Work, work, work...
Stay Focused: Jesus taught, “Seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33), and He warned against being sidetracked by the cares of this world (Matthew 13:22). The Holy Days just ahead picture the culminating events in the Plan of God, and Satan will use all kinds of devices to distract us from focusing on God’s plan for mankind (2 Corinthians 2:11). Atonement pictures the time when Satan’s influence on the world will be removed. The Feast of Tabernacles pictures the coming Millennial reign, when Jesus Christ and the Saints will reign on this earth and “restore all things” (Acts 3:19–21). The Last Great Day looks forward to a time when all who have ever lived will be resurrected into a very different world to finally learn the Truth (Revelation 20:5; John 7:37–38). During the Feast, make time to pray for the sermons and for God’s people. Take some quiet time to reflect on why you are at the Feast and how you can be a light and serve others. Identify changes you need to make to become more like Jesus Christ so you can be in God’s coming Kingdom.
Have a profitable Sabbath and a wonderful Feast,
Douglas S. Winnail
17 comments:
I guess one change I could make is to wear sandals more.
This is a good write up, but social media identifies the changes that the leadership needs to make. They don't listen. Regardless, hope they have a great feast.
''.. Identify changes you need to make to become more like Jesus Christ so you can be in God’s coming Kingdom..''
this kind of suggests we are doing certain things to attain salvation ?
Winnail's words convict LCG of being a non-Christian organization. Winnail, and Armstrongism as a whole, portrays Jesus as just a good example but not an all-sufficient Savior. Winnail is actually denying Jesus as Savior by stating that the individual's works of being more like Jesus will get one into the Kingdom instead of the work Jesus did to save the Believer.
It was liberating to me to learn that our eternal fate is not judged by how much "holy, righteous character" we've cultivated in order to "qualify" for the Kingdom of God.
Is there a "passing grade" for us to enter into eternal life? Do we work on a rolling grade point average in the school of life, hoping we pass with an A or a B, or possibly a C+ -- all the while, without the benefit of a quarterly report card, fearing we might be at a C or a D, or even dangerously close to an F? How can we ever know our current score, or whether we are on track to graduate to eternal life?
Living under the burden of that paradigm is unsettling and discouraging, because well over 99 percent of us will never reach a point during this life when we can look at ourselves honestly and be completely satisfied with our interior lives. If we do, chances are we're setting the bar too low.
Any spiritual life short of an A+ involves sins and disordered attachments, which are offenses against God, who deserves not most but all of our love. That's a high bar.
When all is said and done, we absolutely do need to reach perfection (Revelation 21:27). But we "qualify" simply by being in Christ, joined to him through Christian baptism. God will handle the rest by transforming us more perfectly into his image.
Of course we need to be diligent in every aspect of our lives, because if we freely and knowingly choose to commit grave sin, that won't go well. That's the wide gate of hell. But even then, we can repent and come back to God and obtain forgiveness for as long as we're still alive -- up to the moment of death.
The Christian life should be one of peace and confidence in Christ. At the same time, we should have a certain holy discontentment with our interior lives due to love of God, for even our slightest sins damage our relationship with him. And we should fear committing grave sin, which separates us from him.
Yet we should always hope in our eternal reward, trusting always in Jesus. He will complete his work in us. And if we turn our back on him through the worst of sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us if we turn back and seek his face.
By contrast, under COG thinking, I was discouraged, feeling I could never "qualify," because I never knew my spiritual rating. I never knew my rolling average, or when my worst offenses no longer counted against that average, or if I was still on probation.
God does not judge our ultimate fate by weighing our good deeds versus our bad deeds, as important as our works are. Our ultimate fate hinges upon whether we die in a state of grace -- whether our life ends in friendship with God or in enmity against him.
That's why we must pray for ourselves and for our loved ones about the most important hour of our lives: the holy hour of our death.
