Weekly Perspective

You cannot help but hear the dire warnings from those “in the know” that point to very difficult times in the near future. Some are predicting massive food shortages due to the war in the Ukraine. Obviously, with any shortage comes higher prices which will only be compounded by record inflation. Medical experts are saying…

“All of the nuclear-armed states are increasing or upgrading their arsenals and most are sharpening nuclear rhetoric” (Wilfred Wan, Director at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute). “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars … For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom … See that you are not troubled” (Matthew…

Ever play “Simon Says”? Who has not? The object of the game was to do exactly what Simon said, nothing more, nothing less. To win the game required careful listening and strict adherence to whatever silly thing that Simon came up with for the players to do. It generated a lot of laughs. The thing…

As members of the body of Christ, we should not ride along on the bandwagon of media-created emotionalism. Rarely can we glean truth from the media, and since we are mostly reading or listening to reports of incidents far away from us, it is difficult to verify accuracy. America is caught up in another major…

More often than not, when it comes to our personal problems, humility is the solution we’ve been looking for. A lack of humility is why we get stuck. Ironically, it’s why we find it hard to move ahead. Humility is the antidote to what ails us. It neutralizes pride, anger, discord, lying, lust, judging, self-centeredness,…

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder — a true statement. Likewise, we could say that opportunity is in the perception of the thinker. We could point to various individuals who recognized business opportunities and thereby amassed great wealth — true enough. There is nothing wrong with wealth, depending on how we look at…

When driving, we find guardrails in areas of uncertainty, in areas where there are unexpected changes. They’re designed to keep vehicles from straying into dangerous or off-limit areas, from going into the ditch, from going over a cliff. The thinking behind it is that you will do less damage to yourself or your car if…

From time to time, we hear of someone purchasing something from someone else that is very valuable. The buyer recognizes the value, but the seller seemingly was oblivious to what he or she had. Could that happen to us on a spiritual level? Do we recognize the great value of the gems of truth that…

We have just come off a very positive weekend where we had a combined Church service and activities with the local UCG congregations. A powerful reminder of our calling and responsibilities. Now to continue the race. The author of Hebrews uses a useful analogy in describing living the godly way of life in a difficult…

As previously announced, this coming Sabbath, we have the opportunity to participate in a combined service with local United Church of God congregations here in Central California. The timing allows us to reflect upon the emphasis Christ placed on the unity of the body of believers who would be brought together through His sacrifice. “Now…

In the next month or so, we have planned two church services where we (TFC) plan to hold a combined church service with two other COG groups – UCG and COGWA. These services are local to us here in Central California. Some have asked why we are doing this so I would like to explain.…

We experience a lot of emotions this time of year as we prepare to take the Passover. We process many thoughts as we prayerfully look inside to see what it is that God sees. Then we come to whatever conclusions the Holy Spirit leads us to. We will see areas where we have grown, but…

When addressing the Church in Corinth during a time when their observance of Passover had become lax, the Apostle Paul admonished them to examine themselves [to test, try, to be approved]. They were to consider deeply in order to make the necessary changes to be ready to take the Passover in a reverent manner. Today…