There is a vast difference between simply acknowledging someone and being willing to obey him. For instance, let us consider Nebuchadnezzar’s decree which he made after the three young Jewish captives were spared from death in the fiery furnace. We read in Daniel 3:29: “Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.”

Notice, Nebuchadnezzar fully acknowledged that the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego was the most powerful God, but he fell short of the mark in the sense that he did not obey and serve that God. Even when he was warned in a dream and through Daniel’s subsequent explanation of that dream, he continued to walk in pride and was severely punished as a consequence. There is no indication that Nebuchadnezzar ever forsook his idols and became a true and obedient follower of the Creator God.

Let us also look at what King Darius wrote, as recorded in Daniel 6:25-27, after Daniel was saved from the lions in the lions den: “To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, And steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, And His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescues, And He works signs and wonders In heaven and on earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”

Here again, we find a full acknowledgement that the God of Daniel works signs and wonders and that He is able to deliver from danger, but we do not find in the Bible, nor in history, that King Darius began to obey and serve that God Whom he acknowledged. 

What does James tell us about acknowledgement of and belief in the existence of the true God? James 2:19 says: “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” Satan and the demons acknowledge and believe in the true God, but they are not about to serve and obey Him. Knowing the righteous judgment of God for disobedience, they tremble. They know that belief in God and acknowledgement of His existence are not enough–but they are unwilling to obey Him.

Notice Peter’s words, as recorded in Acts 5:32: “And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit [which] God has given to those who obey Him.” If God gives His Holy Sprit only to those who obey God, then He also withholds it from those who disobey Him. Obedience is a requirement for salvation.

Look at what God inspired Samuel to say about the importance of obedience, in 1 Samuel 15:22-23: “So Samuel said: ‘Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.'”

As faithful servants of God, we must not just acknowledge God and believe in His existence, but we must willingly obey Him. Notice that by faith Abraham obeyed (Hebrews 11:8). That is why we read in Hebrews 11:6: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, AND that He is a REWARDER of those who diligently seek Him.”

In less than two weeks, baptized members of the Church of God will be partaking of the Passover service. It commemorates the Lord’s death and the tremendous sacrifice He made, not only for those called and chosen now, but for the whole of mankind.

Most of the world will be carrying on as usual on that day, oblivious to the supreme sacrifice made by our Savior some two thousand years ago. For those called now, it is a solemn and sober occasion–an annual commemoration of Christ’s death (compare 1 Corinthians 11:26). 

Before partaking of the Passover symbols, Church members should ask themselves questions like these: How has their relationship been with God and Christ the past year? How has their relationship been with fellow brethren and the rest of the world?

Paul admonishes us in 1 Corinthians 11:27, not to take the Passover in an unworthy manner. In one sense of the word, nobody is really worthy, but Church members are enjoined to partake of it worthily. Paul tells us in verse 28: “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” This requires prior self-examination (compare also 2 Corinthians 13:5), to make sure that when the hour of the Passover comes, they will be worthy.

Even though all of us have trials and tests, hopefully none of us will have to go through that kind of suffering, abuse, torture and mocking that Christ had to endure. Although He did ask that this cup pass from Him if it were possible (compare Matthew 26:39), He totally submitted to the Will of the Father. He understood that it was the only way for mankind to eventually be called and forgiven, and to receive the Holy Spirit, so that they could ultimately become born-again members of the God Family. All of us need to deeply appreciate the great sacrifice that was made on our behalf, even while we were still in our sins, as well as for the entire world (compare John 3:16-17).

Converted and baptized Church members must carefully examine themselves, so that they can partake worthily of the Passover, knowing that in the not-too-distant future, they will be able to partake of this service in the full presence of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ–when the Kingdom of God is established here on this earth (compare Luke 22:14-18).

Do we realize how important our example is to others? Not just to talk the talk, but to walk the walk? Not just to walk in our own footsteps, but to walk as Christ walked, when He was here on earth as a human being? To follow the example He gave for us? And, do we realize how our negative example can have a detrimental effect on others, including someone in the Church, especially newer members?

I recently read a book on the history of the Church of God and the trials and severe persecution the members faced, sometimes even to their death. In the Middle Ages, one of the groups began to allow Sunday worshippers to fellowship and meet with those who continued to keep the Sabbath. Rather than turning these worshippers to the Sabbath, the opposite occurred. Sabbath-keepers began to water down their own doctrines and within a few years, they were scattered to the four winds. This only illustrates the importance of maintaining doctrinal purity and the danger of doctrinal compromise or “tolerance.” Rather, we are to conduct ourselves as followers of Christ–whether it be in our appearance, our verbal communication or our conduct inside and outside Church services and functions.

The barrel of good apples will not make a rotten one better. Quite the opposite occurs. In order to prevent good apples from becoming rotten, one has to remove the bad apple. Like a rotten apple, a rebellious, divisive and openly sinning member may have to be removed for his or her own good, as change and repentance may be the result (compare 1 Corinthians 5:1-5). But until that time, such a person must be prevented from corrupting the rest by his or her presence and wrong conduct.

If we discover that we have a computer virus, we will need to make every effort to have it eradicated as quickly as possible. We don’t just ignore it, hoping it will go away. We know that if we don’t deal with the problem, it will totally corrupt our whole computer, making it dysfunctional.

Telling a child, “Do as I say, not as I do!”, just doesn’t cut it with God, since we are to follow the example set by Christ in all that we do. We are to analyze first, before watching something, doing something or saying something, what Christ would do in this situation. And then, we are to decide to follow Christ’s example, instead of our own reasoning. This will have a profound positive effect on those we come in contact with, including our fellow brethren.

