After much argument and debate with politicians of every persuasion filling television screens, radio airwaves and newsprint, we have seen a Labour government in the UK elected for a third time. Multiple millions of pounds have been spent on posters, advertisements, meetings, travel and manifestos by the parties and their candidates, as part of the process to persuade a somewhat reluctant and skeptical general British public to vote for them. Each party promised better things in many areas including, among others, the economy, education, health care, crime, law and order, and immigration. The war in Iraq was a negative factor for the government, but they managed to win power in spite of the concerns of many people.

We have long understood that true Christians should not be involved in the political process and should not vote in governmental elections (see Update 76, January 2004), irrespective of circumstances.

We only need to look at any candidate standing in any constituency for any party at any election at any time, and ask ourselves whether they are promoting the true Christian message? Ever since we have been having political elections, it has never happened anywhere, in any age, in any country and at any time. There never seems to be the approach of esteeming others better than self and promoting peace and harmony between candidates. The process is one of employing whatever means possible, including at times an assortment of dirty tricks, to ensure the acquisition of power. And when in power, in spite of their best attempts, not one politician has all the answers to the seemingly insurmountable problems that confront them.

The only solution is the soon coming Kingdom of God, when political election processes will not be an issue any longer. We won’t see any more voting, arguments and counter arguments with fallible human beings in charge of their nations’ affairs. Rather, we will experience an all powerful Jesus Christ ruling in an autocratic but loving way in the best interests of all of earth’s inhabitants.

Mr. Herbert Armstrong summed it up best, when he wrote in his book, “Tomorrow …What It Will Be Like,” on pages 101/102:

“Christ, the King of kings. Perfect in character, absolute in honesty, integrity, faithfulness and trust; filled with outgoing concern for the governed – their welfare and salvation; total knowledge, understanding, wisdom. Complete love, mercy, patience, kindness, compassion, forgiveness. Yet, possessing total power, and never compromising one millionth of an inch with His perfect law – which is the way of love. He will enforce God’s Law – God’s government on earth. He will compel haughty, carnal, rebellious humans to yield in complete submission to God’s government.”

The difference between what is practiced today and what will be the norm in the Kingdom of God is incalculable. And we should be eternally grateful that fallible human beings, however genuine their intentions, will no longer be responsible for any governmental responsibilities. God speed that day!

At one time the world was flat, the Sun rotated around the earth and there were only 7 other planets in this solar system. Men of renown based their calculations on these “facts” and wrote down these and other observations as absolutes. Later, we became smarter and figured out that these “facts” were not to be set in stone.

Then came Einstein, considered to be one of the most brilliant minds of all time, who came up with his famous theory of E=mc2. In this equation c stands for CONSTANT and that constant is the speed of light upon which many other conclusions relied. Now there are scientists that say the speed of light is slowing down and they say they have evidence to prove it.

In the scientific community there is the necessity to have absolutes around which theories, laws, knowledge and ultimately science can be built. Yet new generations bring better precision which refines or even changes what has been held as absolute truth.

It seems, based on past experience, that we can not rely on the absolutes and truths that man has been able to extrapolate empirically. What then can we rely on?

The one absolute that we can use as a foundation for building our life upon, the one absolute that is not going to change is God. God and His Word are the same YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW. We read: “I the Lord change not” (Malachi 3:6); and that “there is no variation or shadow of turning” with God (James 1:17).

Even if man could explain his existence accurately, there is no assurance that it will always be that way. Even though the universe will change, God won’t (Psalm 102:25-27). Man does not have the ability to control the environment like the One who created it. God is the only One that CAN be and is absolute.

This being the case, God and His Word should be our foundation, our beginning, and our basis for life. We can rely on EVERY word in the Bible and WE SHOULD (Matthew 4:4). We can not rely on anything else, because everything else will perish along with those that believe in it and follow after it (Proverbs 14:12).

This week, we have been observing God’s Spring Festival Season picturing the requirements of God that we come out of sin — that we eliminate sin from our lives! Of course, we understand we must come to the place where we realize our need for an unleavened attitude in our lives 365 days of the year.

God speaks to us through Moses in Deuteronomy 10:12, where he asks: “What does the LORD require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?”

If we can truly say that this requirement of the eternal God is our desire, and if we are truly working on fulfilling this requirement in our lives each day God blesses us with the gift of life, then we are surely in the process of fulfilling the meaning of these Days of Unleavened Bread!

