Jesus gave an engaging parable concerning the nature of the Kingdom of God in the life of His followers. Jesus tells a story about five foolish and five wise virgins.

“For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you’” (Matthew 25:3-12, ESV).

The Apostle Paul once offered some great advice to Timothy that is urgently relative to our world today. “As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith” (1 Timothy 1:3-4, ESV). These speculative myths, Timothy was told to call out, have a modern equivalent.

Contemporary conspiracy theories are unproven speculations that lead individuals away from the fundamentals of faith in Jesus. Mainstream Christian conspiracy theorists will often combine their theories with biblical prophecies to promote imaginary fears. This behavior makes these teachers biblically unfit stewards spreading paranoia and fear to those who listen to them, and it is the opposite of what Jesus wants for His Church.

Former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen appeared before Congress to confirm what some users of Facebook, including myself, have begun to realize about the service. The social media giant is destroying the morality of the United States and pitting ideological zealots against each other through the promotion of misinformation. The algorithms that promote newsfeed posts to users serve to enforce their own biases and promote widespread misinformation.

On April 19, 1995, a seemingly crazy thing happened in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. A very confident man robbed two different banks without using a disguise. He was so sure of his invisibility that he looked directly at the security cameras. His picture circulated on local television, and he was quickly arrested. McArthur Wheeler believed that using lemon juice would keep his face unseen to security cameras. He reasoned that since lemon juice is used to write invisible ink messages on paper, it would also hide his face. He was thoroughly shocked that he was caught and was observed saying, “But I wore the juice!” McArthur was very wrong in that belief. Local news reported that he even tested his theory earlier with a Polaroid camera. It appears that he was not skilled in the use of it either.

“Wise people are careful and avoid trouble; fools are too confident and careless” (Proverb 14:16, ERV). The story of this strange incident of foolish confidence led researchers David Dunning and Justin Kruger to study this phenomenon.

“Headline theology” can be defined as searching out sensational headlines in the news upon which to base one’s biblical theology. Many supposed modern-day prophets find joy in connecting world events to their prophetic scenarios even though they continually are proven wrong and continue to move the goalposts of their predictions.

We in the Church of God International may occasionally look at world events and examine them through the lens of God’s law or prophecy. Still, we carefully avoid making dogmatic statements and identify our observations as speculation. Those who practice “headline theology” go much further. They may predict specific days or years as an absolute fulfillment of prophesied events. Or they may suggest that the end is only a few years away.

As we look ahead to the upcoming Fall Holy Day Season, we are providing this announcement which reflects our recommendations for observing the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles/Last Great Day.

Due to the fluctuating uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, the possibility of additional restrictions being placed on travel, lodging, and entertainment, plus the potential health and safety risks to brethren, we are canceling all CGI "destination" Feast sites in the United States this year. Specifically, this includes Land Between the Lakes, KY, Myrtle Beach, SC, Harrison, AR, and St. Petersburg, FL. We did not come to this decision lightly. We looked for every opportunity and waited as long as we believed we could, for official guidance and confirmations, in order to proceed with our normal festival plans. Unfortunately, we have been beset with unworkable levels of restrictive variances, compounded by mandates and legislation from governors and additional limitations from local authorities.

A pastor of a Tampa Bay church was arrested Monday for violating the State’s order against large crowds. The executive order was given because Covid-19 is spreading exponentially in the State of Florida. I watched some of the church’s replay from the Sunday services and it can be easily observed that the crowd was in the hundreds and closely packed together. They did this in defiance of government believing that their “faith” should be enough to protect them. This was considered a dangerous act that could seriously harm or kill someone in that congregation. The pastor faces criminal charges.

