January/February 2007

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=100 BGCOLOR="#CCCCFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04000640egdysm.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000066" FACE="Arial" ><B>Church of God, In Truth</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000099" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT><B>    |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church of God, In Truth"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> back to<B>  </B><A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Letters to the Brethren"><B>Letters to the Brethren</B></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#0000BF" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <A HREF="novemberdecember_2008.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="November/December 2008">November/December 2008</A></div> <div> <A HREF="septemberoctober_2008.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="September/October 2008">September/October 2008</A></div> <div> <A HREF="julyaugust_2008.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="July/August 2008">July/August 2008</A></div> <div> <A HREF="mayjune_2008.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May/June 2008">May/June 2008</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id430.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March/April 2008">March/April 2008</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id422.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="January/February 2008">January/February 2008</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id417.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="November/December 2007">November/December 2007</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id410.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="September/October 2007">September/October 2007</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id409.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="July/August 2007">July/August 2007</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id399.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May/June 2007">May/June 2007</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id391.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March/April 2007">March/April 2007</A></div> <div> <B>January/February 2007</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id377.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="November/December 2006">November/December 2006</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id369.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="September/October 2006">September/October 2006</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id368.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="July/August 2006">July/August 2006</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id354.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May/June 2006">May/June 2006</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id346.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March/April 2006">March/April 2006</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id338.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="January/February 2006">January/February 2006</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id332.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="November/December 2005">November/December 2005</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id331.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="September/October 2005">September/October 2005</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id326.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="July/August 2005">July/August 2005</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id322.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May/June 2005">May/June 2005</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id309.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March/April 2005">March/April 2005</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id308.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Thank You Letter">Thank You Letter</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id302.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="January/February 2005">January/February 2005</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id295.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="November/December 2004">November/December 2004</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id291.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="September/October 2004">September/October 2004</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id287.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="July/August 2004">July/August 2004</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id283.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May/June 2004">May/June 2004</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id275.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March/April 2004">March/April 2004</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id254.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="January/February 2004">January/February 2004</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id253.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="November/December 2003">November/December 2003</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id245.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="September/October 2003">September/October 2003</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id242.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="July/August 2003">July/August 2003</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id238.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May/June 2003">May/June 2003</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id231.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March/April 2003">March/April 2003</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id228.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="January/February 2003">January/February 2003</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id221.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="November/December 2002">November/December 2002</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id215.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="September/October 2002">September/October 2002</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id211.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="July/August 2002">July/August 2002</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id207.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May/June 2002">May/June 2002</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id203.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March/April 2002">March/April 2002</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id199.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="January/February 2002">January/February 2002</A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=380 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> ANYBODY! -- AWAKE</div> <bR> <div>  James Russell, Elder</div> <bR> <div> Dear Brethren and co-workers,</div> <bR> <div> The parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25, stresses the importance of preparation for the coming of Christ, and the importance of being ready! He or she who sincerely looks for the coming of our Lord will be ready because of being watchful and alert to the events of what is right and what is wrong, what is sin and what is not sin.  