When the lights go out and we are left in the pitch black, typically the first thing we search for is a source of light – a flashlight, a candle, etc.  Without light, we are prone to stumble and fumble.  Sometimes the smallest things will trip us up in our quest to find what we are looking for.  Also, along the way we will grasp several wrong items as we probe for the right one.

Spiritually speaking, the same condition currently exists today.  There is a pitch black that has descended upon this world. Because of it, people are wandering blindly, grabbing and taking a hold of whatever they run into, believing it to be a means of helping themselves.     

In the darkness, they have grabbed a hold of guns for protection; politicians or parties for guidance; money for deliverance; man-made or contrived philosophies for salvation; science for true knowledge; war for accomplishing peace; poisons for healing; the unjust for justice; and the list goes on and on as the blind continue to follow the blind.

The world as an overwhelming whole has rejected the ONE thing that can shed light on these subjects and give us the answers we are looking for: God and His Way as outlined by the Bible.  Of course, those who have not read and studied the pages of the “Owner’s Manual” will scoff at the idea that this could possibly be the solution for the ills of mankind.

Isaiah describes the condition of man in this way: “Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us; We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness! We grope for the wall like the blind, And we grope as if we had no eyes; We stumble at noonday as at twilight; We are as dead men in desolate places” (Isaiah 59:9-10).

BUT, before we begin to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to, we need to reflect on whether we still have blind-spots, things God wants us to see, but that we cannot notice because we are not walking completely in the light?  Do we see everything clearly that we need to, or is it vague because we have not come completely out of the shadows?

We were once floundering in the dark, trying out the misdirected ways of the world, but God in His mercy has turned on the light for us, “in the hope that [we] might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us…” (Acts 17:27).

Expectations for the coming year of 2013 are not full of hope! Rather, there seems to be a sense of resignation that problems will not be resolved and that things are steadily getting worse!

Violence fills the earth as nations arm themselves with ever more potent ways to kill. Wars are being continually fought, but peace is never achieved. Senseless mass shootings tear apart communities and there just doesn’t seem to be any way to understand “why.”

Not only this coming year, but the years immediately ahead are destined to be the darkest in all of human history—Jesus prophesied of this:

“‘For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened’” (Matthew 24:21-22).

And…

“‘And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken’” (Luke 21:25-26).

We cannot, we must not, ignore the reality of the future! For those who have the understanding of God’s Word and who believe what Jesus Christ reveals to His servants, now is the time to become even more diligent in our calling, to overcome and to persevere. Note that Jesus has very clearly prepared us for what is coming when He said, “‘See, I have told you beforehand’” (Matthew 24:25).

In spite of the bad news of the immediate years ahead, there really is good news in our future, and it is found in the Gospel message preached by Jesus Christ, by His faithful apostles and by the Church of God throughout the generations!

As we face both next year and the tumultuous times ahead, we have reason for hope and unwavering confidence in the future that lies just beyond—Jesus stated:

“‘Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near’” (Luke 21:27-28).

Years ago there was a character in the pages of the funnies, called “Dennis the Menace.” Some of us may remember that character. Around Christmas time, they had a cartoon of him, sitting on a pyramid-shaped six feet high pile of toys and gifts, saying: “Is this all?” This typifies the slogan that “greed knows no bounds.”

When is enough of anything enough? 

Imagine for a moment that God gave you eternal life, perfect conduct, wisdom and beauty, and the possibility and ability to carry out your responsibilities. Would that be enough for you?

It was not enough for Satan.

Ezekiel 28:12-17 tells us this: 

“Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.

“By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you.”

Something happened to the symbolic “king of Tyre”—none other than Lucifer, the bright star of the dawn, who became Satan, the prince of darkness. Along the way, he became corrupted by pride and as a result, his position and what he had been given were not enough for him. He not only wanted to possess and rule the whole physical universe, but also the spirit realm where God dwells. He convinced 1/3rd  of all the angels to follow him and went up to heaven to overthrow God. This attempted coup did not work, and he and the demons were cast back down to earth.

Isaiah 14:12-14 informs us of this:

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.”

