May 14, 2010
Dear Brethren:
Many things have been accomplished in this corner of God's Work and Harvest.
Years ago, Protestants in Sunday School used to teach the kids to sing a chorus about "shining" – "you in your small corner and I in mine."
You know, that is actually true when applied to the Work of God. I remember talking to an evangelist in God's Church somewhere around 1980. Since he was over the media buying of the International area of the Work of God, I approached him about what his ideas were regarding serving our Portuguese-speaking brethren. He asked me almost at once: "You have a small part in the Portuguese area of the Work, do you?"
I believe he was inspired to ask me in that way. I may have thought at that time that I had a "big" part in the Work, but the truth was and still is that we all have a "small part" in the Work since the BIG part is done we are weak but hopefully dedicated servants of God.
Here are the accomplishments since our last letter – sent out at tby the Spearhead of the Work, Jesus Christ.
With that in mind, let's look at some accomplishments of Jesus Christ through us, though he end of February of this year:
Bible Distribution
We have some French Bibles on hand that we plan to send to a minister in Benin. We will be making up some labels in French to be placed inside the Bibles. These labels state the following:
The gift of this Bible was made possible by the support of donors to the Bible Fund. May God bless your study of His Word, as you apply it in your life.
www.thebiblefund.org
We are planning to order Urdu Bibles from the Pakistan Bible Society and send some samples to Pastor Suhail Masih in Northern Pakistan. He is the pastor to whom we sent funds so that he and his group could better keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
We are also going to purchase Bibles in the Telegú language in the United States and ship them to India.
Construction Projects in Angola
A new Study Center building in Luanda has been under construction for several months. The small guard house/office is nearly finished. The walls and roof of the Meeting Hall have been completed. The concrete floor for the Meeting Hall is the next material to be installed. As soon as this building is complete, we can use it for Sabbath services, even though it is a Study Center for the Bible Fund.
After the Study Center is completed we need to build a warehouse building for the agricultural program’s produce and a building to house the workers in Bailundo where we have an ongoing agricultural project that we started last year.
Hebrew Calendar Questions
We addressed various questions regarding the validity of the Hebrew Sacred Calendar. It seems that these types of questions reoccur every generation or so in the Church of God. For example, one of the main questions pertains to the postponements as to when the New Moon of the seventh month is to take place. Another key question is, who has been given the authority over the Hebrew Calendar? We are satisfied that these issues have been clarified to us, although some individuals may continue to have doubts. We continue to firm up and practice what we learned under Mr. Armstrong.
English Pocket Calendar
We have produced and printed an improved English language pocket calendar with God's Holy Days, for the years 2010 through 2016. We are enclosing sample calendars for your use. Now, we are working on the Portuguese version.
Questions on Tithing
As you may be aware, the publication we have used to explain this subject is Mr. Armstrong's booklet, Ending Your Financial Worries. We found this booklet very helpful, and appreciated the way Mr. Armstrong handled the subject. However, questions have arisen that were not addressed in the booklet. We now have explanations for the missing information which we will add in as boxes in an updated version of the booklet. Please pray that this project be finished soon.
Portuguese Bible Hymnal
At the end of April, I returned to the hymnal project, but this time I asked Hernan Herrera to help me. His musical background and continual involvement in musical projects in the Church will be of great value. We had to establish what hymns had been changed from the old English 1972 version (purple cover) to the English 1993 version (blue cover) as far as key changes are concerned, e.g., lowering the tonality of a hymn to make it more easily sung.
Some Dwight Armstrong hymns were left out of the blue book; some for good reasons, others not; so we are putting some of the old hymns back in, e.g., "When Israel Out of Egypt Went!"
We decided to keep as many of the Dwight Armstrong hymns as possible, while omitting some Protestant hymns that had crept into the blue book and we do not want to use.
We will use a loose-leaf binder for all members (thankfully, we are small in number!), and thus if we make changes later, we will be able to put in the new pages without too much hassle.
