Greetings everyone,
Unlike the famous novel, "All Quiet On The Western Front," life on the "Western Front" of God's Church is full of excitement in anticipation of the forthcoming move to Charlotte, NC. All is not quiet here. You will find more information in Mr. Meredith's Co-Worker letter that will be mailed by Monday. In the meantime, please read Mr. Ames' HQ Relocation Update:
HQ RELOCATION UPDATE, by Richard F. Ames, Treasurer
The contract to purchase the Crown Point office facility in Charlotte, NC, was signed by the LCG treasurer (Mr. Ames) and the seller (The Smith Family Limited Partnership) on August 20. LCG now has a 30-day "examination period" to inspect the property and ensure its integrity. The "closing" is scheduled 45 days after the end of the inspection period. We are now researching financing (several good options are available).
The Council of Elders conference (August 26-28) will review the relocation project and give counsel for transition plans. To date, the process is moving along even more smoothly than anticipated. We look forward to God's continual guidance and blessings in our planning for the 2003 relocation.
From the CAD Director in the West Indies
"Howdy! We are having a very good visit. Sabbath service and (Sunday) Spokesman Club in Trinidad. Bible Study in Georgetown (22 present) Monday night. Will have a Bible Study here in Barbados tonight, then on to Kingston tomorrow. Everyone we see sends greetings to Mr. Meredith and HQ staff. The spirit and attitude evident is very good and very supportive of Mr. Meredith and the Work. Some wonder why we are not moving the headquarters to Montana.... What can I say? Have a great Sabbath and we should see you next week. Carl McNair."
TV Production Report – Mr. R. F. Ames
On Wednesday Mr. Meredith and Mr. Ames each taped two Tomorrow's World telecasts. The programs are:
- #148 - RCM - "The True Gospel" - Offers TG - airs 11/10/02
- #151 - RFA - "Does God Control the Future? - Offers GIW, airs 12/1/02
- #152 - RCM - "What Really Lies Ahead in Tomorrow's World?" - Offers FS, airs 12/8/02
- #154 - RFA - "Keys to Effective Prayer" - Offers TK, airs 12/22/02
FROM THE ACCOUTING DEPARTMENT
For the U.S. Ministry Only
October hall vouchers need to be received no later than September 10, 2002 in order for payment to be made before the Feast break. The final check run before the break will be Thursday, September 12, 2002. Hall vouchers received after September 10 will not be able to be paid until Thursday, October 3, 2002.
LAST GREAT DAY SERMON INSTRUCTIONS
Mr. Meredith has requested that those preaching on the Last Great Day should cover the meaning of the day, as his videotaped sermon does not cover that subject. Please note that this year's "Behind the Work" tape is 50 minutes long, so whoever has the sermon afterward should plan on speaking at "split-sermon" length.
INTERNATIONAL
Report from New Zealand by Mr. Kinnear Penman
Carolyn and I are setting off from home tomorrow on a pastoral trip, which will take us right down to the bottom of the country. It is the first time that my pastoral duties have taken me to the South Island. We have a total of 12 brand new people to visit. In addition there are three people who are presently with other fellowships who have accepted the offer of a visit.
It's the middle of winter down south. Up where we live, we get even frosts only rarely, so it will be an interesting experience being amongst snow.
Report from South Africa by Mr. Syd Hull
God has opened a new Radio Station to us in the heart of Afrikanerdom, in the Free State Province of South Africa. Radio Parys, ("Paris" in English) is now broadcasting our programs every Friday evening from 7 pm to 7.30 pm.
The station manager phoned me on Friday morning to say that he and a group of people had just played our first program and that they were very excited about what they had heard. They had never heard a subject so clearly and understandably set out. He asked me to please send him the booklet offered on the program. Also, that he would start broadcasting our messages that very evening and on every Friday evening thereafter at the very reasonable cost of 25 American Dollars per broadcast.
One member in Parys phoned me later to say that the program came over loud and clear. We are thrilled that the witness is going out and we know that it will yield good fruit for God's Kingdom.
COMMENTS
I met a man who was disenchanted with God! He said he believed in God and used to pray to Him from time to time. But he had decided to cease praying because he found himself more and more in disagreement with God. First of all, because God's will hardly coincided with his own. God's way of doing things, or solving our problems, didn't make much sense to him. He had endless questions, all of which started with a doubting WHY? For instance, "WHY were some individuals born sick, or born in poor countries? WHY doesn't God do things in such a manner that we can understand Him? WHY doesn't He always come to our rescue, immediately, when we ask for His help?…"
His list of WHYS went on and on. In other words, if he were God, he would do things quite differently: in a much easier, more pleasant and more human way. The man himself was in poor health. The doctors had told him that he had a malignant cancer. When I asked him if he had been anointed for his sickness, as we are told in James 5:14, he retorted indignantly, "That's what I have been trying to tell you. WHY do I have to be anointed to be healed? WHY doesn't God heal me without my being anointed?"
His reasoning reminded me of a story given in the Bible—the story of Naaman, commander of the Syrian army (II Kings 5). Naaman was a leper and he too wanted to be healed—his own way, not God's. When Elisha, God's prophet, told him, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you," Naaman was furious. Why should he wash in the Jordan and not somewhere else? Why seven times, and not once? In fact, Naaman had his own recipe for being healed. He expected the prophet to come out to him, call on the name of God, wave his hand over the place and heal the leper…
Such stories astonish us, but do we realize that at times, in our prayers to God, we also act in a somewhat similar manner? We expect Him to answer our prayers the way we want Him to answer, on our own time schedule, even according to our own will—not His. We don't always appreciate His timing or His wisdom in blessing us. Consequently, some lose faith. They cease praying. They become disenchanted with God like the man who couldn't see or understand God's righteous way of handling all things and solving all of our problems.
Y'all have a nice Sabbath,
Dibar Apartian