Sin is man’s enemy. It messes with our thinking and can totally corrupt our minds–like Satan’s mind was so corrupted that it is impossible for him to repent. He cannot change because he refuses to repent. On the other hand, God cannot sin because He refuses to sin. He cannot even be tempted by sin (compare James 1:13).

Some time ago, I had a virus in my computer that was generating outgoing spam–up to three hundred emails a day. I spent much time just deleting this junk mail. I had a technician come over, and he stated he had never seen such a virus before. To solve the problem, he had to save all my files and totally delete everything else off my hard drive. Then, he had to re-install the programs and the saved files, which thankfully solved the problem.

Sin is like a very destructive virus generating “junk mail,” thereby affecting us and others. If we do not deal with sin, it will totally take over our minds, scramble our brains, and influence others negatively as well.

When David committed adultery, he wasn’t thinking straight, and because he did not repent at first, it only got worse. In trying to cover up his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, he had her husband killed. This only added to David’s guilt. By the time he wrote Psalm 51, he had come to his senses and realized that he had been in danger of losing God’s Spirit. This is an important lesson for us in regard to sin: If we do not repent and get rid of sin, we could lose out on salvation. This would be a high price to pay. David finally did acknowledge his sins and seek God’s great mercy and forgiveness, but he had to live with the constant realization and memory that his sins had caused the death of his son conceived out of wedlock. Still, due to David’s deeply sincere change of heart and mind, he will receive a high position in the Kingdom.

God is offering all of us a great rulership position in His Kingdom. But we need to do our part by conquering and removing sin and replacing it with God’s righteousness. In doing this, we can be confident that we will obtain God’s gift of eternal life, as well as a great reward that Christ is anxious to give us when He returns.

We must be committed to the Work of God in supporting its effort to preach and publish the gospel of the kingdom of God in all the world as a witness. The gospel is a message of good news from the God Family, including the fact that God’s government will be established on the earth at the return of Christ. We manifest our financial commitment to God not only by tithing to the Work, but also by additional financial means. Tithing is required; but if we only carry out our duty, then we are rendered unprofitable servants. Luke 17:7-10 makes this very clear, quoting Christ’s words as follows: 

“And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’”

A much better way of telling how deep our commitment to God and His Work is, is by focusing on our offerings to God. They will show where our heart is, and where we want our treasure to be. Matthew 6:21 tells us: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

We are commanded to tithe, and we are commanded to give offerings. The amount of the tithe—ten percent of our increase or earnings—is pre-determined. The amount of our free-will offerings is not. And how we determine these amounts is indicative of where our heart really is.

In fact, there are two types of offerings mentioned in Scripture. The first category refers to the annual Holy Day offerings which we are commanded to give on each of the seven Holy Days. Deuteronomy 16:16-17, referring to the three Holy Day seasons (in the spring, in the beginning of summer and in the autumn), states:

“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.”

In order to give an offering which is pleasing to God, we need to think about it and plan for it ahead of time. If we fail to plan, we plan to fail.

The other type of offering refers to those kinds of additional occasional contributions which we might decide to give to the Work of God throughout the year, apart from the bi-weekly or monthly tithe and the seven annual Holy Day offerings. These also show to God where a person’s heart really is.

What is interesting to note again is that no fixed amount is mentioned in the Bible as to how much we give for offerings. The criteria we are to use are how much we are blessed, not only in the physical sense, but also in the spiritual food and knowledge that one receives from God through His servants. This is something on which one cannot put a price tag. Rather, it is like the famous pearl of great price.

Of course, when we pay God’s tithe and give Him an offering, we are not to boast about it, but we are doing it quietly, discreetly, and from the heart. God can and will, in His due time, bless us openly when we behave with a right attitude. Remember, God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).

This is not only the title of one of our booklets, but it was a genuine request by the apostles to Christ, which can be found in Luke 11:1. It expressed a sincere desire on their part to learn how to pray. In Matthew 6:7-14, we can find the outline as to how and for what to pray. This outline is not something we are to repeat routinely, word for word, but rather, it is a guide as to what to pray about, while we are to fill in the gaps, as it were.

I was once asked if I was embarrassed or ashamed to pray in public. The individual told me Christ prayed in public. He thus felt justified to pray publicly anytime and everywhere he wanted.

On the surface this might seem quite plausible until we peel back some of the layers and have a good look at it from a deeper perspective.

It has been a long-time practice of the Church of God not to generally pray in public, and we should look at the reasons why. It is true that Christ prayed at times in public, but one must look at the circumstances surrounding these events. Here is one example, in Mark 6:40-41:

“So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties. And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.”

Here is another example, in Mark 8:6:

“So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.”

