T L HE ivingChurch News - Living Church of God · · 2013-04-10Republic of South Africa Phone:...

Vol. 1, No. 2

THE

March—April 1999

Dear Brethren and Friends,

The Passover will soon be here! We all should think and meditate onthe deep meaning of this solemn occasion, for it pictures the fact that ourCreator was willing to die for His creation! As we approach the Passoverservice, we really do need to think through the many lessons we shouldlearn from this observance.

God’s Word tells us that the One who became Jesus Christ actually cre -ated all that is: “All things were made through Him, and without Himnothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). Then the Word emptiedHimself and came into the world, “and the world was made through Him,and the world did not know Him” (v. 10).

God the Father and the Wo rd (who became Christ) want to shareETERNITY with those of us who are willing to totally surre n d e r and letGod build within us His holy and righteous character. God and HisWo rd have perfect love—which is OUT-flowing concern—and sin-c e rely desire to share love, glory and immortality with untold m i l l i o n sof begotten children who will yield to God. God does NOT want spir-it beings in His family who will be fighting and squabbling and MIS-ERABLE for all eternity! Rather, God wants to give eternal life in Hiseverlasting Kingdom to those who have PROVEN that they willa l w a y s strive to express God’s character in everything they think, sayand do.

Yes, brethren, in spite of our present faults and sins, God was willing to reach out to us and “call” us to be His full sons, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoeverbelieves in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Brethren, we always need to realize that true Christianity is NOT just amatter of “keeping the law.” Some orthodox Jews and perhaps others keepat least the letter of the law as diligently as many of us do. Of course, wemust strive to obey God’s law! Make no mistake about that. But, above andbeyond that we must have a profound appreciation of the fact that we havebeen FORGIVEN of our past sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. And,we must fully realize that ONLY through Christ living His life within us willwe be able to keep God’s law as we should—in the spirit as well as in theletter.

The Apostle Paul said, “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I amcarnal, sold under sin (Romans 7:14). But Paul also wrote, “I am crucifiedwith Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the

Living ChurchNews

In This Issue

Editorial .................................3

Feast On TheBread Of Life..........................4

Why Should Christians Keep The Days Of Unleavened Bread?.............7

Sin Of Disbelief ......................9

Deleavening The Corners Of Our Minds .......................12

Prepare Now For The Feast Of Tabernacles ...................15

A Challenge To The Youth...................... 17

Report FromThe Treasurer ..................... 18

Local Church News .................................. 21

Local Church Listings ............................... 22

life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God,who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 KJV).

Therefore, even in keeping the law, our focus is on CHRIST. It isonly through Him LIVING HIS LIFE within us by the Holy Spirit thatwe are able to keep the law. As Jesus Himself said, “If anyone lovesMe he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We willcome to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23). Throughthe Holy Spirit, God and Jesus Christ actually LIVE within us andguide our lives—giving us the spiritual strength, power, love and wis-dom that we need. When He was here in the human flesh, Jesus said,“I can of Myself do NOTHING. As I hear, I judge; and My judgmentis righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of theFather who sent Me” (John 5:30).

If Jesus Christ could do NOTHING, how dare we think—apartfrom God—that we can do anything? Rather, we must develop a totaldependence on Jesus Christ living within us to help us do what weneed to do. We must profoundly recognize that it is NOT through ourstrength or our goodness, but ONLY through the power of our Fatherand our Savior Jesus that we are able to grow, to change and to over-come. We must walk with Christ, talk with Him, drink in of HisWord constantly and realize that the true Jesus Christ is our living,active Savior and High Priest. Brethren, this will NOT “offend” Godthe Father—because that is exactly what God wants us to do!

That is why Stephen was inspired to cry out and to PRAY even ashe was dying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). Thisinspired prayer—coming almost automatically out of Stephen’s heartas he was traumatized in the very process of being put to death—shows the depth of the personal relationship between Christ andStephen, and no doubt most of the early servants of God. So,although we should primarily address the Father in our prayers, it isnot wrong occasionally to address Jesus Christ during our prayers—as Stephen did—knowing that He is very God and is sitting at theright hand of God the Father even as we pray!

Truly, we are to “honor” Jesus Christ just as we honor the Father.Does that sound blasphemous to some of you? Will someone try to“pick on” me for saying that? Then notice what GOD inspired JesusChrist to say, “For the Father judges no one, but has committed alljudgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son JUST AS theyhonor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor theFather who sent Him” (John 5:22-23).

Brethren, the depth of honor, worship, adoration and everlastingLOVE and LOYALTY we should feel toward Jesus Christ is somethingwhich should constantly increase in our hearts and minds year byyear. Each Passover season should renew our profound APPRECIA-TION for what Jesus Christ actually did for us, is now doing as ourHigh Priest and Living Head and what He will do as our Elder Brotherand King throughout all eternity.

The early apostles obviously had a tremendous feeling about Christ’sdeath and re s u rrection. They were there ! They heard Jesus cry out, “It isfinished” and saw the blood come pouring out of His body. They k n e w

Living Church News

2

ChurchNewsLiving

Dear Brethren continues on page 20

Regional OfficesUN I T E D STAT E S:

P.O. Box 501304, San Diego, CA 92150-1304

O ffice (619) 673-7470 Fax: (619) 673-0310

http://www.livingcog.org

AU S T R A L I A:P.O. Box 772,

Canberra, ACT 2601, AustraliaPhone: (06) 231-8166,

o rf reecall: 1800-816-543Fax: (06) 231-8061

CA N A D A:P.O. Box 27202, To ronto, Ontario

Phone: (905) 671-3730, Fax: (905) 671-9599

GU YA N A:P.O. Box 10271,

G e o rgetown, GuyanaPhone: (592) 02-57582

NE W ZE A L A N D:P.O. Box 2767,

Auckland, New ZealandF reephone: 0800-380-584

PH I L I P P I N E S:MCPO Box 1774,

Makati City 1257, PhilippinesPhone: 63-2-813-6538

Fax: 63-2-867-1569

SO U T H AF R I C A:P.O. Box 1154, Ferndale 2160,

Republic of South AfricaPhone: (27) 11-664-6036

Editor in ChiefRoderick C. Meredith

Editorial DirectorRichard F. Ames

Executive EditorWilliam Bowmer

Managing EditorMark Mendiola

Layout EditorDonna Prejean

T h e Living Church News is published bi-monthlyby the Living Church of God, Subscriptions aresent without charge to all members of theLiving Church of God and others who mayrequest them. 16935 W. Bern a rdo Dr., Ste. 260,San Diego, CA, 92127.

C o p y r i g h t© 1999, Living Church of God. Printedin the USA. All rights reserved. Periodical postagepaid at San Diego, CA.

Postmaster: Send address changes to Living Church News,

P.O. Box 501304, San Diego, CA 92150-1304

T h e Living Church News is not responsible for the re t u rn ofunsolicited articles and photographs. Scriptures are quotedf rom the New King James Ve r s i o n (Copyright 1982, ThomasNelson, Inc., Publishers) unless otherwise noted.

HY are these trials and testsalways coming along? Whydoes God allow such things to afflict even His begotten

children? From personal experience and

from the testimony of many others, Ihave come to understand that testsand trials are for our good. Theysharpen us and stir us to think moredeeply about ourselves, about ourproblems and about the meaning oflife. They often motivate us toreview our values—to prove all overagain what is really important andwhat is not. They usually help usrealize how small we are and howmuch we need GOD.

Near the end of his first evangelis-tic tour, the Apostle Paul no doubtmeditated on the fact that he had beent h rown in jail, beaten, run out of townand even stoned and left for dead atone point. So as he wound up this tourhe told the bre t h ren in Antioch, “Wemust through many tribulations e n t e rthe Kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).

C e rtainly Paul and Barnabas musthave been moved to cry out to Godover and over as these trials and testscame upon them along the way. I per-sonally remember that on the earlybaptizing tours in the 1950s, many ofus had to pray over and over again forG o d ’s protection and His deliveranceas we were often threatened by badw e a t h e r, irate unconverted mates ord i fficult driving conditions. It did,without question, keep us “on ourtoes” and also on our knees.

The Apostle James was inspire dto write, “My bre t h ren, count it all joywhen you fall into various trials,knowing that the testing of your faithp roduces patience. But let patiencehave its perfect work, that you may bep e rfect and complete, lacking noth-ing” (James 1:2–4). Notice that Godwants us to learn p a t i e n c e . Most of ususually want what we want, and wewant it NOW! God is working withus, fashioning and molding us andhelping us come to truly understandand surrender to HIS will. Then Hecan use us in His Family and in HisKingdom for all etern i t y. Then wewill learn to think like He thinks andto act like He acts and be truly capa-ble of ruling over cities and nationsunder the Living Jesus Christ.

Peter describes how we are “keptby the power of God through faithfor salvation ready to be revealed inthe last time” (1 Peter 1:5). ThenPeter states: “In this you gre a t l yrejoice, though now for a little while,if need be, you have been grieved byvarious trials, that the genuineness ofyour faith, being much more pre-cious than gold that perishes, thoughit is tested by fire, may be found topraise, honor, and glory at the re v e l a-tion of Jesus Christ” (vv. 6–7).

When trials and tests come—asthey always do—it is vital that eachof us has the right reaction to thesetrials. We can allow ourselves tobecome upset, perhaps be angry atc i rcumstances, at others, at our-selves or even at GOD. Or, on theother hand, we can so motivate our-selves and guide our minds so thatthese trials drive us closer to God,cause us to spend more time on ourknees praying, meditating andbeseeching God to help us tru l yunderstand His purpose and to be

more sensitive to His will in everypossible way. We can be motivatedto study the Bible more fervently.With a fresh perspective, we may bebrought to the place where we really,t ru l y, genuinely s e e k G o d ’s COR-RECTION as we study and pray. Wemay be softened so that our ownSELF-will is far less prominent inour thoughts and actions.

If we can humble ourselves andtruly grow spiritually through thetrials and tests which God allows, wewill find ourselves far more GOD-centered. We will learn to carefully,p r a y e rfully seek H i s d i rection inevery phase and facet of our lives.We will constantly ask ourselves,“How would Jesus Christ respond tothis situation?” Then, instead ofi m a g i n i n g how Jesus wouldrespond—as so many pro f e s s i n gChristians in the world do—we willhonestly, open-mindedly study God’sWord to see how Jesus and His faith-ful servants did respond in circum-stances similar to our own. Then weshould ask God for the faith and thehumility to “go and do likewise.”

Even King David, the man afterGod’s own heart, had to learn by suf-fering again and again. David wrote,“Before I was afflicted I went astray,But now I keep Your word. You aregood, and do good; teach me Yourstatutes. The proud have forged a lieagainst me, but I will keep Your pre-cepts with my whole heart. Theirheart is as fat as grease, but I delightin Your law. It is good for me that Ihave been afflicted, that I may learnYour statutes” (Psalm 119:67–71).

The afflictions God permitted tocome on King David brought him toa depth of humility that was pleas-

3

continues on page 20

Editorialby Roderick C. Meredith

W

We Grow Through Trials

esus Christ declared to a great crowd of His lis-teners, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to

Me shall never hunger, and he who believes inMe shall never thirst” (John 6:35). These words

were spoken at one of the early Passover seasons ofJesus’ ministry (v. 4). They puzzled His hearers then andthey have puzzled many others since.

Christ went on to enjoin His followers, “I am the livingb read which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of thisb read, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give isMy flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world” (v. 51).As we approach the Passover and Days of UnleavenedB read, it is very important that we should deeply under-stand the message that Jesus Christ was conveying.

In Exodus 12 God commanded the Israelites toobserve the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Breadforever. Prior to the Days of Unleavened Bread they wereto remove leavening and leavened products from theirhomes (vv. 15, 19). Throughout this entire seven day fes-tival they were to avoid eating leavened products (v. 15).

H o w e v e r, this was not the “Feast of No Bread at All.”It was the Feast of U n l e a v e n e d B read! There was a re p l a c e-ment provided for the leavened bread that was customari-ly eaten (v. 20). It was a bread made without yeast. Yeast iswhat causes the giving off of carbon dioxide during theb read making process that makes the bread dough puff upor expand. The ancient Israelites used sourdough to putyeast into their bread dough. Today we most commonlyuse packages of dried yeast in baking, or we produce thesame result with the use of baking powder or baking soda.

