Announcements for January 22, 2015

Update From Zimbabwe: Trip to Gokwe

From Stephen Tshabalala: On Dec. 5, 2014, we left Bulawayo at 4 a.m. while it was still dark and arrived at Nkayi, a small town about 165 kilometers (103 miles) away, at 7 a.m. We stopped there for about an hour while we waited for the shops to open. We were looking for a nut and bolt for the brake caliper, which had broken. It only took a few minutes to repair the brakes, and we left and headed towards Gokwe, which is another 160 kilometers (99 miles) from Nkayi.

From Nkayi, we traveled on a dirt road. After crossing over the longest bridge on the Shangani River, we discovered that the brackets that support the shock absorbers were both broken. We could not turn back, so we decided to proceed slowly. We actually traveled between 50 and 75 kilometers (30 and 45 miles) per hour. We reached a place called Manoti, which is only 23 kilometers  (14 miles) from Fanuel Gorondo’s home; but we needed a mechanic and a good welder. We asked a local businessman, who is also interested in the Church, to assist us; and after three hours, we traveled to Chemba and then onto the home of Mr. Gorondo who recently died.

During the late Mr. Gorondo’s funeral, this businessman gave a speech and told about 500 mourners that COGWA is the only true Church and its followers live according to what the Bible teaches. He then went on to say that he was going to find out how to become a member of the Church.

Members in Gokwe are still shocked at the passing away of Mr. Gorondo. He was not only their teacher, he was also in charge of the Church’s cattle and a father figure to many people. Jealous Matopi will now take over his duties. Unlike Mr. Gorondo, he is more of a son to the members. I will need to spend a lot of time helping him to teach and help the members with what they need.

It is interesting to note that at this time of the year it is usually not possible to travel to Gokwe due to the heavy rains and the bad condition of the roads, but we wanted to go and be with the members. We had planned to travel before the rains began, but the owner of the vehicle was visiting in South Africa at that time so we just prayed that it wouldn’t rain until after the trip to Gokwe. Fortunately, it did not rain. But on Sunday, as we were packing our luggage, we saw dark clouds and knew that God had made it possible for us to finish what we had gone to do and quickly left. When we reached the tarred road, heavy rain began to fall, and it has been raining since that time.

Another interesting thing is that the plot next to the Gorondo brothers’ plot was for sale sometime back, and the Church helped us to buy it. At that time we were thinking of building a hall where people would meet for services. Until recently, the members met at Mr. Gorondo’s home, but we were told that the Gorondo brothers want the congregation to instead meet on the Church’s plot. The members will, from now on, meet at the plot. Again, we recognize the hand of God in making it possible for us to purchase it. Mr. Matopi has already built a hut on the plot and is preparing to build a place where the Church’s animals will be kept.

We met there for services on the Sabbath, and I spoke about the need to seek God. People in this area worship demons and believe in “prophecy.” I first went to scriptures that talk about who God is, what He is able to do and how He is the Creator of everything. I then showed them why we need Him in our lives.

Before leaving, we called everybody to a meeting where we gave a heifer to our old members. We then asked those who had not taken their animals to do so as soon as possible.

During this trip we learned a number of lessons.

The Church had always met at Mr. Gorondo’s home. We did not have a plan B because everybody thought that we would continue to have our meetings in his home. We all assumed that Mr. Gorondo was going to be with us for a long time.

We learned that we need to have plans for the future even though we believe that the Church will never be destroyed and that the gates of hell will never prevail against it. Although human beings will die (and Satan may have a hand in removing a leader), the Church will never be destroyed!

Summary of December PCD Activity

From Cecil Maranville: The Person­al Correspondence Department sent 100 replies to reader’s questions in December.

Since the subject of the 10 Commandments pulls many to the site, it isn’t surprising that we have several questions relating to the commandments. Two asked for more of a definition of “covet.” One asked how the 10 Commandments relate to the New Testament. Another thanked us for the list, explaining he had committed them to memory. (We congratulated him on his effort, offered him our 10 Commandments booklet and pointed him deeper into the subject.) Other readers asked what happens if you do not keep them and what they are for. Lastly, someone from a Catholic background questioned the order of the commandments in our articles.