An interesting event happened February 4 when Pope Francis visited Dubai. He met with a Muslim cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb and they signed an agreement that among many things included the statement that “pluralism and the diversity of religions, color, sex, race, and language are willed by God.” I agree that diversity of color, sex, and race are willed by God. That is obvious and found in Scripture. What is alarming is that the leader of the Catholic Church, representing 1.2 billion people, would support the idea that “pluralism and diversity of religions … are willed by God.” It is also shocking that no major news media organizations pointed out his obvious inconsistency and hypocrisy with the Bible since Francis claims to follow Jesus.

Memes are usually thought of as an image, usually of a celebrity or funny child, accompanied with a phrase of comedic or social value. They are spread via social media services, email, and texts generally for fun. Some of these memes become very popular and are known to spread virally. The term originates from a scientific theory Richard Dawkins proposed in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene. It was a way to describe the evolution of ideas in society. The Wikipedia describes it as “an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture—often with the aim of conveying a particular phenomenon, theme, or meaning represented by the meme.” 

Video games have been a part of my life since I was very young. I remember playing pong on a television when I was five then later playing computer games and consoles as they technologically advanced through the decades. One of my most memorable game experiences was playing the Legend of Zelda on the Nintendo NES. This was one of the first games where the player could explore an open world and interact with various characters. These non-playable characters (NPCs) would have very simple preprogrammed dialogue. If you interacted with one more than once they usually would repeat the same phrases over and over. There was one unusual character that kept repeating the phrase “I AM ERROR.”

Do a search about hearing God’s voice and you will find a number of things. First, there are numerous articles that offer advice from Scripture and opinion on how to hear His voice. I skimmed a few of these articles and found that many of them would ultimately include advice about hearing an inner voice speaking to us. A search will also find numerous people of varying degrees of popularity that believe they hear daily revelations from God. They are usually eager to share those messages and want you to hear them.

Hypothetically, if I were to tell you that I audibly hear God’s voice speak to me, you would most likely conclude that I was suffering from a mental disorder. There is no evidence that God is currently audibly speaking to His servants. But it is much easier to accept that God speaks to us and others internally. 

In our weekly Bible Study in the Tyler church we have been discussing the Letter to the Galatians. Paul is pretty clear in this letter that we cannot earn our salvation from keeping God’s law. He explains that God’s promises were always a result of faith. It has never been God’s plan for man to receive justification from the law. He tells us “the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham” (Galatians 3:8-9).

Because of this emphasis, many have mistakenly believed that Paul was opposed to the law of God. Galatians is often used by some to say that Christians no longer have an obligation to keep the law. Others say that it shows that the law has been completely done away. 

We usually think of mercy and grace as the same thing, but there is an important distinction. I’ll give you a personal example to illustrate this. Several years ago I was pulled over for speeding. I was on a four lane divided highway early in the morning driving a very reasonable speed of 55 mph. Unfortunately for me the legal speed was 30 mph. There is a terrible feeling that accompanies the flashing blue lights in your rear view mirror. That feeling for me embodies the terror of paying several hundred dollars for a speeding ticket and thousands of dollars in increased car insurance premiums. A mistake like this could be very costly. I was pretty afraid.

When we think of the Ninth Commandment, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor,” we usually put it in the context of not lying. Most of us agree that lying is an awful trait and that it usually leads to negative consequences in our life. I can attest from personal experience this is a fact. As could most of you reading this article. It is a universal value that we find in every culture and religion around the world. So what makes God’s commandment to “not bear false witness” unique? Is it just restating the obvious?

A good friend texted me this picture as a joke recently. Then he said, “This would make a good subject for a blog.” I decided He was right!

How often do we take this approach to our relationship with God? Has anyone else ever realized they were doing this, or am I the only one?

See, the thing is, we are supposed to be involved in a relationship with God; and it is supposed to be a strong healthy one, right? What does a strong healthy relationship consist of? Think about your friends. I mean the really good friends you have that have been through thick and thin with you. Are these people that you call on only when you need them? Or are you pretty much in communication with them all the time in one way or another? Are they just an afterthought in your life, or do they have a prominent role?