Greetings brethren,
The year 2006 began on sobering notes—floods in California, fires in Oklahoma, a hurricane in the Atlantic a month after the hurricane season officially closed, famine conditions in East Africa, earthquake victims in Pakistan dying from exposure, strife in the Middle East and scandals in Washington. We need to keep an eye on world events as we strive to finish the Work and grow spiritually so we can be in the Kingdom of God. In Charlotte, we are working on budgets and other plans for 2006. Mr. Meredith was in Florida last week to visit family and brethren in the Ft. Lauderdale area. I was able to visit our congregation in Bluefield, West Virginia.
MEDIA
Mr. Wayne Pyle reports, "We are off to a running start for the new calendar year…This week we aired program #259, entitled '2006 in Prophecy,' which offered the Fourteen Signs (FS) booklet. We received a total of 2,723 responses for the week." The program was presented by Mr. Meredith.
COMMENTS
The Primary Quality: What is the most important quality that you and I must develop if we hope to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ? When Jesus was asked a similar question, He said we must learn to love God with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40). Jesus also said the quality that would identify His true disciples would be love for one another (John 13:35). We have been created to become members of God's family—to learn to think and act like our Father. The Bible states that "God is love" (I John 4:8, 16) and that Godly love is patient, positive, kind, consistent and never fails—it does not envy others and does not promote itself (I Corinthians 13). Godly love abhors evil and hypocrisy—it is humble, peaceable, and shows affection and deference to others. This kind of love is evident in the lives of those who are nourishing, exercising and willing to be led by God's Spirit—because these are the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-26). More than two hundred years ago, Ben Franklin devised a plan to improve his character by focusing on one quality each week of the year. What would happen if we each spent a week—several times a year—looking for ways to show more love for God and for our neighbors?
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas Winnail
NEWS AND PROPHECY—January 5, 2006
Brussels Plans to Raid Wages: Pay Your Tax Direct to Europe. "Britons [and all Europeans] will be forced to pay a crippling European Union tax under a shock plan revealed yesterday" (Daily Express, December 21, 2005). In an attempt to avoid reoccurring budget battles, EU leaders want to bypass governments and have EU citizens make tax payments directly into EU coffers. If adopted, this move "would effectively end centuries of British sovereignty and sideline the Westminster Parliament." Not surprisingly, this proposal was "greeted with outrage" in Britain, with cries of "no taxation without representation" and warnings of a modern-day Boston Tea Party! If ratified, this proposal would force Europeans to turn over more of their sovereignty to a central European government—just as prophesied in Revelation 17:12-13.
Russia Threatens to Shut off Europe's Gas. A recent conflict over price between a Russian company, Gazprom, and the Ukraine exposed the danger of Europe's growing dependency on foreign energy supplies. About 25% of Europe's natural gas comes from Russia through the Ukraine (The Times, December 15, 2005). The recent crisis alerted EU leaders that energy dependence is more than an economic issue—it is also a European security issue (EUobserver.com, January 4, 2006). As Europe looks beyond Russia to secure its energy, the potential for competition and conflict with the United States, Russia and China over the energy resources in the Middle East and around the Caspian Sea will increase (see Daniel 11:40-45; Revelation 9:13-21).
2005—A Record Year of Extreme Weather: "It is not just your imagination. America's weather went wild this year…Extremes were everywhere…It was the third worst year for U.S. extreme-weather events in history…behind only 1998…and 1934" (The Charlotte Observer, December 30, 2005). Britain's Queen Elizabeth also drew attention to extreme weather and other disasters in her year-end message—calling the devastating tsunami that struck countries around the Indian Ocean "one of the worst natural disasters ever recorded…the vicious hurricanes across the Caribbean…the inundation of the city of New Orleans…and the massive earthquake in Pakistan and India" (csmail.compuserve.com). As 2006 begins, floods and landslides plague California, grass fires burn in arid Oklahoma and millions face famine in East Africa (The Charlotte Observer, December 31, 2005). Many of these weather extremes appear related to the growing phenomena of global warming. Jesus said disastrous events would increase as the end of the age approaches (Matthew 24:7-8).
United States—The Axis of Evil? "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Bolivian president-elect Evo Morales met yesterday to consolidate ties between socialist soulmates united in their opposition to Washington…Chavez, who accuses U.S. officials of working to overthrow him, has become one of Washington's most vocal critics and has signed scores of energy and trade deals with South American partners to counter U.S. influences in the region… 'You know who is the axis of evil?' Washington, they are the axis of evil, and their allies in the world who threaten, invade, who kill and assassinate, we are forming an axis of good,' Chavez said" (Jamaica Gleaner [online], January 4, 2006). The Scriptures have long prophesied that hatred would build against Israelite nations as we approach the end of the age (see Matthew 24:9; Leviticus 26:19). Scott Winnail, Daniel Bennett