Update from the President

A letter from United Church of God Chairman Donald Ward and myself was sent out today to all elders, to be distributed to all brethren. In it we speak about declaring a day of prayer and fasting for the Church on Sabbath, April 22. This is a few weeks before the General Conference of Elders annual meeting in Cincinnati and we are praying for God's guidance and direction for the Church.

The text of the letter is available on the Members website at: https://www.ucg.org/members/news/church-wide-fast-april-22-2017

Video Recording Studio

More formal planning is now underway towards construction of the new video recording studio at the home office. On Tuesday afternoon, key personnel met with the associate principal at KBA Architects, Mark Bredemeier. Proposed drawings and ideas were shared with Mr. Bredemeier with the goal of his firm creating the construction plans and managing the needed contractors. KBA Architects designed our home office building back in 2001, and has been involved ever since with our various remodeling plans.

Funding for the project is still over $100,000 short. Therefore, if members would like to help us reach our financial goals for the video recording studio, it would be most welcome. Please note on your contribution that it is for the "Video Recording Studio."

We are very excited to see things now underway towards this important goal of a new multi-function video studio. Your prayers for God's blessing upon these efforts is much appreciated.

Beyond Today Live in Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri

Our road crew is leaving tomorrow for Kansas City for the Personal Appearance Campaign in Overland Park, Kansas, which is in the Kansas City area this coming Sunday, March 19, followed by a Tuesday evening presentation in St. Louis. The brethren in both areas have expressed a lot of excitement about meeting new people coming from the public to hear our Beyond Today presenters. Please pray that these two live events go well and that God the Father will call many to Jesus Christ through these efforts.

Bev and I are leaving for San Antonio tomorrow, where I will officiate at the memorial for Roger and Janice Foster, who died exactly three months apart. What wonderful servants we had! On Sunday, I'm flying up to Kansas City to join the BT crew for the personal appearances.

You and the World - A Lifetime Challenge

The apostle John wrote these sobering and powerful words: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15).

The apostle Paul tells us to take time and examine ourselves spiritually as we near the season of the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread (2 Corinthians 13:5).

If we "love the world"--the alluring enticements that are ever-present of copious wealth, material goods and illicit relationships--then we can become deceived and cut ourselves off from a relationship with God. If we do not completely change how we think, this "love of the world" can threaten the very promise of eternal life. John then goes on to explain:

"For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world" (1 John 2:16). What is the true path for us? "He who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:17).

The Greek word often translated "world" in the New Testament is "kosmos." Used in context, it can refer to order and harmony. But it can also refer to the collective seduction of physical goods and pleasures that draw attention away from vital spiritual knowledge and lead us astray. Worldliness relates to those who devote their time and energy--even to the point of total consumption--to the affairs, interests or pleasures available in this physical life, including a love of material things (materialism). It is this latter definition from which we have the concept of "worldliness." Those who have fallen prey to worldliness often become hostile to God.

In His last and open prayer before being led off to torture and death, Jesus Christ included deep thoughts about His disciples and the challenging environment in which He was leaving them. We read the entire account in John 17. Here's what He says:

First, "I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one" (John 17:15, New Living Translation). As Christians, we don't live in a cloistered environment. We live in the world and are to be lights to them all the while being protected by God from evil one.

Second, Jesus asks God to set His disciples--which today includes you and me--in a special status apart from this world! "Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth" (verse 17). This reflects a direct command that appears repeatedly in the Bible. As the apostle Peter loudly proclaimed to Christians everywhere: "Now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say [in Leviticus 11:44-45 and elsewhere] 'You must be holy because I am holy'" (1 Peter 3:15-16 NLT, emphasis added throughout).

As God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel, one of the main reasons the nation of Judah was destroyed and carried into captivity was because the Jewish people "copied the standards of the nations around you" (Ezekiel 11:12, NLT). They adopted the wrong standards!

What are the right standards?

Jesus Christ came to magnify the Law (Matthew 5:17-20) so that we would have a moral code, an absolute guide for total spiritual transformation (Romans 12:1-2).

To see a stark comparison of worldliness versus godliness, read Galatians 5:19-23, which contrasts the works of the flesh (the world) and the fruits of the Spirit, side by side.

"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:19-23).

The apostle Paul tells us to take time and examine ourselves spiritually as we near the season of the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread (2 Corinthians 13:5). This is an excellent ongoing process for all--but especially at this time of year.

While we are to be nonconformists with the world, we are to be in total conformity with Jesus Christ, our Elder Brother. Jesus is our example and our standard! We are to stand out. Our directive, as Paul wrote to the Greek congregation in Corinth, is to "come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord" (2 Corinthians 6:17, referencing Isaiah 52:11).

As Jesus prayed in John 17, all these teachings are for us! "I am praying not only for these disciples [before Him at the moment], but also for all who will ever believe in me through the message" (John 17:20, NLT). Jesus is talking about you and me!

Much is at stake. But the rewards are great. Let us come out of the world and stand fast with Jesus Christ!