How diligently do we pursue this requirement of our God? Suppose Jesus had approached His responsibility to become the “perfect sacrifice” in a manner similar to many of us, the “called out” brethren? Of course, since His desire was in pleasing the Father and in providing a way for you and me, even as weak as we are, to become qualified for the Kingdom, Christ never let up for a second in opposing all of the attacks Satan and this world put on Him.

We understand that we owe the possibility of inheriting eternal life to the fact that He was always wholehearted in achieving the responsibility He so graciously accepted. How often do we think of our obligation to God and Christ and to our fellow servants in Christ when we find ourselves being overcome with petty grievances and misunderstandings with one another — because of just plain self-righteousness.

Once this type of attitude takes hold, the tendency is to then begin accusing one another and judging one another, and allowing anger and frustration to consume our thoughts and our minds, and to begin pulling away from our brethren! We know at such a time our actions should rightly be to drop to our knees and ask our God for repentance for such ungodly conduct. But many times we allow our anger and frustration to take hold and this attitude becomes prolonged to the point of continual sin against our God and our brethren.

These are the Days of Unleavened Bread. We are to be concentrating on getting such sinful thoughts and acts out of our lives. We all understand that sin begins in the mind and, therefore, it is in the mind where we need to begin rooting the sin out!

Let us draw near to our God during these days and let us ask Him for His help in our effort to achieve the desire of our hearts — to be obedient to Him!

Several years ago, I saw an interesting movie. Its real message wasn’t evident until the last three minutes. It involved a man with two sons who, over the years, because of major issues between the two sons, had drifted apart.

The man who lived on the west coast was the owner of an automobile on the east coast which needed to be driven to his new residence. This was no ordinary car. It was a beautiful fully restored older vehicle — I believe, a Cadillac — and it looked just like a new car. He asked his eldest son to pick up the car with his younger brother.

As the two young men drove five days across the nation, they got into all kinds of problems. They were bickering at first because of the animosity between them, but it slowly changed. By the third day, the younger brother got into a squabble with a few other men at a bar, and the older brother came to his rescue. They had to flee the scene with their dad’s car, and they were chased by the other men, resulting in damage to the car — scratches on the paint job and dents in the fender.

However, the brothers had finally developed a deep bond for each other. When they arrived at the west coast, the eldest brother went alone to deliver the car to his dad. He knocked at the door with a bit of fear and trepidation. The father came out, walked towards his car, and the son was very apologetic about the damage on the car. To his complete surprise the father said: “Never mind the car, how was the trip with your brother?” The eldest son indicated it went well and that although it started off a bit rough, they had bonded as brothers. The only reply from the father was: “That’s great, that’s just great.”

The father died from cancer three months later, and that’s when the eldest son realized why the father wasn’t concerned about his restored car as much as the relationship between the brothers. To the father, the relationship between the two of them was more important than the car, as he did not want to die while there were bad feelings between his sons.

This movie reminded me of Matthew 5:23-24, where we read: “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

We are keeping the Passover on Friday night. How is our relationship with God and with our brethren? Have we reconciled with God, since it is His law that we transgress when we sin, and reconciliation is through the blood of His beloved Son Jesus Christ? Passages such as 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, and Romans 5:10-11 make this very clear.

Christ, as our elder brother, was willing to die for our sins so we could be reconciled to God. In this life we can get caught up in the physical things and get our focus on wrong and unimportant matters. However, we read what is really important, in 1 John 4:7-11:

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born [better: begotten] of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

The Passover season is a time to get focused on the important things and to be truly reconciled to God and, as much as depends on us, to our brethren, with the realization that reconciliation through the sacrifice of Christ is far more important than anything else.

So let us keep this Passover with a deep feeling of appreciation for the sacrifice which Christ made for all of us.

In spite of our best efforts, problems do arise. There are many issues that are within our control, and it is a point of personal character to be responsible in these areas. For instance, preparation for the future is our duty. If we acquire a good education and career skills, we are able to direct our lives from a position of strength.

Notice how God teaches us in this regard: “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, Which, having no captain, Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest…” (Proverbs 6:6-8). The lesson here is to be motivated to recognize the need and to be ready.