Personal Correspondence Department Questions:
Some of you are aware of the existence of the Personal Correspondence Department (abbreviated PCD) during Mr. Armstrong's administration, and for a short while, under the Tkach administration. It was a notable department, with a well-trained staff. This department had many files on hand for use in answering personal correspondence. Many of these files were form letters, almost ready to go out at a moment's notice when a request came in on a particular subject.
Although we do not have as much correspondence as occurred when we handled most letters in English, we have been able to accumulate a number of form letters through the years. Hence, we have our own Personal Correspondence Department, with more and more letters being added in Portuguese.
We are presently working on a letter to address the issue of the use of "sacred names," since this has come up in Angola. We have learned not to belabor questions of this type, and we will be sending out a shortened version of the old Good News article on this topic.
We have updated the PCD letter regarding general information about the start of the Jewish Civil Year and also the Sacred Year (Letter No. L013). We have also composed a new letter on the meaning of Ecclesiastes 4:9-10. This scripture underscores the principle of SYNERGY, which is very important to us in the Work of God.
"Question and Answer Series
"Ecclesiastes 4:9-10:
"Q: Please explain this scripture to me: "Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up" (Eccles. 4:9-10).
"A: Thank you for your recent inquiry concerning this scripture.
"Oftentimes, we find ourselves bedraggled with many chores and distractions which cause us to lose focus. At the same time, it has been noted by social scientists that when two or more individuals work together, each contributes to the overall project at hand so that it is accomplished or carried out more effectively than if the project had been attempted by one person.
"The technical term for this is synergy: Webster's New World Dictionary, College Edition (1960), states the following: 'Joint work, to work together, combined for cooperative action or force; the combined or correlated action of different organs or parts of the body as in performing complex movements.'
"Let's cite some examples. The pyramids in Egypt were built with thousands of laborers. It has been mentioned that these thousands of laborers had to have been organized into different groups led by various supervisors. This was the quintessential teamwork.
"On a personal basis, teamwork can start with the synergy of two. This is the application of the principle in this scripture. Take, for example, Christ sending out the 70 disciples in teams of two. (Luke 10:1.) Each one could support the other. (One partner could become indisposed, and the other would fill in for the sick partner.) Today, law enforcement authorities recommend that women in particular always travel in pairs when jogging or hiking, for safety's sake. Mr. Armstrong highly recommended that ministers make visits in pairs to prevent false accusations or the appearance of evil."
<end of Ec409E letter>
That's it for recent accomplishments.
Now, let's talk about the upcoming Feast of Tabernacles.
Feast of Tabernacles 2010
The Bible Fund is happy to announce that Jesus Christ has once again selected a great Feast site for us this year. As you all know, we had a wonderful location last year in the Wisconsin Dells.
This year, God has blessed us to be able to stay and hold services at The Village at Squaw Valley U.S.A. located approximately 10 miles northwest of beautiful Lake Tahoe in California. We have contracted for a limited number of one, two and three bedroom units (with fully appointed kitchens) at discounted rates.
Lake Tahoe is reputed to be one of the most beautiful natural lakes in the world. For those of you who haven't been there, you are in for a great treat.
If you would like more detailed information on the accommodations and dates of the convention, please go to:
The Bible Fund website: www.thebiblefund.org
The Village at Squaw Valley USA website: www.thevillageatsquaw.com
Before we conclude this current newsletter, let's review some important points about world conditions and our part in God's Project.
We read in the second epistle of Paul to Timothy that the end times would be categorized by strange occurrences and negative social conditions. They are anything but peaceful!
Citing 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Paul stated: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
3:2: For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3:3: Without natural affection [better rendition than the "unloving" in the NKJV], trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
3:4: Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
3:5: Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
Do you know some that have a form of godliness, but who deny the power of God's Spirit?
As we approach Pentecost, we need to be thinking about the awesome power of the Holy Spirit. We also should be keeping an eye on world conditions. Just look at what we have experienced in recent times:
We've all heard and seen film footage through the media of the terrible destruction by a powerful tsunami that hit at the end of 2004.