Passover is the fourteenth day of the first month andtherefore not one of the seven days of the UnleavenedBread festival (Leviticus 23:5–6, Numbers 28:16–17). Yetat the Passover service, both anciently and today, onlyunleavened bread is to be used (Exodus 12:8). There is animportant reason. At His final Passover supper with Hisdisciples, Jesus Christ explained that the unleavenedbread which He blessed and broke was symbolic of Hisown body (Matthew 26:26). The Passover, centering onthe lamb anciently and upon the bread and the winetoday, points toward Jesus Christ and His sacrifice.

The Apostle Paul explained in I Corinthians 5:7–8 thatsince Jesus Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us,we are to keep the festival which follows in its true spiri-

tual significance. We are to understand that unleavenedb read is illustrative of sincerity and truth. This, of course,points us once more right back to Jesus Christ. After all,He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

As we approach the Passover season, we should notonly be focused on getting rid of the leavening in our lives,but also upon the necessity of feasting on the Bread of Life,Jesus Christ. At the Passover service and for the seven-dayfestival which follows, we are to be reminded of Jesus Christby the unleavened bread that we put into our mouths.

We must feast on far more than mere physical bre a dp roducts which are made without leavening agents. We mustbe spiritually feasting on what it symbolizes, Jesus ChristHimself. Seven is God’s number of completion and perf e c-tion. A festival of seven days reminds us that our partaking ofJesus Christ must be complete. This physical practice is toremind us of what must be part of our lives now and fore v e r.

The metaphor of eating the Bread of Life points to thefact that we must become filled with Jesus Christ. How isthis possible? A starting point would be to examine someof the purposes for which Jesus Christ said that He came.

Introducing His Ministry

In the fall of the year, about the time of His thirt i e t hb i rt h d a y, Jesus Christ came to where John the Baptist wasp reaching and baptizing (Luke 3:23). This was in an are aof the Jordan River about twenty-five miles fro mJ e rusalem. A few weeks after being baptized, Jesus with-d rew into the wilderness for forty days of fasting prior tobeginning His ministry. At the end of that time Satan cameand tempted Him. Christ resisted Satan’s blandishments.

In the aftermath of this, Jesus continued choosing Hisdisciples. He introduced His public ministry in Jeru s a l e mduring the Passover season following His baptism. He taughtin the temple, perf o rmed miracles, and, most dramatically,cleansed the temple. “And He found in the temple those whosold oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangersdoing business. When He had made a whip of cords, Hed rove them all out of the temple... And He said to those whosold doves, ‘Take these things away! Do not make MyF a t h e r ’s house a house of merchandise’” (John 2:14–16).

The religious leaders were stunned. Yet Jesus pro-ceeded to perform miracles that they couldn’t gainsay.

4

By John Ogwyn

J

FEAST ON THE BREAD OF LIFE

One of those very leaders, Nicodemus, came privately toJesus and acknowledged, “Rabbi, we know that You are ateacher sent from God; for no one can do these signs thatYou do unless God is with him” (John 3:2). After John theBaptist was put in prison in the late spring, Jesus and Hisdisciples returned to Galilee. He began His Galilean min-istry on Pentecost in His home synagogue in Nazareth.

Standing up to read, He opened the scroll of Isaiah tothe section He wanted and proceeded to read the words,“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hasanointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor, He has sentMe to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance tothe captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set atliberty those who are oppressed, to preach the acceptableyear of the Lord” (Luke 4:18). He went on to tell His hear-ers that scripture was fulfilled that day (v. 21).

This section of scripture sets the tone for the rest ofC h r i s t ’s ministry. It also sets the tone for today, because JesusChrist is the same yesterd a y, today, and forever (Hebre w s13:8). To be filled with Jesus Christ means to be filled withthe same message that He spent His time proclaiming. As wep a rtake of the Bread of Life, we are being nourished by JesusChrist and those things which He off e red His hearers. Let’sbriefly examine what Christ announced to the synagogue inN a z a reth at the beginning of His ministry.

The Gospel to the Poor

Fundamentally, Jesus Christ came with a message.That message was the good news of God’s comingKingdom (cf. Mark 1:14). It was a message of hope in aworld where things looked very hopeless. Judea was aprovince of the mighty Roman Empire. In addition, thedespotic Herod family exercised direct rule under theRomans. The people were ground down by oppressivetaxes and harsh rulers. There was no relief in sight.

In the midst of poverty and hopelessness, Jesus ofN a z a reth came with a message of hope. There was com-ing a world government that would displace theRomans and the Herod family. It was the same Kingdomthat was announced by the prophets in the Hebre wS c r i p t u res. The time was at hand for people to under-stand what that Kingdom was all about. Jesus explainedto His hearers that they could actually inherit theK i n g d o m as children of God, G o d ’s very heirs . His mes-sage went far beyond anything the religious leaders ofthe day understood.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explained thekind of character that was required of those who wishedto be the heirs of that kingdom. Throughout the rest ofHis ministry He expounded those same points over andover in different contexts.

To partake of Jesus Christ means to partake of thehope that He came to proclaim. His whole life was builtaround the reality of the Kingdom of God. It was the“pearl of great price” whose value far outshone every-thing else. In fact, He exhorted His listeners that theyshould be prepared to give up everything in order toachieve an inheritance in the Kingdom of God (Matthew13:44–45). How real is that Kingdom to us? How bright-ly does it shine in our mind’s eye?

The Apostle Paul was one who truly feasted on JesusChrist, the Bread of Life. “But indeed I also count allthings loss for the excellence of the knowledge of ChristJesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of allthings, and count them as rubbish, that I may gainChrist... that I may know Him and the power of His res-urrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being con-formed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to theresurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:8–11).

An Offer of Healing

Healing was a big part of the ministry of Jesus Christ.It was tangible evidence, not only of God’s power, but alsoof His grace and compassion. In fact, Christ explained toHis disciples at His final Passover meal with them that thebread which He blessed and broke symbolized His body,broken for us (I Corinthians 11:24). Many years later, theApostle Peter explained that our healing was made possi-ble by Christ’s sacrifice. His body was broken and beatenin our behalf, “...by whose stripes you were healed” (IPeter 2:23).

The miraculous healing of our physical infirmities andailments is a wonderful blessing. It is, however, a tempo-r a ry physical benefit, for this physical body is temporary.

In His statement in Nazareth, Christ emphasized aside of healing that we don’t always focus upon. Hetalked about healing “the bro k e n h e a rted.” This term ,“ b ro k e n h e a rted,” means literally those who are cru s h e dor bruised in mind or spirit. Jesus Christ came not onlyto heal the outward ailments that could be seen of oth-ers—as He demonstrated throughout His ministry — b u talso to heal the inward infirmities of the heart and mind.The word for healing in the Hebrew language comesf rom s h a l o m. It carries the connotation of peace andw h o l e n e s s .

To partake of Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, includespartaking of the release that He offers from the inner hurtand turmoil that debilitates so many of us. We live in aworld of fear, sorrow, and pain. Significantly, the firstplace those words are mentioned in the Bible is in Genesis3, where God explained to Adam and Eve the conse-quences of sin. Healing, whether physical or emotional

Living Church News March – April 1999

5

and mental, is evidence of God’s power to forgive sin andto ameliorate its aftermath.

Many diff e rent things in our lives have contributed tothe inner hurts and pains that we’ve all suff e red. The goodnews is that we can have release. Christ announced that oneof the reasons for His coming was to heal those who werec rushed and bruised in their inner being. To feast on theB read of Life leads to being filled with the inner peace thatconfidence in Jesus Christ and His love makes possible. Thefaith that flows from the deep realization of Christ’s love andpower is what makes healing of every sort possible.

While pain and sorrow won’t be totally and perma-nently banished from this world until the time of the NewHeavens and New Earth spoken of in Revelation 21:4, wecan experience a foretaste now. An inner peace that pass-es understanding (Philippians 4:7) is available to us inthis age. The Apostle Paul, though languishing in Romanimprisonment when he wrote Philippians, had come to befilled with that inner peace. He was filled with peace andwholeness because he was first filled with Jesus Christ.His life was one of feasting on the Bread of Life.

Gaining New Sight

John 9 records one of the most remarkable of Christ’smany miracles, the healing of a man who had been blindfrom birth. This event, which took place on the Last GreatDay (cf. John 7:37), symbolized the time when spiritualblindness is going to be removed from all mankind.

Physical sight is very important, but spiritual sight isfar more so. It is what enables us to see the truth of God.We live in a world of spiritual darkness, but Jesus Christcame as the Light of the World. It is that light whichmakes spiritual sight possible.

To perceive ourselves accurately, as well as to perc e i v eGod and His purpose pro p e r l y, we need the gift of sight. Itenables us properly to perceive and make sense of every t h i n ga round us. Without the gift of spiritual sight, we can’t evenbegin on our spiritual journey which leads to the Kingdomof God. If we are feeding on Jesus Christ, we are being filledwith the source of sight and perception. The perfect exampleof His life and the clarity provided by His teachings combinewith His indwelling presence to give the believer guidance ina world that is deceived by the Prince of Darkness.

Recovery of sight is only possible for those who arefeasting on the Bread of Life.

Deliverance and Liberty

F reedom has always had a special allure for humanbeings. Jesus Christ said that He came to pro c l a i mdeliverance to the captives and to set at liberty those

who are oppressed. What is the captivity from whichwe need deliverance? What is it that has oppressed usand robbed us of liberty? In one simple word, theanswer is sin!

Deceived theologians often seek to picture God’s lawas an enslaving shackle. They claim that Christ came tofree us from the law, which they picture as a yoke ofbondage. Nothing could be further from the truth!

The Apostle Paul deeply understood the deliveranceand liberty that Jesus Christ came to off e r. Notice hisexplanation given in Romans 6:16–18: “Do you notknow that to whom you present yourselves slaves too b e y, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whetherof sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness? ButGod be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yetyou obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to whichyou were delivered. And having been set free from sin,you became slaves to righteousness.”

Clearly, sin is the enslaving factor that has made cap-tives of us all. But Jesus Christ came to triumph over sinand pay the penalty in our stead. “For the wages of sin isdeath, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus ourLord” (Romans 6:23).

There is only one way out from under the deathpenalty exacted by sin. We are reminded of that one wayevery Passover when we partake of the symbols of ourSavior’s sacrifice. No amount of future good deeds on ourpart can ever atone for sin. Only the shed blood of JesusChrist can do so.

The whole world is held captive by Satan the devil,that wicked spirit who works in the children of disobedi-ence. However, Jesus Christ triumphed over Satan andovercame the world (John 16:33). Through Him, we mayexperience the glorious liberty of the sons of God.

To feast on the Bread of Life includes partaking of theforgiveness made possible by Christ’s sacrifice. He hasmade it possible for us to be delivered from sin’s hold onour lives.

If we are truly feasting on Jesus Christ, then we arebeing filled with hope, with inner healing, with clarity ofvision, and with deliverance and liberty. We are beingfilled with that which will nourish and sustain us nowand forever.

As we partake of the bread which will be offered to usat the Passover service and throughout the seven days ofthe unleavened bread festival which follows, let’s bedeeply conscious of what we’re picturing. “He who eatsMy flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I inhim,” Jesus said. “As the living Father sent Me, and I livebecause of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will livebecause of Me... He who eats this bread will live forever”(John 6:56–58).

6


n Leviticus 23:5–6, the Biblestates, “On the fourteenthday of the first month at twi-light is the LORD’S Passover.

And on the fifteenth day of thesame month is the Feast ofUnleavened Bread to the LORD;seven days you must eat unleav-ened bread.” Similarly in Exodus12:19–20 it states, “For sevendays no leaven shall be found inyour houses, since whoever eatswhat is leavened, that same per-son shall be cut off from the con-gregation of Israel, whether he isa stranger or a native of the land.You shall eat nothing leavened;in all your habitations you shalleat unleavened bread.” Are theseDays of Unleavened Bread to bekept now? Why wouldChristians want to keep them? Whathappens if they don’t?

The Bible shows that the Days ofUnleavened Bread are connected toPassover (Leviticus 23:5–6; Exodus12:19–20; I Corinthians 5:7–8).While most professing Christians areaware that I Corinthians 5:7 teachesthat “indeed Christ our Passover,was sacrificed for us”, they do notseem to literally observe the versethat follows. “Therefore let us keepthe feast, not with the old leaven,nor with the leaven of malice andwickedness, but with the unleavenedb read of sincerity and truth” (ICorinthians 5:8). Actually, most pro-

fessing Christians do not seem to beaware that they are supposed to keepany biblical feast. There are manyreasons, though, to do so.

