of thanks befoe the meal Chales Goce, Lo etta Jaspe, Lee Ja spe, Mage Watson, Bi ll Watson z ith Buce Delacu Leland Jaspe w and Rick Duble

16 16 I VE HEARD... Ÿ Fiendship is a plant that must be wateed often. Ÿ The opposite of having faith is having self-pity. Ÿ Fogiving those who hut us is the key to pesonal peace. Ÿ Feeling soy fo ouselves is a luxuy we can t affod. Ÿ Nothing can bing you peace of mind but youself. Ÿ Evey new adjustment is a cisis in self-esteem. Ÿ God fogives all epentant sinnes; how unhappy is the one who cannot fogive himself. Ÿ Deception leads to moe deception, eo leads to moe eo, and tuth leads to moe tuth. Ÿ Happiness is not a station to aive at, but a manne of taveling. Ÿ Is it any wonde why compomising Chistians do not like non-compomising Chistians? Ÿ Happy is he who leans to bea what he cannot change! Ÿ People do not eject the Bible because it contadicts itself, but because it contadicts them. Ÿ To be wonged is nothing... unless you continue to emembe it. Ÿ Fogiveness means letting go of the past. Pemanently. Ÿ Those who can t foget ae wose off than those who can t emembe. Ÿ Notice: when you sinceely pay fo someone, you begin to modify you pesonal attitude towad him. Ÿ Life may be had, but it s also wondeful. Ÿ Thee is no eal wealth but life. Ÿ Soow looks back, woy looks aound, faith looks up. Ÿ Being in agony, He payed moe eanestly. Ÿ Too many Chistians expect the wold to espect the Book they themselves neglect! Ÿ Tuth is hate to those who hate the tuth. Ÿ Tell me who you walk with, and I ll tell you who you ae. Ÿ As long as we continue to justify ouselves, we don t need to epent of what we ve done. Ÿ The most miseable ceatue in the wold is a Chistian who is not living ight. Ÿ Living on eath is expensive, but it does include a fee tip aound the sun TIMMS STREET, TYLER, TX NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Published by the Chuch of God Intenational Flint, Texas Pemit No. 777