Lessons From the 2004 Tsunami and Other Disasters:
One of the most devastating disasters in recorded history struck the day after Christmas, Dec. 26, 2004. A 9.0-magnitude earthquake on the ocean floor near Sumatra triggered a tsunami of unprecedented ferocity that sent powerful waves across the Indian Ocean from Indonesia to Zanzibar in Africa. The worst impact was felt in Banda Aceh, located in the northern region of Sumatra.
More recently, the world experienced another disaster that impacted the economies of many European nations, as well as the United States. This was the Iceland volcano which, at this present date, is still spewing ash fumes all over Europe.
Volcanic eruptions may continue for months and curtail European air traffic, said Sigrun Hreinsdottir, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik. "It could erupt, pause for a few weeks, and then possibly erupt again," he said.
Other weather upsets can pose future threats to human health and the world's economy.
But is there a more serious threat to the human family – and, especially – to the people of God?
We should be more watchful of spiritual "tsunamis" than the physical ones. Let me explain. Paul addresses this issue in Ephesians 4, where he mentions that some are easily swept aside by every wind of doctrine – verse 14. In another passage, he refers to some who have a "shipwrecked faith" – 1 Timothy 1:19. This can happen so fast – it is like being hit broadside by a giant wave, where one is swept away before full recognition hits home as to what is happening.
We have experienced such events over and over in the Church. When it happens to us, personally, we may not be fully awake to the danger of what can be termed "a spiritual tsunami."
Christ referred to this time of testing that would shake our very foundation:
7:26: And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
7:27: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
* * * * * * *
Let's consider another more current disaster:
Recently, we heard and saw on the news the devastating oil spill off the coast of Louisiana. The leak from the ocean floor has proved to be far bigger than initially reported, contributing to a growing sense among many in Louisiana that the government has failed them again, just as it did during Hurricane Katrina. President Barack Obama belatedly dispatched Cabinet officials to deal with the crisis.
We must notice that these disasters and calamitous events are increasing in number and intensity. Is not God on a countdown, and the final days are upon us?
What are the lessons for us in the Church of God regarding all these recent disasters? If we go to Deuteronomy 32 we see the bottom line cause. We have abandoned the God who blessed us with abundant natural resources. We have misused some of the resources which God designed for a different purpose. For example, we know that some seafood was not intended for human consumption. In God's world, we will not have the consumption of bottom-feeding sea life that was designed to clean up the oceans. As the gods of Egypt were destroyed, God will show mankind, indirectly, the purpose for His creation.
Over and over we are shown in the Bible, and particularly in the Book of Revelation, that man will not repent, even when brought to complete ruin. Many will have to be killed and later resurrected so that they can repent.
What further lesson can we draw from this? No better wording of what we face can be stated than what Christ said as recorded in Luke 21:34-36, from the Complete Jewish Bible: "But keep watch on yourselves, or your hearts will become dulled by carousing, drunkenness and the worries of everyday living, and that Day will be sprung upon you suddenly like a trap! 35 For it will close in on everyone, no matter where they live, throughout the whole world. 36 Stay alert, always praying that you will have the strength to escape all the things that will happen and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man."
What we fail to see, oftentimes, is that for us this is NOT in the distant future, because the final day for us is the day of death. We could be struck down by a Mack truck as we cross the street! We MUST be ready at all times.
This calls for a close walk with our Savior. This is "where it's at" spiritually.
We have been sobered by these recent events. Christ's call for us to be fully awake is accompanied by His mandates. We must be about our Father's business.
Please continue to pray for our Angolan and Brazilian brethren. The Angolans are doing more and more to make the Bible Fund an active part of the Church's mission. More news about this will be given in upcoming letters. Please pray that they will not be afraid of their enemies, but go forward boldly in the Work that Christ wants them to do.
Please pray that Christ will add co-workers to the Bible Fund's efforts worldwide. I personally covet your prayers for continued good health and stamina in these crucial years.
With deep appreciation in Christ,
J. Graham Davies
