God Lowers Gas Prices So LCG Members Can Travel To The Feast

I just love this magical god that does this cool stuff!  Little did I know that gas prices have fallen just so LCG members could travel to the Feast!  Woo Hoo!

They sure haven't fallen much here in Pasadena since gas is still between 4.05 and 4.50 a gallon.  Of course Pasadena is filled with heathen apostates now so LCG's god is still punishing us. 

God blesses Feast of Tabernacles travel.

For the last several years, oil prices have dropped right around the time of the fall Holy Days (fall in the northern hemisphere, that is). This year appears to be the same. Gasoline (petrol) prices have been dropping for the last several weeks now. Monday, oil reached its lowest price since September 2010. It ended trading in New York at $78 per barrel. Experts believe it will stay low to year’s end (Associated Press, October 3, 2011).

Thousands of years ago, God gave His people the command to keep His annual festivals, including the Feast of Tabernacles (see Leviticus 23). These days were to be statutes “forever” and blessings were promised to those who keep them, and the rest of God’s laws (Deuteronomy 14:29).

It is both interesting and encouraging to see a trend in dropping gasoline prices (which some would call “chance”) just prior to the “pilgrim” Feast of Tabernacles–a time when God’s people are commanded to travel to locations where He has chosen to place His name (Deuteronomy 14:22-26). In allowing fuel prices to drop, God is blessing the obedience of His people who are willing to travel to worship Him at this very important time of year.

Feast of Tabernacles: Desperately Trying To Relive The Glory Days?

Bob Thiel, the unofficial "official" spokesman of the Living Church of God and world renown authority on Mayan prophecy gibberish and all things Catholic, has posted a series to pictures about expensive Feast trips he and his family  have been on over the decades.  A large percentage of COG members could never afford to do these kind of trips and are not pleased to have this continually thrown in their face year after year.

LCG Feast sites, as well as all the other COG Feast sites, are little compared to  the glory days of the Worldwide Church of God when there could be 10-15,000 at a site.  Now the biggest LCG site barely rakes in 500.  COGWA and UCG have slightly larger sites. Flurry and Pack can't draw the numbers anymore either.  There are the hundreds of loser ministries that are lucky to get 40 or 50 people to attend their festivals.  Even after converting half of the African content to Sabbatarianism these impotent men can't bring them in.

You can see Thiel's trips here: Feast of Tabernacles 1990s

Training COGWA men to be MEN

COGWA has a men's blog up to teach men how to be masculine he-men.  Apparently the years spent in UCG made the men weak and slightly effeminate, so this was created to help the men become  "godly" men. Oh, and there's one for women and one for kids too.

The latest entry is a weird story about a COGWA man who orders some cookbooks for his wife and drives to a woman's house to pick them up.  That's when the trouble starts.

Earlier in the day, I had ordered two popular recipe books for my wife, and I had arranged with the woman in charge to pick them up that evening at her home, as that was much more convenient than driving all the way to the middle of town. When I arrived at her house, it was already pitch dark. The woman came out with the books to give to me. I requested the use of her toilet.

Most COG ministers/elders/etc. have always been warned to NEVER place themselves in such a compromising situation.  The WTF! moment here is WHY did he need to use the woman's bathroom? Go down the road to a store or a restaurant!

Without a word, she opened the sliding security gate to her driveway, and I drove in and got out of my car. “This way”’ she said, and opened the gate to her garden. Pausing, she said “Oh, by the way, we have large dogs. So just move slowly.” (Very funny!)

Then all hell breaks loose:

But within seconds the dogs were on me, and I was in a tight spot. Then suddenly the thought entered my head: “Get into your car—quickly!”

I turned and ran for my car, clicking the remote control as I ran. I stumbled and nearly fell with one of the dogs on top of me!

I ripped open the door and sprang into the car. Immediately the dogs jumped up, trying to get at me through the car door! I opened the window slightly and shouted: “Let me out now! I have to reach a hospital!” The husband appeared and opened the gate.

Shocked and bleeding

Shocked and bleeding, I drove away as fast as I could. I spent some time at a medical center getting treatment, a tetanus injection and antibiotics. The doors of my car were badly scratched.

My wife was absolutely furious! “This woman was negligent!” she cried. “I’ll bet she doesn’t even phone you!”

So what's a poor COG member to do?  Take the bite in the ass and move on, sue, or forgive them in a loving Christian manner?  There is a "Christian" story in all of this. Here is what the man did:

So have you forgotten what Jesus said about loving your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39)?
Jesus told us in Matthew 5:46, “If you love [only] those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors [scoundrels] do the same?” Instead: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27)—then you can call yourself a Christian.

And what about forgiving and forgetting? The Lord has forgiven your sins completely! And He expects you to forgive those who sin against you, or He will not forgive you (Matthew 6:14-15)!

You’re right. So what should I do?

That’s your choice. God will not force you into anything. But He is testing you right now. He wants to see whether you will try to take revenge in some way, or whether you will forgive. Yes, she was culpable and negligent. But are you perfect? Have you never been negligent in your life—and really hoped that retribution wouldn’t strike you afterwards?

That’s true.

In fact, this is a great opportunity for you to develop God’s character—to forgive and forget!
Thank you. What a tremendous opportunity I have been presented with to show the Lord I am serious about seeking His Kingdom and developing the mind and character of God. I believe all this has been a trial—and I must not fail it!

Our pastor always says: “Keep your eyes firmly fixed on the prize: membership of His eternal Kingdom!”

 

Did the lady phone me? Yes, actually she did—only the next morning, while I was in the bathroom. I got a curt voice mail saying: “I have phoned to find out how you are, and to say I am very sorry for what happened.”

Did she try to contact me again? No. Obviously she wasn’t very concerned about me at all, or about taking responsibility for the incident.

And do you know what? It’s okay with me! Because I have forgiven her. And as far as I’m concerned, the incident is closed and forgotten. And I am so happy to have learned an important lesson! What I have gained far overshadows the inconvenience, loss of personal possessions, etc. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33, emphasis added).