Friday Night Smack Down is back.
When will LCG members ever do what LCG leaders think is right for them? Always remember Boy's and Girl's, it is always more blessed to give than to receive!
A Transcendent Purpose: God revealed a vital Truth through the Apostle Paul when he wrote, “In the last days... men will be lovers of themselves....lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1–5). Today, many people have full schedules and empty lives. Focusing on my body, my life, my job, and what makes me happy, eventually fails to be fulfilling. The real key to a meaningful life is to focus on a goal that is bigger than ourselves—which is the message of the Gospel. Jesus taught we should “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Jesus told His disciples to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15). He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). If we focus on these big goals and prepare to serve others—now and in the coming Kingdom of God—we will focus on a transcendent purpose that will be eternally fulfilling.
Have a profitable Sabbath, Douglas S. Winnail
16 comments:
November 2009. Doug, has your church not matured in the last 13 years?
By religious standards, COG folks have always put out MORE than any typical church in the marketplace.
Financial sacrifice, embracing tough standards that are out of step with the world, like Sabbath Keeping, non pork eating, eschewing holidays like Xmas and the like. Fasting, and enduring authoritarian non accountable leadership, while meeting in dives of locations, and driving lots of miles to get there.
Seldom is there ever realized praise and thanks for the enduring saints who put up with all of this, and seldom are there any strokes or appreciation. Most COGs basically just keep telling you that "it aint enough", and you "aren't cutting the mustard".
Enlightened management would tell them that positive reinforcement is far more effective in leadership. Perhaps they need to watch a few episodes of Caesar the Dog Whisperer to understand.
It has been my experience in life that any activity in which one participates becomes boring and gets sidelined after about 7 years, unless it consistently yields the positive results which keep one interested and fully engaged. The positive feedback make ones passions self-perpetuating, sustaining the activity. Armstrongism has always wanted total commitment, total participation. They want to take over your life, and are not content to allow the positive energy and feedback to sustain your participation. They do not trust that alone, and resort to warnings and threats about the tribulation, the Lake of Fire, loss of your crown, or a member becoming some sort of deviant if he or she falls into the hands of Satan. It was not unusual to hear rumors of ex-members becoming demon-possessed or turning homosexual back in the day, and I can only imagine that the rumor mill has become worse with time. Sightings of ex members who had grown long rebellious sideburns, or had taken up smoking were all that were needed to inject a modicum of fear into the minds of members.
Times have changed over the decades around ACOG members, but their fears, beliefs, and the ways in which their ministers play upon these things have remained anachronistically the same.
The Cogs are very much into homeschooling now to alleviate some of these issues. Further, they are trying their best to get the kids from all over the country to associate most closely with one another. They talk about the dangers inherent in the internet, but for the scattered cog children the internet is the only link they have to the friends they are supposed to have.
"It is more blessed to give than receive" is said in the context of "considering the poor." The ACOGs hide that everyday relationships are two way rather than one way. This is obvious by the fact the the words "one another," as in "love one another" and "forgive one another" etc, appears over 50 times in the bible.
Psychologists know that to be happy one should be grateful, involve yourself in a cause bigger than yourself, etc. In other words, stop focusing on your own desires and work to help others in need and be thankful. I'm convinced that it is very difficult to be happy if you are not grateful. But, the question is, "Is the LCG a cause that you should involved yourself with?" Listening to stale sermons, being brow beaten at church, giving money to a cause that produces little is not a very effective way of being happy. It would be better if individuals helped others on a more one on one basis. If they spent part of the Sabbath reaching out to people in need might be more rewarding than sitting through another worship service at the LCG.
I love the notes on when these messages were previously published. The question is, how long since actual new material?
Tonto,
I get what you are saying and largely agree (at least in the sacrifices many cog members make), but as adults it is simply easy religion without responsibility for your fellow man. Don’t eat pork, warm a seat on Saturday rather than Sunday, associate only with the people in your cog congregation, agree with those in your limited cog circle that christmas and easter are bad so at least skip town over Christmas to go to your winter family weekend and when people ask what you did during Christmas you can tell them you went out of town and spent time with family and friends.
But you did not organize Christian volunteer groups to help those outside your group. As a cog member you do not feel any compunction to make sure others know the Lord (you’ve judged that it’s not their time), so that burden is off you.
