Ahem.... Excuse me?

self-deception

The action or practice of allowing oneself to believe that a false or unvalidated feeling, idea, or situation is true.

"‘The Atlantic’ ran an article titled “Quit Lying to Yourself.’ It explained that this was not good and does not lead to happiness. The BBC ran an article about dangers of self-deception. The Bible warns about lies, self-deception, and pride."

Dr. Robert Thiel

"Who?  Me"

Sermonette by Dr Bob Thiel

 Pride: Quit Lying to Yourself

"Me?  Ha! You got to be kidding!"

Pride: Quit Lying to Yourself

https://www.cogwriter.com/dreams.htm

Bob Thiel writes:

" God will speak to His prophet in a dream."

"Several years ago I had a dream, which while I did not understand it at first, as it became more and more fulfilled over the years, I began to understand it and believe it was from God.

I was about 50 at the time (which essentially makes me an ‘old man’ per Numbers 8:25; cf. John 8:57). At first it made little sense. Yet, the Prophet Jeremiah at least once wondered about a message he received and later determined it was from God (Jeremiah 32:6-8), and the Apostle Peter at least once had a vision that he did not understand (Acts 10:9-17) until later as well (Acts 11:5-17). The same goes for Daniel (Daniel 8). 

 

In my dream, there seemed to be two parallel lines. The presiding evangelist of the Living Church of God (LCG) Roderick Meredith was on the top line and I was on the line much below. In the dream, I kept calling up to Dr. Meredith, but he never would respond. This lack of response made no sense to me during the dream. Then after what seemed to be a long time, the lines-crossed with his line dropping and my line going up.

One reason that I did not understand it at the time was that I was on relatively close speaking terms with Dr. Meredith then (he repeatedly told me he considered me to be his friend, plus he had appointed me an adviser to LCG on matters of doctrine and prophecy), so that aspect made of the dream made no sense. Also, since I had no intentions of leaving Living Church of God then (and certainly no plans to start a separate church), it was not clear what the dream was saying. Another reason I was unsure about the dream then was that I had not had any anointing for the Holy Spirit beyond baptism when I had that dream.

But these matters changed eventually. For one, I was unexpectedly anointed for a ‘double-portion’ of God’s Spirit (cf. 2 Kings 2:9) on December 15, 2011 by an LCG minister named Gaylyn Bonjour  who suggested that the passing of the mantle may had taken place.

Furthermore, over time, Dr. Meredith became more distant from me, would not keep various promises to me, and ultimately stopped speaking with me. And after I got a letter from him on 12/28/12, it was clear to me that there was no way that the Philadelphia mantle could be with him or any of his remaining leaders. These subsequent events showed me that the dream was being fulfilled. This dream gave an outline of what would happen in the future and that has happened.

Notice also: 

 

28 The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. (Jeremiah 23:28)

I also had another dream (and do not recall precisely when, but it was prior to 2012) reminiscent of a vision that Isaiah. In that dream, I recall responding to a request from God and saying, “Here I am, send me” (cf. Isaiah 6:8). I have spoken God's word faithfully.

I told LCG leaders of both dreams per Jeremiah 23:28 though they did not ask for the details, thus they had that witness, before I had to leave (and no, I did not ask for recognition nor make any personal demands, other than urging them to keep their word and correct literature/doctrinal/prophetic errors that they acknowledged they had).

In time, and partially because of statements from Gaylyn Bonjour about the passing of the mantle, it occurred to me that the dreams were showing that the mantle would (or had) pass."

Can you accept the truth about dreams and the Continuing Church of God?

