1/18/07
Greetings from Charlotte,
This has been another very positive week with respect to income and responses to the television program—for which we are very thankful to God. Mr. Meredith and Mr. Ames taped new programs, “Your Future in Tomorrow’s World” and “Prayer: Our Lifeline to God,” which will air over the next two months. We also selected the cover for the March-April issue of Tomorrow’s World as the Editorial Department puts final touches on this edition of the magazine. Several pastors held Public Lectures over the last weekend. Mr. Charles Ogwyn reports that Mr. Brian Scarborough was in Charlotte this week to demonstrate the online version that he has been developing of the Bible Study Course. “We anticipate being able to launch the online version of this important Bible study tool within the next six weeks,” Mr. Ogwyn added.
Please note: Congregations will be receiving a must play sermon given by Mr. Meredith, entitled “Jesus Christ and the True Gospel,” which should be played as soon as possible. This sermon addresses aspects of the gospel that Mr. Armstrong clearly understood, but that have not been much emphasized in Church literature over the years. Due to misguided and unscriptural ideas being promoted by various self-proclaimed leaders, the issue of what actually constitutes the gospel has become an issue that is causing confusion for some today.
CHURCH ADMINISTRATION
Mr. Gary Ehman, Personal Correspondence Department Manager, suffered a heart attack on Wednesday evening, January 17, and was taken to the hospital after being anointed by Mr. Richard Ames. The doctor believes that Mr. Ehman will have a good recovery and will probably be in the hospital for two days. We appreciate your prayers for Mr. and Mrs. Ehman.
Australasian Update
Mr. Bruce Tyler reports: Once again we can report on the continuing growth of God’s Work in this part of the world. The Tomorrow’s World program responses reached almost 500 last week—for Australia and New Zealand. Mr. Michael Gill just visited the members in Forbes and in Brisbane. His discussions with the Brisbane television station appear profitable. It seems we will be blessed with an extra half hour airing of the program in addition to the Sunday morning slot we already have on Briz31 and at no additional cost.
The Department of Foreign Affairs here in Australia has issued an advisory not to travel in certain parts of the Philippines because of the recent terrorists bombings. We certainly live in an uncertain world. We pray for God’s protection on His people in these areas and for our safe travel in the early part of February.
Visit to India
Mr. Rajan Moses visited India from December 13-18, 2007. During his visit, he gave talks to many Indian “Christian” leaders on subjects such as “The Kingdom of God,” “Who and What is God?,” “Is the Holy Spirit a person?” On the Sabbath, December 16, Mr. Moses was in Naathulapur and spoke to 15 members regarding the Sabbath and who Jesus Christ was. The next day in Karimnagar he was surrounded by people who wanted anointing for various complaints, from abdominal pain to infertility. Mr. Moses plans to visit India again in a few months time.
News from New Zealand
Mr. Kinnear Penman reports: For several years we have been blessed with a prime Sunday morning time slot on Prime TV, a nation-wide network which has the potential to reach every home in the land. In December, we received our 20,000th response. We have averaged 111 responses per week at an average CPR of US$3.13. In early December a working-bee was held to prepare semi-annual letters for mailing. We have received 910 requests for the Prophecy Fulfilled: God’s Hand in World Affairs booklet. This means that 27.3% of those offered the booklet did request it. That is a record response rate for New Zealand. We posted 41,317 pieces of mail during 2006—an increase of 24.8 percent over 2005. Seventy-one sets of BSC lessons were mailed out. We have started upon the Living Leadership Course. The first lesson was presented in Auckland, Otaki and Christchurch. In Auckland, at least, we will aim to present one lesson each month on the morning of the first Sabbath of each month.
Winchester, Virginia, Spring Weekend
The Winchester, Virginia, congregation is planning a regional spring dance weekend for April 6-9. The weekend will include a Friday night Bible study; a dinner-dance Saturday evening, after services; Sunday softball, Sunday night Holy Day seminars, and Monday Holy Day [Last Day of Unleavened Bread] services. The total price per person is $20. Attire for the dance will be modest formal dress or Sabbath wear. For more details visit http://myspace.com/win_activities (make sure to type in the entire entry). If interested, please e-mail us at Win_activities@hotmail.com. Act quickly, max capacity is 250 people. We hope to see you there!