The people were there to listen to the message of Christ. This was similar to a public lecture or to a wedding, where people are there by invitation and a prayer is given to open the session or to ask God’s blessing on the food. Christ also prayed publicly just before He resurrected Lazarus from the dead. He did so to prove to those who were present and mourned over Lazarus’ death that God was hearing Him (John 11:41-44). He also uttered “public” prayers when He was being crucified  (compare Matthew 27:46). He was mostly concerned about speaking to God during the final minutes of His life, and He did not care too much as to who might have been present at that time to overhear His prayers.

However, those who insist on praying in public everywhere and anytime they please, especially with a desire to show those who may happen to be there how “righteous” and “religious” they are, are ignoring the clear and explicit instructions of Christ whom they supposedly worship. He tells us in Matthew 6:5-6:

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

Nothing could be clearer. Those who do not comply with this simple instruction are in disobedience, and they have their reward, being seen by men. The Pharisees loved to put on a big show, but it was all in vain. That is the reason why we do not generally pray in public. Our focus is not on a reward or temporary recognition which we might now receive from man, but we look to a future enduring reward that shall not perish.

It is amazing how clever Satan is when he wants true Christians to start compromising with any of God’s laws or statutes. He is very astute in facilitating convincing “justifications” in one’s mind. Take for example the doctrinal changes in the Worldwide Church of God, to which many true Christians belonged at one time. Did the new administration, which took over after the former human leader’s death, boldly come out and admit that they wanted to do away with the Sabbath, the Holy Days, tithing, or the distinction between clean and unclean meats? No; rather, they started by “adjusting” what seemed to be unimportant or insignificant teachings to some–for instance, whether or not we are already born again in this life; whether we need to proclaim the gospel of Christ or just about Christ; or whether God is a Family or just has a Family.

In their booklet “God Is,” they gradually abolished the true understanding that the Holy Spirit is not God or a person of the Godhead, but rather the power of God the Father and Jesus Christ, enabling them to create and accomplish things both in the spiritual and physical realm. First, they used the Greek word “hypostasis” for God, saying that God consists of three “hypostases.” The adoption of this philosophical term was just the first step in reaching the point of teaching the wrong orthodox doctrine of the Trinity.  “Hypostasis” was not “supposed” to convey the meaning of a Person—just a mode of being—but in the third printing of their booklet, the word “hypostasis” was substituted with the word “person.” Now they had fully embraced the pagan belief of the Trinity—“God being One Person in Three Persons”–something which they had apparently planned to do from the outset.

These changes were introduced subtly. Unfortunately, many were fooled and deceived, and like the proverbial dead fish or the dumb sheep, they were floating along with the changes and followed the false shepherds to the slaughter. Soon, all flood gates were open and now, one would not recognize as biblically correct most, if not all of the teachings of today’s Worldwide Church of God, since their changed beliefs are based on pagan traditions and superstitions, rather than the Bible.

What Satan was looking for was the proverbial chink in the armor–the one weak spot which makes a soldier vulnerable on the battlefield. For instance, the area around the shoulder is such a weak spot. Overlaps in the armor allowed for movements of the arms, but a good archer could successfully shoot an arrow into the unprotected area. The inflicted wounds were usually not fatal, but they rendered a fighting soldier ineffective for battle and if not tended to, he could bleed to death, if the arrow had pierced an artery.

In 2003, while attending the Feast of Tabernacles in England, my wife and I visited Warwick Castle. We noticed an archer on the pathway up to the castle. He was shooting arrows at a stuffed target, which had the form of a man. The target was some sixty to seventy feet away, but the archer shot the arrows with an amazing degree of accuracy. He explained that in the ancient English army bowmen were trained from the age of six or seven years old. By the age of adulthood, they had become very accurate in shooting arrows into the unprotected spots of enemy soldiers. Because of their intensive training, they could cause a lot of injuries in battle, and they could even help the defeat of their enemy in times of war.

Satan is highly skilled in the “art” of warfare. He is a powerful archer, who is able to shoot his arrows precisely into whatever small chink in our armor he might detect. It is very important that we are completely and thoroughly protected by the whole armor of God (compare Ephesians 6:10-17).

Satan is very subtle, as Paul stated in 2 Corinthians 2:10-11: “Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

The church at the time of Paul was aware of Satan’s devices, understanding that one of them was compromise. Compromise usually starts in small areas–with little white lies and with becoming less diligent than one ought to be, for instance in the area of tithing faithfully, promptly and properly, or starting to engage in improper entertainment or do some “chores” on the Sabbath. These might be looked upon as “small” leaks in a dam, but they can cause insurmountable damage and may jeopardize one’s very salvation.

