Should Do. Should Not Do. Must Do. Must Not Do: Is "WWJD" Always Required to Know?

 We knew it was coming.  

Bob Thiel Asks...

Should Philadelphian Christians watch the Superbowl?

COGwriter

"This coming Sunday is known as “Super Bowl Sunday” in the USA. Most years, the American football (which is not the same as the sport called soccer in the USA) contest known as the Superbowl is the most watched television program in the USA. Between 100,000,000-150,000,000 are expected to intentionally (as opposed to perhaps seeing a news item about it) watch at least some of it this year according to various reports.

Should Philadelphian Christians, those who are to have love for others, watch the Super Bowl?

Tackle football is dangerous and many people are still getting severely hurt:

...

Football causes great harm. No one has excuses anymore to pretend otherwise.

Since most people in the USA have, at one time or another, made some hint of professing following Jesus, a relevant question may be:

Would Jesus want you to watch the Super Bowl?

Jesus, of course, taught “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39), while the Apostle Paul wrote “no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it” (Ephesians 5:29).

The Bible teaches:

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

Tackle football is a lust of the flesh and eyes. Those who claim to be Christian and endorse it are letting the pride of life deceive them.

How many who are in the COGs love the worldly sport of American tackle football and really do not care that it causes irreparable harm to its participants? Is not another reason that some watch it because of their lust for violence and/or for social acceptance?

This is not what loving Christians should do."

https://www.cogwriter.com/news/church-history/should-philadelphian-christians-watch-the-superbowl-2/

Is it the Church's, or Bob Thiel's business to mind yours for you in the name of "What Would Jesus Do?"

Just What the COG Needs...ANOTHER False Teacher. Apostate PCG Member Believes He Is God's Vessel For The Truth

Where would the modern-day Armstrong Church of God movement be without yet another self-appointed teacher popping up with all the answers they deem necessary for salvation? Hundreds and hundreds of these men have declared themselves God's spokesman over the decades.  A few gained traction and attracted a few followers and others bang endlessly on a keyboard in their kitchen pretending they have a huge following. Yet through it all, each and every one of them have ultimately been failures, even the doubly blessed ones.

That still does not stop more narcissistic men popping up and declaring themselves to the church.  One of these men is Gary Stowers.

This is how he describes himself and his mission:

There are thousands of people who have websites offering their religious opinions and teachings to the public. Some have some good information, but mixed in with some false opinions; others have what I am persuaded to be mostly a lot of deceptive ideas and opinions. So why should you bother to read my literature? 

Most of the religious websites have a bottom-line desire to enrich themselves by gaining membership and your tithes and offerings. I am not interested in any of that. My purpose is to give you the precious truth that God has given to me. I have not been ordained by any man or organization. I have been called by God into the truth back in 1979 and was baptized into the body of Christ in June 13, 1980.

Now again I ask: Why should anyone spend their time reading my literature? Friends, of my own self, I would not have anything worthy of your time reading my literature. But when God began getting my attention, he drew me to “The Plain Truth” magazine, which was published by Herbert W. Armstrong. Through reading that magazine and another of Mr. Armstrong’s magazines, “The Good News”, I began to learn of God’s wonderful purpose that he had for my life. This gospel was not only for my life but for all humans that will believe and surrender to obey God.

Like any good COG self-appointed prophet, Stowers says you will not be able to understand him unless God has opened your mind. How much have we hared that over the decades?  That is the typical COG prophet's easy out.

I can’t take time or space in this brief introduction of myself and this website to explain all of the precious knowledge that I would like to share with you concerning this wonderful hope in Christ; so I will put many different articles or booklets up on my web-site. One important truth that I must let you know of in this writing is: God is the only one that can make a believer out of you. Unless God is calling you, then you will not have the faith to take action to obey God and his Commandments. Unless God is calling you, then you will not even believe the wonderful good news about God’s plan for your life in his family and kingdom, even if it is shown to you in the Holy Bible. If you don’t truly believe then it would seem foolish for you to surrender to obey a God that you don’t even believe. Yes, God must spiritually act on your mind to call you and give you faith in his Word, and he will do that in his own time. No man, by any means, can make a true believer out of you. Not all people are called to be “First-fruits” into the kingdom of God. There will only be 144000 first-fruit Christians that will be redeemed from this world at the time of Christ’s second coming. Read of this in Revelation Chapter 14. Many people have lived and died in this world who thought they were true Christians; and yet they were only deceived by men teaching false teachings that appeared to be what the people thought was Christ’s teachings. Satan has sent his ministers out to appear as angels of light but they were in fact only deceiving the people. Most people will not have their calling from God until the second resurrection; which is resurrection back to mortal human life, after the 1000 year rule of Christ and his saints on this earth.

