Living Church of God World Ahead Weekly Update

In the past, back in Pasadena, when we had numerous ministerial conferences, we used to receive many positive comments. But this year’s conference in Charlotte brought more positive feedback than ever before, to my recollection. We are thankful to God. Dr. and Mrs. Douglas Winnail flew on Tuesday evening to Europe. They will be visiting congregations in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, before returning to the U.S. in time for Pentecost. Last Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Rod McNair conducted a Festival Coordinators Online Conference (see report below). This week, Dr. Roderick Meredith’s first semi-annual letter of 2010 is being mailed to subscribers around the world. In it, he offers a DVD titled, Tomorrow’s World: Behind the Scenes. Your prayers for the impact and success of this letter are much appreciated. This Sabbath, May 15, Mr. Ames will be in Los Angeles to conduct a Special Presentation. Approximately 3,500 subscribers have been invited to attend. This weekend as well, Mr. Jonathan McNair will follow-up on Mr. Ames’ successful presentation last week in Manhattan (see report below).

After attending the ministerial conference in Charlotte, Mr. and Mrs. Christo Botha travelled to South Carolina. While there, he became ill and was hospitalized for kidney failure. After being anointed in the hospital, he dramatically improved. His wife, Ria, wrote, “The young doctor who treated him…. was dumbfounded and explained that, according to the newest tests, it appears as though his kidneys are functioning normally, while the tests done the previous evening showed ‘a complete shutdown.’ We, of course, knew the answer, but discreetly said nothing!” We are very thankful for God’s intervention in Mr. Botha’s life. He and his wife work tirelessly managing the Church’s South Africa regional office.

Mr. Gene Hilgenberg reports: Living along the I-44 corridor, known as tornado ally, can cause some excitement at times. God protected His people during the latest killer storms that hit the Oklahoma City area earlier this week. (Oklahoma City is the number one city in the U.S. for tornados). While some of our members had trees uprooted in their yards and watched as tornados twisted around them, no members sustained significant damage to their homes nor was anyone injured.

Mr. Wyatt Ciesielka reports: Very fierce storms and multiple tornados hit large parts of Arkansas last weekend. As previously reported, God did intervene and protect all of the Arkansas and Memphis brethren. We also understand that all of the brethren in Nashville have been protected from the flooding there (Nashville is pastored by Mr. Sweat). However, there is one instance of divine intervention just north of Little Rock that I felt was worth forwarding in more detail. My wife, Tess, and I were able to visit one of our faithful members whose mobile home was in the direct path of one of the tornados. She and her husband were at home the evening the tornados came through. They have no basement and they had nowhere to go. As that specific tornado approached within about 500 yards of their mobile home, it then took a sharp turn and passed away from their property. This is the same tornado that killed one person and injured at least 37 in the neighboring town. Again, this member and her husband live in a mobile home—no match for a tornado. We are very thankful for God’s protection of them.

Mr. Jonathan McNair reports: Our Special Presentation in Manhattan last weekend went very well! As the pre-registration notifications began to roll in, we came to the conclusion that the hall we planned to use for the occasion was not going to be large enough to seat everyone. We did some quick work to move the venue to a different location, with a larger hall, and sent a notice to all pre-registrants, informing them of the change in venue. We informed dozens of potential attendees by phone of the change as well. The whole Long Island/New York Metro congregation prayed that the change would not detract from the day—and our prayers were answered: 114 guests attended the lecture, together with 74 members, bringing our total attendance to 188. This was by far the highest number of guests we have had at a public lecture in the Northeast Area since the end of the WCG! Mr. Ames spoke powerfully about Bible prophecy and its meaning for our day as the guests listened intently. We are now looking forward to the follow-up lecture this weekend. The number of interested people continues to climb each day.

Festival Coordinators Online Conference: The Festival Office conducted an online Web meeting on Tuesday, May 11, with coordinators from the United States, Canada, and Europe to discuss such items as involving the youth at the Feast, upgrades to the Feast survey, and many other policy and Feast management issues. Now that more than 80% of our U.S. and Canadian attendees are registered for the Feast—and Opening Night is only four months and seven days away—Festival site preparations are beginning to accelerate. Coordinators are hard at work lining up activities and planning their organizational teams. We are also beginning to look at speaking schedules for our Feast sites.

Panama City, Florida: The Atlanta, Georgia congregation recently started the website www.lcg-atl.com (not an official Church website), in large part to disseminate information on the Panama City, Florida, Feast site. Those planning to attend the Feast of Tabernacles in Panama City might want to visit www.lcg-atl.com for general, housing and local attractions information (which is found under the website’s “F.O.T. Panama City” tab). Please continue praying that our Panama City site will not be adversely affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The Tomorrow’s World website continues to expand its audience, now, with a 41% increase in the number of people visiting www.tomorrowsworld.org in the first quarter compared to last year. The use of social media has contributed to the expansion of our audience. Many regular readers of our website post articles, commentaries, and our TV program to their Facebook wall, or email our website to their friends. Although each individual contribution may be small, the cumulative effect is tremendous. It is exciting to see how God has blessed and multiplied our efforts to deliver His message through the Internet.—J. Charles Ogwyn

Don’t look back in life, unless it is to learn from your past mistakes. Don’t cease learning. God will always fulfill our needs. One of our biggest mistakes is not appreciating what God gives us. Consider the example of the Apostle Paul. He wrote, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13). Paul knew that God has a purpose for those He calls. God gives us what we need to succeed. If we fail in life, it is because we do things our way; we follow our reasoning, not God’s. Many people, including some of us in God’s Church, waste their time crying over past mistakes, rather than learning from them and moving forward.