This same principle applies in our relationship with God. Right now, we who are Christians must be building for the future–both for the events of our own lifetimes and for the opportunities God has promised relative to eternal life. In order to do that, we will need help, and the way for us to prepare is found in James 4:8: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…”

For our part, this kind of relationship with God takes constant effort. It is far too easy for us to get caught up in the moment and to relegate our contact with God to second or third place–or to no place at all! Time passes us by, and we suddenly wake up to the fact that our lives are unraveling with problems on every side.

When things go wrong in our lives, what should we do?

Our answer is to seek God with all of our heart, and to put God first in our lives by turning to Him in humility and repentance! We have the record of nations and individuals who have taken this approach, and we see how merciful and loving God is toward those who obey Him in this way.

We find this assurance from God–a way out for us when things do go wrong: “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).

Have you ever had someone respond to you, by saying: “but I think…”, followed by a lengthy explanation of his or her personal opinion?

It happens all the time, doesn’t it? And far too often, it occurs in areas in which the person you are talking with has absolutely no expertise and experience — whether it is in the field of business, law, education — or, of course, religion.

Especially when focusing on the true worship of God, everybody seems to have an opinion — and many times, it is “THE one and only correct position.” Far too often, it is something comparatively negligible which has become THE issue of salvation in the person’s mind. But God is not interested at all in your or my OPINION — He does not care what WE may think — and neither should we.

When God calls us to His way of life, He expects us to give up OUR opinions and replace them with the way GOD thinks.

Notice what God tells those who believe that they are wise and full of understanding: “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile” (1 Corinthians 3:20). Paul even remarks: “And if anyone thinks that he knows anything [especially something “new” which only he or she is able to “see”], he knows nothing yet as he ought to know” (1 Corinthians 8:2).

But this is not what the human mind wants to hear. Rather, we are, so often, far too anxious to justify our thoughts to God — or His true ministers — rather than taking a deep breath, stepping back, and considering whether our thoughts are futile or vain in the eyes of God.

Notice Paul’s question in Romans 9:20: “But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God?” The scribes and Pharisees at the time of Christ have become known to us as those who seemed to be always ready to argue with God. We find this telling report in Luke 5:22: “But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, ‘Why are you reasoning in your hearts?'” Christ had just forgiven the sins of a sick person (verse 20), but “the scribes and Pharisees began to reason, saying, ‘…Who can forgive sins but God alone?'” (verse 21). They were suffering from the typical “but I think”- syndrome. They did not agree with what Christ was doing or saying. But rather than submitting to God, replacing their thoughts and opinions with the mind of God, they began to reason and justify their own positions. They should have done, however, what Paul tells us to do in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty IN GOD for… casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every THOUGHT into captivity to the obedience of Christ…”

Even members in God’s Church have to be careful not to embrace the “but I think”-approach, which clouds Godly understanding. Maybe, we don’t openly argue with God, but what about arguing with God’s true ministry, when they teach and expound to us the Word of God or Godly principles? Let’s notice Hosea’s warning to all of us today: “Now let no man contend, or rebuke another; For your people are like those who contend with the priest. Therefore you shall stumble in the day…” (Hosea 4:4-5).

Next time, when we are tempted to say, “but I think…”, let’s reconsider and ask the right question instead: “What does GOD think?”

Over the last several decades, the institution of marriage has come under intense pressure as more and more people, both young and old alike, have opted for co-habiting. My wife and I have just celebrated our ruby (40th) wedding anniversary. Over the years of our marriage we have seen the unfortunate changes in society where a more selfish and ungodly approach has become the norm. Unfortunately, many who do get married don’t remain in that God-ordained union.

At present, most of Britain’s 42 million adults are married, but the Government Actuary’s Department predicts that the British society will change significantly over the next two decades. By 2011, just 46% of women and 48% of men will be married in Britain.

Divorce statistics are very revealing. In the UK in 1961, there were 27,000 divorces and yet, 41 years later, in 2002, the figure has risen to 160,000. In the United States, in 1999 there were 8.4 marriages and 4.2 divorces per 1,000 total population, and in the year 2000, there were 21 million divorces. And now, according to one web site, divorce statistics are no longer collated in America. The rest of the world tends to follow, to one degree or another, these unfortunate trends. These statistics cannot possibly relate the sum total of human suffering that is generated by divorce. Perhaps that is a significant factor, but certainly not the only one, for those opting for co-habitation. A senior counselor at Relate, a UK relationship charity, said that many people cannot see the point of marriage since the loss of tax breaks and better rights for unmarried fathers make co-habitation “more appealing.” And, of course, the religious aspect of marriage no longer seems relevant in an increasingly secular society.

