The Journal: News of the Churches of God

Save Petra for our children!

By Darlene Warren

BIG SANDY, Texas--Today's world is a dangerous place to live, but, then, what's the alternative? Didn't Noah, Daniel and Lot also live in perilous times? Down through history there has never been peace on a worldwide scale (unless you count the 20 minutes or so Adam and Eve enjoyed the garden before they were evicted).

We live in an age where peace is scarce, love is lacking and tolerance is a rarity, but it goes further than just our church problems. Unless you've been in a coma for the last few months, you know the Mideast is about to blow itself up (and maybe us too).

Here again this is nothing new. That area of the world has been a tumultuous place for many years. The people who live in that region just don't have a lot of compassion for each other. Rather than learn to live with each other's differences, they'd rather fight.

I wish there was some way we could make them see how ridiculous they look to the rest of the world.

Perhaps we could send a delegation made up of church members from the various groups and organizations to demonstrate how it is possible to deal with differences and disagreements within a particular demographic. After all, the Bible clearly tells us we will be kings and priests ruling and reigning, so surely we can give a few pointers about being patient and loving toward others.

We're all a part of the Work

The first thing we need to do is contact the Worldwide Church of God to get permission to distribute copies of The United States and British Commonwealth in Prophecy. Then we would airdrop bundles of these in strategic locations within the Palestinian community, particularly targeting Chairman Arafat's compound in Ramallah.

Does anyone know if the WCG still has access to the old Gulfstream jet? Does Garner Ted still have his pilot's license? It would also be helpful if we had someone with Jordanian contacts to grant us enough airspace to maneuver this daring exploit.

Now that King Hussein is dead, we'll have to depend on Queen Noor. Out of all the Ambassador students who spent time over there, she's got to remember at least one of them. You really have to try in order to forget an Ambassador student.

Now, in all fairness, don't forget that they don't make Jews like Jesus anymore. Not wishing to appear prejudiced in favor of the Israelis, we must also direct our evangelizing efforts to them. If we made a pass over the Wailing Wall and dropped a few hundred bundles of the booklet Has Time Really Been Lost or Simply Postponed?, we might make enough brownie points to get a protective escort out of the region.

Save the caves

But let's get realistic. All of this is going to cost money. We've got a plane to rent (most of us no longer exactly embrace our "former association," so you know it won't come cheap; Garner Ted will expect at least hazard pay; and the Jews and Arabs who are qualified to translate booklets are in high demand at this time so they'll be able to name their price).

I haven't quite figured out what's in it for Queen Noor. Perhaps we could convince her that we have special ties with the Israelis and we would see to it that Petra was spared from Israel's wrath. Now, that would be a win-win situation.

To contribute to this cause, you may use your tithes, and anything above and beyond your tithes that you may choose to donate will also be accepted. For more information on how to continue serving even after you've passed from this earthly body (i.e, how to deed over your TV, home, car and other valuables to God), be sure to visit our Web site. This is our way of doing the Work.

Brethren, I'm pleading with you. If we don't quieten the Mideast, there may not be any caves left to live in when the time comes to flee to a place of safety. If you're interested in serving on the delegation, or in any other capacity I've mentioned, and for even more information on learning the GIVE WAY OF LIFE and how you can help further this Work, contact me at www.peculiarpeople.net, or call 1-666-GIVENOW.

The Journal: News of the Churches of God is available from P.O. Box 1020, Big Sandy, Texas 75755, U.S.A., and https://www.thejournal.org. For more information write . To comment on this article or any other article or feature in The Journal or Connections, write . The preceding article or feature is from The Journal, April 15, 2002.