Chart of Some CCOG-Related Dreams

Date	Given to	Dream(s)	Fulfillment
2003	K. Sani Mao	One dream was on the validity of the Sabbath, but the second showed a ‘C’ meaning CCOG or COGwriter to align with.	Became part of the CCOG in November 2018.
c. December 2008	Bob Thiel	The dream showed evangelist Roderick Meredith, who had long called Bob Thiel a friend and who he was on regular speaking terms with, would stop speaking with him. He would drop down as Bob Thiel rose and their lines crossed--seemingly a mantle passing. There was also another dream related to Isaiah 6:8 and apparently the passing of the mantle; the precise year unclear.	Dr. Meredith stopped speaking with Bob Thiel in the Spring of 2012. CCOG formed December 28, 2012. The mantle seemingly passed sometime between 2009-2012. The passing of the mantle potentially related to Bob Thiel was specifically brought up by Gaylyn Bonjour in 2011 and 2012.
December 8, 2012	Fesilafai Fiso Leaana	Approximately 10 people would separate from LCG, including Shirley Gestro and go to a group. A second part was related  to the Ark of the Covenant.	The fulfillment related to departure from LCG and 1o people going to CCOG occurred within several weeks of the dream and included Shirley Gestro (CCOG did not form until weeks after the dream). The part related to the Ark of the Covenant was partially fulfilled during September 2013.
c. November 2013	Frederick Ochieng	God wanted Frederick's father Evans to join with Bob Thiel to do the work that would grow.  Also, this work would have involvement from New Zealand.	The number of CCOG Africans went from a dozen to the almost three hundred (that had been with Evans) in 2014, to over 5,000 by 2021. Also, Frederick said he was unaware that CCOG had any New Zealand component before having that dream and New Zealand has played important roles in supporting CCOG.
c. March 1, 2014	Senhor Pires	Bob Thiel would be speaking to a large group that would all be black, with him the only white person.	Fulfilled March 17, 2014 when Bob Thiel spoke before church leaders in Nairobi, Kenya..
c. January 2017	Nimrod Ondigo	Bob Thiel would anoint him with oil.	Fulfilled on February 9, 2017. Nimrod did not have any reason to know that he would be ordained by Bob Thiel as a deacon as Bob Thiel did not do any ordinations in his previous trips to Africa. Also Bob Thiel did not learn of his dream until about two weeks later.
January 2019	Premkumar Ninthoujam	Alexsandar Veljic would get to Manipur, despite visa and travel issues that looked to prevent him, plus Sani Mao would be anointed with oil.	Alexsandar Veljic arrived in Manipur on January 10, 2019 and ended up anointing Sani Mao as a deacon on January 12, 2019 as Bob Thiel had tentatively authorized (but had not let Sani Mao know).

The Continuing Church of God is the only COG organization with so many of the confirmed signs of Acts 2:17-18. 

 

Can you believe?

If so, are you taking the steps to support the work confirmed by dreams that came to pass?

In your dreams...

(Time would fail to to note the self-deception on weather, evolution and for sure correct prophecy)

How do (COG) teenagers of today cope with their cultically-intoxicated parents?

From a reader:

This afternoon presented stellar radio as I ran my errands. Being a compulsive dial surfer, I usually switch amongst our ten local FM rock stations, and today I seemed to catch one fave tune after the other, back to back. As I sip a Heineken now back at home, I got to wondering about how this power-mongering amongst the adults in the ACOGs plays out these days with the kids. Setting the tone, my parents were moving up the WCG ladder as I was completing my high school years. One assumption of the higher ups was that aspiring deacons and local elders would definitely have their families under control. This means that their children had to be exemplary, which often led to duplicitousness, that is, hiding certain behaviors from the parental figures. Separate wardrobe for school in the ol' locker, one lingo at school and more formal linguistics at home, classical music overtly at home and falling asleep each night secretly listening to a clear channel AM rock station through the earplug on your transistor radio. And, then, there were nicotine fits over the weekend. Beer and wine hidden in the attic were helpful in getting through the weekend, but it was tough being a teenager in HWA's WCG cult. Honestly, I couldn't shake these same behavioral patterns during my two year tenure at AC, which ultimately led to some decisions being made for me. No worries, as I was already out from under the parents, and able to live my own life and make my own decisions. AC had been an excellent escape. 

How do teenagers of today cope with their cultically-intoxicated parents? Someone recently stated that most of the church kids of today are home-schooled. That kills the escape valve that we had back in the day, because we realized that for a goodly portion of each weekday, at school, we got to be normal. I had my transistor radio taken away for listening to the Ventures or the Young Rascals. What if a PCG, RCG, or LCG parent catches his daughter listening to Megan Thee Stallion on her cellphone? Or son listening to Ghost Face Killah? Does their cell phone get taken away? If so, how do the parents use the cell phones to spy on and control their kids? Home Schooling cuts off the escape in several ways, one of which is that the church's college will probably recognize that education as being sufficient to attend, let's say, HWA College. City College, State College, Oxford, or Harvard? Not so much. 

My Mom just about blew a fuse when I told her that my ride home from athletic practice lost his car privileges due to "parental problems". She was shocked and appalled that I could possibly even come up with such a label! Cultie parents are so out of touch with reality! Imagine having to tell peers today that you are into Irish dancing! Or that you will be gone for Christmas Week for a winter retreat with your church that had nothing to do with Christmas! I'd just bet that it still royally sucks being a kid in an Armstrong splinter!