Romans 3:25 states, “in His for-bearance God had passed over thesins that were previously commit-ted.” Does this mean we are to con-tinue in sin? Of course not! A fewverses later Paul wrote, “On the con-trary, we establish the law” (Romans3:31). So while most understand thatthe Passover pictures a remembranceof Jesus Christ and his sacrifice (ICorinthians 11:24–26), many seemto not understand that we are not tocontinue in sin. Why? Maybe one of

the reasons is that they do notobserve the Days of UnleavenedBread.

In the world, leaven is allaround. Not only is it in bakedgoods, it is now in many otherproducts. Leaven spreads andcauses crumbling in most itemsit becomes part of. In the Bible,leaven normally pictures malice,wickedness, and hypocrisy (ICorinthians 5:8; Matthew16:6,12; Luke 12:1), whileunleavened bread pictures sin-cerity and truth (I Corinthians5:8). Leaven pictures the teach-ings of the Pharisees (Matthew16:6,12; Luke 12:1) whom Jesuscalled hypocrites (Matthew23:23,25,27,29). According toStrong’s, the Greek word Jesus

used that was translated as hypocritemeans, “an actor under an assumedrole.” The Pharisees were false reli-gious leaders who pretended to keepG o d ’s law, but really did not(Matthew 15:3–9). Jesus furt h e rdescribed the Pharisees by saying,“you also outwardly appear right-eous to men, but inside you are fullof hypocrisy and lawlessness”(Matthew 23:28). Jesus thus tiedleaven (the Pharisees’ teachings,Matthew 16:12) to false re l i g i o n(being hypocrites) and sin (since“sin is lawlessness”, I John 3:4). InExodus it states that the Days ofUnleavened Bread, “shall be a sign to

7

WHY SHOULD CHRISTIANS KEEP THE DAYS OF

UNLEAVENED BREAD?

IBy Robert J. Thiel


8

you on your hand and as a memori-al between your eyes, that the LORD’Slaw may be in your mouth” (13:9).Keeping seven days of unleavenedbread pictures that we are to live insincerity and truth by keeping God’slaw—that we are not to continue infalse religion, not to continue in sin.

Why seven days? In the Bible,God seems to use the number sevento show completeness. There areseven days in a week (Exodus 20:6),seven days of creation (Genesis 1),seven Churches in Revelation 2 and3, seven candlesticks (Revelation1:20), seven days of the Feast ofTabernacles (Leviticus 23:34), etc.

The seven Days of Unleavened Breadseem to picture that after our sinshave been forgiven through the sac-rifice of Jesus (Romans 3:25, ICorinthians 5:7), that we are to nolonger continue in the old ways butto walk in the true ways of the Bible(I Corinthians 5:8). The Days ofUnleavened Bread help us to under-stand that sin is to be put out of ourlives; throughout the year it remindsus that false religion is all aroundand needs to be avoided. People whodo not keep the Days of UnleavenedBread are not reminded about falsereligion and sin through this symbolduring the year; maybe they do notwant to be.

Notice that Jude warned, “Forcertain men have crept in unnoticed,who long ago were marked out forthis condemnation, ungodly menwho turn the grace of our God intolicentiousness and deny the onlyLord God and our Lord Jesus Christ”

(Jude 4). In the next verse he tiesthis problem with deliverance (fromEgypt) during the Days ofUnleavened Bread (which should bekept as an annual reminder of sinand deliverance, Exodus 13:3–10, ICorinthians 5:8). “But I want toremind you, though you once knewthis, that the Lord, having saved thepeople out of the land of Egypt,afterward destroyed those who didnot believe” (Jude 5). In like man-ner, just because of the sacrifice ofJesus “God had passed over the sinsthat were previously committed”(Romans 3:25), he may afterwarddestroy “those who did not believe.”

How do you know if you truly havefaith and believe? By doing whatGod says. James warned, “Yo ubelieve there is one God. You dowell. Even the demons believe—andtremble! But do you want to know, Ofoolish man, that faith withoutworks is dead (James 2:19–20)? In asimilar way Paul wrote, “for not thehearers of the law are just in thesight of God, but the doers of the lawwill be justified” (Romans 2:13).Paul also warned, “For if we sin will-fully after we have received knowl-edge of the truth, there no longerremains a sacrifice for sins, but a cer-tain fearful expectation of judgment,and fiery indignation” (Hebre w s10:26–27).

Like the Old Testament (Exodus12:19), the New Testament teachesus “Therefore purge out the old leav-en” (I Corinthians 5:7). From aphysical standpoint it is easy to notobey these teachings. Physically it is

easier not to purge or remove all theleaven from our dwellings. But spiri-tually, by not keeping the Days ofUnleavened Bread, many fail tounderstand that they have to live theway of life that Jesus taught—manyaccept a false outward religion! Jesussaid, “If you love Me, keep My com-mandments” (John 14:15). By notkeeping the Days of UnleavenedBread, many have fallen for a reli-gion based upon traditions of meninstead of God’s commandments!

Believe it or not, Jesus ran intothe same problem in His day. Thereligious rulers (the Pharisees) werecondemned because “you have madethe commandment of God of noeffect by your tradition” (Matthew15:6). Although traditions of mensay that Jesus condemned thePharisees for keeping the law, theopposite is true. Remember thatJesus said to them that “inside youa re filled with lawlessness andhypocrisy” (Matthew 23:28).Actually, they pretended that theybelieved the Bible, but taught thattheir understandings (hermeneuticsin modern terms) were more impor-tant than the literal commands in theBible (Mark 7:8–9). This problemexists even to our day. Many profess-ing Christians believe God’s laws andHoly Days are no longer in effect,even though one can find all tencommandments and the Holy Daysobserved by Christ’s disciples afterHis crucifixion, and implicit in NewTestament writings.

Now it is true that leaven is notalways shown to be bad. Jesus evenstated, “the kingdom of God… islike leaven, which a woman tookand hid in three measures till it wasall leavened” (Luke 13:20–21). Thisparable seems to illustrate that, eventhough the leaven was at first hid-den, in the future all will know the

“Therefore let us keep the feast, not with theold leaven, nor with the leaven of malice andwickedness, but with the unleavened bread ofsincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:8).

Why Should Christians…continues on page 19

9

Sin Of DisbeliefC o u l d T h i s B e Y o u r P r o b l e m ?

By Douglas S. Winnail

ne of the most exciting concepts that manyencountered as a result of their association withthe Church of God was the gospel of the coming

kingdom of God. Attending the annual Holy Daysto learn more about the plan of God and the purpose ofhuman life was important. The scriptural promise that thereward of true Christians is to rule with Jesus Christ whenHe returns was eye opening. The opportunity to restorethis battered planet and re-orient human civilization toGod’s way of life was inspiring. Life, which for many hadbeen empty, seemed to finally take on real meaning.Learning, growing and overcoming now had a purpose.

However, the turbulence in the Church during the lastdecade has affected the outlook of thousands of people.Many no longer attend the annual Holy Days—or evenSabbath services. They have returned to keeping holidaysof pagan origin. Many now follow other gospels—of love,grace, or good works. Some have rediscovered the ritualsof the Old Testament. For some the kingdom of God ishere right now—for others it’s only a metaphor. The pref-e rence today is to interpret the Bible for one’s self.Confusion, disagreement and disbelief abound. Many haveeven become disillusioned with organized religion.

What about you? Have problems in the Church, divi-sion in the ministry and confusion in congregations weak-ened or shattered your basic beliefs? Do you still believe thegospel? Is God still working through His Church? Do youstill want to be in the kingdom of God—or have you lostinterest or changed your focus? Is it possible that youcould be disqualifying yourself from the rewards God haspromised to individuals specifically called to become thefirstfruits of His family?

If you have grown skeptical and uncertain, there is afundamental truth you need to remember: problems in thechurch do not change the gospel. Jesus Christ came“preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.” The essenceof His message was “repent, and believe the gospel” (Mark1:14–15). The apostles conveyed the same message (Acts2:38; 8:12–13). God’s true Church will still be preachingthat same gospel today. When a young lawyer asked Jesuswhat he had to do to inherit eternal life in the kingdom ofGod, Jesus said, “keep the commandments” (Matthew19:16–22; Luke 10:25–37). Jesus’ reference to the TenCommandments would include the necessity to keep theweekly and the annual Sabbaths, as well as learning how to

love our neighbor. The Bible plainly reveals that God isonly calling a few at this time to be the firstfruits in Hiskingdom (I Corinthians 1:26–29). To be called now tounderstand the gospel is a unique and special privilege(John 6:44, 65–66: I Peter 2:9–10). Peter urges us to “makeyour calling and election sure” (II Peter 1:10).The bigquestion is how do we do this? How do we avoid becomingskeptical and cynical? Where do we look for the answers?

The Lesson of Israel

Many assume that the Old Testament is no longer rel-evant to New Testament Christianity—yet nothing couldbe further from the truth! Notice Paul’s admonition to theearly Church to learn from and not follow the unfortunateexample of ancient Israel. You have to know the story toget the point of Paul’s warning! The Israelites were chosenby God for a special purpose (Exodus 19:5–6). They sawGod supernaturally deliver them from slavery in Egypt(Exodus 4–14). They knew their promised reward was theland of Canaan (Genesis 12:1; Exodus 3:8; Joshua 1:2).God had promised to be with them. Yet Paul recounts howthese same Israelites provoked God to anger by departingfrom and rebelling against His instructions. As a result,“they could not enter in [into the promised land] becauseof unbelief” (Hebrews 3:7–19). The Israelites lost theirreward because they sinned (v. 17). They chose not tobelieve God. An entire generation died in the wildernessbecause they lost their confidence in God and His promis-es. Paul’s earnest plea is “let us therefore be diligent toenter that rest (attain the promised reward), lest anyone fallafter the same example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:11).

The vital lesson for us is to understand what the sin ofunbelief involved! Wh a t did the Israelites do that so angere dGod that they lost their promised re w a rd? What did they dothat was s o b a d? Paul does not elaborate on the details, butthe Old Testament does—and the details are instructive andapplicable to us today! We can learn important lessons fro mthe costly mistakes of the Israelites—i f we recognize that we,too, have the same tendencies. But just what are the s i g n sa n d s y m p t o m s of disbelief?

A description of Israel’s provocative actions is found inNumbers 13 and 14. It is worth reading. Moses sent men tos e a rch out the Promised Land. On their re t u rn they re p o rt-ed their findings. Most described a bountiful land, but said

O


10

it would be i m p o s s i b l e and f u t i l e to proceed because thepeople there were too big and too powerful to conquer.These g l o o m y and n e g a t i v e re p o rts stirred up the people.The entire nation of Israel was a n g e re d and d i s t u r b e d.Joshua and Caleb tried to remind the people to re m e m b e rand trust in God’s promises, but their admonitions fell ondeaf ears! The people became c y n i c a l and s a rc a s t i c, g ru m -b l i n g and c o m p l a i n i n g against Moses and his leadership.They a c c u s e d him of leading them to disaster and death inthe wilderness. They proposed selecting new leaders andre t u rning to Egypt where they at least had food to eat. Theyeven wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb for urging them toremember and follow God’s instru c t i o n s .

These were the actions of disbelief that angered God.Israel had seen God’s power. They knew they were a cho-sen people. They understood what their promised rewardwas to be, yet they were disinherited and denied entrance tothe Promised Land because they chose not to believe God.They lost confidence in God’s ability to guide His chosenleaders and bring to pass what He had promised. In reject-ing Moses’ leadership, God said the Israelites had rejectedHim! (Numbers 14:11). It was for this cynical attitude andrepeatedly doubting and testing God that an entire genera-tion wandered for forty years and died in the wilder-ness—never having received the promised reward.

A Lesson for Today

But was this cynical attitude of disbelief limited just tothe Israelites of old? Hardly! This is a h u m a n p ro b l e m w eall have to wrestle with and overcome. Cynical people arecritical of others, pessimistic, skeptical, complaining,fault-finding, distrustful, depressed, and disbelieving.They are lacking in faith and trust, not optimistic, not con-fident, not sure, not joyful or cheerful. Bible pro p h e c yreveals this s a m e attitude will be prevalent as we appro a c hthe end of the age. Peter writes, “s c o ff e r s will come in thelast days, walking according to their own lusts [followingtheir own ideas]…they willfully forget” (II Peter 3:3–5).Peter states such individuals will promote “destru c t i v eh e resies” and use “deceptive words” that will l e a d m a n ya s t r a y and cause people to turn against the truth (II Peter2:1–3). He describes these cynical individuals as “pre-sumptuous, self-willed; they are not afraid to speak evil ofdignitaries” (2:10). They will undermine the faith of any-one who listens to their ideas and opinions.

