Letters – Page 8 – Church of the Eternal God

Letter to the Brethren – May 2, 2018

May 1, 2018

May 2, 2018

Dear Brethren and Coworkers in Christ,

When God called us out of the world in this day and age, He did it according to a plan that He had for us since before time began, having predestined and known us long before we were born (compare Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:16). He knows that each of us has what it takes to fulfill the mission of being a Christian, and He is confident that we can do it (compare Philippians 1:6). He has given us the raw material of His Truth and the Holy Spirit as a down payment, investing in our success to abide by the Truth (compare Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthians 5:5). God has gone so far as to offer up His Son as a Sacrifice for us, so that our sins can be forgiven! (Compare John 3:16.) He has done all of this because He challenges us individually with a huge goal, which is more important than anything we could imagine accomplishing in our human lives. If we want to succeed, we need to earnestly commit ourselves to God’s vision and submit to His Will in obedience. When we get discouraged, frightened, overwhelmed or anxious, we have to remember that greater purpose for which we are really working. God has given us a meaning in life that is much greater than anything we could contrive on our own.

Letter to the Brethren – March 22, 2018

March 22, 2018

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Dear Brethren and Friends,

Knowledge of the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days of God (which are also called “Sabbaths” in the Bible) has been the anchor of biblical truth throughout history. This understanding has been the key for remaining faithful to God in a world blinded by the deception of Satan.

When God delivered His people from slavery in Egypt, He revealed “the Feasts of the LORD”—beginning with Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12 and 13). Next, He showed again when and how to keep the weekly Sabbath (Exodus 16). As the Israelites continued their journey, other Feasts were revealed (Exodus 23 and 34; Leviticus 23; Deuteronomy 16).

WHY did God command His people to observe these holy times? God gives the answer:

“‘Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: “Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you”’” (Exodus 31:13).

Letter to the Brethren – February 13, 2018

February 11, 2018

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Dear Brethren and Friends,

The prime objective or the “mission statement” for a company, a team or individuals is a key component to staying focused and on track. Otherwise, one may start losing sight of the vision as to why one exists or works. For example, the Star Trek series had a mission statement at the beginning of each episode, which went like this: “Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.”

Captain Kirk was not confused or muddled as to what his mission was, and he stayed on track to achieve that goal (even though parts of that declared goal were impossible to achieve, since there are no aliens and no new life forms in outer space).

Letter to the Brethren – January 19, 2018

January 18, 2018

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Dear Brethren and Friends,

Recently, an emergency alarm went out notifying Hawaii of an inbound missile threat. The alarm was false and a simple human error, but for almost 40 minutes panic ensued as people waited for an attack. Subsequently, measures were put into place with the declared goal to stop this kind of error from happening again. But that didn’t stop an outcry in the media, including Hawaii Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard. In one interview she stated, “We’ve got to get to the underlying issue here of why are the people of Hawaii and this country facing a nuclear threat coming from North Korea today, and what is this President doing urgently to eliminate that threat?”

While the sabre rattling has grown to new heights between our current administration and North Korea, the world is oblivious to the real threat that is looming. Satan has been methodically steering mankind away from God since he deceived Eve to eat from that ominous fruit. And like our forefathers, man has been grabbing hold of every bit of produce offered to them by the great deceiver.

Letter to the Brethren – December 31, 2017

December 31, 2017

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Dear Members and Friends,

When I was a kid, days seemed to last forever. From one Feast of Tabernacles to the next seemed like an eternity. But now, as I am a little bit older, days seem to rush away as if I were to wake up, a few hours fleet past, and then the day is over. Sometimes it feels frustrating that the days appear to go by so quickly.

It seems just a short time ago when we kept the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day. I find it hard to believe that it was actually a few months ago. But time slows down for no one. Ephesians 5:16-18 tells us that we need to be “redeeming the time” that we have. In these winter days, along with the events of Christmas and New Year’s, we see the world around us wallowed in false happiness. They have no clue how to become truly happy because they are stuck in the hamster wheel of this life. And so they continue to pretend that everything is ok, while here in the US, Congress has passed another short-term deal to stave off shutdown of the Federal government; the national debt continues to climb; and the rest of the world is dealing with untold sorrow, corruption and wars. This is nothing new. These types of things have been going on for years.