Right at the dawn of civilization, God instructed that “a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife” (Genesis 2:24). There was no instruction for, or acceptance of, co-habitation, which is a state where there is no real evidence of marital commitment and where therefore fornication takes place. We are told to flee fornication (1 Corinthians 6:18).

When my wife and I were married in 1965, we expected our marriage to last until “death do us part” and we still do believe in this. Unfortunately today, it seems that marriage only lasts until the first sign of trouble. Divorce has been made relatively easy and so many don’t seem to want to work through their problems, instead taking what they think is the easier option.

The spiritual application of marriage is totally lost on an ungodly society which simply has little or no interest in the Creator. In Ephesians 5:22-33 we see that the Christian marriage of a husband and wife has a spiritual application to Christ and the Church. This is further confirmed in Revelation 19:7 where we are told that the marriage of the Lamb (Christ) has come and His wife (the Church) has made herself ready.

How sad that humans (seemingly) think that they know better than the One Who created them. As a consequence, they have to endure all of the misery and suffering that is the legacy of ignoring the wise advice freely available in the Bible. Irrespective of changes in society and the development of new cultural norms and attitudes, the institution of marriage between a man and a woman is holy and was created by God.

Everything else is just an ungodly counterfeit.

The book of Romans starts with an endearing introduction (Romans 1:6-13) where Paul tells the recipients of the letter, God’s chosen people, how renowned their faith is in the whole world. Also he tells how he would love nothing more than to come and see them and he prays such. Then Paul, who doesn’t mince words, gets serious right away talking about the way of the sinful, evil and wicked, and the acts that betray them. This is the way chapter 1 ends.

Romans 2:1-3 then comes to the heart of the matter. Here Paul tells them, the ones he regards so highly, that they are doing what they accuse others of doing. This has to cut to the quick. If you can imagine them reading this letter for the first time, they were, no doubt, echoing Paul’s sentiments about the state of the world that they were living in (Romans 1:21-32), that was up to the point that he accused them of doing the same thing. What a shock it must have been for these people called of God, to be compared with those whom God disdains.

The Passover season is now upon us. As we know, it is a time for introspection and self-assessment. Paul has given us some insight into making our efforts a little more profitable. During the course of the year we won’t have many people, if any, come up to us and tell us our faults and sins. So it is up to each one of us to try and take an honest inventory of who and what we are. ONE hint in doing this is to ask ourselves what it is that annoys and irks us in others…and then truthfully look into the mirror and see if we are guilty of what we accuse another. Do we get upset with others because it is a reflection of what we are doing? Is it a means of diverting attention away from the exact same thing that we are doing?

Instead of us being the Pot that calls the Kettle black, let’s realize that when we “point the finger” we need to be cognizant of where the 3 other fingers are pointing.

When Terry Ratzmann entered the rear of the Church hall at a Living Church of God service in Brookfield, Wisconsin, this past Sabbath and began firing his 9mm handgun, unloading 22 rounds from his weapon directed at his Church brethren, the members of the local congregation were stunned and in dismay, as were all members of the Churches of God when they heard of this horrific story. Ratzmann completed his horrifying deed, after having killed seven of his brethren and injuring another four critically, by turning his weapon upon himself and firing his last shot.

There can be no doubt that the true adversary of all of mankind, and especially of God’s Church at this end time, had inspired Ratzmann to carry through with this heinous attack against God’s people. Of course we understand that Satan may well have begun to increase his evil attacks as his time draws short and we approach the end of the time allotted by God for him to carry through with his evil thoughts to destroy all of mankind. In just a few short years now God will restrain Satan’s activities against mankind for 1,000 years and Satan knows this is certain.

Some have asked why God would allow such a thing to happen, especially in the Church. We do know that we are entering that time period when Satan’s evil tactics will increase considerably, compared to what God has allowed him to do in recent years. We are coming down to the end of this present age and God describes the events to befall mankind in great detail in numerous passages throughout His Word relative to Satan’s wrath. We must not lose sight of the fact that Satan is the present ruler over this world (Luke 4:5-7; John 14:30). However, that rulership is coming to an end, and Jesus Christ will soon replace Satan and will sit on the throne of His forefather, David, which has been reserved for His rulership (Luke 1:32-33), and He will rule with power over this world.