Paul writes similarly, “in the last days p e r i l o u s t i m e swill come: for men will be lovers of themselves [their ownideas, etc]…proud, b l a s p h e m e r s…lovers of pleasure srather than lovers of God, having a f o rm of godliness butd e n y i n g its power…from such people t u rn a w a y!” (IITimothy 3:1–5). He also states, “the time will come when

they will not endure sound doctrine, but according totheir own desires, because they have itching ears, they willheap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn theirears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (IITimothy 4:1–5). Paul and Peter are essentially saying thatthe cynical attitudes of disbelief that plagued the ancientIsraelites will also create problems at the end of the age. Ifwe fail to recognize this we, too, could lose our re w a rd !

Even Patriarchs and Apostles

It is tempting to assume that only the weak and thosenot really called will be caught up in such cynical atti-tudes. However, the Scriptures warn against making suchan assumption. Most of the prominent biblical charactershad bouts with cynicism. Abraham, in his old age,laughed out loud when God promised him a son. Godnamed the son Isaac (meaning laughter) to re m i n dAbraham of his skepticism and disbelief. Moses made somany excuses when God told him he would be used todeliver Israel from Egypt that God chose to use Aaron asthe spokesman (Exodus 4). David wrestled with thetemptation to become cynical (see Psalm 73).

Jesus had to deal with skepticism—even among menHe chose to become Apostles. In Jesus’ hometown d i s b e l i e flimited what He could do. People could only see him asthe kid down the street, the carpenter’s son. They c o u l d n ’tb e l i e v e He was the Messiah spoken of in the Scripture s(Matthew 13:53–58). Jesus told His disciples their inabili-ty to heal a child was due to t h e i r u n b e l i e f ( M a t t h e w17:14–21). When Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene afterHis re s u rrection these same disciples re f u s e d t o b e l i e v e h e reyewitness account (Mark 16:9–14). The d o u b t s o fThomas, another disciple, are legendary (John 20:24–29).H o w e v e r, God used these same individuals—as they wereable to overcome their doubt and cynicism.

Banishing Doubts

How do we effectively battle cynical attitudes? How dowe overcome doubt and pessimism? The solution involvesgetting our perspectives straightened out. David learned thisvital lesson. He writes, “I was envious of the boastful, whenI saw the prosperity of the wicked…when I thought how tounderstand this it was too painful for me—until I went intothe sanctuary of God; then I understood their end” ( P s a l m s73:3,16–17). David gained a valuable perspective when Helooked to God and His word for understanding. David cameto realize “the entirety of Your word is true” (Psalms119:160). He described God’s word as “a lamp to my feet anda light to my path” (119:105). David’s cynicism evaporatedas he learned to trust in God and His instructions. Jesus told


11

His disciples that God’s word “is truth” and that a knowledgeof the word of God will set us fre e — f rom doubt and fear(John 17:17; 8:32). We, too, can share that experience if westudy and b e l i e v e what God has inspired in the Bible.

Many have become discouraged and disillusionedover problems in the Church, yet Jesus promised “I willbuild My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevailagainst it” (Matthew 16:18). God’s Church will continueto exist, although it is prophesied to be small (Luke12:32), scattered (John 16:32), and persecuted (Matthew24:9). True Christians must endure and persevere toreceive their re w a rd (Matthew 24:13; Revelation3:10–11). They must hold on faithfully to what they havebeen taught (Titus 1:9) to avoid losing their crown.Christians must resist becoming critical, skeptical andcynical. We cannot give in to this type of temptation. Wemust believe God and act on that belief.

Personal trials can also be difficult. It is easy tobecome pessimistic, yet here again the challenge for us isto believe what God has promised. Paul writes “we knowthat all things work together for good to those who loveGod, to those who are called according to His purpose”(Romans 8:28). Can we trust God on this? Have you seenthis work in your life? Paul told the church in Corinth,“God is faithful, who will not allow you to be temptedbeyond what you are able, but with the temptation willalso make the way of escape, that you may be able to bearit” (I Corinthians 10:13). Will we choose to believe God,or will we blame God for trials—as Satan tried to get Jobto do (Job 2:9)? Job did not give in to this temptation.Trials can help us grow and build character—and faith—if we understand this is part of God’s purpose and werespond accordingly (James 1:2–4).

The cure for cynicism is developing faith and trust inGod and His word. We are told “w i t h o u t f a i t h it is impos-sible to please Him, for he who comes to God must b e l i e v ethat He is, and that He is a re w a rder of those who diligent-ly seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). It takes courage and deter-mination to seek and trust in God—especially in an age ofskepticism and disbelief. Jesus told His disciples if theywould ask, seek and knock that God w o u l d hear andrespond (Matthew 7:7–8). Scripture states, “the eyes of theLORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth to showHimself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal toHim” (II Chronicles 16:9). God wants us to develop faithin Him. Chapter 11 of Hebrews provides a list of individ-uals who developed that kind of faith. It merits study.

Christian Leaders

Christians are called to become leaders in the king-dom of God and to rule on this earth with Jesus Christ

(Daniel 7:27; Matthew 19:28; Revelation 5:10). Part ofthe challenge of becoming a Christian involves comingout of this world and leaving negative ways of thinkingbehind (II Corinthians 6:11–18). Our goal is to developthe mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5–6). Real Christiansare learning to exercise the fruits of God’s Holy Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithful -ness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23).They are determined to add to their faith such qualities asvirtue (courage, confidence, resoluteness), knowledgeand discernment so they can function effectively as mem-bers of God’s governing family (II Peter 1:5–11). Christ-like individuals are positive, objective and optimistic.They are inspiring to be around. They are principled,focused, caring and solution-oriented. They are not nega-tive, skeptical, critical and cynical.

Effective leaders must develop the courage to rejectcynicism. One authority on leadership has observed, “youcan’t indulge in the luxury of cynicism and still expect tobuild the trust and optimism needed to inspire effectiveteams of people who make a difference” (Bethel, Makinga Difference: Twelve Qualities That Make You a Leader,1990). This same author notes that “cynicism… requiresno courage…doesn’t solve problems, expand relation-ships, or provide positive energy for the tasks we face.”Anyone who aspires to real and effective servant leader-ship must develop a positive, confident, constructive,cooperative outlook on life.

The American poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson, oncewrote, “people don’t seem to realize that their opinion ofthe world reflects their character.” Godly character is notcritical, skeptical and cynical. It is positive, confident andoptimistic. This was the “different spirit” that God saw inJoshua and Caleb (Numbers 13:30; 14:6–9, 24). Paulemphasizes this same theme in his advice to thePhilippians, “finally, bre t h ren, whatever things aret rue…noble…just… pure…lovely…of good re p o rt, ifthere is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

God is looking for individuals who are developing themind and character of Jesus Christ to be leaders in Hiscoming Kingdom. If we allow ourselves to doubt God,become skeptical of His promises, critical of His Churchand leaders, distrustful of brethren and pessimistic aboutthe future—we are on our way to losing out on ourpromised reward. Let’s not disqualify ourselves. Let’s learnfrom the Israelites. Let’s not make the same mistake theymade of becoming cynical and committing the sin ofunbelief. Let’s ask God to help us recognize our short-comings, see how to change and grow to become positiveand powerful leaders He can use to re-educate this world.Let’s believe God and trust in his word!

12

By John H. Ogwyn

Deleavening The C o rners of Our Minds

n the days when our two sonswere young, preparing for theDays of Unleavened Bread wasoften quite an adventure. My

wife would find bits of leavening inplaces you wouldn’t norm a l l yexpect. There were remains of cook-ies in the bottom of the boys’ toy boxand even the occasional petrifiedremnant of a peanut butter sandwichunder a bottom shelf in a cornerof their closet.

Most of us who have raisedchildren in the Church have ourown unusual unleavening tales totell. As the Days of UnleavenedB read approach, general housecleaning is on our priority list. Weclean our homes and, in the process,search into various corners and cub-byholes looking for bits and piecesof leavening. The scripture enjoinsus that for seven days no leavening isto be found in our dwellings(Exodus 12:19).

Leavening, an agent such asyeast or baking soda which causesb read to rise, is used in the Bible tosymbolize sin during the Days ofUnleavened Bread. Paul made thisanalogy plain in I Corinthians 5:8when he compared leaven to mal-ice and wickedness. He empha-sized to the Corinthian Churc hthat just as they were unleavenedin their homes, so were they to beunleavened in their lives. He wenton to enjoin them to keep theFeast, not only physically, but alsos p i r i t u a l l y.

As the spring festivals approach,God’s people give a lot of thought to

the subject of sin. We focus on thePassover and how Jesus Christ diedto pay for our sins. We prepare forthe Days of Unleavened Bread inwhich we picture getting rid of sinand replacing it with righteousness.At this time ofyear, it is

especially appro-priate that we stop tomeditate on the question of sin andwhere it is hidden in our lives.

We all know what sin is, right?After all, I John 3:4 makes plain thatsin is the transgression of God’s law.While this is the most simple andsuccinct definition of sin found inthe Bible, there is much more to besaid on the subject. Just as weexamine the hidden corners in ourhomes to find leavening, so wemust examine the hidden corners ofour lives to find sin that is still lurk-ing. There is a lot more to the mat-ter of sin than a mere superf i c i a lglance may reveal. Let’s look moreclosely at what the Bible re v e a l sabout sin.

Sins of Indifference

One of the best known storiesin the Bible is that of the GoodSamaritan. The account is given inLuke 10. A lawyer was attempting

to trip up Jesus Christ by askingc e rtain questions.

“What must I do to inherit eter-nal life?” he queried. “Well, you’re al a w y e r,” Christ responded, “whatdoes the Torah say?”

The lawyer replied by quotingD e u t e ronomy 6:5 and Leviticus19:18. The verse in Deuteronomyinstructs us that we are to love Godwith our whole heart and soul whilethe verse quoted from Leviticus

exhorts us to love our neighbor asourself.

After the lawyer quoted theverses, Christ responded in the affir-mative and told him that if he trulydid that, he would live. That wasn’tthe end of the exchange, however.The lawyer, we’re told, wanted tojustify himself. In other words, hehad no desire to make real changesin his life, he simply wanted anexcuse to remain the way that hewas. “And just who is my neighbor?”he then inquired of Jesus.

Christ proceeded to tell him as t o ry about a man who was travellingf rom Jerusalem to Jericho and wasrobbed, beaten, and left for dead bythe roadside. Three diff e rent trav-ellers happened by. The first was apriest, the second was a Levite, andthe third a Samaritan. The priest andthe Levite looked but declined tobecome involved. The Samaritan,moved with compassion, stoppedand re n d e red aid. “Who was a neigh-bor to the man who had been beatenand robbed?” Jesus demanded of thel a w y e r. The obvious answer, whichthe lawyer was forced to admit, was

I


13

that the Samaritan who stopped andhelped was the only one who showedhimself a neighbor. Christ thenenjoined the lawyer to go and dol i k e w i s e .

What was the sin of the priestand the Levite? Neither of them par-ticipated in the beating or the rob-bery. They didn’t harm the injuredman. Yet clearly, according to JesusChrist, their actions hadn’t met there q u i rements of a holy, righteousGod. Simply put, the priest and theLevite were guilty of the sin of indif-ference. They didn’t care!

In another well-known account,this one found in Matthew 25,Christ told of His future coming inpower and glory when He wouldbegin the process of judging thenations. This time of judgment willlast throughout the Millennium andthe White Throne Judgment period.Christ likened His role to that of as h e p h e rd dividing the sheep fro mthe goats.

In this account, Christ placedthe righteous on His right hand andinvited them to enter into life. Hetold them that this was becausewhen He was hungry they had fedHim, when He was thirsty they hadgiven Him something to drink, andwhen He had been sick and inprison they had visited Him. Hethen turned to those on His lefthand and told them to go into thelake of fire because they hadn’t fedHim when He had been hungry orgiven Him a drink when He hadbeen thirsty, neither had they visitedHim. Both groups had a commonresponse to Christ’s statements.“When did we respond to you thatw a y,” they asked. “Inasmuch as youdid it unto one of the least of thesemy bre t h ren, you did it unto me,”Christ re p l i e d .

As does the parable of the GoodSamaritan, this account illustratesthe seriousness of the sin of indiffer-ence. It’s not enough for us to mere-

ly refrain from robbing or killing ourn e i g h b o r, we must actively showlove and kindness to others. Thespirit of God’s law requires far morethan merely the avoidance of active-ly harming someone else.