When his mind became corrupted, he felt dissatisfaction with his lot in life, and he wanted more. This whole attitude of craving for more permeates this holiday season.  People receive gifts and think they should be bigger, better and more expensive. They may also feel they deserve additional gifts. Not that the custom of giving gifts at Christmas times is anything biblical to begin with, but the accompanying attitude of many of those who receive gifts is even more telling.

No one seems to think about the admonition from Paul, as we read in Philippians 4:10-13:

“But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

What Paul is saying is that there are good times and not so good times, but he learned to be content with what he had, and he looked to Christ. What a lesson for people in the world today who never seem to be content with their physical possessions, who suffer from greed and who never know when enough is enough.

So we are left with this question: When is enough–enough?

With the recent elections behind us, the focus for the USA is now on what the future will bring. Ongoing talks about a compromise to solve or at least “help”  in some way the outcome of the fiscal cliff and the economic issues is the immediate center of attention for this nation.  However, either way one looks at this, the outcome, as we know it, looks grim. This nation will never dig its way out of the hole it has dug, which appears to look more and more like a grave. That is, until Christ returns to put a stop to all of this. 

This is no surprise to those who actually understand what the Bible is saying and what the Bible has prophesied since the beginning, about the fate of this country and the Commonwealth nations of the British Isles, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others. The current state that this nation is in, is the result of a selfish attitude to put matters in their own hands and ignorantly giving in to Satan, instead of looking to God for help. 

God the Father has given for now His authority to the god of this world, Satan the devil, and the leaders and nations of this world have unknowingly followed Satan instead of the one true God (Revelation 13:4-5).  And so have many of the people we may know, including close friends of ours, who have been deceived by keeping the things that God prohibits and thereby not keeping the things that God commands. God’s plan for this nation is quite evident and clearly prophesied.  Since we are aware of it, we have to be extra vigilant that we don’t slip up and “forget” His plan and purpose. 

At the same time, what we must understand is that God is in overall control of this entire situation, as He is in control of our individual lives.

As we pointed out in our free booklet, “Human Suffering, Why…and How Much Longer?”, “Satan has been given authority over continental Europe, Russia, China, India, as well as the United States of America, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand—the WHOLE WORLD… Is there a conflict then? Is it Satan or God who has control over man? There is no conflict. Although God has not yet taken Satan from his earthly throne, Satan can only do what God allows him to do! Satan is still subject to God’s Will.”

God is the one who places certain individuals in power to FULFILL His purpose, for “He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding” (Daniel 2:21). God is very clear in the book of Hosea as to who should rule a nation. In chapter 13 and verses 9-11, God says: “”O Israel, you are destroyed, But your help is from Me. I will be your King; Where is any other, That he may save you in all your cities? And your judges to whom you said, ‘Give me a king and princes’? I gave you a king in My anger, And took him away in My wrath.” 

In another place, He says to those who forsake Him: “They set up kings, but not of Me; they made princes, but I did not acknowledge them” (Hosea 8:4). God does not take pity on those who rebel against His law for, “He shall come like an eagle against the house of the Lord, Because they have transgressed My covenant And rebelled against My law” (Hosea 8:1).

Just as God has a specific plan for you and me, He also has a predetermined plan and purpose for all the nations (Acts 17:26).  Today, the leaders of this world are not in search of the one true God, to have God fight their battles; yet they look to their own reasoning and resources.  What about us? Do we look to God in EVERY situation we are faced with? 

Situations will become more severe and we will have to stand up for what is right despite what politicians and leaders insist on what is “ok,” but contrary to God’s law.  We must NEVER leave Him out of the picture, but put matters into His hands (2 Corinthians 1:9; Jeremiah 17:5; Deuteronomy 1:30). This is very difficult to do at times, especially in the heat of the moment.  We must keep our head high and look to God for help.  It’s not going to get easier for this nation, but it’s necessary in light of prophecy and God’s plan, for He states in Jeremiah 27:5, “I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are on the ground, by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and have given it to whom it seemed proper to Me.” 

Satan may have his glory here on earth, but it is only temporary, for God is in complete control and the end result will be fulfilled victoriously, according to His plan.

