Dear Brethren and Friends,
Greetings from Charlotte! Many outstanding expressions of love and loyalty were shown all through our Passover trip in late March and early April of this year. My wife Sheryl and I were able to travel to Houston and Austin, Texas and to my old home town of Joplin, Missouri. The brethren in both Texas and Missouri were extremely warm and dedicated—and I hear from our ministry that it has been the same across the United States and around the world. So, we are very grateful for the degree of unity and love we are experiencing in the Living Church of God. And He is now giving us solid growth in numbers for many months—as our attendance for the first three months of 2010 has been up an encouraging 8.6 percent over the same period a year earlier. Our Tomorrow’s World television program continues to bring in wonderful results, and our impact through the Internet is growing.
But, as world events become more ominous, and as Satan will no doubt begin to attack God’s people more and more, we all need increased spiritual strength! As some of our older members and loved ones die, and even if others we care about become spiritually disoriented or fall away from the Truth, we ourselves must build a depth of understanding and of faith so that we are—through God’s help and His Spirit within us—virtually unshakable. Brethren, we all need to have the mind of Jesus Christ to go through the variety of trials and tests that lie just ahead.
God inspired the Apostle Paul to tell us, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). Yes, we should all be willing to “give ourselves” to God and to our fellow man as Christ did. And the Bible is literally full of similar exhortations to act and to think like Christ and like God the Father.
So, a little later in his letter to the Philippians, Paul encouraged the brethren to forget “those things which are behind” and to “press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Then, Paul concluded, “Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you” (Philippians 3:15).
Paul instructs us all, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1–2). There are innumerable similar scriptures exhorting all Christians to “think like God.” For God is now making us even more fully “in His image” in a profound way, by imparting to us—through His inspired word and His Holy Spirit—the very mind of Jesus Christ.
Putting it another way, the Apostle John quotes Jesus Christ saying, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56). To the degree that Christ “lives” in each of us, we will have the mind of Christ. We will increasingly learn to think like God in every facet of our lives—in every area of our human experience.
Over the years, some of our brethren in Arkansas have told me about a remarkable lady—a true “mother in the Lord” to many—who helped them and was able to impart spiritual wisdom in a special way. Her name was Ms. Ethel Crotzer—and this dear lady recently died at age 86. My daughter, Elizabeth, and her husband served in that area with this lady for a few years, but have recently been transferred to Great Britain to serve the brethren there. Here is what Elizabeth wrote to me, just a short time ago, about some of the last words she heard this remarkable Christian woman speak: “I talked for almost an hour the week before Passover, then giving the phone to Rick so he could also visit with her. During that conversation, for the first time in my life I was motivated to grab my pen and write down a person’s actual words as they spoke. I don’t believe in premonitions, but two different things she said to me just struck me as being vitally important for me to meditate on before Passover. They are very simple, really—as “Granny” was a down-to-earth, practical woman of God. The first thing she said that I wrote word for word was, ‘If we’re not learning to think like God, then we’re wasting our time.’ The other quote I jotted down had to do with those who don’t believe in Church government: ‘If you don’t think Jesus Christ can run His Church, then you don’t know Jesus Christ.’”
Dear brethren, I have to say a hearty “Amen” to those words from “Granny” Crotzer. It is vital for us to realize that if we are not learning to think like God, we are wasting our time!
As we learn to think like God, we will develop a more mature and balanced view of music, art, literature and every area of life. For instance—while I am writing this—the news is reporting about the terrible dust cloud, created by the erupting Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland, which is covering western Europe and stranding thousands of airline fliers. Some of those affected almost seem to be crying out, “This is the end!” Yet, as most of you realize, many, many such events will occur with increasing ferocity over the next several years, before Christ returns. For the Bible states, “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).