As we examine the closet cor-ners of our lives, we must examinefor sins of indifference. They violate,in principle, all of the commandsthat hang on the simple statementthat we are to love our neighbor asourself.

Sins of Pride

King Uzziah of Judah came tothe throne when he was only sixteenyears old. He went on to become oneof the most outwardly successfulrulers of the southern kingdom.

F rom early in his reign he pur-sued an aggressive policy thats e c u red his own borders andb rought traditional enemies to bay.He put together a sizeable, wellequipped arm y. He fort i f i e dJ e rusalem, placed fortified garr i s o ncities among the Philistines, andf o rced the Ammonites to pay annu-al tribute.

He expanded the economic pros-perity of the nation by digging aseries of wells that opened newopportunities of cattle raising andagriculture. The entire nation hadpeace at home and respect abroad.

II Chronicles 26 tells the story ofKing Uzziah. In verse 15 we’re told,“So his fame spread far and wide, forhe was marvelously helped till hebecame strong.” Setting the stage forthis prosperity and success was thefact that, from the beginning of hiskingship, Uzziah had sought to servethe God of Israel.

That doesn’t represent the end ofthe story, however. In II Chronicles26:16, we read of the turning pointin Uzziah’s life. “But when he wasstrong his heart was lifted up, to hisd e s t ruction, for he transgre s s e d

against the LORD his God by enteringthe temple of the LO R D to burnincense on the altar of incense.” Oneof the greatest dangers of success ispride.

At the pinnacle of blessings andsuccess we are all quite vulnerable tothis insidious destroyer, pride. Prideis what turned Lucifer into Satan. Ithas spiritually destroyed many whoseemed on the road to great success.

In Uzziah’s case, he took to him-self the prerogatives of the priests.Israel’s priesthood consisted only ofthose men who were direct descen-dants of Aaron. The priests were theonly ones permitted by God to enterthe Holy Place of the Temple and toperform the rituals outlined in theLaw. One of those rituals consistedof burning incense on the altar thatstood in front of the veil separatingthe Holy Place from the Holy ofHolies.

Uzziah became focused on hisgreatness as Judah’s most successfulking. He lost sight of the fact that hewas subject to God’s law just likeeveryone else. No one is so impor-tant as to be above the law!

The High Priest Azariah andeighty other faithful priests con-f ronted the king in the temple. “Yo umust leave immediately,” the highpriest demanded, “you’re not apriest and it isn’t lawful for you tobe here!” The king’s response was tobecome enraged at the priest fora d d ressing him that way. When hisanger flared at the correction he hadreceived, a remarkable thing sud-denly happened. As the priestswatched in horro r, Uzziah’s facebecame leprous. As the now-fright-ened king recognized what waso c c u rring, he quickly withdre wf rom the temple. For the re m a i n d e rof his life he was a leper and had tolive apart from others. His sonJotham became regent in his stead.U z z i a h ’s life ended in loneliness andobscurity because this great con-


14

quering king was himself con-q u e red by pride.

Pride leads to pre s u m p t u o u ssins. It also serves as a roadblock toaccepting correction. When any ofus presume to set ourselves in a posi-tion that God hasn’t chosen to giveus, we are on very dangero u sg round. We must all search thedrawers and closet corners of ourlives for hidden pride that could bethe key to our undoing.

Compromise andFaithlessness

When fear rather than faith rulesour life, it leads us to compromise

with what we know is right. “Forwhatsoever is not from faith is sin”(Romans 14:23). Perhaps one of themost vivid illustrations of faithless-ness and compromise is the accountof Jeroboam, the first king of theHouse of Israel. From I Kings 11 welearn that Solomon displeased Godin his later years. As a result, Godallowed adversaries to rise up andtrouble him.

In this context we’re intro d u c e dto Jeroboam, a very industriousyoung Ephraimite who was the sonof a widow. Solomon became soi m p ressed with Jero b o a m ’s abilitythat he made him governor of thetribe of Ephraim. One day, on hisway out of Jerusalem, one of God’sp rophets accosted him. Ahijah theP rophet came up to Jero b o a m ,asked to see his new coat and thenp roceeded to rip it into twelvepieces! “Take ten of these,” he told

the astounded Jeroboam. Thep rophet went on to explain thatGod was going to make Jero b o a mking over ten of the tribes of Israelafter Solomon’s death. Because ofHis previous promise of an everlast-ing dynasty to King David, God wasgoing to pre s e rve Solomon’sdynasty over Judah. However,J e roboam was told that if he wouldbe faithful and obedient to God,God would also establish hisdynasty fore v e r.

Evidently Solomon must haveheard about some of this, for hebecame suspicious of Jeroboam. As aresult, Jeroboam had to flee to Egyptto pre s e rve his life. Only after

S o l o m o n ’s death was he free toreturn to Israel.

Upon King Solomon’s death,his son Rehoboam succeeded tothe throne. A delegation from all ofthe tribes came to him anddemanded a reduction in the hightaxes that Solomon had levied.Rehoboam, ignoring the counsel ofthe older, wiser men, refused toheed the people’s request anddecided to show that he was “inc h a rge.” The result was that the tenn o rt h e rn tribes refused toacknowledge him as king andchose the newly re t u rned Jero b o a mas their king. This event pro d u c e da split between Israel and Judahthat has endured to this day.

So far, half of what God hadp romised Jeroboam through thep rophet had come to pass. Now hewas king over the ten tribes.H o w e v e r, as he thought of the peo-

ple travelling to Jerusalem year afteryear to attend God’s festivals, hewas troubled. “In time, they’llbecome nostalgic for ‘the good olddays,’” he mused. “They’ll thinkback longingly to the time whene v e ryone was together as onenation. Some day they will simplyget rid of me so that they canreunite with Judah.” The more hethought about this possible scenariothe more persuaded of it he was andthe more he worr i e d .

After talking it over with hisadvisors, Jeroboam came up with aplan to prevent this from happening.I Kings 12 explains that he called thepeople together and proposed somechanges. “It’s too hard for you folksto have to go all the way toJerusalem to worship God,” he toldthe Israelites. Jeroboam then toldthem that there would now be twocenters of worship for the ten tribes.One would be in the northern part ofhis kingdom at Dan and the other inthe southern part at Bethel.A d d i t i o n a l l y, he told them, therewould be a golden calf set up at eachlocation. New priests were appoint-ed by him who were not from thesons of Aaron. I Kings 12:31 tells usthat they were the lowest of the peo-ple. They were men willing to preachwhatever Jeroboam paid them topreach. In addition, he changed thedate of the Feast of Tabernacles fromthe seventh month to the eighthmonth, undoubtedly under the guiseof offering greater convenience.

J e ro b o a m ’s compromises withthe truth of God were motivated byfear. They were self-protective strate-gies based upon his apprehensionabout what the future might hold.While his concerns were certainlyunderstandable from a human stand-point, they left God entirely out ofthe picture. The same God who had

Corners of Our Mindscontinues on page 19

When fear rather than faith rules our life, it leads us to compromise with what we know is right. “For whatsoever is not from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23).

15

ven before the ink was dry on the incorporationpapers of the Living Church of God, memberswere asking, “Where will the Feast sites be for1999?” Indeed, attending the Feast of

Tabernacles is the highlight of the year for God’s people.If we are growing in grace and knowledge, the reality ofthe Kingdom of God becomes ever clearer to us as wegather together each fall to celebrate our part in God’splan and to look forward to the establishment of God’sgovernment here on earth.

But why does God give such emphasis to this year-end milestone on the Holy Day calendar? How should webe preparing for this important time, and how should weobserve it when it arrives?

We read in Leviticus: “Speak to the children of Israel,saying: `The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall bethe Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. Onthe first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shalldo no customary work on it’” (Leviticus 23:34–35).

We then notice that although only the first and lastdays are “holy time”, God says we should be at the Feastfor all eight days: “For seven days you shall offer an offer-ing made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shallhave a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offeringmade by fire to the LORD. It is a sacred assembly, and youshall do no customary work on it” (Leviticus 23:36).

For how long should we keep the Feast? “You shallkeep it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. Itshall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month” (Leviticus 23:41).Yes, God commands us to keep the feast for seven dayseach year, year after year, generation after generation — forever!

“‘You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who arenative Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your genera-tions may know that I made the children of Israel dwell inbooths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: Iam the LORD your God’” (Leviticus 23:42–43). Noticethat we are to leave our homes and live in temporaryaccommodations for the entire Feast. This reminds usthat we are merely sojourners here on Earth.

But why does God so emphasize the importance of

our keeping the Feast of Tabernacles? What lessons arewe to learn from it, and how should we prepare ourselvesto celebrate it? “You shall truly tithe all the increase ofyour grain that the field produces year by year. And youshall eat before the LORD your God, in the place where Hechooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grainand your new wine and your oil of the firstborn of yourherds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the LORD

your God always” (Deuteronomy 14:22–23). Yes, Godhas commanded our attendance at the fall Feast so wemay learn to fear the LORD our God always.

Notice that part of God’s instruction to us is to preparea tithe of our annual increase to pay our expenses travelingto and staying at the place where God places His Name:“But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are notable to carry the tithe, or if the place where the LORD yourGod chooses to put His name is too far from you, when theLORD your God has blessed you, then you shall exchange itfor money, take the money in your hand, and go to theplace which the LORD your God chooses. And you shallspend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxenor sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heartdesires; you shall eat there before the LORD your God, andyou shall rejoice, you and your household” (Deuteronomy14:24–26).

God did not say that we do not have to attend if thesite is too far away. In the Millenium, people will come toJerusalem for the Feast from every nation; they will not beable to complain that the site is too far distant. Yes,except for severe health reasons, all God’s people shouldattend, and He expects us to set aside a tithe for ourexpenses. In past years, some have excused themselves toreturn to work during the Feast, or have left early to getback to school. A few have attended only the morningservice on the Last Great Day, so they could get an earlystart rushing back into the world. Yet the Last Great Dayis holy to God and should be entirely and reverentlyobserved until sunset.

P roperly saving our second tithe is one of the wayswe show our Father that we do fear to violate Hisstatutes and that we desire to fully honor Him at His fallf e s t i v a l s .

By Don Davis

Prepare NowFor The FEAST OF TABERN ACLES

E


16

Arrangements for 1999

This year the Festival Office has had to start all overagain arranging sites. All our previous re c o rds and filesw e re unavailable to us. It is a lot of work even in norm a ltimes, and in our exceptional circumstances some majorchanges are being made to accommodate the short e r- t h a n -n o rmal deadlines we now face. We only have enough peo-ple and ministers to run ten North American sites; four inCanada, five in the United States, and one in Mexico.

A number of international sites will also be available;information about these will be published in the nearfuture.

Details about housingarrangements should be avail-able before Pentecost, and willbe announced in local congre-gations and through theC h u rch web site. Please bea w a re that we must handlehousing arrangements diff e r-ently than in the past. We willonly be able to publicize sitesthat offer us their meeting hallsfree, or for a reduced cost inexchange for our filling a blockof rooms. To meet the needs ofmembers who have specialhousing needs or transporta-tion requirements, each areapastor will appoint someone ineach congregation to act asFestival Coordinator to pro-vide assistance. Additionally,the Church web site will pro-vide links to Chamber ofC o m m e rce, Visitors’ Bure a u ,and other such information forthe Feast locations.

Since no commissiona rrangements or contractswith hotels, motels or realtorswill be made, the Church willlose an important source ofincome that previously helped pay some Feast expenses.It thus becomes more important than ever that memberssend in their tithe of the tithe and excess second tithedonations, which can help cover these and other expens-es in addition to helping needy brethren attend the Feast,as soon as is possible. Please, however, do NOT makeyour housing arrangements until we have been able toannounce the preferred hotels, since our ability to obtain

free use of meeting halls may still depend on havingenough brethren staying in the meeting hotel.

It is our privilege and our responsibility to fulfillGod’s admonition that all should: “Go your way, eat thefat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whomnothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Donot sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength”(Nehemiah 8:10).

God is preparing a great future and a place for each ofus in His family. He has called us to learn how to rule andteach this world in the ways of peace and happiness. TheFeast of Tabernacles is the best place to train for the awe-some events to occur in the days and years just ahead.

The Feast gives us a fore-taste of the Kingdom ofGod.

