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Letter to the Brethren: July 22, 2021

Posted on July 22, 2021 by CCOG

Dear Brethren and Co-Workers in Christ:

Greetings from Grover Beach, California.

I have been struggling here for the past couple of weeks to recover lost data.

A flash drive I used as a backup, apparently deleted files when copying it to a new flash drive. But the extent of the loss was not known for several days. In the meantime, when I updated certain files online, the files were incomplete, so when they were uploaded, they eliminated the original files. Consulting with a local computer company did not help, nor did desktop restoration ideas or some things from the internet.

This was frustrating as it eliminated many full sections of articles from the COGwriter.com home page for a couple of weeks, plus impacted files related to updating books, booklets, and our magazine.

Anyway, through trial and error, more files were updated and data restored.

So, if you noticed some missing items, or if some update no longer seems to exist, that is probably the reason why.

Canada

The latest information we have seen is that Canada expects to open up for US citizens to visit next month and for all nations the month after.

We are looking to have Richard Close and Steve & Ruth Dupuie possibly go there for the Feast of Tabernacles.

One or more in Canada may be ready for baptism, so pray that this window of opportunity will remain open.

Rift Valley Report

Pastor Tiongik Sawek sent the following photo and report:

Receive greetings in Jesus Christ. Hope you are fine.We are doing well here at Riftvalley Kenya. I visited different local churches last month. There are other counties that have been closed but we are only communicating using mobile phones. I was able to visit Kabolecho, Murkan Junction, Kurangurik. In those places, they welcomed the word of God, others will wait for Evangelist Ochieng for the next visit. The places to hold the Feast of Tabernacles are planning for that day which will be held on 20th September 2021. I got a report from Elder Cheruiyot that in  North Rift Valley they will meet in Njoro-Nauswet and Molo

Stanley Tiongik said that groups from Mau will converge at Mau. While the groups from Bomet will converge at Kiromwok. The groups from Chilani will also meet at Chilani. Groups from Takitech will converge at Takitech too. I noted that the number of brethrens had increased as compared to last year. I will send you a few photos from different places. God bless you.
Regards,
Pastor Sawek

We have seen a lot of growth in his area.

Trip to Malawi Cancelled

Evangelist Evans Ochieng sent the following last Friday:

Pastor Dr Bob,

Greetings from kenya.
I’m at the airport and they have cancelled my trip to Malawi  saying that non malawian citizen is not allowed to enter into Malawi unless you are a doctor or diplomat is when you can enter in Malawi now. They have read for me the rules in Malawi now. So they cancelled my trip.
Evans

We have not had anyone visit Malawi since February 2020.

We really wanted this visit to take place as there are many issues in the area to deal with including leadership and literature matters, as well as planning the Feast of Tabernacles in both Malawi and Mozambique. I have asked Evans Ochieng about possibly flying into Mozambique instead of Malawi.

The Nelsons have bought tickets to go to Malawi and then planned to cross over into Mozambique for the Feast of Tabernacles. At this instant, it looks like they may have to fly into the capital of Mozambique and then to Quelimane, Mozambique to take the trek to the festival site, which is close to the Malawi border.

Please pray that God would open the door and that we will make the right decisions related to Malawi and Mozambique.

Radio In Migori


Radio tower (Wikipedia)

Deacon Ondigo Ochieng (no relationships to Evans Ochieng) sent the following report about a radio project that they have been trying:

May-July Radio Report

Much greetings from the border region of Kehancha-Migori County,Kenya.

So far we thank God for opening a door for radio evangelism.God used someone to pay for two months radio program.The first month ran from Sunday 30th May 2021 and  ended on Sunday 20th June 2021.The second month ran from Sunday 27th June 2021 to Sunday 18th July 2021.The Radio program is aired on a local vernacular station called Togotane 88.3 FM.The session hosted by Director Hezron Marwa (Mwanafunzi wa Yesu- meaning the disciple of Jesus) ,is called Gospel Drive which runs from 7pm-10.45pm every Sunday. Ours is the last which begins at 10pm to 10.30pm.

Why chose Togotane FM?

