United Church of God

Linda Dwornik Comments

%user:name Comments

Linda Dwornik

Managing Editor, United News

36

Posts

6

Comments

Contact Linda Dwornik

×
  • Linda Merrick

    Hi Gsikalos! I think it is wonderful that you see God's truth and that you want to stop keeping Christmas! It makes sense that you are sad to stop celebrating it because you do not want to let down your children and loved ones. But something you can do is start keeping the Sabbath and God's holy days and show your children and loved ones how amazing these days are! I never celebrated Christmas as a child, but I remember absolutely loving every holy day that we kept and the weekly Sabbath! We talked about God's promises, had special meals together, sometimes my parents would give me a small gift on the holy days, we met with others at church and after church, and enjoyed wonderful fellowship with close friends! It was always a special time for me as a child. My best advice is to pray about it fervently! God will provide you and your family a way to still keep special moments together without Christmas in your life. And I do believe God will bless you with special moments you will keep with your family both on holy days and on many other days throughout the year. I will pray for you and your family in your situation. I do believe God will give you guidance in this!

  • Linda Merrick
    Hello Leonor! Please reach out to Steve Myers the pastor of the Cincinnati congregations. I'm sure he can help you get connected to services. You can just click on his name above & click the link under his name that allows you to contact him and e-mail him that way. Hope that helps!
  • Linda Merrick

    Hello Ches! If you are a baptized member of the Church of God there are ways to keep the Passover on your own. Keep in mind of the importance and solemn aspect of this observance. Here is a link with thorough instructions on how to keep the Passover at home: https://www.ucg.org/members/news/keeping-passover-at-home . If you have further questions on the process of keeping the Passover, please search the closest congregation to you (even if it is several hours away) and contact the pastor.

  • Linda Merrick
    Tpicarella, we do have free will. We have the choice to be good or to be bad. We have human nature, which is enmity against God, Romans 8:7. We often choose the wrong way. Satan can also influence us (he is the prince of the power of the air, Ephesians 2:2) and we still have to choose to follow him or not. In Matthew 4, Satan came to Christ when he was fasting and tried to entice him. Christ always stood his ground with Satan and chose to follow God. It is not easy for us; we haven’t been perfected in Christ yet. James 1:13-15 tells us God doesn’t tempt us. But Satan does. Also when Satan rebelled he was cast to the earth and given power over the earth at this time, Revelation 12 and Job 1:12. God does have the power to stop him, but won’t at this time. When Christ returns is when Satan will be stopped and chained for 1,000 years, Revelation 20. Christ hasn’t returned yet, so we have to choose to do good whether the influence is human nature or Satan. If we do choose the wrong way, we must repent. When we follow Christ we can have self-control over our thoughts. I know I can’t just blame Satan for my own faults and sins. These are our choices, but Satan still tries to influence us.