Quote:
Originally Posted by chosenbyone
I have family that are UPC and some of them are COG (Cleveland) and I can tell you that the COG strongly enforced standards until the late 1970s to 1980. My grandfather was a pioneer preacher for the COG and he was as strict as any Apostolic conservative today.
What I found to be evident when the COG dropped standards it seemed, generally speaking, that the depth of the demonstration of the Holy Ghost deminished in their services.
Sadly, I've seen the same thing happen to many congregations who left the UPC in the late 1990's. I thought of myself as a member of the liberal camp, but I found the Lord leading me back to the conservative camp.
The Lord placed on my heart that when I started letting go of my standards and allowed and justified earthly entertainment to become common in my life was when I grew lukewarm.
The Lord showed me that he placed me in the UPC for a reason, because he knew what would sustain me in this present world. I won't ever allow myself again to think that I know better than he does when it comes to my salvation. Additionally, I won't judge my brother or sister who are liberal and can live for the Lord and not have the same convictions that I need in my life.
Instead of trying to convince each other who is right and who is wrong we should just treat each other as family. The world needs to know that even though we may not look the same but we are united in our cause to save the lost through the Apostolic doctrine.
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awesome post.
I found I also needed some convictions in my life as well... still not quite as conservative as most UPC, but found I grew colder without restrictions on lifestyle issues.
Totally agree that we need to be united and quit focusing on the outward appearance of each other... just accept as brother/sister.... we have a world that needs saved.
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