Even after theKingdom is here, the Feastof Tabernacles will still beobserved and all nationswill be required to attend.As we read in Zechariah:

“And it shall come topass that everyone who isleft of all the nations whichcame against Jeru s a l e mshall go up from year toyear to worship the King,the LORD of hosts, and tokeep the Feast ofTabernacles. And it shallbe that whichever of thefamilies of the earth do notcome up to Jerusalem toworship the King, theLO R D of hosts, on themthere will be no rain. If thefamily of Egypt will notcome up and enter in, theyshall have no rain; theyshall receive the plaguewith which the LO R D

strikes the nations who donot come up to keep the

Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment ofEgypt and the punishment of all the nations that do notcome up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles” (Zechariah14:16–19).

Once the nations learn what God will teach them atthe great fall festival, they will come to love and enjoy theFeast of Tabernacles as much as His people do today.

See you at the Feast!

Tucson, Arizona:Don Davis

Jackson Hole, Wyoming:Ben Whitfield

Gatlinburg, Tennessee:Bob League

Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri:Gerald Weston

Panama City, Florida:Randy Kobernat

Prince Edward Island: Frank Best

Cranbrook, British Columbia:Laurie Nyhus

Niagara Falls, Ontario:Ken Frank

Montreal, Quebec (French):Jacques Secours

Mexico:Mario Hernandez

North American Feast sites andtheir respective Coordinators

are currently as follows:

17

hese are the times that trymen’s souls. The summersoldier and the sunshinepatriot will, in this crisis,

shrink from the service of theircountry; but he that stands it now,deserves the love and thanks of manand woman... we have this consola-tion with us, that the harder the con-flict, the more glorious the triumph.What we obtain too cheap, weesteem too lightly: it is dearness onlythat gives every thing its value.”(Thomas Paine, The American Crisis ,December 23, 1776).

The writings of Thomas Paineso strengthened the hearts of theAmerican colonies that GeneralG e o rge Washington had T h eAmerican Crisis read to theContinental troops during theRevolution. It was a time of testing,a time of sacrifice, and indeed a“time that tried men’s souls.” TheC h u rch of God goes through timesof trial as well. And we know it’snot just the parents and adults whoa re tried, but the youth in theC h u rch, too. No matter what agewe are, trials can compel us top rove what we may have taken forgranted in the past. As the essayistsaid, “what we obtain too cheap,we esteem too lightly.” I’d like tochallenge you to use this re c e n tcrisis in the Church to pore moredeeply into personal Bible study tod e t e rmine what God’s will is foryou. It’s never too early to start“ p roving all things” (IThessalonians 5:21) for yourself,as a youth, including the issues theC h u rch has faced re cently.

GOD’S WORK and GOD’SGOVERNMENT

Is your heart in the Work? Shouldyou be concerned about “The Wo r k ? ”One of the central issues of the re c e n tcrisis is, “Just what priority should theWork have in the Church?” If youh a v e n ’t read Dr. Mere d i t h ’s recent let-ters on this crisis, take the time to re a dthem. Study the Scriptures he refers to.Read the articles that will come outexplaining this issue. You need toknow what priority the Work shouldhave in your life! It’s not too early tobegin to get involved in the Wo r k .Pray fervently for the growth of thetelecast and the magazine. Pray for ourleaders’ health and boldness in pre a c h-ing the gospel (Ephesians 6:18–19).Pour out your heart to God in prayer,as you watch world events andbecome aware of the problems facingour world today (Ezekiel 9:4).Contribute financially from a part -time job in tithes and offerings. As youdo these things, you will be gro w i n gand developing yourself, and gettingbehind a global eff o rt to warn theworld of calamity and tell them of theGood News of a better one to come!What eff o rt could be more exhilarat-ing and personally expanding?

What about government in theC h u rch? That’s another big issue in therecent crisis. Our attitude towards gov-e rnment is very critical—no matterwhat our age. Again, Dr. Meredith hasexplained that God has always usedone main leader, who has the primaryinfluence, to whom we look and follow(as he follows Christ—I Corinthians11:1). We have a wonderful opport u n i-

ty to learn government the right way.In the world around us, all too ofteng o v e rnment is NOT wielded the rightw a y. Whoever is “chief” should havethe attitude of really caring for, listen-ing to, and helping and serving others(Matthew 20:25–28). He has to makehimself a servant —a “servant leader. ”Take the challenge to learn what ser-vant leadership is for yourself. Andthen, in whatever situation you findyourself, baby-sitting a younger sib-ling, heading a project at school, orw h a t e v e r, you can practice those prin-ciples Christ outlined for us.

Each generation, it seems, has hadits unique challenges. In the Bible,M o rdecai challenged Queen Esther tostand up for right, even in the face ofpersonal danger, when he said, “Whoknows whether you are come to thekingdom for such a time as this?”(Esther 4:14) God challenged Israel —and it stills rings true today —saying,“I sought for a man among them, thatshould make up the hedge, and standin the gap...” (Ezekiel 22:30) Dr.M e redith recently challenged us to“stand up and be counted!” in hise m e rgency letter, dated November 21.

This challenge is not just for yourp a rents. It’s for YOU! Take the chal-lenge. How deeply do you cherish whatyou have been given by God? It’s nevertoo early to start proving what you’vebeen taught all these years, in your ownBible study. And then, stand up, in yourown personal way, and “live by everyw o rd that proceeds out of the mouth ofGod,” (Matthew 4:4) not as a “summersoldier” or “sunshine patriot,” but as as t rong, steady, and committed youth inthe Church of God!

“TA Challenge To The Yo u t h

By Rod McNair

18

Report From The TreasurerBy Fred Dattolo

s you certainly know, the last few months havebeen quite a challenge! At Headquart e r s ,with roughly half the staff we had before, wea re not only keeping up with re g u l a r

duties, but we are also rebuilding the office infrastru c-t u re. We have had to reinvent “from scratch” the pro-grams, systems, pro c e d u res and policies to supportp reaching the Gospel and feeding the flock. Duringthis time, we have had at least four generous individu-als volunteering all day, almost every workday, to helpus get started. Others have volunteered for days orweeks at a time — some coming from out of the are ato do so! We are deeply grateful to all of them and toall of you for your part in helping revive God’s Wo r k .It has been wonderful to behold.

Our “start-up” costs, especially after these firstfew months of heavy buying, are finally diminishing.

As you can imagine, it was quite a task (and quite anexpense) purchasing video, audio, mailing and otherproduction equipment, while also needing to acquirecomputers, printers, copiers, desks, chairs, filingcabinets and other furniture for 22 full-time staff.Fortunately, we were able to buy much of it (espe-cially much of the furniture) used. As a “new” orga-nization, we were also required to put down somehefty deposits with a few vendors in order to do busi-ness with them.

Our current income level is approximately 77 per-cent of what it was a year ago. Accord i n g l y, we havelimited payroll to roughly 65 percent of what it was

b e f o re. Yet when we count outside attorney fees andoutside television production fees (which were for-merly in-house), the equivalent payroll costs are near72 percent of what they were a year ago.

Equivalent payroll needs to remain proportion-ately 5 percent below last year’s figure because manyother costs have not decreased at all. These includesuch expenses as WGN, television tapes and dupli-cating, telephone and toll-free 800-number service,Sabbath hall rentals, third-tithe assistance and someinsurance policies. Our office rent, however, is onlyhalf of what it used to be.

Thus, with 77 percent of last year’s income, wecan sustain the same level of output as before inpreaching the Gospel and feeding the flock! As longas we maintain at least our present level of income,our cash flow projections show that we should beable to live within our means.

We are at the time of the year when we normal-ly begin to receive the tithe of second tithe.Traditionally, as originated by Mr. Armstrong, titheof second tithe has been used to help pay the com-mon expenses of conducting all the annual HolyDays. For the spring Holy Days, for example, we usetithe of second tithe to rent halls in which to meet,send ministers from Headquarters, purchase neededPassover supplies, and similar such expenses. If youare able to send in a tithe of your second tithe to helpdefray these festival costs that benefit all of us, itwould be most appreciated!

F i n a l l y, we already hear of brand-new peoplebeing called to the Living Church of God! Welook forw a rd to the growth and hope to be able top reach the Gospel even more effectively than atp resent. We will try to keep the Headquart e r ss t a ff as lean as possible, taking advantage of tech-nology wherever possible to remain as efficient aswe are able.

We appreciate your prayers in that regard and weare very thankful for what God has done so far.Thank you very much for your allegiance to HisWork!

…with 77 percent of last year’sincome, we can sustain thesame level of output as beforein preaching the Gospel andfeeding the flock!

A


19

made him king could certainly havepreserved his dynasty.

When we follow our fears and tryto protect ourselves rather than re l yupon God, we inevitably embark uponthe path of compromise. The truth isthat we can’t protect and pre s e rve our-selves, but God is faithful and Hispromises stand sure! Jeroboamthought that his actions would enablehis dynasty to hang onto power. Inreality they were its death knell! Hisdynasty proved to be extremely short -lived, only surviving his death by am e re two years (I Kings 15:25–27). Hehad left God out of the picture and hadacted from fear rather than from faith.

When we search the hiddencrevices of the inner man for thecrumbs of leavening, we must be onthe lookout for our human fears andthe compromises they produce. “Thefear of man brings a snare, but who-ever trusts in the LORD shall be safe”(Proverbs 29:25).

Sins of Unforgiveness

Ahithophel was one of KingDavid’s very closest friends. Mostcommentaries agree that the refer-ence in Psalm 55:13 to the manDavid called “...my comrade, myown dear friend...” (NEB) was toAhithophel. David further describesthis friendship by saying in Psalm

55:14, “We were together in sweetfellowship, and went to God’s housewith the festal throng” (DeWitt).

Yet both Psalm 55:13–15 andPsalm 41:9 tell of David’s betrayal bythis man whom he trusted. As the

Jerusalem Bible renders Psalm 41:9,“Even my closest and most trustedfriend, who shared my table, rebelsagainst me.” John 13:18 quotes JesusChrist at His final Passover applyingthis verse to the actions of JudasIscariot.

Ahithophel, David’s friend andmost trusted advisor, joined withAbsalom in his revolt. He was part ofthe conspiracy to overthrow Davidas king (II Samuel 15:12, 31). Why,after years of trusted friendship,would he do such a thing?

The answer is found in a carefulcomparison of two verses. II Samuel11:3 tells us that Bathsheba, thewoman with whom David commit-ted adultery, was the daughter ofEliam. From II Samuel 23:34 welearn that Eliam was one of David’s“mighty men” and that he was theson of Ahithophel. In other words,Bathsheba was the granddaughter of

David’s closest advisor, Ahithophel!Simply put, Ahithophel never

forgave David for what he had doneto his granddaughter and her hus-band, Uriah. He must have feltdeeply hurt by David’s actions. That

h u rt, however, turned to bitterresentment and festered on theinside for years. He could neverseem to turn it loose!

It is easy to understand the depthof Ahithophel’s hurt, but what did hislack of forgiveness do for him? It fed aresentment which turned him into atraitor to God’s anointed king! He diedas a hopeless suicide (II Samuel 17:23).

How many unforgiven hurts do wehave lurking deep within us? If wed o n ’t get rid of them, they’ll destroy us!

This year let’s make sure that wedon’t only unleaven the corners ofour closets. Most importantly, let’ssearch out and remove the crumbs ofleavening in the corners of ourhearts and minds.

We can’t do this spiritual unleav-ening on our own strength. But thenwe don’t have to! God’s power is avail-able to us if we will only reach out toHim and truly seek His help.

Corners of Our Minds(Continued From page 14)

true religion, which is consistent with Habakkuk 2:14,“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of theglory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” Thus, leav-en may be a symbol of false religion now, but true religionin the future.

Although the Days of Unleavened Bread are firstmentioned in the Old Testament, it is in the NewTestament that we learn more fully that today’s leaven

p i c t u res false religion and sin. The New Testament showsthe connection between Jesus’ Passover sacrifice and theremoval of sin from our lives. By keeping the Days ofUnleavened Bread, Christians picture that they haveh e a rd the word of God, accepted the sacrifice of Jesus,tried to put the word of God into practice, and have sym-bolically put false religion and sin out of their lives. Bykeeping the Days of Unleavened Bread, Christians showthat they are willing to obey God over the traditions ofmen. In conclusion, as it says in I Corinthians 5:8,“ T h e re f o re let us keep the feast.”

Why Should Christians… (Continued From page 8)

When we follow our fears and try to protec tourselves rather than rely upon God, we in-

e v i tably embark upon the path of compromise.


20

He was dead. Yet, a few days later, they personally saw Him and talked with Him as He came and stood in their midst (John20:19). So the then-converted and thus completely fearless Apostle Peter could say to the Jews, “The God of Abraham, Isaac,and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate,when he was determined to let Him go. But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murd e rer to be granted toyou, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses” (Acts 3:13-15).