A university instructor wrote that he was most impressed with a student of his who is associated with COGWA. The instructor did not explain any more background, but he wanted to learn more about our teaching on divorce and remarriage. We supplied the instructor with a copy of our study paper. He later wrote back to tell us that the information was most helpful, thanking us for it.  

We had a church location request from someone who would like to visit. And a person who had contact with the Church of God 40 years ago wants to arrange baptism counseling. A former Church of God member wrote to set up a counseling appointment with a pastor. And a reader wanted to know if it is ever too late to obtain God’s forgiveness for sins. Another person asked if God expects people to tithe when their debts are greater than their income.

Counseling included encouraging a person who lives with family members who firmly believe and practice a non-Christian faith. It did not appear that they live in a Western nation. The writer is trying to live God’s way of life in this environment, unsure when, if and how to speak about the differences between the religions.

Another issue involved a young man from a faith that believes military service is wrong. He wanted to know if he would lose his salvation should he join the military. With his religious background, there are many doctrines he does not know or understand. But our answer discussed the question from many points of view and concluded by giving him a link to material on what salvation is. We directed him toward that, because that was his stated underlying concern for the question. It could be an open door to spiritual understanding for him.

A person in a long-term unmarried relationship was helped by our article on living together outside of marriage. The person wanted advice on going about doing things right from now on. Because the partner does not yet have the same convictions, the situation is more sensitive than it might first seem to be.

More on relationships, a wife asked for advice on how to get her middle-aged husband “to launch”—without providing any details about the situation. An equally vague request for help was about whether a couple’s relationship could be blocking God from giving them blessings. We do the best we can with such requests, attempting to begin building a relationship with the writer, so that he or she might respond with more information. We give the questioners links to our relationship articles.

Two people asked questions about children. The first questioned whether a newborn could be taken out after one week. We said the Bible does not deal with this question and that it is a personal decision. However, we recommended that the mother follow her doctor’s advice or at least the advice of reputable websites on newborn care. The second person asked about the application of the statute of a woman’s being unclean after childbirth. We explained that there is a natural cleansing process and that is the intent behind the statute, rather than a legislated time frame. Christians should consider the principle behind the statute, as well as the advice of qualified medical authorities.

A reader wanted to know if a member of our faith could belong to the Masons or Odd Fellows organizations.

Someone who read our article on the Second Woe of Revelation wanted to know if the commentary’s correlation of “sorcerers” to medicine meant that we believe it is a sin to use medicine. We clarified the misunderstanding and found a clearer commentary to use in that article. Another contact asked if our faith believes in the use of stimulants, such as coffee or tea.

A mark of the beast question came from one who wanted to know if the “bitcoin ID chip” could fulfill the prophecy. Someone else asked if our members would allow a “myIrin” to be fastened on his or her hand in order to buy or sell. That might seem like junk mail at first, but it relates to a popular novel about a universal ID card—myIrin—that replaces currency.

Another prophecy question was whether the prophets said anything pertinent to the present world. Our first answer would likely be, “Yes, everything!” But I think the person was looking for the pseudoprophets who claim to find specific biblical warnings about what will happen next week or this year, etc. Our “Prophecy” library is able to give the proper perspective on the purpose and application of Bible prophecy.

And the article we published on false prophets caused a reader to think of Ellen G. White and ask our opinion of Mrs. White. When asked this type of point-blank question, we always respectfully decline to give opinions on people, organizations or denominations. Instead, we point readers to the specific message of the Bible, explaining that God’s Word gives people the information they need to draw any comparisons that they wish to make. We explain that we choose this way so that we keep our focus on the gospel.

Lastly, a reader reasoned that since animals, like humans, have “the breath of life,” animals must also have souls. He had a little knowledge of “breath-breathing creatures,” but not enough. We were able to guide his research, as well as give him a link to our articles on the soul and the spirit in man. More than answer, we wanted to inspire him to see more of the picture, and we included a link to the article explaining the uniqueness of human beings and God’s purpose for creating human life.