The Bible teaches us that in our weakness, we are made strong if we rely on God (2 Corinthians 12:10). For that we can all feel relieved. We can trust in God to defend us and fight our battles. We know that we must rely on God for any strength that we might be able to claim. Indeed, all our strength comes from God. Since any strength that we have is not our own, does that mean that we don’t have to work to build our strength? Can we just sit back and relax while we wait for Christ to return? The answer is clearly, “No!” We cannot give up growing in strength just because that strength is not our own. While we know we are weak, we must become strong.

When Joshua was taking over the leadership of the nation of Israel, God told him through Moses, and personally, that he must be strong. In Joshua 1:7 we read an admonition to Joshua from God that we might also take to heart: “Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.”

Instead of telling Joshua to simply let things happen as they might because God was in control, He tells Joshua to be strong! The strength Joshua is told to have is for the conviction to follow God. It takes effort and courage to face the world that is so set against the ways of God. Strength is absolutely necessary for a Christian to build, develop, and nurture.

Increasingly, the world that we live in is turning away from God. Because of this, anyone who follows God will stick out like a sore thumb. To face the ways of the world and to overcome them we encounter inevitable conflict. Without strength, training, and preparation, we put ourselves in a position of vulnerability. Building up our strength is absolutely vital to our salvation as this world becomes more contrary to God.

It is on our responsibility to become competent and capable of making the right decision in God’s eyes as we navigate through this life. What that means is that we need to be accountable for our understanding of God’s Word. We need to own it. We need to prove the truth to ourselves so that we are strong. Unlike previous generations on the earth who did not have access to even read the Bible, we have the privilege to have God’s Word available to us constantly. We lack no opportunity to learn from the Word of God. Modern technology even allows us to carry a completely searchable Bible in our pocket. We simply have no excuse precluding our ability to become very strong in our convictions.

In an effort to become strong, we must remember that it requires more than adopting a set of correct beliefs. Strength is developed by exercise. It is not enough to know that we need to keep the seventh day- Sabbath; we need to know why. It is not enough to know that God is a Family; we need to know how those Family relationships are defined. The principle here is that knowing doctrine is not enough. We need to be able to prove doctrine – to ourselves. Only when we can prove doctrine to ourselves, does it become truth in our minds allowing us to withstand the evil we encounter (Ephesians 6:13-14).

If we are not absolutely strong in our beliefs, we fall prey to becoming influenced by rhetoric rather than truth. Without investing the effort to increase our strength in our convictions, we increase our odds of choosing paths of behavior that we will later regret, leading to death. Fortunately, we have the opportunity right now, to spend our efforts wisely – to build our spiritual strength by learning and proving our understanding. Indeed, it requires work to become strong, but our efforts will prove to be worthwhile. By unwavering in our commitment to follow God, we will reap a reward much greater in magnitude than our relatively tiny investment of time and effort today.

News from every part of the world floods across our media—often in real-time! We are able to observe catastrophic disasters such as earthquakes and horrific weather disturbances; rebellions and wars; vile and indecent human degradation; and other endless affronts to virtue and peace.

What exactly are we witnessing, and how do all of these things relate to us on a personal level?

According to the Word of God, these are signs of the times, which herald the end of this age and the ushering in of the Kingdom of God!

In His wide-ranging statements about what signs would foreshadow just this time, Jesus warned His servants to “watch” and “to be ready” (Matthew 24:42, 44; 25:10, 13). Notice also what He said would be the prevailing attitude of the world in general:

“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:37-39).

People are accepting the status quo—whatever it is at the moment. They don’t seem able to grasp the need to separate themselves from societies that are descending into the mire and from which God warns us to come out!

When you notice the evil, do you sigh and cry, or have you become so inured to the sin all around us that you just accept it as the inevitable way of the world?

We must not grow complacent with ungodliness—rather, we are to continue to be on guard, watching and even warning others of the impending punishment that evil-doing will suffer in God’s righteous judgment!

“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them” (Ephesians 5:1-7).

There is nothing new under the sun, but unless we get up early in the morning, we might miss the sunrise.  During the day—busy as we are—we might not even notice the storm clouds, and when the winds begin to blow and the rain comes pouring down, darkness has overpowered us, before we know it.  I’m talking in figurative terms, of course, speaking of doctrinal changes. They are like a dam which first allows a little bit of water to get through, until it breaks down entirely and the resulting devastating deluge tears down everything in its path; or they are like an avalanche, which buries everyone and everything under it.

