GIVING & SHARING NEWSLETTER December, 1989 No. 7

An Inspiring Feast of Tabernacles

This past Feast of Tabernacles was one of the best we have had in years. Those with whom we fellowshipped in southwestern Michigan each contributed much to spread joy and inspiration to others. Truly it was a memorable and uplifting experience.

In one Bible Study, a passage from Josephus was quoted with regard to the three Pilgrimage Feasts (Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Tabernacles): “Let those that live as remote as the bounds of the land which the Hebrews shall possess, come to that city where the temple shall be, and this three times in a year, that they may give thanks to God for his former benefits, and may entreat Him for those they shall want hereafter; and let them, by this means, maintain a friendly correspondence with one another by such meetings and feastings together, for it is a good thing for those that are of the same stock, and under the same institution of laws, not to be unacquainted with each other; which acquaintance will be maintained by thus conversing together, and by seeing and talking with one another, and so renewing the memorials of this union; for if they do not thus converse together continually, they will appear like mere strangers to one another,” (Antiquities, IV, viii, 7).

Our family had not previously met most of the people at the Feast. Yet, as one of the brethren remarked, it seemed to him that we had always known each other. Such refreshing spiritual fellowship needs to be continued and maintained.

Fun is a Key to Success

Louis Siegfried, 32-year-old founder and owner of a St. Louis mail-order computer business, enjoys his work. He follows a saying of Confucius: “Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Even a demanding job can be rewarding and fulfilling. In a St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, Siegfried says, “We can’t tolerate people who aren’t enthusiastic and don’t want to work. I can’t play summer camp around here . . . . I don’t have the ability to motivate people. I just get rid of people that can’t motivate themselves.”

I enjoy my job as a computer professional. I love the work I do with Giving & Sharing. It is fun. I would like to see others be motivated to do similar works of service, even assist us with the work in Giving & Sharing. But I can’t motivate anybody. Only the Creator can. He doesn’t want to deal with people who won’t joyfully work for Him. Examine yourself. See how you stack up with the examples given in Matthew 25:14-30.

They Shall Rise Up in Judgment

We get on the mailing lists of more religious material than we desire or can assimilate. One organization from Texas specializes in distributing Bibles and literature to Third World countries. Their recent magazine from old “holiness” missionary evangelist M.A. Daoud was rescued from the garbage can. Its title captivated me: “What God’s Word teaches about divorce and remarriage . . . will God forgive adultery committed by divorce and re-marriage?”

Pentecostal types often don’t proofread their material very well. Improper English and spelling errors abound. However, as I read on, these imperfections were soon forgotten. In point after point, Bible truth after Bible truth, this man, who doesn’t even keep the Sabbath, has grasped the significance and importance of the Biblical doctrine of marriage for life. He lambasts those who have watered down the truth about divorce and remarriage over the last forty years. He explains clearly the fornication exception clause. He tells how repentance does not whitewash the sin of adultery, that the repentant sinner must QUIT SINNING!

I was stunned and incredulous. Where are the Sabbath-keeping ministers who hold this thoroughly Biblical view of marriage and divorce? Could this man and others fulfill the statement of the Savior in Matthew 11:20-27? Will he rise up in judgment in the second resurrection at the Last Great Day and condemn Sabbath-keeping, Holy Day-keeping ministers who should know the law, but instead pander to their membership and preach smooth deceits, catering to the sexual lusts of this day? If men of Tyre and Sidon, Sodom and Gomorrha, would have had the courage to stand up for the truth, but didn’t know much of it, what shall be the fate of the spiritual wimps of today who have covered up the truth and twist I Corinthians 7 to suit themselves?

The “sinners” of Tyre and Sidon shall rise up in judgment and condemn this generation.

See the “Divorce and Remarriage” issue of Miracles & Missions Digest, International Bible Association, PO Box 5646, Dallas, TX 75265. If you haven’t yet read our articles on this subject, please write us for our free material on “Marriage and Family.” Ω