Last Sunday, our Beyond Today presenters presented another Beyond Today: America the Time is Now live presentation in Cleveland, Ohio. A total of 92 attended, with 43 being first-time guests. We were pleased with the event and the local leadership of pastor Greg Thomas and his wife B.J., as well as all the members who were so enthusiastic to see new people come meet with us.

After the presentation, people spent considerable time with all of us to talk about who we are and the message we have for the world. We were all very encouraged.

Our next stop is Dayton, Ohio, this coming Sunday, and we are hopeful of a good turnout as well. Next month, on September 20, 22 and 25 we will be in Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte, North Carolina. The Beyond Today circulation is considerably higher in the Carolinas. Since turnout seems to track with the BT circulation, we are hopeful for higher numbers next month.

Good Works

This past Monday, our Good Works project committee met in my office to discuss our current and future projects.

Good Works has been a part of United Church of God's outreach to help our disadvantaged brethren in various places in the world since 2003. It has helped in diverse ways: by providing needed places to meet for church services, church vehicles, camps, and disaster relief such as rebuilding homes in the Philippines after the Typhoon Haiyan, to name a few. Recently, we have partnered Good Works and United Youth Corps to support our youth on missions to assist our people, in addition to providing physical aid. It's not only been to help our own, but often the community as whole, such as the Eagle's Nest Orphanage in Guatemala and a borehole well in Maloca de Moscou, Brazil. Through Good Works, we have let our light shine as our volunteers from the United States, Australia and Chile have given of themselves to help others.

The current Good Works committee consists of Lena VanAusdle, Milan and Sarah Bizic, Chelsea Dawe and Rudy Rangel. Lena has been the coordinator and has done a tremendous job in keeping projects on track. The committee has been evaluating project requests. I have greatly appreciated working with Lena as we closely coordinate what Good Works does with LifeNets, which is directed by Beverly Kubik.

Four United Youth Corps volunteers have just returned from a mission in Chile and Argentina where they taught English and Leadership. On the Good Works blog page (http://goodworks.ucg.org/blog) you can see more about their journey.

In a few days, another set of workers are going to be helping with summer camp in Nigeria. You can see photos of the campers and workers at http://goodworks.ucg.org/project/summer-camp-nigeria-2016-update-volunteers-chosen. We applaud these volunteers who are giving of themselves to provide a wonderful camp experience for our teens in Nigeria.

We have three more projects involving United Youth Corps as part of Good Works this calendar year. Two of these are summer camps in the southern hemisphere in late December: in Brazil and South Africa. A third project is working with the orphans at Eagle's Nest Orphanage in Guatemala.

The returning United Youth Corps volunteers tell the story better than any of us can about how fulfilling these projects and missions are.

We do have some other projects that we are considering, but funding for current projects has been lagging. One reason is that we have not asked very much for help with Good Works. If you go to the Good Works project page, you will note that they are greatly underfunded and need our support. When projects fall below the their funding goals we have paid for them from Good Works reserve balances, but we really do ask for people to help us more at this time. You can easily see our current projects at http://goodworks.ucg.org/projects.

Thank you very much for your interest and support!

He Who Has Begun a Good Work in You

We are in the middle of the Rio Olympics, where first-place winners, victors and champions are cheered and celebrated. But in the ancient Olympics, the Greeks ran a unique race. The winner was not only the runner who finished first. It was also for the last runner who finished with his torch still lit. The prize was for endurance to the end, no matter how distanced from the fastest runner.

The idea of completeness is most encouraging as we run a race in which we can get exhausted and disheartened. Don't lose sight that it is in God's interest that you make it over the finish line. He wants you to succeed! He will be there helping you in myriad ways as well as cheering you on.

In the context of the events of the end of this age, Jesus said this to his gathered disciples: "But he who endures to the end shall be saved" (Matthew 24:13).

In our life's journey, we welcome the good that God is building in us. However we can become frustrated and discouraged with ourselves and our shortcomings. We may want to quit, and too many give up and throw in the towel. Too many turn away from reaching the end of the journey that they began with eagerness. They have become disheartened by their own selves, others and the difficulty of carrying on.

The apostle Paul understood these challenges, so he emboldened the members of the Philippian church (living in their own difficult times) with these words of encouragement: ". . . being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).

This is one of my favorite passages to think about (as much of the letter to the Philippians is), because it helps us to get through the ups and downs of life.

Let's take a closer at this passage.

What does it mean to be confident?

Being confident means being faithful, believing, assured, and firmly persuaded. The prophet Habakkuk, when speaking of the imminent invasion and destruction of Jerusalem, advised those who heeded God's warning: "The just shall live by His faith" (Habakkuk 2:4).

It is this passage with its overriding outlook on the ongoing relationship with God that Paul quotes in three of his epistles. Unless you have a prevailing confidence in God and the work that He's accomplishing, you are vulnerable.

What does it mean that God has begun a good work?

There was a beginning to your walk with Christ that was not of your choice. Jesus Christ announced: "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:44).

You were called by God the Father in spite of what you were and what your shortcomings may be.

This calling is to a life of good works--and ultimately an eternal life of good works: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).

Earlier verses show that salvation itself is a gift, by God's grace. With that realization, we give our lives to righteous behavior as a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1). In Romans 6:4 we read, "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Further, Isaiah writes about a person submitting their life to God: "But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand" (Isaiah 64:8).

What does it mean to be complete?

The idea of completeness is most encouraging as we run a race in which we can get exhausted and disheartened. Don't lose sight that it is in God's interest that you make it over the finish line. He wants you to succeed! He will be there helping you in myriad ways as well as cheering you on.

We all have our life's story to tell. I can tell you of moments of discouragement and despair in my life. It is mostly from disillusionment with other people. I have been grievously disappointed in others at times, and no doubt I have disappointed others. But I know that I cannot let this take my eyes off what we all need to be doing as we enter eternity.

What does it mean until the day of Jesus Christ?

The New Living Translation translates this phrase as "until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."

The return of Jesus Christ marks, among other things, our triumphant finish to this life's difficult journey. Though it is often challenging, life is a worthwhile journey of testing, developing character and protecting our integrity. Finally, it will culminate with entrance into the Kingdom of God--our ultimate salvation.

An important part of our work as leaders in the Church is to not only show by example this mindset, but also to teach it in our congregations through our sermons and Bible studies. The apostle Paul was always concerned about how those he preached to were doing. He spoke about not only giving them the gospel, but also giving his life for them. Let us do likewise.

In the spiritual race we run during our finite years of life, let's make sure we carry our torch of endurance across the finish line. God has promised to help us across.