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Dear Brethren and Friends,

In our weekly Update of the 6th December, I wrote an editorial entitled “Getting On Together”. In this I wrote: “The Church of God should be a homogenous group, all pulling in the same direction, with the same goal of growing and overcoming so that we ‘may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man’ (Luke 21:36). In order to achieve that goal, we must pull together as the people of God, not pull apart.”

I have observed over 40 years in the Church of God that many have come and gone, including those whom we may have thought were “pillars in the Church” only to be disappointed. Without regurgitating that editorial, I would just repeat one part that I thought should concentrate our focus: “We see world events coming to a climax with seemingly little time left before Christ’s return and it is futile to concentrate on anything that will detract us from looking forward to that wonderful event and all that it means.”

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – January 8, 2014"

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Dear Brethren and Friends,

Daniel was made aware of future events that were beyond his grasp, and he said to the angel, “‘My lord, what shall be the end of these things?’” (Daniel 12:8). Responding to statements made by Jesus, His disciples asked Him: “‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?’” (Matthew 24:3).

Unlike Daniel or the disciples of Jesus, we are NOW living in the time of the end which they marveled at and which is culminating into “‘“…a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation”’” (Daniel 12:1). Prophecies given by God are coming to pass, and they will be completely fulfilled according to His Word!

In this light, consider the opening statements found in the Book of Revelation:

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Revelation 1:1-3).

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – December 15, 2013"

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Dear Members, Co-Workers and Friends:

Something remarkable about the patriarchs of the Bible is their frequent movement from one place to another. It seems like they rarely stayed in one place for very long, and wherever they did stay, they were considered to be foreigners. The Bible describes Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob each living out of tents in lands that they considered to be far from home. When Jacob fled hundreds of miles from his home, in fear of his brother Esau’s wrath, he even used a stone as a pillow to rest his head (Genesis 28:11). The eventual place to where God individually led them all—the land of Canaan—was a foreign land that He had promised to them as an inheritance. It did not become their homeland at that time. Rather, it had been occupied primarily by other people, and the patriarchs were foreigners in the land where they dwelled.

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – November 14, 2013"

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Dear Members, Co-Workers and Friends,

It is hard to believe that the Feast of Tabernacles 2013 has ended over three weeks ago. We have returned from a marvelous occasion which portrayed a time of universal peace and happiness, and we must cope now once again with trials and persecutions in this present evil world, which is ruled by Satan the devil.

In our first weekly Update after the Feast (No. 607, dated October 4), Brian Gale wrote in his Editorial: “We have just kept the Feast of Tabernacles which pictures the coming reign of Jesus Christ on this earth. Then there will be no leadership problems at all. But until then, in this world, do we have leadership problems? There’s proof galore for those with eyes to see and ears to hear!”

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – October 18, 2013"

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Dear Brethren, Co-Workers and Friends:

In less than two weeks, my wife and I will be flying to Germany for the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day, after having observed the Feast of Trumpets with the brethren in the United States. It is hard to believe that the autumn festival season of 2013 has arrived—since the 2012 autumn season and the 2013 spring season seem to have just passed. But this shows how FAST time goes by… and how SOON Jesus Christ will return.

Recently, my wife and I discussed the fact that days come and go and that we could just become victims of a never-ending repetitious cycle—if we are not careful. That is why God—in His ultimate wisdom—has given us His weekly Sabbath and His annual Holy Days to remind us of the truth that this physical temporary existence is not all there is. In fact, it’s only a short training ground to prepare us for a much better and valuable everlasting life to come.

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – August 27, 2013"

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Dear Brethren and Co-Workers:

Having just returned from my trip to Kenya for the purpose of visiting the brethren and meeting with some who have shown interest in the Church, I have come to appreciate what we take for granted in the Western World, including the USA, Canada and Great Britain, as far as possessions and wealth are concerned. Even our ever-decreasing freedom is remarkable in comparison with the repression and dictatorship in African countries.

Let us reflect for a moment on our physical possessions. Some of us own houses, and most have one to three cars; some have boats, motorcycles and several computers. Children have (far too) many electronic toys and gadgets, and it’s a chore trying to keep up with the expanding technology because everyone wants the latest, fastest gadget on the market, and children and teens put a lot of pressure on their parents to buy them the most recent inventions and products.

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – August 14, 2013"

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Dear Brethren and Friends,

Good, true and godly leadership is what this world of ours is crying out for. But, first of all, just what is leadership? For example, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development defines it in this way: “Leadership may be defined as the capacity to influence people, by means of personal attributes and/or behaviors, to achieve a common goal. However, while leadership is currently much discussed, and academic studies on the topic have multiplied since the 1970s, there is no single definition or concept of leadership that satisfies all commentators.”

The problem with such definitions, and there are many, is that God is almost always left out of the picture, and unless leadership is God centered, it will always fail and not live up to expectations, even of those of a secular mind set and disposition.

When we look at leadership in nations all around the world, it is not an encouraging situation. One issue that has recently surfaced in both the USA and UK is that of transparency. This is something that seems to be in vogue and has been promised by the leaders of both the USA and the UK. It appears that such promises have not been kept.

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – July 5, 2013"

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Dear Brethren and Friends,

What does the Bible mean to you?

Do you accept it as the very Word of God? Do you find in its pages the godly standards by which you seek to live your life? There are certainly other books claiming divine inspiration, and there are followers of the teaching of those volumes who zealously—even fanatically—dedicate themselves in unwavering obedience.

As Christians, we should have proven beyond all doubt that God has inspired, preserved and is continuing to utilize His written Word as a means of revealing Himself to us. The Bible testifies of itself:

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:12-13).

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – June 6, 2013"

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Dear Members, Co-Workers and Friends,

How much longer do we have until Jesus Christ returns to usher in the wonderful world tomorrow, and to establish God’s rule and government here on earth? The answer is, no man knows the times or seasons, the day or the hour—but Christ gave us signs to watch for, and He said that when we see certain events take place, we should know that the time is near. He gave us an outline in Matthew 24, and judging by His words, the next spectacular event will be the beginning of the Great Tribulation. Again, we don’t know the exact timing of that event—and those who claim that they have been given such insightful knowledge are deceiving you—but we should be able to see that it could happen very soon.

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – April 24, 2013"

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Dear Members and Friends:

As the sun lingers in the sky for longer periods of time and as the snow melts here in Fort Collins, I anxiously anticipate the springtime. I can’t say that this winter has been any colder than any other, but I won’t hesitate to admit that I have enjoyed enough of the brisk, crisp winter air to last me until next year. Even though the imminent warmer weather is something to look forward to, much more than that, God’s Spring Holy Days offer us all a much-needed regular opportunity to reflect on the plan of God unfolding before our very eyes.

As I write to you now, the annual Passover—the first event we observe in God’s Spring Holy Day season, which is followed immediately by the Feast of Unleavened Bread—is just around the corner. This solemn memorial was established thousands of years ago when Moses led Israel out of Egypt, and it remains in effect for Christians today. When the Passover was initiated, the nation of Israel was instructed to sacrifice a lamb, consume the meat, and prepare to leave their situation of bondage in the land of Egypt. Thousands of years after Israel fled from the slavery of Egypt, Jesus Christ gave Himself to be our Passover lamb, so that we might obtain freedom from the slavery of sin. It turns out that this was God’s plan from the very beginning of man’s creation.

Continue reading "Letter to the Brethren – March 6, 2013"