Compromise is like a small spark. Unless it is extinguished right away, it may develop into a roaring and destructive fire, which might soon be burning out of control. The Worldwide Church of God started their doctrinal apostasy with seemingly small insignificant “semantic” changes—but in fact, Satan had begun to shoot his arrows into unprotected areas of many of God’s people. We must never think that something similar could not happen today again.

Unless we repent of any wrong course of action and change our way of thinking, the slippery slope of compromise will ultimately lead to our demise. We must take due diligence to ensure that we are not caught up in compromise and that our spiritual armor has no chinks, so that Satan’s arrows cannot cause us any spiritual injury.

Somebody once said, “Any old dead fish could swim downstream, but it takes a live one to swim upstream.”  The reason is, going upstream takes effort.

You have to overcome the downward resistance of the water current working against you; you have to deal with a certain volume of water; and, of course, you have to fight against the speed of the current. Likewise, an automobile transmission in neutral will not move the vehicle forward, but rather just spins its gears unless they are engaged.

All of this is similar to our Christian walk. Unless we make an effort, we cannot swim upstream, and unless we are engaged, we are just spinning our gears with no forward motion.

It is really important to focus on the reason why we are called today in the first place, in order to stay engaged. Were we called only to save our own skins? Not at all.

You might want to consider Christ’s words in Luke 21:36: “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” This verse has to be balanced with something else Christ said in Mark  8:35: “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

A soldier engaged in an intense battle with the enemy is more concerned with defeating and overcoming that enemy than saving his own skin. He is focused on achieving the purpose for his fighting; and that is, to win against and conquer his enemy.

As true Christians, we are not to fight in war, but we still have a purpose to fulfill. As soldiers of Christ, we must preach and publish the gospel (good news) of the future Kingdom of God and to utter a warning to a deceived and dying world. At that same time, we must keep ourselves unspotted from the world and defeat our spiritual enemy–Satan the devil and his demonic forces.

If our focus is only to save our own skin, then we could lose our salvation in the process. This is a serious matter.

Every Christian is engaged in a deadly battle against Satan’s efforts to thwart the Work of God. The more he can delay, slow down or impede the process  of preaching the gospel, the longer he maintains his deceptive rule over this world.

Our focus and desire should be to shorten his reign as the current god of this age. The big question is, are we engaged in the process to help make this happen, or are we like dead fish, floating downstream, or with the transmission in neutral?

We always have a choice. Let us choose to be fully engaged in doing the Work of the Eternal God.

This will be the last Update and Editorial prior to the Feast of Tabernacles, which begins on Wednesday evening, the 22nd of September. You will receive it just prior to the Day of Atonement, which pictures the putting away of Satan as the current god of this world. With the devil’s banishment, man will be given the opportunity to be at-one with God; to draw closer to Him; and to develop a one-on-one relationship with Him. Following the Day of Atonement, we will be celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles, which pictures the rule of Christ and His saints on and over this earth for a thousand years.

We are sure that most of you are looking forward to the Feast as a time for renewed fellowship. This is especially important  for those of us who are scattered and do not have a group to meet with, but only the internet and the use of the chat line to communicate with one another prior to or after the broadcast of Sabbath services. While these live broadcasts are extremely helpful for those of us who cannot attend in person, they must never be viewed as an alternative when we could attend in person. However, all of us who are scattered should attend the Feast of Tabernacles in person, barring serious health or other legitimate reasons which would prevent us from doing so.

The Feast of Tabernacles is a time of rejoicing, both in the physical and spiritual sense. As we see that the world conditions around us are getting worse and worse, it appears that the time of the great tribulation is not that many years away. We cannot and do not set dates; yet, we are admonished to watch and to keep an eye on trends and the ongoing prophetic fulfillment of prophecy.  The good news is that Christ will return to cut short the great tribulation and to usher in and establish the Kingdom of God here on earth.

It would be wise to utilize this coming festival to re-charge our spiritual tanks, since there is a considerable length of time, up to six months, until the Spring Holy Day season. We should also take time and make every effort to strengthen our spiritual ties which each other, since some of us only see each other once a year at the Feast.

We are told that in the Millennium, the nations will keep this Festival. They will eventually learn the benefit for so doing. We, on the other hand, have the opportunity to keep it now and to enjoy the great blessings that come with obedience.

So if there is anything we could admonish you to do, it would be to attend the Feast; travel safely; pray for the safety of the ministry and the brethren as they travel; have a tremendously inspiring Feast; rejoice before our God and Lord Jesus Christ; and to look forward to the time when the real meaning of the Feast of Tabernacles will be fulfilled and when we can teach the world to follow the example that we are already living at the present time.