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Jump into the Bible with articles on spirituality, the application of Christian living principles, and other topics that are relevant to your daily life.

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Lessons from the Feast: What Really Matters

Bible Answers to Your Questions

September 12th, 2011

Clean or Unclean

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CLEAN AND UNCLEAN
By Jean Jantzen
“For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:16

Would we feed our family food we know is contaminated or unclean? Most people would not eat unclean meat knowingly, but some believe that eating unclean animals is not a sin, but only breaking health laws—no big deal! That view seems too simplistic!

 

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August 24th, 2011

Making the Hard Decisions

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Making the Hard Decisions
Are you fellowshipping in a place that provides the right elements for Christian Growth?

This week, my  eldest son brought to my attention an article I wrote over 15 years ago that he had discovered on-line. A lot of changes have occurred since that time, and though I had not reread this piece I wrote so long ago, I have had to revisit the question of, “Where do I fellowship?”on several occasions. I feel it is worthwhile sharing this article with you now, as the question of finding a church (fellowship) home where you can encourage and be encouraged by God’s word and faithful brethren is as important now as it ever was in the past.

Reprinted
From theJournal.org

Why I left the WCG – Worldwide Church of God (now GCI – Grace Communion International)

By Carolanne Patton.

The author, a native of Canada, graduated from Ambassador College, Pasadena, Calif. in 1976. She and her husband Jeff have three sons, and live in Ramona, Calif. They are members of the Global Church of God, San Diego. (we are now living in British Columbia, Canada and have been blessed with four sons)

Because so many people are wrestling with crises of conscience over whether or not to leave the Worldwide Church of God (or any other church for that matter) when they disagree with doctrinal issues, I would like to share my story of why I left the Worldwide Church of God.

My husband Jeff and I wrestled with the primary issue of church government for several years. His work in Pasadena gave him intimate knowledge of the mindset of the leaders. Initially we concluded 1) as long as the changes were administrative, and 2) as long as doctrinal error was not being taught openly and the gospel was being preached, we could support the new leadership with God’s tithe and our presence.

When changes were made regarding the issues of divorce and remarriage and healing, we felt it was okay to put more responsibility on the shoulders of the individual in these areas. We believed God provided strong guidelines in his Word, and though we were saddened to learn that the church would no longer be as supportive a community in these and other areas as we would have preferred, the new decisions did not require us to think or act contrary to faith (Romans 14:23).

We were able to escape the increasing turmoil in Pasadena in 1991 and found a peaceful haven in a local church area until 1993, when we were forced to re-examine our position once again as a result of the publishing of the WCG’s God Is… booklet which was clearly contrary to Scripture by promoting a trinitarian view of the nature of God. At the same time clever edits were changing the gospel message from the “Kingdom of God” to the” person of Christ.”
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July 27th, 2011

In the steps of Barnabas and Paul- Christians and Culture

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Cyprus Journal-Part 2

Monday—January 17, 2005
What a great day we had today. Last night we had a reasonable sleep, but there was a continuous “white noise” in the background that we couldn’t avoid in our room. The pool’s pump room next door made it seem as if we were berthed beside a ship’s engine. The woman at the reception desk graciously allowed us to change to a different room: one that had a great ocean view. Ask, and ye shall receive! Why is man-made noise generally so annoying and disagreeable while the sound of the Creator’s ocean waves crashing on the beach is relaxing melody to the soul? Here it was the month of January and I had the window open to listen to the ocean and the wind. It was a bit brisk, but not too cold.

Breakfast at the resort was a real bonus. They allowed us to upgrade to having the resort’s buffet breakfast for only a few Cypriot pounds each. Today, I enjoyed olives, tomatoes, creamy plain yogurt, grapefruit and pineapple slices, wholemeal bread, fried eggs, and white coffee. Of course, we simply avoid the offerings of bacon and sausage without comment. I complimented the maitre d’ about the quality of the food and he mentioned that for 30 years he has tried to constantly improve the meals his restaurant serves. But he said that there were always about one or two percent of the clientele whom he could never please.

I suppose there is a spiritual lesson here. More

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July 11th, 2011

God Loves You: What Really Matters

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Feast Blog 2009

As we look forward to the Feast of Tabernacles  let’s remember the lessons of previous festival seasons, and prepare for our best Feast yet.

Today’s sermon about “Does God hear your Heartbeat,” spoke to my heart and brought to mind the struggle I have with feeling loved by God. In the months before my father died, I would go with my youngest son, who was 6 years old, and give Grandpa a big hug and a kiss before bed. This had been my nightly ritual from my earliest childhood. But, in his last months, my usually undemonstrative Dad , perhaps as a way of saying goodbye if that night were to be his last, said every evening, “Always remember I love you. ” It was something that has stuck with me and made me realize in times of stress and difficulty that if my human father could speak to my need and know how much I needed to hear those comforting words, then my heavenly Father knows that and much more. The Feast in Kelowna in 1998 was one of those times of great stress for our family.

