Greetings from Charlotte,
Mr. Jacob Hall will be leaving a hole in our television editing staff where he has served as the senior editor for several years. He will be taking up a new responsibility as a ministerial trainee in Canada. The Canadian office is looking forward to welcoming Mr. Hall and his family the last week of this month. In other Canadian news, we are pleased to announce that Mr. Herbert Ellis of Calgary has been hired full-time in the ministry and will be serving the congregations of southern Alberta.
This week’s video update gives the latest news regarding our members in Haiti and South Africa. While they face significant challenges, our Haitian brethren report that they are safe and have food and water, but they cannot travel at this time for Sabbath services and must rely on meeting electronically. We do not at this time have an update on our Burma brethren, but suffice it to say that they, and some other members around the world, need our prayers. And let us remember that individual members everywhere are facing personal health and other serious problems. We are happy to have good news to report from east Africa, however, which is that they have had a good harvest this year and have not been threatened by locusts.—Gerald Weston
Church Administration
Tomorrow’s World Presentations
Last week we held seven Tomorrow’s World Presentations that drew a total of 120 guests. This week we are scheduled to hold ten TWPs: six follow-up presentations and four initial events.
As was mentioned in Mr. Weston’s member video update, since the first TWP in March of 2006, we have held 1,778 presentations worldwide. These presentations have drawn a total of 36,945 visitors. One of the most encouraging results of the TWP effort is people who begin attending services after attending a TWP. Since we started keeping track in 2021, more than 230 people have begun attending services as a result of the Tomorrow’s World Presentations. Thank you to everyone for your continued prayers and support of the Tomorrow’s World Presentations.
Feast of Tabernacles
Ministerial Feast Survey—Repeat Announcement
All ministers should have received an email from Headquarters giving you the link and instructions to complete the Ministerial Feast Survey. Please be sure to fill out this form, even if you plan to attend your assigned site. The deadline is March 29. If you did not receive this email, contact Tyler Wayne at [email protected].
Comments
The Value of Counsel: One of the common pitfalls of life is trusting in our own judgment when we only see part of the picture—the part that we want to see. This is why Solomon wrote in Proverbs 3:5, “lean not on your own understanding,” and in Proverbs 3:7, “Do not be wise in your own eyes,” and again in Proverbs 28:26, “He who trusts in his own heart is a fool.” Solomon also wrote in Proverbs 11:14, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” We can obtain wise counsel and valuable advice by prayerfully studying the book of Proverbs and by seeking counsel from parents, the ministry, and more experienced friends and associates who can be objective and help us see a bigger perspective than we perceive on our own. A wise and caring counselor will also tell us what we may not want to hear (Proverbs 27:17). God is a loving Father who wants us to succeed, and that is why He inspired the book of Proverbs. The coming Days of Unleavened Bread is a time for self-examination. Let’s ask God to help us see what we need to see about ourselves so we can grow to be more like our Father.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—March 21, 2024
Nigerian School Children Kidnapped: Two weeks ago, over 250 children, teachers, and staff were kidnapped from a school in northwestern Nigeria (The Guardian, March 7, 2024). The event occurred so quickly that authorities did not arrive until the kidnappers had departed. This attack followed an abduction of 200 women and children by extremist groups, also in northern Nigeria. Mass kidnappings are not new to Nigeria, but these recent events illustrate how the nation’s security situation continues to deteriorate. Nigeria’s president was elected a year ago promising to end violence but has been unable to achieve this goal.
Last week, the kidnappers made a telephone call to a local government official demanding a ransom of one billion naira (about $620,000) in exchange for those kidnapped (Reuters, March 13, 2024). The ransom per person, more than $2,000, exceeds the average per capita income in Nigeria. The deadline to receive the ransom is 20 days from the kidnapping. If it is not paid, kidnappers have threatened to kill their hostages. Government security forces are working to secure the release of the prisoners without paying the ransom.
In Nigeria’s failing economy, the strong and ruthless are seeking to make a profit by preying on the weak. This inhumane act was perpetrated by godless people. Kidnapping is an action God detests and clearly condemns in His word, assigning an extreme punishment to those who commit it (Deuteronomy 24:7). One day soon Christ will return to the earth and enforce His perfect “law of liberty” around the globe (James 1:25). That law will outlaw stealing—theft of either goods or people. May that day come quickly! To learn more about this encouraging future read “When Tomorrow Becomes Today.”
Pro-Life Students Face Threats: Today there is growing hatred for anyone or anything that reflects biblical morality. ITV recently reported on an incident that reflects that trend, an unhinged protest against a meeting of pro-life students at the University of Manchester in the UK (Catholic Herald, March 2, 2024). As the students walked to the meeting room, a hostile crowd of about 250 protesters reportedly threw eggs at the building and attacked the pro-life students with verbal abuse and threats, according to the report. Protesting students chanted “Shame on you!” and, according to some accounts, spat at some pro-life supporters and told one first-year student they hoped she would “get raped.” The charged atmosphere moved police to physically escort the meeting students into and out of the building for their safety.
A heavily pregnant woman was transported home by police for fear of injury. She said that trying to leave the building through the angry crowd was the “most terrifying part,” and that “we were surrounded and people were screaming in our faces. I knew that it would only take one person to push into me for me to fall and be crushed. It was traumatic, I was shaking the whole time and I’m still really shaken up. I really thought our lives were in danger. The crowd was extremely violent—spitting, throwing eggs, screaming and swearing.”
There is a spiritual component to these protests! As Western societies once undergirded to at least some degree by biblical values flee those same values, we see more of the “works of the flesh” becoming evident. Galatians 5 records these characteristics, such as hatred, contention, wrathful outbursts, even a murderous spirit (vv. 19–21). These characteristics reflect none other than the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4). As history approaches the return of Jesus Christ, we should expect such behaviors to intensify. But Jesus Christ will soon return as the Prince of Peace. To learn more about what to expect in the future, read or listen to Armageddon and Beyond.—Scott Winnail and Francine Prater