Over and over we read in the book of Acts about the profound feeling the original apostles had for the death andresurrection of Jesus. Only by constant study, by heartfelt prayer and by deep MEDITATION on these things can we mod-ern day Christians approach the feeling of adoration and WORSHIP toward Jesus Christ which those apostles felt. But,again, to be as close to Jesus as they were, we need to strive for this by zealously walking with Christ so that we can fullyhonor Him and the Father who sent Him to be our Savior and Living Head.

One of the most powerful “pre-Passover” scriptures is found in Philippians 2:5-11. “Let this mind be in you whichwas also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but madeHimself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found inappearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name ofJesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that everytongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Truly we are to have Christ’s mind of service and sacrifice. With God’s help through His Holy Spirit, we are to devel-op the “footwashing attitude” of Christ in being willing to humble ourselves in order to serve. Remember that in verse7 the expression “made Himself of no reputation” should be translated “emptied Himself.” For in order to serve us, inorder to DIE for us, Christ “emptied Himself” of the glory, the power and the majesty that He had shared with the Fatherfrom eternity. He did this in order that He could genuinely understand the human experience and the temptations andtrials we go through in a personal sense and so become our “merciful and faithful High Priest” (Hebrews 2:17) so thatHe—now made human—could suffer and DIE for us as the ultimate Passover Lamb.

As we each file into the meeting hall this coming Passover evening and prepare to take the symbols of the bread andthe wine, let us think and MEDITATE on these things. Let us THANK GOD that He was willing to sacrifice His belovedSon—His companion from eternity—in this way. And let us thank Christ that He willingly gave of Himself that we mightsomeday join Him and the Father in the Kingdom of God. Let us also have absolute FAITH that our sins will be totallyforgiven if we repent of our sins and accept the magnificent gift of total forgiveness, mercy and love that comes fromGod and from God alone.

Dear Brethren (Continued From page 2)

ing to God. These trials literallyf o rced David to SEEK God evenm o re in his daily life. For, being aman of God, David k n e w that his trials and afflictions were eitherd i rectly caused or at the very leastp e rmitted by God for David’s owngood. Again, David wrote, “I know,O LO R D, that Your judgments are

right, and that in faithfulness Yo uhave afflicted me. (v. 75).

A re you and I as sensitive toG o d ’s will as was King David? Arewe constantly and s i n c e re l y a s k i n gGod to “purge” us from our sinsand our own vain, selfish ways?A re we regularly meditating on thel e s s o n s we can learn from each ande v e ry trial and test that God allowsin our lives? Are we constantlyfocusing on how much closer wecan become to the true Jesus Christ

who now sits at God’s right hand?How we can reflect H i m m o re per-fectly in every thing we think, sayor do?

Let each of us really take thisa p p roach to the trials, tests andafflictions that come upon us. Let usunderstand more fully the ApostleP a u l ’s inspired words, “And weknow that all things work togetherfor good to those who love God, tothose who are the called according toHis purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Editorial(Continued From page 3)

21

Local ChurchNews

B re t h ren in the United Kingdomwill be keeping the Feast ofTa b e rnacles in Ay r, Scotland.Meetings will be held in the Jarv i sCaledonian Hotel. The site is easilyreached from Prestwick Airport justfive miles away, and Glasgow Airport35 miles distant. Ayr RailwayStation is approximately a half milea w a y. The double occupancy rate is£35 per person, which includes bed,b reakfast and evening meal, full useof all hotel facilities free of charg e(including indoor heated pool,whirlpool spa bath, sauna, solarium,

gymnasiums and steam ro o m ) .Single rooms are charged at £45 pernight. Children under 16 are fre e(except for meals) when two adultsbook, subject to availability.

T h e re are many historical sites near-b y, such as 18th century Culzean Castle,Loch Doon Castle, Georgian RozelleHouse, Burns Cottage in Alloway, andB u rns National Heritage Centre w h e reyou can experience “Tam O’ Shanter”,R o b e rt Burns’ famous poem.

There are 22 golf courses within a20-mile radius, and many beaches.

Anyone who has not made book-

ings directly through Mr. RobertS t o rrier is asked to contact himimmediately to confirm your reserva-tions. He may be reached by email [email protected], or by phone/faxat 44-1698-263977, or by post at P.O.Box 9092. Motherwell, Scotland,ML12BA. Before you book your flightand/or accommodations you mustregister with the UK Office, otherwiseyou will not have the booking codeentitling you to discounts at the hotel,and you will be unable to attend ser-vices. Please register quickly, as only200 places are available.

Feast of Tabernacles 1999 in Ayr, Scotland

Philippine BrethrenE n j oy Year-End Escape!

Seventy bre t h ren from the Metro-Manila andCavite congregations enjoyed a very specialC h u rch outing from December 30 to January 1.The beautiful Villa Rosanna Beach Resort inBalayan, Batangas was the setting for the first year-end church activity of the Living Church of God inthe Philippines. While children enjoyed swim-ming, older participants took advantage of thef resh air and clear skies, fellowshipping ands t rolling along the beach. On the second night,dinner was served around a bonfire under themoonlit sky. Games and a sing-along followed, assnacks of boiled peanuts and bananas were passeda round while the children roasted corn on the cobover the bonfire embers. Activity planners andcooks Mr. and Mrs. Osillos were responsible forfeeding the whole group almost non-stop!E v e ryone seemed to have a great time fellowship-ping, serving, playing and simply being together.What a way to end the year!

—from a report by Cielo Buena

Feast of Tabernacles 1999

in Penang, MalaysiaPenang, known as the Pearl of the Orient, is located on

the northwestern coast of peninsular Malaysia. It is blessedwith such a great variety of food that it is said thatPenangites don’t eat to live; they live to eat. Everywhereyou go, hawker stalls are in abundance offering a diverseselection of local fare. This year the Feast of Tabernacleswill be held in the Copthorne Orchid Penang hotel, locat-ed on a private seafront, 20 minutes from the city ofGeorgetown and 30 minutes from the international airport.Room rates begin at RM 75 per night. For further infor-mation, please contact the Feast Coordinator, Rajan Moses,M263 Perkuburan Cheras Batu 4, Jalan Cheras, 56100Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (email [email protected],phone/fax 603-930 1187)

BaptismsOn Friday, March 5, 1999, two baptisms were held in Guelph,Ontario. Mr. Ken Frank baptized Mr. Douglas Rafus from Wa t e r l o oand Mr. Ron McAfee from Burlington. Welcome to them both!

22

UNITED STATES

Anchorage AK Video GroupHomer AK Video GroupWasilla AK Video GroupBirmingham AL Rand Millich . . . . . . . . . 706-227-6895

Carl Ponder . . . . . . . . . 334-285-3265Florence AL Bob League . . . . . . . . . . 615-641-3778Huntsville AL Bob League . . . . . . . . . . 615-641-3778Montgomery AL Rand Millich . . . . . . . . . 706-227-6895

Carl Ponder . . . . . . . . . 334-285-3265Fayetteville AR Karl Beyersdorfer . . . . . . . . . . 417-623-8888Little Rock AR John Ogwyn . . . . . . . . . . 903-986-8117

Davy Crockett . . . . . . . . . . 501-868-8760Russellville AR John Ogwyn . . . . . . . . . . 903-986-8117Mena AR Video GroupPhoenix AZ Doug Winnail . . . . . . . . . . 602-572-8747

Jim Nork . . . . . . . . . 602-222-9400Gerald Shoquist . . . . . . . . . . 602-546-3773

Gary Stein . . . . . . . . . . 602-975-0897Howard Stein . . . . . . . . . . 602-546-3773

Tucson AZ Doug Winnail . . . . . . . . . . 602-572-8747Phil Steagall . . . . . . . . . 520-744-6453

Camp Verde AZ Bob McCann . . . . . . . . . 520-567-0230Arroyo Grande CA Video GroupEureka CA Don Haney . . . . . . . . . . 541-855-9872

Michael Norris . . . . . . . . . . 707-445-1335Fresno CA Gaylyn Bonjour . . . . . . . . . 209-674-0229Garden Grove CA Dibar Apartian . . . . . . . . . . 619-676-0886

Rodger Bardo . . . . . . . . . . 714-270-4663Los Angeles CA Jeff Fall . . . . . . . . . . 626-914-1474

Hadden Pace . . . . . . . . . . 626-447-4476Novato CA Ron Wheeler . . . . . . . . . . 415-892-3862Palm Springs CA Don Turk . . . . . . . . . . 619-325-3356Redding CA Don Haney . . . . . . . . . . 541-855-9872Sacramento CA Jeff Fall . . . . . . . . . . 626-914-1474San Diego CA Roderick Meredith . . . . . . . . . . 619-673-7470San Jose CA Video GroupSonora CA Video GroupDenver CO Video GroupFranktown CO Video GroupHartford CT Jim Arnaldo . . . . . . . . . 508-393-6209Washington DC Ken Frank . . . . . . . . As Of July, 1999

Ray Clore, I I . . . . . . . . . . 703-591-4787Boca Raton FL Ben Faulkner . . . . . . . . . . 813-684-1423

Dexter Wakefield . . . . . . . . . . 407-627-2471Jacksonville FL Randy Kobernat . . . . . . . . . 850-894-9909Live Oak FL Randy Kobernat . . . . . . . . . 850-894-9909Miami FL Ben Faulkner . . . . . . . . . . 813-684-1423Ocala FL Ben Faulkner . . . . . . . . . . 813-684-1423Pensacola FL Daniel Hall . . . . . . . . . 334-626-0585

Tony Smith . . . . . . . . . 850-438-0785John Burquist . . . . . . . . . . 334-661-9086

Tallahassee FL Randy Kobernat . . . . . . . . . 850-894-9909Tampa FL Ben Faulkner . . . . . . . . . . 813-684-1423

Ron Peterson . . . . . . . . . . 941-858-4090Atlanta GA Rand Millich . . . . . . . . . 706-227-6895

Jack Lowe . . . . . . . . . . 770-474-8101Blairsville GA Martin Fannin . . . . . . . . . 423-675-2304Macon GA Randy Kobernat . . . . . . . . . 850-894-9909

Local ChurchListings

Pearl City HI Harold Way . . . . . . . . . . 808-455-2761Des Moines IA Gerald Weston . . . . . . . . . . 816-228-2035Boise ID Byron Hartman . . . . . . . . . . 541-372-2210Pocatello ID Mark Mendiola . . . . . . . . . 208-238-0403Chicago IL Paul Shumway . . . . . . . . . . 651-407-3636

Gary Ehman . . . . . . . . . . 715-524-2218Peoria IL Irv Woelfle . . . . . . . . . 309-266-3638Fort Wayne IN Dave Burson . . . . . . . . . . 517-699-4971Indianapolis IN Lambert Greer . . . . . . . . . . 502-228-5917Plymouth IN Dave Burson . . . . . . . . . . 517-699-4971Terre Haute IN Virgil Thompson. . . . . . . . . . . 812-442-1303Coffeyville KS Video GroupUtica KS Video GroupWichita KS Video GroupBerea KY Video GroupLouisville KY Lambert Greer . . . . . . . . . . 502-228-5917Alexandria LA Jon McNair . . . . . . . . . 504-654-6797Baton Rouge LA Jon McNair . . . . . . . . . 504-654-6797Lafayette LA Jon McNair . . . . . . . . . 504-654-6797Monroe LA Jon McNair . . . . . . . . . 504-654-6797

Don Wood . . . . . . . . . . 870-863-8512New Orleans LA Jon McNair . . . . . . . . . 504-654-6797Shreveport LA John Harbison . . . . . . . . . 903-796-0790Boston MA Jim Arnaldo . . . . . . . . . 508-393-6209Salisbury MD Video GroupBangor ME Jim Arnaldo . . . . . . . . . 508-393-6209Detroit MI Dave Burson . . . . . . . . . . 517-699-4971Kalamazoo MI Dave Burson . . . . . . . . . . 517-699-4971Lansing MI Dave Burson 517-699-4971Marquette MI John Blanchard . . . . . . . . . 906-586-6834Saulte St. Marie MI John Blanchard . . . . . . . . . 906-586-6834Minneapolis MN Paul Shumway . . . . . . . . . . 651-407-3636Columbia MO William Oswald . . . . . . . . . . 573-657-4637

Rod Reynolds . . . . . . . . . . 816-827-1320Joplin MO Karl Beyersdorfer . . . . . . . . . . 417-623-8888