  1. Its coverage is a bit wider as compared to other local radio stations in Migori County like Onagi FM and Milambo FM.Covers the parts of Migori County,Maasai Mara (Narok County),all Kuria region,parts of Northern Tanzania i.e parts of Sirare,Tarime,Mugumu e.t.c.
  2. It uses two languages which are understood better in this region [Abakuria and Kiswahili] unlike other stations.
  3. It is within our reach.We do not incur any transport cost because it’s walkable distance.
  4. Our main target was Kuria region and its environs.

N.B Though the charges are quite expensive as compared to other local radio stations,we offered to use it for reaching out to the people in this region.

Cost

The cost per hour is Kshs.11,000 while half an hour is Kshs.5,500. We opted for half an hour program and we pay once a total of Kshs.22,000.

The following table shows the breakdown of the discourses covered,reactions from the listeners / indicators and reflections by the preacher:

Day Date Discourse Reactions/Indicators Reflections
Sunday 30/5/2021 The Gospel of Kingdom part 1-Which Gospel did Jesus Christ preach? Three people called.One from Ntimaru and two from Isebania. The questions about Daniel 2 answered and the listener was satisfied.
Sunday 6/6/2021 The Bible-The Book of Books 5 people called,2 wrote short messages (sms) while appreciating the discourse.1 person was from Kehancha town,3 from Isebania,1 from Tarime and two from Game-Maasai Mara. The questions about using both New and Old Testament was well handled and the listeners were satisfied.
Sunday 13/6/2021 Keys to understanding Bible Prophecy:America and Britain in Bible Prophecy part 1. 15 people called from different regions.Severals questions were asked. Questions on Genesis 48 , 1 Peter 1:19-21 and Dan.12:8-9 was well answered.
Sunday 20/6/2021 Keys to understanding Bible Prophecy:America and Britain in Bible Prophecy part 2 11 people from different places called. Some two people proposed that we should organize a convention and teach all these in details.
Sunday 27/6/2021 State of the Dead part 1-Where is Enoch and Elijah? 8 called,3 wrote a message.All positive reactions. Questions like the transfigurations in Matthew 17 answered.

 
Sunday 4/7/2021 State of the Dead part 2-Lazarus and the Rich Man. 17  calls,13 positive reactions and 4 negative reactions Several questions asked and answered according to the Scriptures.Most listeners satisfied.
Sunday 11/7/2021 White Horse of Revelation 6-Many shall come in my Name part 1 7 calls,4 sms.All positive reactions.Three invitations.One from Gentontira border,another from Ogwedhi Maasai Mara and another from Isebania.Some needs Swahili Bible and the articles. Some questions asked and answered according to the Scriptures and some listeners satisfied.
Sunday 18/7/2021 White Horse of Revelation 6-Many shall come in my Name part 2

 

 9 calls,2 sms.All positive.Prayer request and article requests.Some requested for Swahili Bibles. Questions answered according to the Scriptures.Free articles assured.

Will be visiting people who wanted visitation and perhaps give out the Church materials like the Bible Prophecy Magazines in Swahili and Booklets/Books to those who can read English. …

My prayer and humble request is that the brethren who are able to support this work in love may help us continue to use this open door.

Most of the people in the Migori region of Kenya speak Kiswahili, but also know at least some English. We are trying to evaluate the value of this in that region.

Suggested Sabbath Day Services

Here is a suggested Sabbath day service for our scattered brethren and other interested people:

Note: If you have a slow internet connection, you can watch these by starting the video, then below it (and towards the right) look for an outline of a gear–if you click on that, it will allow the YouTube video to be played with lower video quality, but at least it will not stop often–you can select a quality as low as 144p. If your internet connection is still too slow (as my home one is) and/or you prefer audio messages to audio-visuals ones, go to the YouTube link for the message, click on SHOW MORE related to the description. You will then see something that says, “Download MP3.” Below that is a link to an MP3 file. Most computers (and even some cellular telephones) will allow MP3 files to be downloaded and played. This is an option we have made available (but we are also looking into ways to improve that as well)–and, of course, we have written article options. Some people have found that if their internet connections are not fast enough, that they can simply listen to the messages that are found at the Bible News Prophecy online radio channel.

