United Church of God

Letter from Braden Veller (January 3, 2020)

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Letter from Braden Veller (January 3, 2020)

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Letter from Braden Veller (January 3, 2020)

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Pastor’s Letter January 3, 2020

 

What Will Your Throne Be Like?

                                             

My throne?  Really?  Me?  To have a throne?  Don’t be silly! I typically don’t thinkof such things. I can’t sit in that chair all day, let alone, all of eternity. Help!!!

“…and I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge” (Revelation 20:4).

It should be noted that it is a great honor to have a throne in the Kingdom of God.  But…it is also an enormous responsibility as one day we will be guiding, encouraging and providing for millions of people. I Corinthians 6:2 states that not only will we have the entrusted care of millions of people to look after, we will also have the capacity to even judge angels. To do that there is a real chance that we will have a specified location in God’s kingdom to make far reaching decisions and issue important directives.

There indeed may be a place to formally hold key meetings and perhaps God will place His saints in royal settings on special future occasions. Such a place will undoubtedly be majestic.

But sitting on a literal throne? In the Bible, the word ‘throne’ denotes rulership with power. We should not be surprised if God gives us a specific and gorgeously beautiful location from which to direct our future work but the main focus of Revelation 20:4 is that the saints (hopefully including us) will be authorized decision makers to assist Jesus Christ in ruling this world.

Yes, while past monarchs have wielded power from literal thrones that they sat on they have historically fulfilled their duties by traveling to other locations and events to know the state of their kingdoms. This is also true for Presidents, Prime Ministers, Generals, CEOs and Ministers. For example, President Abraham Lincoln was constantly on the move, visiting the troops, talking with the townspeople, visiting the needy, consulting with aides, debating with adversaries, all the while walking throughout Washington D.C. As one historian described it, Lincoln was a classic example of MBWA which stands for “Management by Walking Around.” Currently MBWA is a hot management topic within major billion dollar businesses.

Some of the world’s most effective and appreciated monarchs have had a reputation for MBWA. King Bhumipol and wife Queen Sirikit of Thailand and Jordan’s King Hussein certainly come to mind. King Hussein sometimes escaped his palace security to drive a taxi cab at night through the streets of Amman, Jordan; picking up riders to learn what the people were doing and thinking. Until the end of this project the people who were chauffeured by the king had no idea that it was the King who had picked them up.

King Bhumipol and his wife Queen Sirikit were classic examples of a royal couple who cared for their people. They constantly took helicopter rides to the nation’s outskirts to meet the local citizens. Here they enabled their people to learn helpful agricultural techniques and other marketable skills that would eventually enable them to raise their standard of living.

There is a good chance that you will be doing a great deal of MBWA when Christ returns. Perhaps literally sitting on an actual throne may be an uncommon experience .It is more likely that all of us will extensively travel and educate people. But whatever type of throne God gives us will indeed be a great honor.

MBWA is very much part of our future

King Hussein, King Bhumopal and Queen Sirikit have been SO popular with their people for MBWA to know how the people were doing that, to this day, most of the citizens of Jordan and Thailand prominently display a portrait of their beloved servant leaders in their homes. Will our people love us as much? … Or maybe more….food for thought.

Is this bit of furniture part of your royal future?

It could be, but probably God has something much more elegant in mind. If you are too busy trying to MBWA, you may be away from the office a great deal. Perhaps your throne room will only be complete when you have a sign out in from of your entrance that says “Yes the king is out. I am currently away from my throne room right now, but you can reach me on my cell phone.”

As we go into the weekend, continue to remember the people that we have told you about that have been challenged with health difficulties.

 

Local News

This weekend, Bob Orosz will speak in Vero Beach, Mike Fike will be in Ft. Myers, Perry Harold & Paul Bidetti will speak in Ocala and I will be in Tallahassee.

 

BV