From the Editors Desk – August 2019

Throwing Down the Gauntlet

Jory Brooks wrote, “More than ever before, truth is a victim of political correctness today”. How true this is and the decline of membership in the Israel Truth movement around the world is testament to this sad fact. Many have passed to their reward, it’s true, but many have just given up, thinking “How can we defeat the forces of those who have succumbed to a new reality and have Christ and Christianity on the ropes”. In the mode of the great Scottish poet, Robert Burns, we at ACP throw down this challenge:

Soldier on, True Israel, though your ranks be small
Apostasy seeks triumph, but you are not yet slain
Tis time to energize yourselves, no matter your age
To take up pen, or phone, and spread His Truth

In Vancouver, we have a 99-year-old lady, soon to be 100, who takes every opportunity to sow the seeds of truth. Often it falls on deaf ears, but the seed is sown. And she does not quit, but soldiers on because she knows that, as Psalm 126:5 dictates, “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy”.

God will bless your efforts.

We Have Work to Do

As if to emphasize the importance of reaching out, we received this note from a long-time reader who refers to our work, but also yours. He wrote, “I think that as the general situation gets worse, your (our) work is more important than ever”.

His words should not fall on deaf ears because the world situation is getting worse, almost weekly. Remember, we are a part of the world and we must wake up every morning knowing that it is another opportunity to be a servant of God and preach His Word.

The Rutabaga Analogy

We received a letter from a studious Alberta Christian. He wrote: “A part of my life is growing and selling rutabagas at the Farmers’ Market. I have made a habit of this since the 1980’s. Until recently, my challenge here in Alberta has been worrisome. In my younger years in Ontario, I had no problem, but here in Alberta, worms attack the outsides, and make the rutabagas hard to sell. So, I tried working with wood ashes around the plant, that process showed some progress, but this year, I sowed the seed right in the wood ashes, and I have managed to grow smooth skin rutabagas. As I was thinking of the various steps I undertook, it occurred to me that I had the same problem in the garden, as God has with the people on earth. Of course, He has a greater task with us people, but when we examine His soon return, we can see he is beginning to weed out HIS Garden. He’s using different methods, but weather is one. I think he is tired of our disobedience and the natural disasters around the Israel nations, fire, floods, earthquakes, etc. are a sign of His disapproval. Don’t think they are normal, because they threaten to take countless lives. Why is nobody listening?”

Falling Under Punishment

Reflecting upon the above three paragraphs, one would be hard-pressed to miss seeing the punishment that God is inflicting upon us these days for our not observing and doing all the commandments He set out. An early National Message writer, known only to us today as L.T.F. wrote a short paragraph on the seventy years’ captivity of Judah, how their leaders and people alike were falling into idolatry, despising God’s Word, and scoffing at those who proclaimed His message. Sadly, it’s the same today.

LTF began his comments by quoting the last line of 2 Chronicles 36:16, Till there was no remedy, the entire verse worded, “But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy”.

Thanks, LTF! And it is true when you added, “Are there anywhere in the whole Bible five words full of such pathetic despair”?

Perhaps if each of us can follow the suggestion in the opening paragraph of this column, we might be able to lead a few of our brethren back to the truth and lift the pathetic despair. Who knows! Those we individually reach may reach others and we will all be joined hand in hand when that wonderful day arrives when the Lord Jesus Christ returns and invites us to His Kingdom.