IN CASE YOU DO NOT RECEIVE A ‘LETTER TO THE BRETHREN’ FOR ANY WEEK, REMEMBER THAT THERE ARE MANY SERMON MESSAGES ON THE ContinuingCOG channel AND MANY SERMONETTE MESSAGES ON THE Bible News Prophecy channel. There are also some messages at the CCOGAfrica channel. There are also messages in the Spanish language at the CDLIDDSermones channel.

World News Items

Europe and other parts of the world have had a lot of flooding (see I365: Unprecedented floods worldwide: ‘Washing away the enemies of Israel before Messiah’) and extreme weather (see ‘Germany floods: At least 33 dead’ ‘Record-breaking drought, heatwaves, wildfires, melting permafrost, and plagues promises to be a worrying summer for the United States! … Canada … Bulgaria … Spain’). Jesus said “troubles” would be part of the “beginning of sorrows” (Mark 13:8), and weather issues are consistent with that.

I heard on the radio that there was a documentary that was released last Friday about the life of former celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. A disturbing aspect of this documentary is that it features a few sentences that Anthony Bourdain did not say when he was alive, but that sounded totally real (see The New Yorker: The Ethics of a Deepfake Anthony Bourdain Voice; COGwriter: Prophetic ramifications of deepfakes). While there is little negative risk when this type of technology is used for entertainment purposes, consider what will happen when it, or something like it, will be used for political purposes. The use of artificial intelligence and other technologies to produce what are called ‘deep fakes’ or ‘deepfakes’ is likely a tool that Satan will motivate some to use against some of us in the leadership of the CCOG in the future (watch also Lies and Deepfakes). The Bible warns that “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them” (2 Timothy 3:12-14, KJV). Deepfakes are coming, do not fall for them.

As most of you realize, we were censored by YouTube last month and our video against Disney’s promotion of LGBTQ+ abominations was taken down by them. So, we recommended the link at BitChute, which still has that video on (watch Disney’s abominable promotions!). However, BitChute is now being pressured and has agreed to suppress some anti-LGBTQ+ materials (see ‘Now the EU is going after video platforms like BitChute that refuse to censor content critical of LGBTQ and Black Lives Matter propaganda’). This is not a surprise as I anticipated this, which is partially why the sermonette video we made before the BitChute announcement uses different expressions (like “sexual immorality” instead of certain LGBTQ terms) to reduce us from being censored (watch Is Believing in Creation Racist?).

If you think using different terms is an overreach, even that may not be enough soon. In Poland, LGBTQ+ promoters seemingly consider that advocating traditional family values and going to church is prima facie evidence of “concealed discrimination” (see 1984? US Congresswoman suspended on Twitter, Polish LGBTQ+ group calling family supporting as ‘concealed discrimination’). They do not like that the Bible teaches that even condoning, without participating in, LGBTQ+ activities is wrong and deserving of death (Romans 1:18-32). They want public approval of actions the Bible condemns and want to be able to go against those who will not outwardly support them–sadly many governments, many in the media, and Big Tech agree with them. The famine of the word is coming (Amos 8:11-12) and steps towards that are happening now!

That being said, much of the world is moving more towards the final time of the Gentiles (Ezekiel 30:3; Luke 21:24). Iran, Serbia, the EU, and China have all recently made moves to be closer to the Russian-dominated Eurasian Economic Union (see Iran praises Eurasian Economic Union, Serbia enters its deal with the EAEU, and China’s connection: Is the time of the Gentiles approaching?). While the EAEU is NOT the prophesied threat against the Anglo-American nations, the stage is more and more getting set for the final rise of the Gentiles for this age.

Concluding Comments

The Apostle John wrote:

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:9-13)

Jesus came because of the Father’s will in order for us to have “the right to become children of God.”

Let us be thankful for this right and live in such a way as to not lose it.

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel
Pastor and Overseer

Posted in Letters to the Brethren
About CCOG
The Continuing Church of God, which attempts to represent the most faithful remnant of the Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7) portion of the Church of God, bases its beliefs on the Holy Bible. Read CCOG's statement of beliefs for more information.