Atonement 10/7/35/120

Dear Friends,

Today is the Day of Atonement in the Seventh Month of the 35th year which is the Sabbath year and it is set aside for the Reading of the Law. Atonement is a day of fasting when we afflict our bodies in repentance and in commemoration of the fact of our reconciliation with God. 

On this day you should all have read the studies Atonement (No. 138) and the paper Azazel and Atonement (No. 214). They are being translated into various languages for the nations to understand what the day represents, and how the entire planet is to be reconciled. In addition to the many thousands of papers that will be downloaded this week from the web we are to print and distribute these papers at one per family in those areas without normal facilities, and also the various feast papers for next Sabbath, which is the day before the First Holy Day of the Feast period. This Day of Atonement we will also study the papers allocated for the Reading of the Law on that day. This is indeed a massive task for each of the nations where we will be reading the law. For this Reading of the Law we will be gathered in many nations reading the law in many locations. It is no longer a question of gathering in one nation. We simply have to send our representatives to one nation and even then we cannot afford to gather all national coordinators as many have to lead their own people and continue their education. So this message is to give a brief overview of what it means to fast.

The purpose of the Fast is to break the bonds of wickedness and to let the oppressed go free. The explanation is in Isaiah 58:1-14. The purpose of this day is to repent and to honour the Sabbaths of the Lord, to cease from doing your own will and to make the Sabbath a delight.

It is too easy to poke fingers at other people and to feel more righteous than others but God says that is exactly what we should not do. Our job is to fast and pray for the establishment of the Churches of God and the foundation of sound doctrine among God’s people. Pray for your enemies and for those that despitefully use you.

For those of you who have not kept the Fast before you should be aware of the requirements. You take no food or water from dark on the previous evening to dark at the end of the Day of Atonement. Do not drink alcohol before the fast as it makes it more difficult by causing some dehydration.

We in CCG always break the fast with a special meal in celebration of the reconciliation of the people to God.

We are all required to keep this fast as anyone that does not keep the Day of Atonement is cut off from their people. In other words, you are removed from the Church of God if you do not keep it. It is God that does the removal.

Each of us should keep these days dutifully and work out our salvation in fear and trembling. Pray and fast for one another and for the foundation and establishment of the Churches of God.

There is a lot to do and the time is short. The harvest is ripe and the labourers are being added to us now to help in the harvest. Thank you for your prayers in that regard. We are baptizing many hundreds of new people before this Feast. Rejoice that your names are written in heaven. There are many new churches joining us, and some churches grow significantly in size with new baptisms; it is a very exciting time. 

We are establishing new churches in Northern Kenya around and near Lake Turkana and many new groups are asking for Induction and also there are groups from one church with a number in Malawi and also in Mozambique wishing for induction and they have well over 2000 members. So one new contact has sometimes many groups with them and that requires us to plan significantly to establish the capacity to improve food production and income in the areas that join us. 

I look forward to seeing many old friends over this period and many new ones also. We are now going to the Feast and we should all be in place by the evening before the Sabbath. All the leaders gather to plan next week for the Seven Year Plan and re-elect our officers. Some will retire this year and hand over to new General Secretaries.

The Law will be read by the end of the Sabbath before the Last Great Day and we will go back to our duties and work.  I hope we all have a blessed and a successful Feast.

May God bless you all and keep you safe.

Wade Cox
Coordinator General