United Church of God Blogs

Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread are seven weeks past and we are almost finished in the counting toward Pentecost. God’s Holy Days are rich in meaning and anticipation as we rehearse them once again – each of them unique in what they picture and adding to what has gone before.  The upcoming Feast of Pentecost is no different in these regards. 

Having just returned from a three week vacation, I was out of touch with world events. As I was musing on what to write about, it soon became obvious what is currently a hot button topic—at least in the United States.

The world economy will be discussed today at Camp David as leaders of the Group of Eight will meet at Camp David, hosted by President Obama. 

Have you ever asked yourself what you would do with a million dollars?  I have played that game many times over the years.  Would you like to play along?  What would you do if someone gave you a million dollars?

One of our BT Dailies this week focused on the Eurozone crisis and the impact of a Greek departure should their debt crisis remain unrelieved. The exit of Greece from the Eurozone would have unknown consequences on the future of the union, especially for the other nations like, Spain and Portugal who are struggling with debt problems. The humiliation of the Greek people is another incalculable matter. Leaving the neighborhood association and striking out alone creates another set of problems.

The Good News editorial staff obviously plays no role in determining the foreign policy of the world's nations. We have no crystal ball to foresee day-to-day or month-to-month occurrences. What we do bring to our readers is basic prophetic insight, based on the Bible, making the analysis of significant global events much easier. After all, Jesus Christ did tell us to be acutely alert to what is happening in the world (see Mark 13:33-37 [33] Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
[34] For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
[35] Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
[36] Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
[37] And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

See All...; Luke 21:34-36 [34] And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
[35] For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
[36] Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

See All...).

Newsweek  magazine has crowned President Obama as the "first gay president". Not that he is gay but his support of gay marriage has earned him the honorary title. The President's announcement that he supports legalization of gay marriage is a major development in America's culture wars.

This past weekend was my first year to observe and be involved at the General Conference of Elders. The GCE is a gathering of the elders and ministers of the United Church of God to focus and improve on the Church’s mission to preach the gospel and prepare a people.

A primary outlook that God expects of His called out ones is to consider the impact (consequences) of our sins. As we grow in God’s grace (2 Peter 3:18But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
See All..., His Holy Spirit) we should also consider the impact our sins can have on others. We are strongly cautioned in verses such as Proverbs 6:16These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
See All... to not harbor attitudes that damage others—and yet too often we still hurt others. Here is a simple story that illustrates the damage our sins can cause to others.

"If there is not a God, nothing makes sense—not even chance."  In our first of the Fundamental Theology module classes at the Ambassador Bible Center, Dr. Ward gave these words of wisdom.

The Bible says in Isaiah 45:18For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
See All...: "For this is what the Lord says—he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited—he says: 'I am the Lord, and there is no other'" (NIV).

In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. The satellite's primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter's magnetic field, radiation belts and atmosphere.

When athletes train for their various sports and begin their various work out routines there is a term known as "hitting the wall." This is the point when the athlete reaches a point when his muscles or endurance or strength has grown as much as it can with the current training and needs more advance training to continue improving. I hit a similar wall a few months ago. It was not the same type of wall as these athletes, but rather a spiritual wall.

God our Father and God His son Jesus Christ are a family and they love you and want you to grow up in their family as well. They are the God Family. (Ephesians 3:14-15 [14] For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
[15] Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

See All...)

That is why Grandad and Nanna are writing to you the story of the Bible, which is God’s story of how we can be in God’s family, forever.

God our Father and Jesus His Son, were together from eternity and were there together, when they began to make everything. (John 1:1-3 [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[2] The same was in the beginning with God.
[3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

See All..., John 1:12-14 [12] But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
[13] Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
[14] And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

See All...)  Then you came along in God’s good time for you to be alive.

Over spring break, the ABC Class of 2012 visited Washington, DC. We took a nighttime tour of the memorials, and one of the stops was the Lincoln Memorial. It is an impressive monument with Abraham Lincoln's giant statue flanked on either side with marble carvings of some of Lincoln's most famous speeches, including the Gettysburg address. Lincoln delivered this speech to dedicate the Gettysburg battlefield as a graveyard for fallen soldiers.

About two years ago I bought a used car. Buying used cars can be an adventure, since you’re not really sure what all the quirks are when you decide to make the purchase.  Being without a functioning vehicle at the time, I decided to buy “Nala” - a 2001 Chevrolet Impala.

What happens when people step away from perceived reality for a moment? When Steve Jobs, one of the legendary founders of Apple, saw his staff and developers up against what seemed to be an impossible task, he singlehandedly created what was described as "Steve's reality distortion field." Through passion, drive, hyperbole and sheer energy of personality, Jobs had the capacity to make people believe that the impossible was attainable.

This spring Holy Day season, I have been blessed by God to be able to spend my spring break with my family in Michigan. After Passover, an elderly woman in our congregation shared with me a unique story about God that I will never forget.

One day a relative was complaining to her about money. They were struggling to see how God could provide for their needs when the numbers didn’t agree. So she simply replied, “You can’t outgive God.”

Have you noticed this in your Bible before? The New Testament records details about a very important festival that the early Church of God observed during the spring of each year. It wasn't Easter or any of the other unbiblical, modern festivals that churches observe today. It was called the Feast of Unleavened Bread .

I am a fifth-generation Christian and have spent my entire life growing up in God’s Church. I have been around God’s way of life and His teachings since I was brought into this world. For me this has been a normal way of life. There were some things about “growing up in the Church” as I was beginning to understand and grow in maturity that did present challenges over the years.