Letter to the Brethren – November 29, 2017

November 28, 2017November 29, 2017

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Dear Members, Co-Workers and Friends,

Since our last member letter, dated October 31, 2017, so much has occurred on the world scene. The speed with which biblical prophecies are being fulfilled is mind-boggling and amazing… if we have eyes to see and ears to hear.

This letter is meant to be a wake-up call, and it is written from a very personal perspective. So please, take this letter very personally. We are trying to warn, admonish and encourage our readers and listeners regularly with our weekly Updates, StandingWatch programs, booklets, sermonettes and sermons, but do you listen? We have written about our struggles with problems, and we have cautioned everyone not to let individual trials overtake them, so that they won’t lose focus, but do you listen and heed this admonition?

Letter to the Brethren – October 31, 2017

October 31, 2017

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Dear Members and Friends:

Members of the Church of the Eternal God in the USA, Canada, the UK and German-speaking areas have just returned from what was the most enjoyable time of the year—the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day. These eight days, which picture the soon-coming world tomorrow in peace and harmony when Christ will return to this earth, should be the best time of the year for us all. Why wouldn’t it be? We attend in beautiful locations which God has chosen and assemble together with people of like mind, with the right attitude, when we experience happiness and joy, inspiring and uplifting messages focusing on God’s wonderful and perfect Way of Life, while we need not worry about what is going on in the world since our attention should be concentrated on the Feast.

Letter to the Brethren – September 8, 2017

September 6, 2017

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Dear Members and Friends,

On the 21st of this month we will be keeping the Feast of Trumpets as we again begin the autumnal round of Holy Days. How many of us who were called, almost a lifetime away in the 1960’s and 1970’s, would have thought that we would still be in the flesh, keeping these days many decades into the future?

I recall that I kept my first Feast of Trumpets in 1973 and this will be my 45th time of celebrating these pivotal days. Little did I know then that the majority of those whom I joined in the worship of God on days that were new to me, and many others, would soon disappear from view. I recall a young family that we met at our first Feast of Tabernacles at a holiday camp with around 4,000 people in attendance who seemed dedicated but I don’t ever recall seeing them again, and they were from our local congregation. With so many other members who had been around for a few years, and new members coming into the Church at that time, I had many other things on my mind and didn’t really take too much notice about not seeing a fleeting acquaintance again. It was only later that these things came to mind and, particularly, when the Church went through the traumas of the mid 1990’s when the new leaders kidnapped a Commandment-keeping and Law-abiding Church of God, which was faithful to the true doctrine, and tricked many of its members to embrace a familiar track of “worldly Christianity”.

Letter to the Brethren – August 16, 2017

August 15, 2017

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Dear Members and Friends:

I have always had fun working on projects of all sorts. When a project is clearly conceived, with a valuable and obtainable goal to accomplish, the challenge of working on the project is an inherent joy. Knowing that the time and effort invested into a directed activity will lead to achieving something worthwhile makes the hard work enjoyable. Whether the project is to edge the lawn, build a desk, bake a loaf of bread, write a letter, or any other kind of worthy endeavor, the work produces an end result that is generally satisfying. Upon reflection, King Solomon felt the same way: “So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage…” (Ecclesiastes 3:22).

Letter to the Brethren – July 17, 2017

July 17, 2017

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July 17, 2017

Dear Members, Co-Workers and Friends:

To grow up in Germany after World War II meant complete rejection of any form of nationalism or even patriotism. The German flag was rarely seen and the national anthem was rarely played. The slogans of Nazi propaganda, such as “Deutschland Ueber Alles” (“Germany over all“), and the extreme practical misapplication of this phrase had taken their toll. When the Berlin Wall fell, it was propagated that Germany should only become united within the confines of a European Union. Today, patriotism and even nationalism can be observed in certain parts of Germany, while renewed efforts are made to guarantee strong and powerful European unification.

Without the experiences of Germany’s past radical nationalistic concepts, America has always had a fond approach towards (rightly and wrongly understood) patriotism, while the distinction between patriotism and nationalism became oftentimes quite blurry. Recently, this has been a deeply troubling development, with propagated slogans such as “America First,” “Making America Great Again”, or “Buying American.” While America had accused Europe in the past of becoming a “fortress,” this accusation has been launched now, in return, by Europe against America, while phrases have also been coined, in response, such as, “Europe First” or “Making Europe Great Again.”