FINANCE
After announcing the income last week, one last check arrived for 2006. The final percentage for regular donation mail ended at 8.7 percent for the year. Notice to U.S. contributors: Your donations are now all entered and 2006 contribution receipts have been mailed this week. Please note that you should wait until you receive your receipt if you plan on claiming Living Church of God contributions on your 2006 tax return.—D. Jerry Ruddlesden
COMMENTS
The Value of Wisdom. Solomon said that as we live our lives, gaining “wisdom is the principal thing” (Proverbs 4:7). As a child, Jesus “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52). The Bible reveals that wisdom “is more precious than rubies” and points the way to happiness and a long and honorable life (Proverbs 3:13-16). Paul urged Christians to use wisdom in dealing with people (Colossians 4:5-6). The key to wisdom is learning to fear God and living by every word of God (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10). If we ask God for wisdom (James 1:7), seek wisdom by studying His word (Deuteronomy 4:1-10; II Timothy 3:15), and listen to older and wiser people (Proverbs 10:1; 15:7; 18:15; 22:17) we will become more like the wise God that we worship (Romans 16:27).
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
NEWS AND PROPHECY—January 18, 2007
Christianity in Europe: “European bishops are urging for the inclusion of a reference to Christianity in the EU’s 50 year anniversary [of the Treaty of Rome] declaration next year, after they failed to get ‘God’ included in the shelved EU constitution.” The bishops recently released a document calling for the inclusion of Christian wording in the document to be released in March. The Germans now hold the reigns of both the EU and the G-8, and Chancellor Merkel has expressed the need to include God in the EU Constitution (EU Observer, December 19, 2006). The next six months should prove interesting for Europe and the EU. The Pope recently sent a letter that reaffirms the importance of Sunday for all Christians. He closed his letter by invoking the “motherly protection of Mary Most Holy” (Zenit.org, January 9, 2007). Revelation 17 reminds us that at the time of the end, a great mother church will “ride” or powerfully influence the Beast power. It will be interesting to watch how the Catholic church, the historic religious influence in Europe, achieves a more visible and influential role in Europe.
World Economic Forum Urges Disaster Readiness. In its annual Global Risks Report, the World Economic Forum noted that many businesses and governments around the world feel a false sense of security, and are complacent about the risks they face. Among 23 global dangers listed in the report, the worldwide “housing bubble” was singled out for its potential to cause $1 trillion in economic loss. Michael Cherkasky, Chief Executive Officer of insurance giant Marsh & McLennan, said: “The world has certainly become a riskier place to live, thanks partly to globalization. But there is complacency in business and government, not about talking about the risks, but taking steps in limiting them… We need to be more proactive.” The report gives a 5 to 10 percent probability that a sharp drop in the U.S. dollar’s value will cost the world economy up to a quarter of a trillion dollars. China’s economy is also cited as being at risk for a “hard landing.” Environmental risks, too, have worsened, further threatening economic stability (The Telegraph, January 11, 2007). God said that all nations of the earth would be blessed through Abraham’s seed, and we are reminded of how closely world economies are tied with the Israelite-descended nations (Genesis 12:3). Today, rich nations have accumulated wealth at the expense of poorer nations, and a reckoning is coming by the God who owns all the gold and silver (James 5:1-3).
Hospitals Can be Hazardous to Your Health. Each year, two million patients contract infections in U.S. hospitals—one in 20 hospitalized patients will become infected, and 90,000 will die. The methicillin-resistant Staph “a”—MRSA—seems to be the main culprit. Over half of “staph” germs are drug resistant. Hospital workers who are symptom-free carriers of MRSA go undetected, spreading the killer bacteria throughout a facility as they contact clothing, bed rails, stethoscopes, blood-pressure devices, door handles and computer keyboards. Bacterial infections are largely spread by touch. Thirty years ago, doctors and nurses were trained not to handle anything after they had “scrubbed and gloved,” but modern reliance on antibiotics has reduced the frequency of handwashing. The average cost to treat a patient who becomes infected while hospitalized is $185,260, compared to $31,389 to treat an infection-free patient (AARP Bulletin, January 2007). Christ prophesied that pestilences (plague or disease) would be one of the signs of the end of the age (Luke 21:11). God also gave His people sanitation and health laws to reduce the possibility of sickness and infection (Leviticus 11-15). Following His instructions is good for our physical health and pocketbook—and even important for health care workers in today’s world. God’s laws can still make a tremendous difference!—Don Davis, Dan Bennett, Scott Winnail
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COGwriter 2007