The GOOD NEWS Letter =================================================================== A personal letter to all the brethren of The Churches of God, from your pastor, co-laborer, and fellow-servant in Christ, Herbert W. Armstrong, Box 111, Eugene ------------------------------------------------------------------- Number 3 October 3, 1945 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Brethren: I feel most of you will want to hear about little Larry's condition, and how we finally came out on expenses for the Feast of Tabernacles. By Sunday Larry appeared to have turned decidedly for the better. Early morning his temperature was about half-degree subnormal, and for a while we were a little concerned about that, but by 10 or 11 o'clock it was back up a fraction above normal, and he was taking nourishment--potassium broth made from non- starch vegetables, carrot-juice (raw), and whole grain oatmeal gruel, in addition to orange juice and water. So after waiting out at Belknap until this report to decide about taking the trip to Crater Lake, we decided to go. Only our car made the trip, but with me were Sister Smith and daughter Mildred, Myra Carter, my mother and my brother Dwight. We saw the reflection of the sunset mirrored up from Crater Lake, just as we were leaving. It was magnificent. All who went feel that next year we must devote one whole day to a trip to Crater Lake for everyone. It is a very impressive sermon, if viewed properly. We arrived at our home in Eugene at 10:PM. Little Larry's face had filled out so much in two days since I had seen him, he didn't look like the same baby. Brother Kiesz came in just as we were unloading our car, and I was with him till he left by bus about 12:30. Larry has continued to improve in strength, and to gain in flesh, though his fever returned Monday, and was even higher Tuesday, reaching almost 103 again--as high as it has been at any time, but beginning to drop again in the evening as I now write. There is some possibility it may by typhoid, but we are not certain yet. We are continuing to feed him as above, in a manner that will not increase his fever or prevent elimination of toxins, but sufficient to build up his strength gradually. I feel certain that this whole case will come to a sudden complete healing, at any time. It seems, as I have said, that always God permits us to be under some "present trouble." Usually we are having to pass through some one or two trials or troubles at all times. Always it seems like this "present trouble" is one God is doing nothing about--all physical and material circumstances, will make it appear that our prayers are not heard. Then all of a sudden, the trouble just seems to melt into thin air. Every such trial we have been thru in the past has been brought out just right, and in every case God has heard and acted and given the answer. He has never failed us once. He won't now. Of course there have been hundreds of times where God has given us the healing, or the answer to our prayers, or the deliverance from trouble, immediately after committing it to Him. But every time our faith has been tried by the trouble hanging on, as at present, if we do not lose faith, the answer comes. So, please KEEP PRAYING WITH US, very earnestly, and in continued FAITH, and in His time and way God will restore Larry to complete health. I didn't get a minute to check up on costs and receipts of food, etc., until today. We finally came out far better than we thought we would. The food bill came out less than it looked like it would, and by the end of the meeting, more money was received than earlier appearances indicated. Here's a brief condensed statement. Meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, $84.16. Groceries, $71.26. Dairy products $34.69. Cook's salary and room, and Bro. Kiesz' room, $116.50 (Sister Wallace began work Thursday night out at Belknap, and did not finish until after Breakfast Sunday--more than nine days total). Total expenses, $306.61. Total received, $387.65. Balance, placed in radio and publishing fund, $81.04. A great meeting of this kind, like an altar-service of the right kind for the right purpose, may prove a wonderful blessing and bring us a real revival--but we must now realize that both, at most, are merely a sort of "pump-priming" of spiritually- dry wells. Many of us have been much closer to the world than we have to God. We have neglected prayer. We have become dry, spiritually. We were in DANGER, for we can lose out altogether thru neglect. Many of us perhaps never would have gotten back to God alone. We were dry wells. We needed priming--a little of the true Spirit of God poured into us, by such a meeting, to start the inflowing and OUT-flowing of the Holy Spirit working continuously, again, in our lives. All of us should have been revived by this great meeting. We were brought back closer to God. We got out AWAY from the world for eight days. We were able to help one another revive spiritually. We put in more time PRAYING. We read more, and heard more, of God's Word. It surely should have started God's Spirit coming in, and flowing on OUT, in love and fulfilling of His law, thus priming the spiritually-dry well. But, dear brethren, unless YOU yourself now KEEP ON drinking in more and more fully of the precious WATERS OF LIFE, so that this LIVING WATER of God's Holy Spirit can flow now, not like a trickling stream almost dried up, but like RIVERS of living water, as a result of greatly- increased private prayer, along with God, and much more time devoted to Bible study, and worship, and contemplation of the things above, then this meeting will have been in vain for you, after all--it will only have been a good time. Now you are back home from the Feast of Tabernacles. STUDY YOUR BIBLE MORE. Go to a place ALONE WITH GOD, and PRAY as you never did before. Spend at least one solid hour a day without getting up, on you knees in private prayer with God--beside much additional prayer, and keeping constantly in a spirit of prayer. Be more regular and punctual in assembling with the brethren every Sabbath, and prayer meeting. And start NOW to set aside, where you won't and can't touch it for any other purpose, that SECOND TITHE God has ordained to cover you expenses at Passover, Pentecost, and next year's Feast of Tabernacles! Be a DOER of the Word, not a hearer only! Have courage to DO IT, and then see how surely and abundantly God will bless you! The time to start that second tithe is NOW. If you don't do it now, you won't later, and you'll lose the blessing, may be unable to come next year, and have heard now light in vain. If it was not made completely clear to you, write and tell me so, and why, and let us study further until it is clear--but don't just neglect it. NOW is the time to start--this very DAY--this very WEEK--with the very next dime, or dollar you receive. There were more than enough red stamps to cover the meat and butter and if those who sent stamps would write us, we will divide them equally among you. We have already engaged Belknap Springs for next year. I think we will plan the schedule a little differently next year, making it more interesting, and so all will get more out of it. We will profit from lessons learned this year. I'm sure we shall have a more interesting program--reducing the amount of time spent indoors sitting in services, allowing more time for being out-doors and praying like Jesus did, on the mountain-side, and perhaps holding some services outdoors. We will try to arrange for all to take the trip to Crater Lake. We will plan farther ahead for a better, more interesting program for children and young people. This is just a first beginning of this type Feast of Tabernacles this year. Let us profit from it. So, remember, PRAY more, study your BIBLE more, keep closer to God, trust Him not only more but FULLY in ALL things, and start laying aside that second tithe, now. God bless you, and make the wonderful festival just closed the REAL BEGINNING of a changed, far more spiritual, joyful Christian life! Sincerely, in Jesus' name, HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG