Greetings Dear beloved Scattered Brethren, the elect of God Most High.
Hope everyone is well and and had a wonderful and spiritually rewarding Sabbath. Brethren in the dispersion, our calling and the knowledge given to us through the Holy Spirit of our Great God and His promises through Christ Jesus our Lord is a very powerful instrument and vital for our salvation; it should always be used in a Christ like manner, in the love and service of our brethren for uplifting and profitable fellowship, and growth in the knowledge and grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I know we all know these things, but its good to be reminded of them, as I know from first hand experience that I indeed need to be reminded of who and what I am and my love for the brethren of God’s Church and to be brought back to the trunk of the tree.
I indeed truly love you all and therefore try and serve in the only way I can, while recognizing and acknowledging my limitations and boundaries set before me; yet I have fire in my belly to serve our Lord and do it in the only way made available to me. I am but a sole member and brother in Christ like most of you, and scattered at that. I try always to set my feet on solid ground and not wander on shifting sand and be found wanting by our Lord as to deceive or lead astray any of my brethren in anything I do. I therefore try and stick to the trunk of the tree, and if I do wander away I make sure I have a life line attached to that trunk so as to pull myself back to that trunk.
Today there is a great deception going on in the world as well as in the Church of God; and we all know where that is coming from, and it is many layered deception; yet God’s elect are not deceived. This I have learned and as the scriptures speak in Rev 22:18-19, not to add or take away from the book of prophesy, or else … Brethren, if any try and reach out to the fine limbs of the tree he will surely fall as the limbs are too flimsy to hold him and save his life; the trunk and strong branches of the tree are the surety of our faith. And as we approach the PO and DOUB I find myself thinking of these things and coming back to the trunk as God established it through MR. H. W. Armstrong. We can only build on this sure foundation of Christ in these last days as Christ our Lord and the author of prophesy clearly reveals the way.
The deception today is greater than we have anticipated and as mentioned is many layered and from the top down, starting with Satan and cascading down the pyramid, through the global ruling elite as far as the grass roots. As Christ said in Matth 24:23-26, “to deceive if possible, even the Elect”; the subject of this deception is too deep and long to go into it right now; only that Governments are corrupt today more than ever before and deliberately lie and deceive its people and will betray them; the lie that Israel is part of the beast power to soon be realized; that man is coming into some sort of a new age of enlightenment and revelations of truth and that deliverance is coming by human means; and that there are many false Christs, false shepherds and prophets in and out of God’s church today, deceiving and being deceived this very hour. Brethren, sin has trampled down the door of the mighty house of Israel, and is about to engulf the entire house and bring it down.
That is why praying and watching are such a fundamental part of our faith in these last days brethren, when prophetic events are moving fast and furious. And as the PO and DOUB are approaching they are a sober and powerful reminder of all that Christ did for humanity and all that we stand for as God’s people; for we see the day of our visitation approaching and our salvation becoming a reality. And we should be looking inward to see how we are fairing and where we stand is paramount. As always, our thoughts and prayers are continually with you and you are never far from our hearts as we observe and see the deteriorating condition of humanity.
We hope you all had a wonderful and peaceful spiritually rewarding Sabbath in the love and fellowship of God our father and our Lord Jesus Christ; with the blessing of the outpouring of His Holy Spirit on His elect people and our brethren in the faith, to strengthen our walk in the guiding light of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We hear often and pray for our brethren who are ill and brethren who are going through severe trials.
Brethren, in these end times you are the scattered beloved elect of Almighty God Most High and the Ancient of Days; He knows who you all are. Hope everyone is well or as well as can be expected under the current conditions we are enduring and truly hope you you all have fellowship with brethren of like mind and our most beloved God through the power and soundness of the Holy Spirit in these dark times.
Brethren, our calling and the understanding given to us through the Holy Spirit of our Great God, and His promises and revelations through Christ Jesus our Lord is a truly an awesome blessing; to be the first fruits is undeniably an undeserved gift as we all know when we look in the mirror, and that repentance itself is granted to us by God Himself (and it is only granted once through Christ) and not something we decided to do from our own righteousness; a very powerful and sober reminder as we approach the PO and DOUB, that by Grace are we saved and that by faith but not ours but by the faith of Jesus Christ in us. Eternal Life in God’s Kingdom is a free gift, it cannot be otherwise because as flesh and blood we stumble and fall and sin. And therefore by the Grace of God through the sin offering of His Son Jesus Christ to pay the penalty (which is eternal death) for our sins, we are most blessed; and why? because of God’s love for humankind whom He created in His Image and Likeness for the purpose of Sonship in His Eternal Family Kingdom, the Kingdom of God. Therefore, how much should we love one another knowing how much God loves us!? There should be no end to our love and service for one another as Christ was a perfect example for us to imitate and also so commanded us to do.
But, what do we see among the people of God and all the cog groups today? and who is to blame? We all have to answer these questions for ourselves and be honest with our hearts and minds and remember that we cannot lie to the Spirit of God, which is the spirit of Grace and of Power of the All merciful God. As we approach the PO and DOUB these thoughts come into my mind for myself and my family and the chosen people of God; it is a terrible condition, like cancer, that has spread through the cogs and contrary to the Will of God; The scriptures below witness against those who have caused such havoc amongst God’s people. And we are all guilty to one degree or another for none of us is perfect. These are but a few of the scriptures that admonish what should be the norm amongst God’s elect, and are worthwhile studying along with other relevant scriptures as we approach the observance of Christ’s sacrifice for us.
Ephesians 4:1: I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
Ephesians 4:2: With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
Ephesians 4:3: Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:4: There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
Ephesians 4:5: One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Ephesians 4:6: One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Ephesians 4:7: But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
Ephesians 4:8: Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Ephesians 4:9: (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
Ephesians 4:10: He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
Ephesians 4:11: And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Ephesians 4:12: For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Ephesians 4:13: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Ephesians 4:14: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Ephesians 4:15: But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Ephesians 4:16: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Galatians 3:26: For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:27: For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Galatians 3:28: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:29: And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 5:22: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Galatians 5:23: Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:24: And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Galatians 5:25: If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Galatians 5:26: Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
These few scriptures remind us in no uncertain terms what it should be like among God’s Holy people. Alas Dan 12:7 last half has already been fulfilled.
We hope you all have a truly peaceful and spiritually rewarding PO and DOUB week ahead under God’s protective love, as we all prepare physically and spiritually and observe this sobering days. Our eyes should be always focused on Christ our deliverer and God the father as we approach the last days my brethren. Too many are focused on strayed shepherds who have failed Israel but who fill their bellies with their goods and in return give false hopes and doctrines as well as meager food scraps to God’s lambs. There are as many false doctrines as there are false or strayed shepherds in all the cogs today. There are a very, very few faithful left. Therefore again, our eyes should be always focused on Christ our deliverer and God the father as we approach the last days watching and praying, “Thy Kingdom come”.
Our PO which was kept at home was the most meaningful yet as we see the day of our salvation drawing near.
With sincere brotherly love, your brethren in Christ
Ps. Below are links to article (first two or three are latest) and videos useful for our watching which I have posted on scatteredbrethren.com to read at your leisure.
http://www.scatteredbrethren.com/world-news/
http://www.scatteredbrethren.com/news/
http://www.scatteredbrethren.com/videos/