As a cog parent you’ve decided homeschooling is best (it might be in some instances), but getting off for holy days and not doing Christmas are easy when homeschooling. For the cogs it is now easy Religion: no pork, do sabbath which means warm a seat and avoid other Christians however if with members of own church organization you may empty a bottle or two into the wee hours of the night, spend time with church organization friends over Christmas while congratulating one another for another year of not being pagan, play sports with homeschools if necessary, spend all meaningful time with church organization members so that you feel this behavior is reasonable (it’s not) because everyone you know is doing it the same way.
Btw, when i say “you” i mean cog members. Not you tonto.
The LCG is consistently focusing on THEIR church, THEIR goals, THEIR work, THEIR money, THEIR hierarchy, THEIR control of the brethren....etc. etc. WHO do they worship?? THEMSELVES!! THEIR is the operative word!!
9.15 AM
Exactly. Church members are viewed as chattel that only exist to serve the church's needs hand and foot. Members interests, even if legitimate, are viewed as a hinderounce.
Join a ACOG, and you are a slave. I once told a minister that I have rights. and he sneered with contempt.
"I am rich"...i.e. we're God's church. "We're increased with goods"....i.e. first tithe, 10% 2nd tithe, 3rd tithe, 7 holy day offerings.
You don't know there are only 3 feasts; you don't know the days of unleavened bread are Nisan 14-20; you don't know the "3 days and 3 nights" can be part or whole; you don't know 31 AD is not the year of the crucifixion; you don't know "change" in Heb 7:12 means removal; you don't know there was no tithing LAW before Moses.
4.06 PM
Jacob tithed in Genesis 28:22, which was before Moses came on the scene. God probably instructed Adam and Eve to tithe in the garden of Eden. Yeah, yeah, it's not mentioned in the bible, but neither are polar bears or kangaroos.
Anon 6.57- firstly we need to realise that when we use words like "probably" it means an assumption is being made. Assumptions may or may not be correct. Secondly, 4.06 doesn't say it was unheard of, just that it wasn't "law". Abraham and Jacob are two examples of tithing (which just means a tenth) before Moses. There is strong evidence that Abraham and Jacob didn't practice tithing as a law:
-Jacob bargained with God, I.e "if you bless me, then I will". This is not typical obedience of a righteous man, but demonstrates voluntary worship on deliverance of blessing.
-Abraham had spoils of war, if these were titheable "increase", then why did Abraham do it wrong? Numbers 31 deals with spoils of war, and it doesn't involve "tithing". Furthermore, Abraham didn't want to keep anything so that they couldn't claim to have made abraham rich. He had no increase your tithe on.
In both cases the tithing was inextricably voluntary and linked to the land of Israel. In the future the law of tithing was only practices on agricultural produce in the promised land.
“While professing themselves to be the wise ones, they became fools”!!
Doug, so selfless that he is, tells us about a Transcendent Purpose: "...God revealed a vital Truth through the Apostle Paul when he wrote, “In the last days... men will be lovers of themselves....lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1–5Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). Today, many people have full schedules and empty lives. Focusing on my body, my life, my job, and what makes me happy, eventually fails to be fulfilling. The real key to a meaningful life is to focus on a goal that is bigger than ourselves—which is the message of the Gospel. Jesus taught we should “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”..."
******
God and Paul spoke truth, but Doug does not know that the "last days" referred to pertain to the time after Satan is loosed from the bottomless pit, and not today!
Doug is hoping another Jesus returns soon to reign on earth for 1,000 years,
Doug wrote about "the message of the Gospel," but Doug is only aware of another gospel, thanks to another spirit that fosters such things.
Doug is so much into belief in choice, and free moral agency, and building character that he has set himself up as greater than the Jesus Christ of the Bible. The shed blood of Jesus Christ means nothing, so much as Doug continues to try to impress God by his works, even with repeated writings, and what he does and what he thinks...and Doug wants us to follow him?
What did Jesus Christ say? Among other things, this:
"...The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." John 5:19
What? Did He really mean that? Doug wants us to do a lot more than "nothing;" doesn't he? Did Jesus tell us the truth there? Jesus sometimes repeats His words also, and uses different words:
"I can of mine own self do nothing:..." John 5:30
How can that be? Doug isn't claiming to be Jesus' twin brother, but Doug professes he and we all can do so much more than "nothing." Can Doug explain how that is done?
We are also told: "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." John 3:17
Does God really have such unconditional love for this world? God did give His Son. His Son did give His life. What more is needed?
Is Doug still striving to earn his own salvation and striving to convince us that we must do the same? Is Doug preaching another false gospel about another false Jesus?
Time will tell...
John
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