Many of us have experienced abominable changes in the Worldwide Church of God (“Worldwide”), after Herbert W. Armstrong had died in 1986. Under the new leadership, a proverbial apostasy or falling away from the truth set in, destroying everything that Mr. Armstrong and those loyal to the truth had worked for. The changes were introduced subtly at first, and many were caught unawares, until the changes became bigger and swallowed up those who embraced them. Today, most unsuspecting, gullible or willingly ignorant “victims,” as well as the actively promoting perpetrators, have lost just about every aspect of the truth which they had once embraced.

We write about these horrible changes in the last section (“Why It Matters”) of our free booklet, “Are You Already Born Again?” If you don’t know the history of the apostasy in Worldwide, and how these changes were introduced, please read this booklet immediately.

Because, you see, the past will repeat itself—in fact, we are already seeing the beginning stages. Changes are taking hold in unsuspecting and trusting members of certain organizations, which are reminiscent, even though under a slightly different mantle, of what we all experienced in the days of Worldwide’s heresies and spiritual downfall. Make no mistake—the apostasy is not over, but ongoing, and it will raise its ugly head again with strong deception and persuasive temptation. Jesus said that because lawlessness (sin) will abound, the godly love (“agape” in Greek) of many (in the Church of God) will grow cold (Matthew 24:12), and many will be offended and betray and hate one another (verse 10).

When a Church organization changes established teaching and attempts to introduce “new truth,” one must ask the question, “Why is this being done? What’s the motive? What’s behind the move?” Now, sometimes, the leaders or those advising them might not know themselves where a particular change may lead, but Satan, the originator of everything in opposition to God and His truth, knows very well what he is doing, and whom he may be able to use to carry out his purposes.

Some are teaching now that the end-time apostasy, which Paul talks about in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, describes a major religious organization outside the Church of God, and it is claimed that the apostasy will set in with full force when that church becomes very influential and powerful. But this is most emphatically NOT what Paul is addressing here. (Compare also our Q&A in this regard). Paul is saying that in the end-time, when the man of sin is being revealed, an apostasy or falling away from the truth in the Church of God will occur, and many Church members will be deceived, because they did not receive and maintain the LOVE of the truth (verse 10). After all, the very word “apostasy” describes a falling away from the truth—it must be talking about the Church of God, which alone has the truth (compare 1 Timothy 3:15). How can an organization fall away from the truth, which it never had, to begin with?

The recent apostasy started, without any question, in Worldwide, after Mr. Armstrong died, but it is ongoing. And it will raise its ugly head again and become extremely powerful in the very near future. This means, God’s people will be severely tested, and many will fail. They must be warned today, not to fall for religious deception. Most in the Church might say: “It can’t happen to me.” But don’t be too sure. Paul warns us: “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

Religious deception will not begin with obvious and big doctrinal changes. No Church of God organization will declare right away that the Sabbath and the Holy Days need not be kept anymore; that we are now free to eat unclean meat; or that we don’t have to tithe anymore. When Worldwide introduced its changes, they did not begin to address the “big ones”—they began by fooling around with seemingly minor issues, so that most did not even realize, at first, that real changes were being made.

Some changes might be tolerated or even accepted by some, because, so they reason, they are unimportant, non-salvational, or only a matter of semantics—changes related to concepts such as: Are we already born again? Are we allowed to serve on the jury or vote in governmental elections? Are we embracing the idea that Christ was created by God the Father? Are we saying that the Holy Spirit is God; that is, a separate and third entity?  Must we celebrate new moons today? Should we begin to create our own calendars for the determination as to when to observe the annual Holy Days? Should God’s ministers perform interracial marriages, or a marriage between a believer and an unbeliever? Should we teach that the Sacrifice of Christ has nothing to do with physical healing? Should we teach that the woman riding the beast in Revelation 17 is the USA riding Europe? Should we teach that Christ is going to return on Pentecost? Should we believe in a rapture and that we are going to go to heaven at some point in time? Should we teach that the marriage supper is going to be celebrated in heaven?

