Update 43

Dave Harris will be speaking this Sabbath on The Majesty of God

Dave Harris will be conducting the morning service for Pentecost on Sunday, May 19. He will be speaking on The Ultimate Meaning of Pentecost

Norbert Link will be speaking in the afternoon on Pentecost and will be elaborating on the role of the Holy Spirit in the early New Testament church.

The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at the appropriate time, just click on “Connect to Live Stream”.
 

As we approach the Feast of Pentecost, we are encouraged because we are reminded of all God has done for His people on this day, down through history.

The Ten Commandments were spoken by God to His chosen people on the day of Pentecost — a law, which defined sin and distinguished right from wrong — a standard to live by.

God gave His Spirit of Power to His Church on that first Pentecost following the death, burial, and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, whereby, it would be possible for those God calls, to live by that standard He had established.

And, God established the New Testament Church on the day of Pentecost, at that same time, so that people of like mind could assemble together as a help to one another as they worked toward the goals established by the Almighty.

We are thankful for these wonderful gifts from our Father.

However, there is a god of this world. His purpose is totally contrary to God and His perfect Way of Life. And, he injects himself into the lives of those God has called, with the express purpose of thwarting the plans God has established.

In Genesis 3: 1-4, we see Satan as he came to Eve in the garden. Through his lies, he convinced Eve to go contrary to God’s Way, thus causing her to reject God’s Spirit (Genesis 3: 24). Satan has not changed his ways. He has been able to influence mankind throughout man’s generations.

In Job 1: 6, we read that Satan came among the angels of God, as they presented themselves before the Lord. His express purpose was to attack and destroy God’s servant, Job, whom God described as “a blameless and upright man, who fears God and shuns evil” (Verse 8).

To add to our problem of having to deal with this spirit being, we are told he is a liar (John 8: 44) and that he walks contrary to our calling (Ephesians 2: 1-3). Yet, he transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Cor 11: 14). He is our enemy.

We must become even more cognizant of his strategies and of his tactics, since we are living in the end-time. We are warned in 1 Peter 5: 8, to “be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

Our admonition in James 4: 7, is to “Submit to God and resist the devil.” We must draw near to God (James 4: 8). And we must hold fast, as Paul instructed Titus, to “the faithful word” we have been taught, “that we may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict, those who contradict (Titus 1: 9).”

If we do these things, God tells us in 1 Peter 5: 6, that “He will exalt us in due time.”

Let us keep these things in mind as we approach this season and realize that we have the power to overcome Satan and those who walk in his way, if we will obey our God and stay close to Him.
 

EUROPE / CATHOLIC CHURCH

EUROPE
The German weekly magazine, “Der Stern,” ran a series of articles this week to report on Europe’s recent switch to the right. The magazine cited Belgian foreign minister Louis Michel’s recent statements, as follows, “‘I was correct to take serious the extreme right, in light of events in Austria, Italy and now France, the homeland of human rights.'” “Der Stern” continued, “With Denmark, a country will preside over Europe in the second half of 2002 which has strongly advocated more serious political measures against foreigners.”

“Der Stern” also pointed out that the campaign against Austria some time ago was initiated by France, a country in which now the right-winged Le Penn has gained every fifth vote in recent elections.

On May 15, another victory for the right was achieved in the Netherlands. After the murder of the right extremist and homosexual politician Pim Fortuyn on May 6, Fortuyn’s party has gained second place and will participate in the next government of Netherlands.

The most famous right-winged European politician is without any doubt Joerg Haider of Austria. “Der Stern” reminded its readership of Haider’s unusual successes over the years, as well as his strong words that always seem to strike a nerve. Haider, a lawyer and millionaire, called Germany’s foreign minister Joschka Fischer of the Greens “a left-winged terrorist,” Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of the Social-Democrats “a fool,” and Jacques Chirac of France a “little tiny Napoleon.” He recently almost destroyed his own party over a disagreement regarding foreign policy, mocked the highest court in Austria and asked the citizens to ignore its ruling, and vehemently criticized Austria’s President. In the midst of preparations by the United States to attack Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Haider chose to officially visit him for the second time within a year. He also announced that he has not “resigned” from Austrian politics.

“Der Stern” stated that Germany’s present government, run by Social-Democrats and the Greens, may have cause for alarm and concern for the national parliamentary elections in September, following their devastating defeat in a recent German state election in Saxony-Anhalt.

The magazine asked the question why we are suddenly seeing such a dramatic switch to the right, after many left and left-liberal governments had ruled Europe for years and decades. One of the reasons, according to “Der Stern,” is the weak economic situation in Europe. Another reason is the terrorist attack on September 11 in the United States, which has brought about a universal feeling of insecurity. Finally, other reasons are the high numbers of criminals in Europe and the uncontrolled immigration of foreigners into Europe.

CATHOLIC CHURCH
The German weekly, “Der Spiegel,” asked, “Will the Pope step down prematurely?” According to the article, German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who is very close to the Pope and who meets with him at least once each week for confidential discussions just between the two of them, is very concerned about the health of the Pope (82) and does not rule out any longer his premature resignation. The Pope, however, has declared that he does not want to resign.