We are accountable for the things we say and do, and one day, we will have to give account to Christ. This fact alone should make us more cognizant of not just talking the talk, but walking the walk–the godly walk of following the example of Jesus Christ.

I am writing this editorial on “Christmas day,” as I was pondering if there is really joy in the world at this time? I hardly think so.

There has been a real economic downturn this past year, affecting most of us. The US government finally admitted what we already knew–that the USA has been in a recession for the last year. Wall Street is bankrupt, corruption and overspending are rampant, and the US government pumps hundreds of billions of dollars into financial institutions and the auto industry that were making bad and irresponsible decisions for their clients. Our financial experts have seemingly not learned the lesson of history that we cannot spend our way out of debt.   

Can you imagine what you would have to face if you were in a situation many banks and the auto industry are in? If you were to go to a bank to ask for a bailout for your stupidity, they would laugh themselves into a frenzy and that is just before throwing you out. We cannot break all the financial laws of economics and expect a good result in the end.

Billions have been lost in the value of stocks, and many have been totally wiped out financially by the recent fifty billion dollars scam on Wall Street. This was the deed of an unscrupulous trader affecting both the investments of individuals and corporations.

The price of oil is down over a hundred dollars a barrel from just over six months ago, because of lower demands and higher unemployment figures.

If there is even a road to recovery, especially for the USA, Great Britain and Canada, it would be very slow, with some analysts predicting it will not happen, if at all, until 2010 or much later.

These are just some few issues dealing with the economy. I have not even touched on the hundreds or thousands of additional problems which threaten and plague humanity.

What does all of this mean for Christians, living in this world? It means we have to be careful that we don’t get ourselves in over our heads financially. This is also true for the Church. The Church still has the responsibility of preaching and publishing the gospel–the good news of the soon-coming Kingdom of God–and to feed the flock (compare Matthew 24:14, Mark 13:10 and John 21:17). We do so, as the Church, by using the generous tithes and offerings of brethren and co-workers in a responsible manner, in walking through doors which God opens for us, spending what we have, but not, what we don’t have.

Individually, we must apply the same caution. Most importantly, we are to continue to grow in grace and knowledge (compare 2 Peter 3:18). We grow the most on our knees, while our heart is in the Work of God, realizing that nothing could be more crucial than to help hastening the coming of the Lord. We accomplish this through God’s Spirit, using the tools of prayer, Bible study, fasting and meditation.

Just what will 2009 bring? Joy, happiness and a sense of well being for mankind?  I hardly think so. 2009 will bring, in all likelihood, more of the same problems we faced in 2008, with increasing intensity, and with no viable human solution in sight. In all of this, we must not lose heart, knowing that our salvation is nearer than when we came to the faith. We are one year closer to the real solution of all of the world’s problems, as well as our own, and that is the return of Christ. We have to put our shoulders to the wheel and push forward, and not look back.

In the end we win, yet there is no promise that we won’t have trials and difficulties. But it’s all worth the effort. Like a woman who was in travail prior to giving birth, her pain is forgotten for the joy of bringing another human being into the world. We must look to the future when there will be great joy, true happiness and fulfillment in God’s Kingdom–when we will be Spirit beings–born-again sons and daughters in God’s very Family.

That is a goal worth waiting for and worth working towards. It is the only hope for all of our problems and trials.

The fact that God cares for us and is involved in our lives to the smallest and infinite details was “driven home” to me on the way back from the Feast of Tabernacles. Like many of you, my wife Delia and I had to “drive home” after a most inspiring and fulfilling Feast. We had a safe and uneventful trip except for two incidents:

We stopped for a break about twenty miles north of Yakima, Washington. I parked our van on the edge of the paved parking area, and we went into the gas station store. When we got back in the van, it would not start. I lifted the hood to see if I could find anything wrong, tapped on the battery, and tried again to start the van, but to no avail. We then both prayed to God for His assistance in this matter. I went back inside the store and asked a driver of a Pepsi delivery truck, if he had jumper cables, so I could start the van. He said he had none, so I bought a small wrench, took the cables off the battery, cleaned them off and tried again. The van did not start. I went back into the store. The driver was still there. He suggested to go across the street to another gas station to see if I could find someone who had jumper cables.

I followed his advice and approached two men in a pickup truck to see if they had jumper cables. They said they did not have any. At this time I looked over my shoulder and noticed a man at the pumps, trying to start his small truck. I went over and commented that it looked like he was having some problems. He said the battery was weak and wouldn’t start his truck.

I went back to talk to the two men in the pickup truck and then I noticed the man who could not start his truck speaking on a cell phone, so I went back to talk to him. He said a friend from a company not far away was coming to jump-start his car. I asked if he could send him over to our van across the street after he was done, since I also needed a jump-start. I walked back to our van and Delia asked me what was happening. I told her the story and no sooner had I finished when a man came over with a power pack and started my van. I thanked him, and we were again on our way.

When we got to Wenatchee, we stopped for a bite to eat and sure enough, when I tried to start the van, it would not work. I was feeling a little more confident this time and got out just when a truck pulled in with two men in it. I walked over and found out from the driver that he had jumper cables. I asked if he could get my van going, and he did. On our way home, we marveled how God had worked things out for us to bring us back safely. The next day I jump-started my van and took it to a repair shop. After testing the battery, I was told that it was no good. I bought a new one, and our van has been working fine ever since.

Christ said in Hebrews 13:5: “… I will NEVER leave you nor forsake you.” This promise was “driven home” to me when we “drove home” from the Feast. No matter what the trial; no matter what the test; no matter how severe or minute–we can have confidence that He is there; that He cares for us; and that He intervenes for us when we ask Him.