All of these ideas are, and have been circulating in certain corners within some Church of God organizations, but not one of them is biblically correct or sound. However, far too many have already begun to entertain or even believe and teach these and other concepts. But not one of them is new, as there is nothing new under the sun.

Let’s take the marriage supper as an example. Some preach that Christ will return to resurrect the saints and change those alive, and take all of them to the third heaven, where the marriage supper will be celebrated, and then return together with the saints to the earth. The concept is that He comes first FOR the saints, and then later together WITH the saints. This is clearly a variation of the false secret rapture teaching—a doctrine of demons. Some even teach or have taught that after Christ’s “third” coming with the saints and their short stay on earth, Christ and the saints will return to the third heaven to rule the earth from heaven during the Millennium.

The idea that Christ will “rapture” the saints to celebrate the marriage supper in the third heaven was introduced by some in the Church of God as early as 1997, if not even before then. At that time, the Global Church of God (“Global”) decided, for biblical reasons, NOT to teach this concept.

At that time, I sent a memo to Global’s leading ministry. After discussing the Scriptures which were used to support a marriage supper in heaven, I wrote in November of 1997: “The above-mentioned scriptures do NOT prove that we will go to heaven, not even for a short time. Further, there is NO Scripture which says that the wedding banquet… will take place in heaven. Rather, all implications are that it will take place on earth.”

After discussing those passages, I set forth the following conclusion: “I would feel that we would make a big mistake if we were to preach that it [the marriage supper] will take place in heaven, as this runs absolutely contrary to the long-standing teaching of the church under Mr. Armstrong.”

At the same time, Evangelist Colin Adair submitted a paper on the matter, in which he wrote: “I believe it would be a mistake to teach as established fact and doctrine that the marriage supper occurs in heaven… We should not be looking for something ‘new’ just to please some brethren who think that growing as a church means discovering some new doctrine or teaching. Growing as a church means personal spiritual growth as Christians and getting the Work done, not ‘some new thing.’”

Others raised similar concerns, and so, the decision-making body of leading ministers in Global decided correctly at that time not to teach that the marriage supper will take place in heaven. The Church of the Eternal God and its corporate affiliates in Canada and the UK–the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship, and the Global Church of God—maintain that it is unbiblical to teach that the wedding supper will take place in heaven or, that there will be a rapture of some kind and that Christ will return twice, and we have written several Q&A’s, https://www.eternalgod.org/qa/11537 ; https://www.eternalgod.org/qa/4125; https://www.eternalgod.org/qa/16  setting forth the biblical reasons for our stance on the matter.

We can learn from all of this that it is important to stick to the trunk of the tree and not to change anything, just for the sake of changing and pleasing somebody. We should and must only change an established teaching, when the Bible dictates the necessity of such a change. It is too dangerous to fall into the trap of wanting to declare something new—because the avalanche of change might ultimately bury those unaware, who are busy altering teachings and approving new doctrine. The Bible warns us, and not without reason: “Do not associate with those given to change” (Proverbs 24:21).

The day following the recent US Presidential election, I tuned in to BBC radio and television programmes to see what the reaction was. One question was asked about what the Republican party now had to do in the light of this defeat. Answers given by several commentators and American politicians were that President Obama and his team had understood the mood of the country about such matters as gay rights and abortion, as the liberal agenda moved forward. In fact, one “blogger” said that the Republican party was primarily a religious party and would have to leave religious matters alone, if they ever wanted to get elected again. Such, it appears, is the antipathy towards God and His Word.

A few days before the election, hurricane Sandy hammered the eastern coast of the United States and caused billions of dollars’ worth of damage. Hurricane Katrina caused huge damage to New Orleans in 2005, and there have been many other disasters in between.

Not one commentator I heard mentioned the sowing and reaping principle.  The agenda of approving perversion, killing in war and murdering the unborn (just three of a raft of immoral behaviours) seems to have no connection in their minds with the punishments now being experienced. But the Bible says: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

God promises blessings for righteous behaviour and punishment for unrighteous behaviour (see Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28–these are principles that still apply in our time). There seems to be little or no recognition of this in society today, and these connections still go unrecognised.