Our young children and young adults are being caught up in Satan's destructive snare today.</div> <div>          November's E-News reported. “People usually think of teenagers when they hear about unwed mothers, but the reality is that teens are the only group in which the pregnancy rate has gone down in recent years.  Young adult women may be putting off marriage until 25 on average, but they are not necessarily putting off having babies.  Of the 4.1 million babies born in the United States in 2005, more than 1.5 million (about 37%) were born to mothers who were not married.   More than half of the women ages 20-24 who gave birth in 2005 were not married, and of women ages 25-29 who gave birth, their new babies had about a 3 to 10 chance of having an unmarried mom.”</div> <div>            Last November there was a article on WorldNetDaily.com titled, "Young adults in U.S. abandoning Biblical faith." The article went on to say, "New study shows 20-to-40 year-olds don't believe in absolute truth. A poll comparing the moral and religious views of young adults in their 20s and 30s with the views of adults over 40, shows that the young adults are abandoning the biblical faith of their elders at an alarming rate, according to the Barna Group.</div> <div>          In terms of morals, adults in their 20s and 30s were at least twice as likely as their elders to have:</div> <div> had a sexual encounter outside of marriage,   ~ used illegal drugs,   ~ gotten drunk,   ~ used profanity in public,  ~ lied,   ~ taken revenge,   ~ physically fought or physically abused someone,   ~ viewed sexually explicit videos,   ~ said mean things behind someone's back.  The Barna poll also found that young adults are 10 times more likely than older adults to download or trade music online illegally."</div> <div>          The article continued to say, "It seems entirely possible that current events such as the Mark Foley scandal, instances of abuse by clergy, and sexually oriented school shootings of recent months are not mere aberrations, but symptoms of a sexually unrestrained society.</div> <div>           It is important for churches to understand the natural skepticism of [young adults] as well as their desire for spiritual and conversational depth. Young adults do not want to hear on-the-stage monologues about moral regulations."</div> <div>          Another news draft headline read, "Religion on the Way Out in Europe." It stated "Most Europeans and Canadians appear to be turning away from religion. France is at the bottom of the list, with only 17% of respondents expressing interest in religion, with Britain at 23% , Germany at 24%.  In 1992, 61% of Canadians said religion was very important for their daily lives. This year 2006 the number dropped to 39%. In the United States there was also a decrease, from 83% in 1992 to 63% in 2006." These news articles and quote's are alarming, but when the populace is slumbering and sleeping, it just doesn't matter!</div> <div>          Not long ago the Church of God, In Truth sent out a study paper, titled "Overview Of the Two 144,000," to your home or mailing address. WHY? Because a great deal of confusion is in evidence concerning the thinking of those who plan to go to a place of protection during the tribulation, "And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent" (Rev 12:14). In this same chapter, we also find those called the “remnant.” “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ"(Rev 12:17).</div> <div>          When discussing the return of Jesus Christ to this earth, it seems there is a failure to understand the method, time order and purpose of events associated with His return. Some teach that His coming is to be sudden and without warning, citing the passages of Scripture which refer to that coming as "like a thief." “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night" (1 Thess 5:2). [Also see Rev3:3 & Rev 16:15]. Others contend that His coming will be spectacular and heralded by events that will give unmistakable warning in advance of His return to earth again. Actually, both positions are perfectly correct when properly applied to the particular aspect of His coming, to which each reference is being made. It is the method of approach that is emphasized by such expressions as "like a thief."  The first refers to His coming for His Bride, or first fruits [could this be at Pentecost?], and the second to His Triumphant Return spoken of by His apostles, "...... and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory"(Matt 24:30) [could this be at the Feast of Trumpets?].</div> <div>           That our Lord is to come again is very clear from a study of both the Old and New Testaments. Yet, although the prophets and our Lord Himself testify to the certainty of such events, modern Christianity has so discounted its possibility that many Christians have lost all interest in the question, as we quoted earlier. To even mention the subject in the presence of some, is to meet with skepticism and ridicule!</div> <div>          Why should there be such a lack of interest in a subject that stirred the imagination of the early Christian Church? The knowledge that He is coming again sustained the martyrs and has brought hope and given peace of mind to millions of Spirit-filled men and women.</div> <div>          Language could not be plainer, yet many of those today, whom God has called, do not believe this.</div> <div> In their disbelief they but confirm our Lords appraisal of the agnosticism that would be rampant when the time came for His return to earth. He expressed this in the question He asked, "Nevertheless when the Son of man comes, shall He find faith on the earth?"(Luke 18:8).</div> <div>          Modernism, with its destructive teachings, has so undermined the confidence of the people in the accuracy of the Word of the Lord, that the faith of our people in His return to earth again has all but perished.</div> <div>          Why am I bringing these “tip of the ice berg” subjects to your attention and asking if any are awake? A fundamental part of operating any publication is getting and responding to feedback from readers. Readers are the barometer that tell us if we are accomplishing our intended purpose. They call us out when we're wrong; they remind us when we're doing a good job and they tell us what they like and dislike about the publication. In short, we depend on you to a degree for helping build faith in God's called.</div> <div>          Lately we have not heard much from you. In fact, this past month or so we've hardly received any comments via e-mail, snail mail, or through the telephone, about our editorial content. Either we are doing such a good job that no one wants to upset the applecart, or we “...we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing you are dull of hearing” (Heb 5:11).  Knock, Knock, any one awake?!</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Church of God, In Truth</div> <div> P.O. Box 2109</div> <div> Corona, CA 92878-2109</div> <bR> <bR> <div> James Russell, Elder                                     Or                              Pete Fleming, Elder</div> <div> Tel: 951-737-0559                                                                        Tel: 1-830-885-5502</div> <div> E-mail: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman" ><U>cogit@flash.net</U></FONT>                                                                   E-mail:pmf06@gvtc.com</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>