Yes, one can frustrate the grace of God, if that person doesn't understand truly what God and His Son have done. I understand the holy days and how they say it's the Plan of Salvation, but within that plan, one can not earn their salvation. We do have to be obedient but it's out of love to obey and not fear.
1 John 3:20-22 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
When did they change he meaning of atonement from the first resurrection?
The apostle Paul gives any number of instructions to the church members as to what they should and should not do.
They are racist. They once prevented teen̈s from different races from dancing together at camp. Their excuse was "we do not want them to get any ideas."
They are racist.
They prevented a young black man from marrying a white girl by threatening to prevent him from songleading or any other duries.Unfortunately he chose to follow their racist ways, and is now single.
Lcg is a racist organization. They believe in separate but equal.
Oh yea, the LCG is a very racist organization (and I this is why I refuse to go back to that organization). I am black american and was treated unjust by the white male leadership. And yes they do not allow interracial marriage. I attended a congregation and there were single females there, but not of "my own kind." Some ministers would try and bring some black female who really wasn't even a member to try and interest me. It was sad, because they would rather for you to marry a black person outside the church, than marry a white woman who happen to be in the church. I remember RCM the leading minister who would equate homosexuality and intermarriage in the same sentence. They keep the tenets of Worldwide.
Anon 11:04, Winnail wrote for "LCG members to be more like Jesus" but he is the one who reads books for inspiration of Robert E. Lee a confederate. So there you have it, these are the people who need to change and repent, but they won't.
It's great at first once you read a few TW magazines, booklets and watch some TW programs. But then you enter their domain and then you see they would like for it to be 1950-1960 all over again socially. Their heart wants to go back to segregation. It's truly sad, because they will miss out on someone special due to their racism.
Doug Winnail writes: "... Identify changes you need to make to become more like Jesus Christ so you can be in God’s coming Kingdom...."
Like what, Doug? Do you mean this?
"Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself,..." John 5:19
Then what? Might it be better to become more like The God, the Father, that God of Abraham Laughter and Israel (Acts 3:13)?
Well, that God has His own glory, but He does not give it to His Son:
Isa 42:8 I [am] the LORD: that [is] my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
Isa 48:11 For mine own sake, [even] for mine own sake, will I do [it]: for how should [my name] be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.
Okay, so be like Jesus Christ, then, but how?
Aren't the following verses still true?
Genesis 8:21 "...for the imagination of man s heart [is] evil from his youth; ..."
And that was for after the Flood!
"The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Jer 17:9
"There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God." Romans 3:11
Well, Doug, how does one seek after Jesus Christ to be like Him?
Wouldn't God Himself, by the power of His Spirit first have to be in one's life for anything good to be accomplished, especially to become like His Son?
Doug, how do you do it? How do you get around verses such as: James 4:5; Romans 1:28-31; Romans 7: 17, 20-21; Galatians 5:17, etc.
Putting all of that aside, coming back down to earth, Doug wrote: "...The Feast of Tabernacles pictures the coming Millennial reign, when Jesus Christ and the Saints will reign on this earth and “restore all things” (Acts 3:19–21)..."
Doug, that reigning on earth won't happen until after Satan exits the bottomless pit, messes up what you believe, and is then killed. You know, all enemies put down, subdued! The Feast of Tabernacles pictures something else, not some Mickey Mouse kingdom set up with you ruling along side Jesus Christ with other fellow former WCG hirelings who fled to do your own thing, and better than HWA ever did.
Doug, Jesus Christ tells YOU/us: "If ye then, being evil,..." Matthew 7:11 and Luke 11:13
Doug, how does one get around that evil to become like Jesus Christ? Jesus knew/knows what He talked about, so please tell us how you do it to get around these scriptures; otherwise, you will continue to blame/judge all of us like you usually do with your repetitive writings to those of your group following you!
Until you do tell us, time is telling...
John
VERY WELL STATED!! The operative word is “He” and NOT “we”!! We don’t EARN salvation!!!
WELL said!!
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