Though the  Feast has not always been a happy time, the lessons learned are always valuable. One of my husband’s favourite little sayings about this time of year comes from a comic in the Jerusalem Post a few years ago. We Anglos wish each other a “Happy year” but the Jews wish each other a “Good year” and the punch line is, “What is good for us does not always make us happy! I have to acknowledge the wisdom of this in my life.

My most “memorable” Feast was a non-feast in many ways. It had begun poorly a week earlier when our church disfellowshipped us and said we would not be welcome at our planned feast site. We were never really told why, but we could surmise that they did not appreciate my husband for writing about the need to establish an impartial way of effecting justice in the churches of God. So now our feast plans were up in the air, and we were dealing with major emotional turmoil. The pastor, who had oversight of the feast site, was a good friend of ours and he said, “Y’all come anyway.” But we were just looking for peace and we knew that our presence would be a real red flag in front of the bull. No, we needed another option. Mom had talked to some of her friends and they had encouraged us to come join them at another feast site in the vicinity, so once that was settled we could carry on with our travel plans as anticipated. More

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July 10th, 2011

Alone at the Feast: What Really Matters

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Feast Blog 2009

As we look forward to the Feast of Tabernacles let’s remember the lessons of previous festival seasons, and prepare for our best Feast yet.

There I was at Ambassador College in Bricketwood, England, and not feeling my normally confident, cheerful, nerdy self. I wasn’t happy and perhaps I was in denial about the source of my trouble.

There I was living my “dream,” one I had worked for since those days in summer camp 5 years earlier when I fell in love with my SEP counselors’ tales about college, and I learned about England from a campmate who was a bona fide Limey.  But now, I was seventeen, had completed Grade 13 and was in England, the home of my ancestors. The campus had a wonderful rural, small town atmosphere that was just what I was looking for and I was already busily engaged in and enjoying classes and work.

But something was amiss. I had gained 15 lbs in just a few weeks, and I was feeling awkward in my new shape. Working in the kitchen with access to unlimited food, clockwork tea and biscuit breaks, and regular visits to the common room for Horlicks, ginger beer, the ubiquitous nuts and raisins, or gouda cheese could account for the changes. But there was something deeper. I had great roomies, interesting classmates, stimulating professors, but perhaps being quiet or shy outside the classroom setting, had hampered me in making new friends.

Then the feast came and the whole campus moved in a grand bus caravan to the holiday camp at the seaside town of Minehead on England’s west coast. Bus trips and I have never had a good relationship; I can still vividly remember in exquisite detail all the horrors of my two-day trip to SEP camp in Orr, Minnesota, during the height of the Detroit riots. I have since learned I have severe petro-chemical sensitivities that explains why diesel fumes puts me into a tailspin of nausea and vomiting. So I knew I was in trouble as I anticipated a day trip in a coach along winding English roads.
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July 8th, 2011

Adventures to Share: What Really Matters

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Feast Blog 2009

As we look forward to the Feast of Tabernacles  let’s remember the lessons of previous festival seasons, and prepare for our best Feast yet.

Sometimes the traveling to or from the Feast can be a great adventure with many lessons learned. My second year at college I joined a group of students, with varying levels of French fluency on a train trek across Europe to the idyllic mountain village of Praz sur Arly. I don’t know why we thought we needed to carry all of our meager wardrobe across the continent, but it seems that most of us showed up ready to go with a huge valise and flight bag that would have kept us clothed for months. We were either going to build major muscle groups in our arms or destroy our spines. More

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July 7th, 2011

Who’s Really Guilty? Adam or Eve?

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Adam and Eve and the Forbidden Fruit

Is Eve more guilty than Adam?

By Jean Jantzen

In our modern twentieth century perspective, most people within the Christian community suppose that Mother Eve was totally responsible for the fall of humanity and the dire consequences that followed her actions in the Garden of Eden. The origin of mankind’s trouble begins with the encounter between Eve and the beautiful serpent in the Garden.  It is in this garden where Eve succumbs to the temptation to partake of the fruit of the tree of good and evil.  Was only Eve then responsible?  What was Adam’s role or accountability in this major historical event?  If Adam and Eve were put on trial for their part in “the forbidden fruit episode”, what would be the outcome?  It is the popular view that I would like to explore and see if there is any validity to the accusations…

 

 

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