In our weekly Update number 235, dated March 17, 2006, there was a Q&A entitled, “Does it matter what a political leader does in private as long as he does his ‘public’ job effectively?” 

We have had a leadership contest in the UK for the leadership of the Conservative party, following the resignation of the former incumbent, Theresa May. From an initial list of eleven, the final two candidates were chosen and have been in a run-off for the position leader of the party and Prime Minister of the UK.  The winning candidate has indeed had a well documented chequered personal lifestyle over many years until the present time and, although he is highly likeable and a charismatic figure, he would rate very poorly as a role model for those with high standards.

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Mankind’s vision of the universe is built upon an ever-changing landscape of understanding. The pursuit of scientific discovery, in what has become religion to many, causes foundations of knowledge to often shift.  What is understood today often replaces the understanding of our past. This fluidity of fact is considered part and parcel in the pursuit of scientific knowledge. No truth is unshakable if discovery proves it false.

In a recent web article entitled, “New Hubble Data Breaks Scientists’ Understanding of the Universe,” the author, talking about the Hubble Constant, states, “The value was first calculated by astronomer Edwin Hubble in the 1920s. But since then, astronomers observing and measuring the universe’s expansion have arrived at different values of the Hubble Constant, none of which seem to agree with one another. The discrepancy calls into question not only our idea of how old the universe is, but also our ability to fundamentally understand the physics that drive its behavior.”

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In our daily lives, we have a plan.  We plan on getting things done. We make plans for the day and for the week and, in general, future plans to achieve our goals.  We may not always fulfill them, but our plan is to do so.  There may be several hurdles over which we need to jump to get to that finish line, and perhaps thoughts of giving up may come into our minds, but then we catch ourselves veering away and no matter how difficult it may be at times, we ultimately end up sticking to the plan.  Just as we have a plan to accomplish whatever goals we may have, God also has a plan for us!

So how is it then that the trials we go through seem to be so overwhelming at specific times, but soon thereafter, we are able to get through them?  We have help!  God is there to guide us and through the power of prayer with faith, we place it all in God’s hands. He knows! He knows our struggles. He knows our strengths and weaknesses, and so does Satan.     Satan knows where we are vulnerable, which is why we are tested and tempted time and time again. As we know this, we are to “count it all joy when [we] fall into various trials knowing that the testing of [our] faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3).  Verses 6-8 tells us that we are to ask God in faith for help without doubting, for the one who doubts will not receive anything from God, for such a person is unstable in all his ways.

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The use of plastic, paper and other packaging material is at an all-time high; and by extension, so is the waste of these products. For many years, the United States and other countries shipped much of their “recycling’” to China. Since 2017, China has stopped taking most recyclables, causing back-ups of trash and an increasing cost to cities which have recyclable programs. Growing up in the 90’s, everything was about recycling, but now we are starting to see the side effects, as no one wants to deal with the massive amount of waste. Many news articles show the negative impact recycling has had on the earth.

This is only one small instance of what we as human beings are doing to this earth. One only has to do a little research on-line to see the massive impact we are having on the destruction of this earth. From wrong farming practices to deforestation, when one looks at all the bad things that are happening as a whole, it can be depressing and demoralizing.

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It is amazing that over the years, so many members of God’s Church family just simply walked away from the great promised rewards ahead. Of course, they found various reasons and excuses for their inexcusable conduct:

Real or imagined personal or other offenses, including from officials in the Church; feelings that prophecies were not being fulfilled fast enough; unwillingness to accept doctrinal changes, such as how to determine Pentecost; rejecting the authority which Christ placed in the Church, while feeling themselves superior; rejection of tithing, as giving one tenth back to God was considered to be unaffordable; pressures from their mates, parents, children or schools; loving the pleasures of the world more than God’s Sabbaths and Festivals; and finally, just wanting to fit in with those around them.

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Sometimes, faith may not be the issue!

When Paul pleaded for help three times for a very serious problem, God chose not to grant his request (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). However, this wasn’t due to Paul’s lack of faith. God had a greater purpose in mind for Paul.

When Jesus Christ prayed the same prayer three times to the Father, God chose not to grant His request (Matthew 26:36-44). However, this wasn’t due to Jesus’ lack of faith. God had a greater purpose in mind for Jesus.

Haven’t we all prayed only to find that God chose something different for us? In those times are we able, like Paul and Jesus, to accept God’s will over our own fervent desires?

Sometimes, though, faith is the issue!

A father brought his demon-possessed son for healing. The disciples of Jesus could not cast out the demon. Then the father spoke directly to Jesus pleading for help. Note what was said:

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With school sessions completed, days becoming longer, and temperatures warming up, the joy of summertime has picked up momentum in my household. Immediately following our children’s last day of school, my family began spending more time outside and our activities have become more playful. Living in a time of relative peace, safety, and abundance, it’s a joyful time that my family and I have been blessed with the ability to enjoy.

I believe that what has made the time so precious involves the fact that we have simply enjoyed our time together, with one another. The most satisfying moments are the most accessible ones — a walk in the neighborhood; an evening gazing at the stars; an afternoon fishing; sharing stories and bad jokes during dinnertime. All of these experiences have been miniature treasures that cost us only the time it takes to experience them.

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The Church of God will be keeping the Day of Pentecost this year on June 9, 2019, celebrating the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit. All of those who have been blessed with this special gift even before the Feast of Pentecost, on that very day, or ever since, were carefully selected by God. They were not rewarded for what they had done; God was not prompted to call them to salvation because of their “tremendous righteousness.” Rather, God the Father brought us to Christ because of His own Will, and He made that decision long before our birth, before we had done anything good or evil.

The Apostle James tells us very clearly: “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:18). Those whom God has foreknown and predestined to be called in this day and age with the goal of being conformed to Christ’s image, are called firstfruits, because they are being called first in comparison with the rest of mankind who will be called later. But we repeat: Belonging to the firstfruits does not mean that God chose us because we were in any way better or more righteous than others.

Continue reading "A Proper Perspective towards God’s Gift of the Holy Spirit"

We are preparing to keep God’s Feast of Pentecost which will occur in just over a week. What is its specific meaning? We know that it was the day when God’s Holy Spirit was first given to a multitude of people, thousands in fact, of those whom God was calling to be a part of the New Testament Church. In contrast to this, in the Old Testament congregation of Israel, only very few had God’s Spirit. So this is a very important day signifying the beginning of the New Testament Church. But is there more to it than that fact?

The word Pentecost comes from the Greek word pentekoste, meaning fiftieth, which basically means that fifty days were counted to know when it was to be observed. In the Old Testament, Pentecost is called the Feast of Weeks, again because seven weeks or Sabbaths were counted from the wave sheath offering which was brought on the Sunday, which fell during the Days of Unleavened Bread, and fifty days later, the festival of Pentecost was observed, again on a Sunday.

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On the website thoughtco, we read: “About 20 percent of the world’s population speaks English as a first or secondary language, about 1.5 billion people. If you include people who use it, that brings the estimate up to about a third of the world, or more than 2 billion of the world’s 7.6 billion people (2017). Only about 360 million people speak it as their first language, though.

“After a certain amount of usage, dictionary editors decide whether a new word has enough staying power to add it to the dictionary. Merriam-Webster notes that its editors spend an hour or two daily reading a cross-section of material looking for new words, new meanings to old words, new forms, new spellings, and the like. The words are logged into a database with their context for documentation and further analysis. Before being added to the dictionary a new word or change to an existing word must have a considerable amount of use over time in a variety of types of publications and/or media (widespread use, not just in jargon).”

Continue reading "How They Love to Play with Words to Get Their Own Way!"