The Church of God has forecast the downward spiral of our nations for many decades but, unfortunately, as people grow ever more distant from God and His ways, so the punishments will continue and increase. If ungodly practices were repented of and eliminated, countries would benefit enormously, but there seems to be no general recognition that behaviour is wrong!

As our nations continue to lurch from crisis to crisis, many more bad days lie ahead. After the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord, the world will have the righteous rule and government of God on earth. But until that time, with no leaders having the answers and none of them truly trusting God, more punishments will inevitably follow.

Having just had the Presidential election I can now safely say that in this democratic nation of ours, we are united.  Even though the diametrically opposing views of the populace brought out the worst in so many and only served to make us more at odds with one another — we are still in agreement as to how to solve the problems that beset us.

This country was and still is united in the belief that a man of a particular political persuasion can make this a better country. Of course, half of the people believe their guy is the right one for the job and the other half believe theirs is.

Two days ago, Barack Obama was re-elected to the office he has held now for nearly 4 years, and I am telling you now that this once greatly blessed land of ours is going to continue going downhill.  Now what you will not read in most editorials and commentaries is that had Mitt Romney been elected or ANYONE else on the ticket for that matter, the same could have been said about them as well.

To have faith that either of the two leading candidates has the answers to this country’s problems is misguided.  In the end it did not really matter who won, because we as a nation are going to continue on a path towards self-destruction–and because it is not within man to guide himself or know right from wrong and then do it.

Religion was never heavily brought into this race.  Without true Christianity, this society will continue spiraling out of control and into oblivion as is prophesied — it is coming to pass before our very eyes.  Our society and the freedom and prosperity it has enjoyed is coming to The End.

After that THEN we will have true unity!  This will only happen with God and His Way and the Oneness that comes with His Spirit.  No longer will we be divided and laboring in cross purposes and wrong directions. When this time arrives we will begin to act as one body in unison advancing towards the right goals. 

For now though, we are to be “looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God” and pray to Him in all of this that “Your Will be done” and not what we want or think is right and best for us or for this nation.

We have just returned from the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day. During those eight days, all of us received a spiritual diet to carry us through the coming winter months.

Our batteries were topped up through inspiring messages; the rejoicing in fellowship with friends and family (some of whom we have not seen for a year); restaurant meals we were able to enjoy with friends; and our participation in the social activities and planned and prepared meals.

All these blessings, and many more, had a positive effect on us, as we were charged up spiritually, before entering a long period of almost six months until the arrival of the next commanded annual Holy Days in the spring.

It’s important to stay fully charged. Even a high-powered automobile, with an alternator not working to keep the battery charged up, will eventually come to a complete stop.  A transmission in neutral will not move a car forward; it must be engaged, and so must we in order for our spiritual battery to remain fully charged. We ensure and demonstrate this during the winter months by the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, as outlined in the letter to the Galatians.

Galatians 5:22-23 tells us:  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

Notice, against these there is no law; that is, if we are walking in the Spirit and live righteously, without sinning, the penalty of the law has no negative effect on our lives.

We must be zealous in our involvement of being engaged in the Work that God has given us to do, just like Christ was, even at an early age, as outlined in Luke 2:49: “And [Christ] said to [His mother Mary and Joseph], ‘Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’”

Christ was not distracted or out of focus as to what His role was, even at this young age of twelve (compare verse 42).

His example should inspire us to have zeal to be engaged in and focused on the job we have in regard to our Father’s business; and that is, to complete the Work and the responsibilities given to us by Christ, the living Head of the Church. That Work includes, amongst other things, to proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom of God as a witness to this sick world, prior to Christ’s return to establish the previously announced government of God here on earth–because this is where the problems are. And the immortal saints will rule here as well, with Christ and under Him.

Nothing is presently more important for God, and it should be equally important for us. God in His wisdom and mercy has given us the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day to ensure that our spiritual batteries are fully charged, so that we can and will be focused on the completion of our God-given responsibilities.

We must not neglect our spiritual responsibilities and tools that we have been given, to keep our batteries topped up. Only then are we true followers of Christ to be engaged in our Father’s business.