Greetings,
Another annual cycle of God’s Holy Days is completed and we have all been spiritually recharged by the Feast of Tabernacles. Let us focus forward toward the goal we have rehearsed over the past year. The certainty of Christ’s return and the establishment of the Kingdom of God ruling over all nations. This is the hope to which we have been called. At this point after the Feast, that hope should be stirred up within us and giving us purpose.
It is clear that the apostles also wrestled with keeping the Church focused and energized. Note, for example, the opening thoughts of Peter’s second letter. It is obvious that problems from within the Church were a hindrance to deeper spiritual growth. False teachers were drawing attention away from the spiritual sphere and more onto the attitudes that promote self. “By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words” (2 Peter 2:3). The current smorgasbord of doctrinal and organizational practice within the greater Churches of God act in a similar fashion to the false teachers referenced by Peter. It is easy to become distracted and then neglect the work each of us should be doing in overcoming and addressing personal issues.
The second book of Peter is an appeal for God’s people to develop and maintain spiritual momentum. Momentum is energy, force, strength and it has direction. God provides all we need to lift our lives out of the present and live with spiritual energy. “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:2-4). God gives His people divine power that provides all we need for all things that pertain to life and godliness.
To guide us in using this power, Peter outlines a program of spiritual growth – areas that we should focus our energies on (verses 5-7). He then appeals to the members to “… be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble” (verse 10). He reminds us of the goal we focused on during the Feast of Tabernacles: “… for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (verse 11).
From all reports we have heard, God granted us a spiritually strengthening Feast of Tabernacles. This was the climax of a year of steadily deepening understanding of central core issues of our relationship with Him. We received this comment from a member in the Philippines who downloaded and received the recorded full services from the Church web site.
“We would like to let you know that we are truly very grateful for all your [tech crew] efforts in making it possible for us to be fed spiritually with timely messages during the feast this year.
Please extend our gratitude and appreciation also to other members of TFC technical crew that we may have missed here.
Thank you to all the speakers, special music performers, song leaders, prayer leaders and children’s choir.”
Our grateful thanks go to all those who served and helped to make the Feast a highlight of the year.
Warm regards,
Brian Orchard