This prophet does at least think you should get proper medical care when needed.

I write these things to you so that you may have a general idea about what I stand for and believe, and what you can expect to find more information about in all of my other writings. One thing I want to let you all know upfront: I do believe in the doctrines that God used Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong to teach us from the word of God. However, there is one doctrine that I am persuaded by the word and Spirit of God that Mr. Armstrong was in partial error, that doctrine is the healing doctrine. I do believe that God has and does still heal people of sickness and disease; however, I have proved to my own satisfaction that God is not jealous of us using our own knowledge, skills, and abilities to treat ourselves with the medical help that men are able to give and do. There is much that man can’t do to give good medical help to people, but there is also much that men have been able to learn how to care for and treat, to aid in healing and just giving medical aid and comfort to help sick and diseased people. 

Oh, and Herbert was a TRUE apostle. That record is still skipping in the same track after all these years.

God does not expect us to refuse to give or receive medical care when it can help. Love will lead us to follow the example of “the good Samaritan”. Some of my writings will help to explain my beliefs on this subject more in detail. With this having been said, I do believe that Herbert W. Armstrong was a true servant and Apostle of Christ and God, and most of the truth that any of us true Christians have is a direct result of God teaching him from the Holy Bible, and him teaching us. Many of the splinter groups and ministers that have branched away from the Worldwide Church of God seem to try and distance themselves from him and refuse to recognize that it was Herbert W. Armstrong that God used to raise up the sixth horn of Christ, the “Church in Philadelphia”, and to restore the true teaching of Christ and his apostles in the Church of God, and also to preach and publish this truth including the true gospel throughout the world in all nations. 

If the red flag did not go up when reading the above information, it should now.  He was a former member of the apostate Gerald Flurry.

Now since this is supposed to be a lead article to help introduce you to myself and my web-site; I will let you know that I stood up for the truth that I love, early on in 1991, and was disfellowshipped for talking to other brethren about the departure from the truth that was taking place by the whole ministry in the Worldwide Church of God. I attended the Laodicean Church that Flurry was leading for several years and was eventually disfellowshipped from that organization also when I let them know that I disagreed with the doctrine of not using medical care for the sick and diseased people. I have proved that doctrine to be wrong in a paper that I wrote, and they refused to acknowledge that they were wrong, so they just removed me from their fellowship. Seeing how far off course they have strayed since then, I realize that they only did me and my family a favor when they cast us out.

Like other COG guru's, his wife and kids don't share his new found interest. 

Since being disfellowshipped from the Laodicean organization, I have continued to hold on to and teach God’s truth to my family and anyone else that I am able to reach. At the present time I am mostly alone. My children and wife are not interested in keeping God’s Sabbath and Holy Days any longer. God has not gotten their attention yet, but I hope and pray for them. 

From his latest article on church eras:

God has awesome things in store for his children who love him! I don’t have many brethren’s address’s, so I plan to put my literature on the Internet, and anyone who desires to, can copy and publish these booklets, but only if they are published in their entirety, and don’t add to them anything, and don’t take away anything from them. This truth should not be distorted or destroyed. I pray that God will protect this truth from wicked men. I Gary Stowers have written this booklet with my own hands-on my computer, for our edification and as is necessary for correction, but out of love for all of us that truly are God’s people in this Laodicean Age. Time is short; let us yield to God as never before I Gary Stowers claim all copyrights to this booklet, as well as all of my literature; but only for the sake of making sure that some evil person doesn’t try and prevent anyone from having access to this truth. I desire that no person or persons can hinder in any way the publications of these booklets, by anyone who desires to publish these booklets, in their entirety, and with no additions to them. 

A true friend and witness of God and Christ,

Gary Stowers  Janaury 19, 2020

Commercial Break: Whatever Our Worldwide Church of God Experience...

Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry —– all forms of fear –— are caused by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of non-forgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.

Tolle

Sam Harris and The Present Moment 

The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness'

Abraham Maslow