Dear Brethren and Co-workers with Christ,
This morning I reviewed an article by Mr. Richard Ames for the November/December issue of our member magazine, the Living Church News, on the subject of gratitude. Mr. Ames is our senior Evangelist whom we all look up to and one of the most thoughtful and thankful men among us. I am personally very thankful for his loyal support and his stature in the Church. Mr. Ames’ article is timed to arrive in our members’ mailboxes before American Thanksgiving.
By the time you receive this letter, Canadians will have already celebrated their day of Thanksgiving on October 11, the second Monday of the month, and many Americans will be making plans to celebrate their day of Thanksgiving in late November. There are also other nations and territories which have a day of Thanksgiving each year. After I mentioned the subject in a letter or article last year, our lone member on Norfolk Island (located between New Caledonia and New Zealand in the South Pacific) sent me an article explaining that the island has been celebrating Thanksgiving since whalers from America visited it in the late 1890s.
I was surprised while reading Mr. Ames’ article that the word thanks is found 71 times in the New King James Version of the Bible, and thanksgiving an additional 31 times. Clearly, God wants us to remember to be thankful. I’ll leave the rest of his article for those of you who receive the publication to read for yourselves, but I hope all of us are truly thankful for what God has given to us.
So many times in prayer I think of how blessed I am to understand the truth. Do you realize how few in this world understand what you understand? As Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44). Yes, one of the great truths of Scripture is that God is not calling everyone today. No, contrary to popular belief, He is not trying to save the whole world right now. This may at first sound unfair, but fully understood, it is the most encouraging news we could ever hear. It gives hope to the millions who never heard of the name of Jesus Christ, or who are so confused by false doctrines that they give up trying to understand. Those not yet called by God are not being judged at this time but will have their chance later. For a fuller explanation of this most encouraging truth, see our free booklet Is This the Only Day of Salvation?
We can also be thankful that God has given us the opportunity to be involved in His very Work on earth at this time. As Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35), and you are blessed in ways you may not realize, because you have given by way of your prayers and financial gifts so that others can be introduced to the Truth of Scripture. We pray for God to open the minds of more people—something only He can do—and we support sowing the seeds of truth through our monetary gifts. We also warn the world of what is coming if there is not a change in human behavior. Some will repent in response to the word going out and repent, but for far more it will merely be a witness so that mankind can never say, “We were not warned” (Matthew 24:14; Ezekiel 33:1-8).
We here at Tomorrow’s World are thankful for the way God has poured out His blessings on our sincere but feeble efforts during the time of this pandemic. Since the pandemic began (roughly January 2020), instead of falling backward, which we truthfully thought might be the case, we have been able to afford growing our subscriber list from 301,000 to more than 500,000; and this with the number of Tomorrow’s World magazine editions increasing each year from six up to ten. We have also been able to hire some very talented individuals in our Internet, Editorial, and Television Departments, as well as more men for the full-time ministry. Instead of allowing us to fall back, God has propelled us forward to a degree we could not imagine. We are thankful God has enlisted you to help make all of this possible.
The days ahead are uncertain. We have yet to see how the coronavirus pandemic will play out. Will it go away and a certain normalcy return? What about the economic impact of political leaders spending money worse than drunken sailors—my apology to drunken sailors! Where will our political divides lead us? How will the Marxist/Socialist movement, especially in the United States, end? Will America become a socialist nation, or will there be a violent push back leading to who knows what? How low can our moral slide go? And then there is inflation, which is already far greater than politicians are telling us. How will this affect our personal lives, and how will it affect this Work?
One fact is for certain—God is in control. While He is allowing mankind sufficient rope to “hang itself,” He will not forsake His Work here on earth. Nor will He forsake those of you who are His. King Solomon declared, “The Lord will not allow the righteous soul to famish, but He casts away the desire of the wicked” (Proverbs 10:3). David wrote, “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread” (Psalm 37:25).
And how can we forget Paul’s reminder: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). The late Dr. Roderick C. Meredith reminded us to read that verse carefully. Too many quote the part that says, “all things work together for good” without noticing the qualifiers—“to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Loving God is more than an emotion. The Apostle John explained: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). And Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
We will all see rough times in life—and so will this Work of God—but God will always bring us through those difficulties if we love Him, as shown by our actions in obeying Him, and put our trust in Him. I urge you, dear brethren and co-workers, to have faith in God. He will see each of us through whatever difficult times there will be, and there will be extremely difficult times going forward. I doubt that any of us can imagine how traumatic the next one to five years will be, but as Jesus encourages us, “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28).
Paul also reminds us of this comforting truth, while giving us vital admonitions to go along with that truth: “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Romans 13:11-14).
Dear brethren and co-workers, we have much to be thankful for, and those of us here at Tomorrow’s World and the Living Church of God want you never to forget how much we appreciate your love for God and your willingness to put Him first in your lives. Your prayers and your faithful support are greatly appreciated. We pray for your spiritual understanding and may God help you to continue growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thank you once again.
Sincerely, in Christ’s service,
Gerald E. Weston