greetings

[yello62]

i'm not really certain where to start, or what to tell.  i am currently 55 years old, God willing, i will see my next birthday in june.  if not... 

i was given awareness in my early 20s.  when i say awareness, i mean, awareness that there is a God, that that God is doing something in the universe, and that maybe, just maybe, there was a part in that thing for me.  there was a lot of pain for me involved in that experience of awareness.  pain that started quite some time before He granted. 

having been given awareness, i sought a place to go to develop an understanding of what it is that The Creator is doing, and what my piece of that might be.  i landed in a worldwide church of god congregation on the south side of chicago.  the minister that i had was an expository minister, and gave me the understanding that there was more to the scriptures than what was translated in the bibles we read. 

through this minister's encouragement, i purchased many scriptural helps, and spent much time combing them and the scriptures to understand what God's will is.

for those of you that know it, the wwcg was a works based organization, and i was locked into that performance based belief except for one problem; sin.  i had a problem that continued to present itself into my life, daily, hourly, constantly.  i prayed, i fasted, i cried, i fretted,i i was sick with worry over the fact that i could not give up this particular sin.  no matter how hard i tried, this "weakness" stuck to me like white on rice. 

after wrestling with this sin for near a decade, i decided that i needed to walk away from church to deal with it.  i felt like such a hypocrite going to services.  my minister told me that i was making a mistake walking away from church, because my motivation for change would go away.

what has happened after i stopped attending has been nothing but amazing to me.  i stopped attending services in 1995.  since that time, The Father has gone to great lengths to show me that this has never been about me and my behavior, but His providence and declarations.  there is not enough space in this forum, and i won't bore with details all that He has done to show me His love.

i found my way to the bible-truths site some years back, probably ten years now?  a former wwcg member had a list of biblical links on a website that he had put together.  there was much assurance provided to me through the reading of the understanding that The Father provided to ray.  i am here for fellowship.  i am in quite a significant trial right now, and have been for quite some time.  i hope to be able to post some of that in another posting.  this was intended simply to be an introduction, brief as it is. 

[Musterseed]

Welcome Yello62
Bible truths is a gift from God. We all share many things, trials and suffering but also
love, laughter and fellowship. It gets pretty lonely on the path to righteousness and we
need each other.

God Bless You,,, Pamela

[yello62]

thank you Pam.

[Dennis Vogel]

Several ex wwcg'ers on this forum. You may find this helpful: https://youtu.be/67KkOKuaV-o

[yello62]

thanks Dennis.

i like this line from the video "...i don't wanna want it!"  that sentiment resonates with me mightily. 

[Wanda]

Hi Tony,

Thanks for your story. I'm looking forward to future posts.

[yello62]

thank you, wanda.

[indianabob]

Hi Tony,

Here's another greeting from an EX WCG who attended the Festivals in the Chicago area beginning in 1969 until about 1999 when "headquarters" decided to observe the Trinity doctrine along with British Israelite Jewish doctrines of the old covenant. Total confusion I think.

We made many great friendships with the folks we met over the years and still communicate with several individuals AND looking back on the errors we endured, it appears that we were meant to learn some good lessons the hard way.

How best to learn that the Old covenant was done away and replaced by a "better" new covenant brought to us by our Lord Jesus than to be immersed in the old for a while? We got a first hand understanding of how impossible it is to pay the tithe and especially when it was imposed a second and then a third time. However we also had a chance to learn about God's plan for mankind through the history of the Jewish people.

Love to hear from you and how you are doing in your young life.

Indiana Bob age 83 

[yello62]

Shabbat Shalom, Bob, and thanks for the greetings.  What congregation did you attend?  I still have contact with folks that attend the church that WWCG has become, some of whom attended the Hammond congregation.  If you were in Chicago for festival services, we sat in some of the same meetings.  Isn't it interesting how The Father brings His people to Him?  I learned much while attending the WWCG, not all of it bad.  As you say, it is helping with the discernment. 

Again, thanks for the welcome. 

Tony

P.S., the Shabbat Shalom was meant as an homage to our past, not as an indication of my current practice.