In Zechariah 13:8 we are told that after these things come into full force, two-thirds of the people in all the land will have been cut off (destroyed) and that one-third will have had to go through the fire (face severe trials) in order that they might be refined. Zechariah 14:3-4 tells us that in that day the LORD will be going forth to fight and that His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives. The second coming of Christ will occur during a time of great turmoil upon the earth, specifics of which are outlined in Revelation 12:9-17.

We, in the meantime, must be preparing our own lives in order to stand in that day. In speaking to the churches in Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, it is revealed by Jesus Christ that remnants of four of the Churches of God (Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea) may be extant upon the earth during this eventful time revealed as “the time of the end,” as Christ comes to establish rule upon the earth.

Christ’s admonition to three of the groups (Thyatira, Sardis, and Philadelphia) is to “hold fast” to what they have been given. Two of the groups (Sardis and Laodicea) are admonished to repent. Specific promises are given to those who overcome Satan, the flesh, and this present evil world. Christ notes specifically that some, and specifically those of Laodicea, will have to go through further testing and refinement in order to become ready.

In addition to these prophecies, the Scriptures reveal more information relative to Satan’s end-time wrath which is coming to try the whole world, as is noted by Jesus Christ in Revelation 3:10 and in Matthew chapter 24. When we understand all these prophecies as noted here in this Editorial, we realize we all have much work to do in preparation. And added to this is our obligation to get a warning message out to the world and to reveal the good news of the coming Kingdom of God, which will usher in a time of peace and prosperity upon the earth the likes of which no one on earth today has ever seen.

You and I are admonished to be ready, for as Christ reveals in Matthew 24:36, “…of that day and hour no one knows … not even the angels in heaven, but My Father only.”

We must never become discouraged, dear brethren, as these horrific events unfold before us; but let us draw closer to one another and to our God, never letting down our guard. Let us ask our Father for the strength and courage provided to us through His Spirit, and let us do His Will in all things as these times draw to their conclusion. We must never forget Paul’s admonition to the Ephesian Church of his time and to you and me as members of the end-time Church of God:

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10-11).

This question was asked at the end of the Motion Picture, “Saving Private Ryan,” which was released a few years ago, depicting war in a graphic and realistic way. Private Ryan asked this question of his wife in a very emotional way during a visit to a cemetery of World War II soldiers — while the movie camera focused on thousands upon thousands of casualties of war, identified by white crosses.

Private Ryan’s mother used to have three sons. The War Department had already informed the family that two of her sons had been killed in war. When the fate of her third son — Private Ryan — had become uncertain, the War Department sent out a group of soldiers to locate Private Ryan and to bring him home safely. It was felt that losing two sons in war was a sufficient sacrifice for any family. The soldiers who were sent out to locate Private Ryan were all killed in the process of saving him. They sacrificed their lives to save him. This was the reason why he asked his wife whether he had been a good man. Was he really “worthy” enough for the ultimate sacrifice these men had made for him by paying with their lives so that he could live?

The question for us today is this: Have we been a good man or woman in our lives? As in the case of Private Ryan, someone was willing to die for us so that we could live. That Person was a Righteous Man Who was willing to die for our past sins so that we would not have to suffer eternal death. This Righteous Man was more than just an ordinary person; He was our beloved Savior, the God of the Old Testament Who gave up His Divinity to become a Man, so that He could die for us.

When Christ gave His life for us, we were NOT good people. None of us were. In fact, we were His enemies, deceived by the god of this world–Satan the devil–following the carnal lusts of the flesh. We were most certainly not “worthy” to receive the opportunity for eternal life through the Sacrifice of Christ.

But we CAN become good people. It is interesting what Christ said about being a good man in Matthew 12:35: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things.” On another occasion He said: “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). He recognized that it was God the Father, living in Him, Who made Him good. This is true of us also. David said, in Psalm 119:172: “For all your commandments are righteousness.” We too can be righteous if God’s Spirit in us is leading us and we are obedient to His commandments.

Very soon now we will be keeping the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread. This is a special time for us, both to examine ourselves and to work on putting sin out of our lives. While we meditate on these things, let us never forget the tremendous sacrifice Christ made for us, willingly giving up His life as a God being, and subsequently His physical life, to make available to us eternal life. As we reflect on these things set before us, let us ask ourselves the same question which Private Ryan asked: “Have I been a good man?”