Letter to the Brethren: July 28, 2022

Posted on Posted in Letters to the Brethren

Dear Brethren and Co-Workers in Christ:

Greetings from the Five Cities region of California.

Been spending a lot of time on future literature, including upcoming magazines.

The Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church book is in the process of being formatted. After that is done, we plan to print it and mail out copies to our supporters. We also made some small updates (via adding one or more additional scriptures) to two other books (Dating: A Key to Success in Marriage, a practical dating guide for Christians and Is God Calling You?).

Another book, which is related to the “lost tribes” and prophecy, is in progress. It is my plan to give sermons from the draft of that book probably shortly after upcoming the Feast of Tabernacles.

Church Building in Malawi

Pastor Radson Mulozowa sent the following photograph and report:

Greetings from Malawi and Mozambique brethren

Let me report that today I visit ongoing project at Njenjete congregation following the cement I sent to them. The trip was so good and there is a great progress
Best regards

Last month,  reported that we have a 129 congregant in that part of Malawi.

Rift Valley Report and Famine

Pastor Tiongik Sawek sent the following report yesterday:

Receive greetings in Jesus Name. I hope you are doing well. We are doing well here at Riftvalley, Kenya. We are planning to visit Brethrens which they had requested for the visit- the one who are yet to join us. We had arranged to visit Narok, Uasonyiro, then we will do our Sabbath on 6th August 2022. We will start together with Elder Cheruiyot and Brethrens from Bomet Region at Narok Town then we will proceed to  Uaso Nyiro, the maasai community. Thereafter we will conduct our sabbath at Mau and it will be chaired by  Stanley Kibet. The same person will direct us to where the brethren stay after classes at Mau. He had identified where they stayed. We thank him because he had tried hard to find those brethrens from different places. He further arranged for a place they usually conduct sabbath. We will therefore plan to visit those brethrens after conducting the sabbath at Mau. Towards the end of September, we will inform Evangelist Ochieng so that we can visit together with the brethrens who were displaced in that part of Mau.

Currently, we face famine here. Pray so that all the plans are achieved. God bless you
Regards,
Pastor Sawek

Glad we are seeing growth in that part of Kenya. That said, I have been anticipating food shortages in various parts of Africa. I directed Pastor Sawek to contact Evangelist Ochieng if they need funds for food.

Censorship


Last week (see Letter to the Brethren: July 21, 2022), I mentioned because of YouTube’s improper censorship in the past, we were suggesting watching a particular sermonette (watch Omicron, Science, and the Bible) on our BitChute platform. I also mentioned that because of YouTube censorship, we have been on multiple platforms.

Well, this week, CCOG elder Aleksandar ‘Sasha’ Veljic had his second video censored and removed by YouTube. He was not certain as to why, but he is now concerned if YouTube censors another, it will permanently ban his channel. A couple of us have advised him to go on one or more other platforms, so he has set up a BitChute channel as his alternative platform.

The Apostle Paul warned of non-Christians “who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). We have seen a lot of this with ‘Big Tech’ in recent years.

The Apostle Paul also warned, “the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:1), and while that was directed towards people who claim to be Christians, it is more and more applicable to the secular world.

Anyway, while YouTube and Vimeo have censored CCOG videos, thus far, we have not been censored on our other platforms. The other online platforms we are using are:

Jesus said Christians were to “be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils (Matthew 10:16-17)–and while we have not been delivered to government councils yet, we have been subject to councils from ‘Big Tech.’

So, yes, we try to take proper precautions in this anti-biblical truth world and strive to go through doors that Jesus opens (Revelation 3:7-8).

Feast of Tabernacles

On Tuesday, we sent out 20 sets of DVDs related to the Fall Holy Days. They were put in the mail to Ethiopia, Haiti, India, the Philippines, Kenya, and Malawi. Some of which are also expected to go to Tanzania and Mozambique. We tried to send a few sets to Ghana, but the US Post Office said it has suspended mail service to there.

In 2022, Feast of Tabernacles’ services are scheduled to begin the evening of October 9th and continue until the Last Great Day which is October 17th.

Now it is time to plan for it, no matter where you live.

In the USA we are planning to observe it in Branson, Missouri. We have a contract to meet at the Radisson Hotel Branson, 120 South Wildwood Street, Branson, MO, 65616. Here is a photo of that hotel:

You do not need to stay at that hotel in order to attend the Feast of Tabernacles here. However, many will find staying at the Radisson Hotel Branson convenient. The nightly Double-bedded hotel room rate is $129.95 plus tax and, according to our contact there “includes a full buffet breakfast for every individual staying in each sleeping room every morning.” You can telephone 1 (417) 335-5767, and mention the Continuing Church of God Feast of Tabernacles to get that rate (the current, undiscounted rate, for the same room is $159.95 per night, so CCOG attendees save $30.00 per night, plus pay less tax).

You can also make reservations there online:

www.radissonhotelsamericas.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-branson

Input Arrival and Departure Dates (between October 9, 2022 to October 17, 2022)

Input Occupancy

Select Promotional Code under Special Rates

Promotional Code: CCGF

Select Room Type and Follow Procedures to Reserve the Room

To stay additional nights, telephone the hotel as opposed to using their online system.

According to Tripadvisor, Branson has hundreds of restaurants and 141 hotels. There are also camping facilities in Branson within driving distance of the Radisson.

While Branson does have a small airport, those who fly there will most likely fly into the Springfield, MO airport and then drive down.

If you plan to attend, please send me an email, yes please do so now. My email address remains: COGwriter@aol.com

Information on our sites around the world are in the following article: Feast of Tabernacles’ Sites for 2022.

Suggested Sabbath Service

Here is a suggested  service for the weekly Sabbath:

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. Note: If there are ever commercials before, during or after, they ARE NOT from us nor do we receive money from them–but sometimes platforms put them up.

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

Lottery fever has broke out again in parts of the USA as there is now a jackpot of over $1 billion. Lotteries tend to be a tax on the poor and middle class, and have lower payout percentages than other forms of gambling. Additionally, instead of solving problems, winners tend to gain new ones (see also The ‘curse’ of winning the lottery).

Russian and Israeli researchers have concluded that vitamin D can massively reduce death attributed to COVID (see Study: Vitamin D deficiency raises risk of death from COVID by 50%). While benefits associated with vitamin D for those with COVID has been known for at least two years, the major media as well as Big Tech have suppressed that information. The Bible warns of “men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18), and in COVID and morality matters, we are seeing more and more suppression. And it will worsen (cf. Amos 8:11-12).

As far as Russia goes, it and the other BRICS nations continue to look at ways to bypass the US dollar (see‘Targeting the US Dollar’s Hegemony: Russia, China, and BRICS Nations Plan to Craft a New International Reserve Currency’). Steps by the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, with Saudi Arabia, Argentina, and Iran possibly joining in the future) and even the Europeans (that is one of the reasons that the euro was developed) are being made to have the world economy function without the USA dollar. The economy of the USA will fare horribly after its dollar is no longer the world’s primary reserve currency.

 

Concluding Comments

The Apostle Paul wrote the following:

2:16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

3:1 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, 2 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.

3 But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we command you.

5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.  (2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5)

Brethren, please pray for those who labor in the work.

Not only in North America, but in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the South Pacific.

Sincerely,

Bob Thiel
Pastor and Overseer