LCG Friday Night Smackdown: Are LCG Members Clamoring To Be Ordained?

 

In the previous post about Gerald Weston's weekly comments to the faithful, he mentions that the laborers in the ministry are few and the church needs more men...sorry ladies.

Let us make sure that we stay close to our Creator and pray to the Lord of the harvest for more laborers, especially in the ministry.

Then, in the weekly Friday Night SmackDown, Doug Winnail cautions those in LCG to not be clamoring for positions in the church.  

It has to take a person who is desirous of being in leadership positions to be able to function in those positions. COG leaders know this to be a fact but try and pull one over on members by claiming this is an organic process by God to reveal the leaders in the church. 

God apparently made quite a few mistakes over the decades considering some of the men in LCG/GCG leadership positions, including in their mother church, the Worldwide Church of God. Far too many men in LCG have the intense need to be noticed and they make sure you know that.

What Motivates You? 

 

In today’s world, many are motivated by a desire for a position, power, prestige, pleasure—and a bigger paycheck. Even in the Church, these desires can motivate individuals to seek positions and be noticed. While Jesus saw these attitudes in religious leaders of His day (Matthew 23:1–11), He admonished His disciples, “whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant” (Matthew 20:20–28). Jesus set us an example in that He “did not come to be served, but to serve.” The Apostles Paul and Peter urged Christians to avoid selfish motivations and be examples to others by serving with genuine humility (1 Timothy 6:3–5; 1 Peter 5:1–6). As we strive to come out of this world and its ways, let’s look for ways that we can serve others—so God can use us more effectively as instruments in His hands (Philippians 2:3–12).
Have a profitable Sabbath,

Douglas S. Winnail

Isn't it refreshing to know that the servant leaders of the LCG have genuine humility! Now, if only you dumb sheep could be as magnificent as we are then we could ordain you and put you to work too! 

Gerald Weston: Did he really just say that????

 

I am shocked that the boys in Charlotte thought this was a good thing to publicly post. Completely out of touch, as usual.

Greetings from Charlotte,
COVID-19 has been an inconvenience for almost everyone, a significant trial for some, a tragedy for others, but a huge boost to the Work of God. As we come to the close of the second year of the virus, we see literature requests around the world up substantially—especially the Bible Study Course. Our Social Media advertisements have produced large increases in subscribers to the magazine along with booklet requests. For the first time in the history of the Living Church of God, with the January issue we will be crossing the 540,000 mark in Tomorrow’s World magazine subscriptions. At the same time, we face significant challenges when it comes to manpower, especially in some of the international areas. These are exciting times. Let us make sure that we stay close to our Creator and pray to the Lord of the harvest for more laborers, especially in the ministry. Thank you for your dedication and love for one another.—Gerald Weston

 

Living Church of God: How Truthfully Charitable Are They?

A reader sent this to me today asking me to post this. This is the financial statement that the Living Church of God has to present annually to the Australian Government.

The reader asks:

"When has the Living Church of God EVER taken care of financially disadvantaged people in their communities? When has the Living Church of God ever assisted homeless people in their areas?

The Living Church of God has never taken care of the world around them let alone care for many of their actual members. Even though 3rd tithe is one of their commands, many LCG members never receive help from the church.

When I was a student at Ambassador College, Rod Meredith had been found to have used 3rd tithe to remodel his home on Waverly Drive when the Pasadena church area had lots of widows and unemployed members who needed assistance.

When has the Living Church of God ever done charitiable work, particuarly in Charlottee?"

Their Summary of Activities states: 

The Living Church of God Ltd continues to promote the Charity's principal purpose as a Christian Church which includes organising local congregations, promoting spiritual teachings, religious festivals, Bible education and pastoral care. The Church's broadcasting activities include weekly messages aired nationwide on Channel 7Two offering to the general public free magazines, DVD's, booklets, Bible-study courses and other literature to assist improve their personal and spiritual lives. The Bible Education Centre continues to provide students with an education founded on Biblical principles and is based on the Living Education (USA) curriculum and the Bible Study Correspondence Course. 

 

The Church assists, were possible, in emergency relief and humanitarian efforts throughout Australasia, the South Pacific and South East Asia, including during the current COVID-19 Pandemic.

You can see LCG's profile here: Living Church of God Ltd