Gene Hilgenberg . . . . . . . . . . 417-455-2057Kansas City MO Gerald Weston . . . . . . . . . . 816-228-2035

James Wells . . . . . . . . . . 816-358-9606Rolla MO Rod Reynolds . . . . . . . . . . 816-827-1320St. Joseph MO John Turner . . . . . . . . . . 816-387-9213St. Louis MO William Oswald . . . . . . . . . . 573-657-4637Amory MS Evo Walker . . . . . . . . . . 601-773-6137Greenwood MS Daniel Hall . . . . . . . . . 334-626-0585

Jim Burson . . . . . . . . . . 601-262-7233Jackson MS Video GroupLaurel MS Daniel Hall . . . . . . . . . 334-626-0585Ocean Springs MS Daniel HallGreat Falls MT Arnold Lalum . . . . . . . . . 406-265-4072Helena MT Dana Glatz . . . . . . . . . . 406-442-0136Kalispell MT Video GroupBozeman MT Video GroupAsheboro NC Ken Frank . . . . . . . . As Of July, 1999

George Webb . . . . . . . . . . 336-993-5714Asheville NC Martin Fannin . . . . . . . . . 423-675-2304Charlotte NC John DuBry . . . . . . . . . . 828-874-5164Raleigh NC William Dobbin . . . . . . . . . . 919-832-7296Bismarck ND Arlan Weight . . . . . . . . . . 701-255-2897Omaha NE Gerald Weston . . . . . . . . . . 816-228-2035Hammonton NJ Don Contardi . . . . . . . . . . 973-379-7184

Dennis Chornomaz . . . . . . . . . 609-653-0425


23

Morristown NJ Don Contardi . . . . . . . . . . 973-379-7184Carl Klink . . . . . . . . . 793-379-2640

Albuquerque NM Video GroupDes Moines NM Video GroupReno NV Don Haney . . . . . . . . . . 541-855-9872Brooklyn NY Don Contardi . . . . . . . . . . 973-379-7184

Roger Allgeyer . . . . . . . . . . 516-271-8785Buffalo NY Don Contardi . . . . . . . . . . 716-638-7508Corning NY Don Contardi . . . . . . . . . . 716-638-7508

Shawn McMillin . . . . . . . . . . . 717-547-1501Long Island NY Don Contardi . . . . . . . . . . 973-379-7184

Roger Allgeyer . . . . . . . . . . 516-271-8785Rochester NY Don Contardi . . . . . . . . . . 973-379-7184

Ron Lilie . . . . . . . . . . 716-473-4722Akron OH Lambert Greer . . . . . . . . . . 502-228-5917

Walter Warrington . . . . . . . . . 330-325-7700Cambridge OH Video GroupCincinnati OH Lambert Greer . . . . . . . . . . 502-228-5917Columbus OH Lambert Greer . . . . . . . . . . 502-228-5917

Charles Knowlton . . . . . . . . . . 614-964-0437Dayton OH Video GroupOklahoma City OK John Ogwyn . . . . . . . . . . 903-986-8117

Ray Reynolds . . . . . . . . . 405-672-6965Tulsa OK Karl Beyersdorfer . . . . . . . . . . 417-623-8888Eugene OR Don Haney . . . . . . . . . . 541-855-9872Medford OR Don Haney . . . . . . . . . . 541-855-9872

Fred Wittlake . . . . . . . . . . 541-855-6950Portland OR Don Haney . . . . . . . . . . 541-855-9872Mt. Pocono PA Don Contardi . . . . . . . . . . 973-379-7184Philadelphia PA Don Contardi . . . . . . . . . . 973-379-7184

Dennis Chornomaz . . . . . . . . . 609-653-0425Anderson SC Rand Millich . . . . . . . . . 706-227-6895

Ronnie Poole . . . . . . . . . . 864-968-9112Buddy Wrenn . . . . . . . . . 864-576-9460

Asheboro SC Video GroupWalterboro SC Lehman Lyons, Sr. . . . . . . . . . 843-549-2985

Frank Frye . . . . . . . . . 803-245-4752Rapid City SD Video GroupChattanooga TN Bob League . . . . . . . . . . 615-641-3778

Ron Laughland . . . . . . . . . . 615-851-7329Crossville TN Bob League . . . . . . . . . . 615-641-3778Knoxville TN Martin Fannin . . . . . . . . . 423-675-2304

TN John Shelton . . . . . . . . . 423-523-9332Memphis John Ogwyn . . . . . . . . . . 903-986-8117

Davy Crockett . . . . . . . . . . 501-868-9860Nashville TN Bob League . . . . . . . . . . 615-641-3778

Ron Laughland . . . . . . . . . . 615-851-7329Abilene TX Video GroupAmarillo TX Video GroupAustin TX Keith Walden . . . . . . . . . . 512-244-5478

Randy Gregory . . . . . . . . . . 512-244-1863Corpus Christi TX Keith Walden . . . . . . . . . . 512-244-5478

Bob Parker . . . . . . . . . . 512-387-9192C.B. Short . . . . . . . . . . 512-853-2460

Dallas TX John Ogwyn . . . . . . . . . . 903-986-8117Charles Haughee . . . . . . . . . 903-887-8994

El Paso TX Video GroupGladewater TX John Ogwyn . . . . . . . . . . 903-986-8117

Lynn Torrance . . . . . . . . . . 903-636-5218Houston TX Keith Walden . . . . . . . . . . 512-244-5478

Ron McGowen . . . . . . . . . . 281-331-8930Lufkin TX Larry Solomon . . . . . . . . . . 409-559-1145Midland TX Video GroupPampa TX Video GroupSan Antonio TX Keith Walden . . . . . . . . . . 512-244-5478

Conway Slaughter, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . 830-560-1928Temple TX Video Group

Salt Lake City UT Video GroupGladespring VA Charles Lauderback . . . . . . . . . 423-283-0394Winchester VA Don Contardi . . . . . . . . . . 973-379-7184

Gerald Dulaney . . . . . . . . . 540-662-3696Williamsburg VA Don Contardi . . . . . . . . . . 973-379-7184

Ray Clore, I I . . . . . . . . . . 703-591-4787Michael McDaniel . . . . . . . . . 804-526-5948

Everett WA Gary Ullerick . . . . . . . . . . 253-922-6917Lake Stevens WA Video GroupPasco WA Video GroupQuincy WA Video GroupRichland WA Video GroupSeattle/Tacoma WA Terry Graves . . . . . . . . . . 253-474-5807Spokane WA Video GroupTonasket WA Eldon Davis . . . . . . . . . 509-486-4240Green Bay WI Paul Shumway . . . . . . . . . . 651-407-3636

Gary Ehman . . . . . . . . . . 715-524-2218Merrill WI Paul Shumway . . . . . . . . . . 651-407-3636

Gary Ehman . . . . . . . . . . 715-524-2218Milwaukee WI Paul Shumway . . . . . . . . . . 651-407-3636

Gary Ehman . . . . . . . . . . 715-524-2218Wisconsin Dells WI Paul Shumway . . . . . . . . . . 651-407-3636

Gary Ehman . . . . . . . . . . 715-524-2218Bluefield WV Val Burgett . . . . . . . . . 540-726-8020

Clyde Wolford . . . . . . . . . . 540-326-3051Logan WV Val Burgett . . . . . . . . . 540-726-8020Ripley WV Edward Lee . . . . . . . . . . 304-372-3047Craigsville WV Val Burgett . . . . . . . . . 540-726-8020Buffalo WY Video GroupCasper WY Video GroupCheyenne WY Video GroupHulett WY Video GroupRawlins WY Ben Whitfield . . . . . . . . . . 307-324-7931Wheatland WY Video Group

INTERNATIONAL

AUSTRALIACanberra ACT Bruce Tyler . . . . . . . 011-61-6231-8166Brisbane QLD Church with HostPerth WA Ken MacLeod . . . . 011-61-08-9457-7624BARBADOSChrist Church Video GroupBELIZEBelmopan Video GroupCANADACalgary AB Laurie Nyhus . . . . . . . . . 780-484-7633Edmonton AB Laurie Nyhus . . . . . . . . . 780-484-7633

Stuart Wachowicz . . . . . . . . . . 780-466-1815Kelowna BC Video Group . . . . . . . . . . 250-491-0024Vancouver BC Video GroupVancouver Is. BC Video GroupFredericton NB Video GroupSussex NB Jim Arnaldo . . . . . . . . . 508-393-6209St. John’s NF Frank Best . . . . . . . . . 709-782-3733Woodstock/Springdale NF Video GroupWinnipeg MB Laurie Nyhus . . . . . . . . . 780-484-7633Halifax/St. John/Sussex NB Video GroupDartmouth NS Video GroupBarrie ON Video GroupBracebridge ON Garry Lucas . . . . . . . . . 705-726-0628Guelph ON Charles Bryce . . . . . . . . . 905-276-9729Kingston ON Charles Bryce . . . . . . . . . 905-276-9729Ottawa ON Charles Bryce . . . . . . . . . 905-276-9729Peterborough ON Jon Pippy . . . . . . . . . 705-696-3566


Toronto ON Charles Bryce . . . . . . . . . 905-276-9729Montreal QC Jacques Secours . . . . . . . . . 450-623-5002Quebec City QC Video GroupPrince Albert SK Bruce Bird . . . . . . . . . .306-873-4864Prince Edward SK Video GroupRegina SK Eng Monson . . . . . . . . . 306-545-5250Saskatoon SK Eng Monson . . . . . . . . . 306-545-5250Yorkton SK Eng Monson . . . . . . . . . 306-545-5250CHILESantiago Video GroupCOLOMBIASanta fe de Bogot a Eduardo HernandezCOSTA RICASanta Ana Video GroupFRANCEParis Video GroupGERMANYKarlsruhe Video GroupGUATEMALACoatepeque Video GroupGUYANAAishalton Video GroupAwarewaunau Church with HostGeorgetown Fitzroy GreemanLethem Video GroupIRELANDDublin Brian Bedlow . . . . . . . 011-353-55-25170KENYANairobi Ernest OwinoNdhiwa Video GroupSultan Hamud Video GroupMALAYSIABahau Church with HostKuala Lumpur Church with HostSingapore Video GroupMARTINIQUEFort de France Church with HostMEXICOGuadalajara Video GroupMexico City Video GroupSan Luis Potosi Video GroupMYANMARKa Lay Myo Thomas Tial HoeSa Khan Gyi Saw Lay BehNEW ZEALANDAuckland Kinnear Penman . . . . 011-64-09-435-3592Palmerston North Video GroupPAPUA NEW GUINEAMaprik Video GroupWewak Video GroupPHILIPPINESBaguio City Video Group

Bogabongan Video GroupCavite Rod McNair . . . . . . 011-63-2-813-6538

Gorgonia De GuiaColumbio Video GroupCompostela Video GroupDavao City Eleno Cabahit

Felipe Casing . . . . 011-63-082-297-0200Don Carlos Video GroupIligan City Eustiquio BenitezKoronadal Proper Video GroupLeyte Video GroupMaranding Video GroupMauswagon Video GroupNapunturon Video GroupQuezon City Rod McNair . . . . . . 011-63-2-813-6538

Gorgonio De GuiaPUERTO RICOSan Juan Ben Faulkner . . . . . . . . . . 813-684-1423

Raul Colon . . . . . . . . . . 787-739-5708SOUTH AFRICABloemfontein Video GroupCape Town Syd Hull . . . . . 011-27-11-664-6036

Pieter Van der Byl . . . . . . 011-27-21-785-1418Johannesburg Syd Hull . . . . . 011-27-11-664-6036Klerksdorp Syd Hull . . . . . 011-27-11-664-6036Kroonstad Video GroupNelspruit Video GroupPietermaritzburg Video GroupVan Wyksdorp Video GroupSPAINCanaria Video GroupSRI LANKAColombo Video GroupTHAILANDTha Song Yang Video GroupTRINIDAD & TOBAGOSan Fernando Video GroupSt. Augustine Video GroupUNITED KINGDOMDerby CI Tom Mahon . . . . 011-44-121-525-8636London ENG Bob Farrell . . . . . 011-44-181-995-4131Belfast NI Video GroupDublin Video GroupGlasgow SCO Robert Storrier . . . . 011-44-1698-263-977Bristol Video GroupVANUATUEfate Video GroupMalekula Video GroupTanna Video GroupVENEZUELACaracas Video Group

T L HE ivingChurch News - Living Church of God · · 2013-04-10Republic of South Africa Phone:...

Documents

Transcript of T L HE ivingChurch News - Living Church of God · · 2013-04-10Republic of South Africa Phone:...