In an entirely different arena of life, many of our young people may be disoriented or led astray by the constant bombardment of misinformation by homosexual activists. One charge they commonly spout is that homosexuals are “born that way”—and that as a result they have no choice but to commit homosexual acts! Of course, if we really understand that God is wise and loving, we will know that this cannot be true! Otherwise, why would Jesus Christ—the “Rock” of Israel (1 Corinthians 10:4)—command His people, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination” (Leviticus 18:22)?
Would our Savior—who is “the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8)—condemn disobedient people if He had made them unable to obey Him? That charge is ridiculous and outrageous! Yet it is the constant “mantra” of the homosexual activists, who are stridently promoting their lifestyle to undermine the understanding and gain the sympathies of people all around the world—an assault with which our young people are particularly bombarded.
Remember, too, that the Apostle Paul was inspired to write, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). So, although many people may—for various reasons—feel that they have a “tendency” toward alcoholism, drug abuse, homosexuality and other sins, they are not bound to commit those sins. God will always provide a way of escape by giving those who truly seek Him the understanding and the spiritual strength to overcome sinful tendencies.
My daughter quoted Granny Crotzer as saying, “If you don’t think Jesus Christ can run His Church, then you don’t know Jesus Christ!” Regrettably, many of the “splits” from the Worldwide Church of God have come up with all kinds of democratic and worldly ways of governing their organizations. They seem willingly to have forgotten how God’s apostle, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, constantly reminded us how vitally important it is to have the right kind of government. For carrying out the true government of God is exactly what God is training us to do, right now! Still, these various groups decide to go their “own way”—losing faith in the fact that Christ is alive, and that He is entirely capable of “running His Church” as “Granny” Crotzer said. Remember, Christ reveals in Scripture that He always—with no exception whatever—led His Church through a hierarchy, and never by the voting, politicking or popularity-seeking methods of the modern democratic system. There is simply no exception to this. This is the “mind of God” in regard to Church government.
In the book of Proverbs, God tells us, “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand all” (Proverbs 28:5). Indeed, God has always led His faithful servants to truly understand the basic issues of life from His point of view. So, as each of us proves where Christ is working—where the “fruits” of that understanding of Christ’s Truth are being taught, His Work is being done and His Government is being followed—there should be genuine faith that Christ is in charge, and that His people should follow the decisions of those Spirit-led leaders whom Christ is using!
Certainly, in periods of great trial throughout the history of God’s Church, Jesus Christ has guided events to show His people clearly—by the “fruits”—where He is working, where His Truth is being most powerfully taught and His government most effectively practiced. But what does this mean for us? As God’s people, we must have genuine faith in His government, as we see His will being done, albeit imperfectly, by the human leadership of the Church under Jesus Christ. But, what must one do if leaders have completely departed from the Truth, rejected God’s form of government or minimized Christ’s commission to His Church to preach the true gospel to the world? Then—in such serious circumstances—one would need to find out where Christ is truly working, and then become a part of that Work! Indeed, this is what many of you readers have had to do—and is why you are now part of the Living Church of God.
As major prophetic events increasingly come to pass, we all need to “get our balance” in order to remain fully Christian and close to God. We may be tempted to hate our enemies if we are severely mistreated. We may be tempted to “revile” our national leaders, on occasion, if we see that they are making increasingly unwise and unchristian decisions. But, if we truly study the Bible, we will understand that although God allows us to disagree in our hearts with worldly leaders who are evil, we should never “revile” them (Acts 23:5). And we will see that, although we may be severely hurt or upset by persecution or harassment, we should be more than willing to forgive even as God forgave us!
Remember, Jesus said, “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).
All of these examples, dear brethren, should make us want to get down on our knees and “cry out” to God for full understanding, wisdom and love, and to follow what Christ inspired John to record, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me” (John 6:56–57).
May God help all of us to truly “feed” on Christ, to heartfeltly drink in of His word, to cry out to Him for understanding and to “walk with God.” And we must be sure that—as we walk—we will be correctly guided, because we are truly developing the mind of Jesus Christ.
With Christian love,
