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.

My wife and I had a saying when one of us had to go away on a training or business trip, or to visit our daughter in North Carolina, while the other spouse had to stay home and take care of things. That saying was, “Keep the home fires going.” It was understood to remind us in a loving way to take care of the house; to do the laundry and dishes; to make sure the children were fed and taken care of; to water the plants; to make the beds and generally, to have the house and yard in the same condition as it was when the spouse had left.

We did not consider this to be an unreasonable request, and we usually followed through on it, so that the departing spouse would not be overwhelmed with excess work upon his or her return.

Christ gave His disciples a similar admonition when He stated in Matthew 24: 45-46: “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.” To give them food in due season includes doing our part in publishing the gospel to the world, as prophesied in Matthew 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

Notice, it says the gospel WILL be preached, not that it might perhaps be preached.  The question we need to ask ourselves is, are we engaged in this process? Are we furthering this Work by faithfully tithing? Are we praying for the success of this Work and are we doing our part, however small it may seem to us? We should not despise the day of small things and always bear in mind that the effective prayer of the righteous person avails much. James 5:16 confirms this: “… The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

Now is not the time to let down. We must not allow our environment to slow our progress in the responsibilities we have towards God in regard to our calling and efforts to get this much needed gospel out to a sick and dying world. We have to be zealous in the job we have been given to do, since that is what is expected of us. Remember, we are blessed if, at His return, the Lord finds us faithfully doing the Work. So let’s ensure that we are keeping those home fires going.

There is an interesting game of solitaire on most new computers, called “Spider Solitaire,” which has a rather neat feature–an undo button. This feature allows you to undo a move when you realize that you could have made a better move or that you have just made a rather dumb move, and then you can carry on playing the game. The other nice part about the undo feature is that if you reach a point when you cannot play and would normally have to resign and quit the game, you can undo several moves which allows you to take a different path, make different moves and at times even win the game.

Life is not like that where we can undo things we have said that were perhaps harsh or unkind, or when we have done things which were somewhat disastrous in our life and which might have impacted someone else in a very negative way. Like the saying goes, “You can’t unring a bell.” If we make cutting remarks to someone, we cannot take them back. That is why it is so important to put our brain in gear before we open our mouth. There is an old carpenter’s saying that it is better to measure twice and cut once. Once a board is cut too short, it cannot be used for the intended application.

The Bible tells us to curtail our tongues. James 3:2-5 reads: “For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.   Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.   Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.   Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!”

This admonition should not be viewed as limited to the things we say, but we should also apply it to the things we do. We really have to use wisdom and ponder our path as it were before acting, because we have to  live with the consequences–sometimes for a very long time.  For example, a person can work for a company for thirty years and no one may notice him, but if he makes one mistake that costs the company a lot of money or lost time, everyone will remember that. They will not recall the good work he did, but they will focus on the disastrous mistake he made.

There are consequences for the things we do, and we have to live with them. I have heard statements like, “That wasn’t the smartest thing to do,” or, “If I had to do it again, I would do it in a different manner.”

 It is important to think twice before acting or reacting too quickly in word or deed. We need to meditate, seek counsel and ask God for wisdom to make correct decisions.  Proverbs 1:5 says: “A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel.” Proverbs 2:6 adds, “For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

Life offers us many challenges and opportunities to ensure that the things we say and do are in accordance with God’s Word, instruction and wisdom. We have to live with the consequences of our words–be they kind or harsh–and our actions–be they wise or foolish. After all, life is not a “Spider Solitaire” game which offers us automatic undo buttons.

These were the words of a primate in a Walt Disney cartoon movie which was released in the 70’s. The lyrics went something like this: “I wanna walk like you, I wanna talk like you, I wanna be human too.”

In that movie, a primate is portrayed as wanting to be human. In reality, man should have the desire to become like God. God lives forever, and it is somewhat ironic that the Creator God has built into us a desire to go on; that is, to live forever. No one in his right mind really wants to die–that is, under normal circumstances and conditions. There are situations when one is suffering so much that he may want to die, but normally, one wants to live and live on forever.

We are made today in the physical shape of God, but subject to death. God is not. However, He offers man the opportunity to live forever as well, if man becomes more and more like He is.

It is not impossible for man to become more and more like God–if man avails himself of God’s help.

God is love (1 John 4:8). He has demonstrated that love by sacrificing His Son for us (John 3:16). He has created in man as well the capacity to love and be loved by others.

God is merciful, and we can show mercy. God can get jealous in the right way (Exodus 20:5), and we also are sometimes justified in becoming jealous. God even gets angry at times (2 Kings 17:18). His anger is always controlled and for the correct reason. Scripture tells us to be angry and sin not (Ephesians 4:26). Even when our anger is righteous–which is seldom the case–we still have to control our anger.

With God’s Spirit in us, we are able to build a close and intimate relationship with God, so that we can feel confident in bringing our problems to Him. We can look to Him for healing–both physically and emotionally, if we suffer from trauma or from psychological scars because we were abused by others in the past. God is our comforter (Psalm 86:17).  He also fights our physical and spiritual battles for us (1 Samuel 17: 46-47). In relying on God, we can become more and more like Him–including the ability to comfort others who are in need.

It is the desire within each and every converted child of God to be like their Father and their elder brother Jesus Christ, whose footsteps and example they are admonished to follow (1 Peter 2:21). We want to be like God–in character as well as, ultimately, in regard to His very essence.

Our physical bodies wear down and eventually fail. God is Spirit and never wears down. He never gets tired or runs out of energy. We aspire to be like that; especially, as we get older and when our minds say, “Do,”  and our bodies say, “That’s enough.

Paul told Felix that he stood before him for the hope of the resurrection (Acts 24:21). Our desire to be totally like our Father and Jesus Christ will not be achieved until our resurrection to eternal life or the change of our bodies from physical to spirit, from mortal to immortal. We will then have all the energy we need to carry out every task that God has in mind for us, without ever running out of steam. That day will just be marvelous. In the meantime, we can say in our  minds: “I wanna be like You,” knowing that this is the will of God and that it will be reality for us in the near future.