Remember what happened to Lot’s wife. God knew that she and her family would be destroyed if they remained in Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot accepted God’s order to leave. Lot’s wife, despite God’s warning, looked back. She wanted to reason her way—do the things she wanted to do. She looked back and became a pillar of salt, just as God had warned.

Likewise, when our forefathers cried out for deliverance from Egyptian slavery, God delivered them. But did they come out of Egypt—really? No. They never left Egypt—its ways of living and thinking. All along their Exodus, they took Egypt with them. Could this be our major handicap today? Could this be our way of wanting God’s help to overcome slavery? Let us move forward in whatever we do—God’s way. Let us see the ultimate wonderful reward and do the best we can, with all our hearts, to obtain it. As Paul said, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14).

The Future of Britain? In recent weeks, Britain experienced what some have called “the most important election in recent history.” The socialist Labor Party, under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, occupied the Prime Minister post for 13 years. Now, the Conservative Party has been returned to office, but not without a divided election, absent of a clear winner. This election brought an “historic and seismic shift” in British politics with Gordon Brown’s resignation, the installment of Tory David Cameron as Prime Minister, and the appointment of Cameron’s Liberal Democrat opponent Nick Clegg, to the “rarely awarded post” of Deputy Prime Minister (Telegraph.co.uk, May 12, 2010; MSNBC.com, May 11, 2010). Interestingly, “Cameron’s party is deeply skeptical over cooperation in Europe, and has withdrawn from an alliance with the parties of Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’s Nicolas Sarkozy.” Mr. Clegg, on the other hand, is a former MEP and “pro” Europe (AP, May 11, 2010). Although a coalition government comprised of “rivals turned colleagues” is not new to Britain, this one has many wondering what the future will bring. God condemns leaders of the “end-time” Israelite-descended nations for not fulfilling their responsibilities (Ezekiel 34:1, 4). Prophecy reveals that Britain’s new leaders will not “fix” the decaying society they now govern. The next five years will truly bring about interesting times for Britain and the entire world!

Return of the Deutsche Mark?Amidst the growing worry over the euro, there is growing sentiment in Europe for a return to national currencies. German financial magazine, Focus Money, recently ran a cover depicting a freshly-minted, 2010 Deutsche Mark and the caption “I Want My D-Mark Back.” The article’s author cited the simplest solution to the current euro crisis as “the return of the D-Mark.” Scott Mather, a representative from the world’s largest bond investor, Allianz, noted that, with more world trouble, Europeans will return to “the old world with more than nationalism.” Just under half of Germans favor a return to the D-Mark, and interest is highest among the older population (Focus Money, May 5, 2010). Renowned German constitutional lawyer and monetary expert, Wilhelm Hankel, notes, “The return to the D-Mark is the last resort.” For the euro to survive, it must do so among a small group of stable nations, including Germany. Hankel sees this as the only alternative to a return to national currencies (MMNews.de, April 29, 2010). Students of prophecy know that Germany—Assyria—will play a major role in the end-time and lead the final Beast power. The 10 kings that compose this Beast will “give their power” over to it (Revelation 17:12-13). The EU is reconfiguring into a smaller and more powerful union. God states that this Beast will wield a “mark,” which will include Sunday worship, that will distinguish its citizens (Revelation 13:16-17). Would it not also be interesting if the currency of the Beast power were also called the “Mark”?

Bible-Supporting Evidence on Ancient Egyptian Coins? A recent rediscovery in The Museum of Egypt supports the biblical story of Joseph. Researchers discovered a cache of “so-called” coins bearing Joseph’s name (in Hebrew and Egyptian), his image, and the year they were made. They also note he was the Treasurer of Egypt at about the time the Bible places him in Pharaoh’s court. Additional coins bear the image of a cow, possibly from Pharaoh’s dream of the seven fat and lean cows. The story was originally run in the Egyptian paper Al-Ahram (Jerusalem Post, September 25, 2009; MEMRI.org, September 24, 2009). Whether or not the objects found were truly coins is far less important than their inscriptions. The Bible records the story of Joseph ruling in Egypt, along with the fact that people came up from all countries to “buy” grain during the seven years of famine (Genesis 41:57). It also records the use of silver-type “money” by Joseph’s brothers (Genesis 42:25). For decades, certain camps in the field of archaeology have sought to discredit the Bible as a valid historical document. However, as time goes on, more and more archaeological evidence is surfacing to support the biblical accounts, much to the chagrin of many atheist and agnostic historians.—Scott Winnail, Ben Whitfield, Adrian Käfer and Floyd Spencer