World news is bad news—wars, disease epidemics, acts of violence, political turmoil–these are the kind of reports we read and hear about. It is the unavoidable reality of our time.

Added to this are countless conspiracy theories of alien invaders, poisonous chemtrails, secret ruling societies and a host of other troubling or suspiciously fabricated rumors about occurrences happening around the world. Separating truth from fiction is a daunting challenge.

Yet, there is a true message of real hope being given! It is identified in the Bible as the “gospel.” It is the same news Jesus Christ proclaimed as noted in Mark 1, verse 15, when He said, “‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’”

The word, gospel, is derived from a Greek transliteration, euaggelion, meaning “good news.” The Church of God has carried forward the preaching of the gospel. It is a message about God’s Kingdom being established on the earth. It forecasts the end of bad news and promises a time of unending peace, joy and eternal life:

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’ Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful’” (Revelation 21:1-5).

This good news has been written in advance to strengthen us, “upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). Our challenge is to see through the darkness that now surrounds us and to continually look forward to the future God has promised:

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

The good news is that God’s Kingdom is coming—very soon!

During the 2008 presidential campaign in the USA, one candidate ran on the slogan of “Hope and Change.” Since his election and now almost eight years later, most people feel there is no hope and things have only changed for the worse.

There is a physiological effect that happens to people when they lose hope. I read a story several years ago about two people lost in the wilderness in winter time. The difference between the one who died and the one who survived was that the survivor never gave up hope.

Once hope is gone, a sinking feeling of despair sets in, which might even lead to losing the will to live.

In 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, the apostle Paul lists the many things he had to suffer through:

“Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.”

Just what was it that drove him in the sense that he would endure all this hardship without throwing in the towel? He gives us the answer in the book of Acts:

“Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?” (Acts 26:8).

“I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust” (Act 24:15).

“But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, ‘Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!’” (Act 23:6).

Notice, Paul had hope in God that there would be a resurrection of the just, and it is clear that that hope drove him on to endure his suffering. It also gave him focus and vision to endure to the end.

It clearly states in the Scriptures that there is a persecution of the saints coming, including martyrdom (Revelation 12:17; Matthew 24:9). These are sobering prospects which we must not deny.  Some will be saved from persecution and martyrdom, while others will have to go through them (Revelation 12:6, 14).

What will make the difference in being able to endure whatever God decides is best for us to make it into His Family? It is to never lose hope and to keep our focus and vision on the hope of the resurrection.

We must never give up that hope! It will carry us through tough times and enable us to stand before the Son of Man in the Kingdom of God.

The referendum in the UK on whether to leave or remain in the European Union took place on June 23^rd.  The following day it was announced that the Brexit (Leave) campaign had won the day.   You might have been forgiven for thinking that that was that; the vote taken and the decision reached, but what followed was astonishing.

David Cameron, the Prime Minister, resigned, and five candidates put their names forward to replace him.   This was soon whittled down to two, with one of those two pulling out of a two horse race which would have been over a couple of months.   This left Theresa May as the leader of the Conservative Party and new Prime Minister.  Within a couple of days, Mr Cameron had left 10 Downing Street with Mrs May the new incumbent.   Reports on BBC news stated that one of Mr Cameron’s greatest achievements was the introduction of same-sex marriage and made great play on this aspect of his term in office.   In his last Prime Minister’s Question Time in the House of Commons, a comment was made that he should be congratulated on equalising “marriage” in the country.   Mr Cameron stated that 30,000 same-sex people had married since the introduction of this practice.   The God of the Bible states in His Word that such practices are an abomination, which is hardly a ringing endorsement of Mr Cameron’s so called “achievement”.

Nigel Farage resigned as leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), having achieved his long-held goal of helping to get the UK out of the EU, and other leading lights of the Brexit campaign also disappeared from the front line.

Meanwhile, the Labour party, which only 6 years ago was the party in government, became engulfed in their own civil war.   Their leader, Jeremy Corbyn, had a vote of “no confidence” in him, passed by 172 of his MP’s with only 40 supporting him.   There is now to be a leadership contest which may have serious repercussions on that party, whichever way the vote goes.

In addition, the seven-year enquiry findings into the Iraq war, conducted by Sir John Chilcot, was finally revealed.   “The Week” stated: “Crucially, the committee concluded (Tony) Blair had exaggerated the threat posed by Iraq – and in doing so, critics say, deliberately misled MPs into voting in favour of the invasion.”   There is, and has been for a long time, a groundswell of opinion which is highly unfavourable towards Mr Blair over the Iraq war.   This matter is unlikely to go away anytime soon.

All of the above happened in a 2½ week period!   It was lightning fast, and there is a lesson for all members of the Church of God in this.   For nearly 2,000 years, Christians have been looking forward to the return of Christ to this earth, but every date suggested so far has been wrong.   This can promote a mind set that we may still have quite a bit of time left, but indications now are that the time may be close to Christ’s return.   And things can happen quickly if it is God’s will.

We have seen an amazing series of events compressed into an 18-day period and the fall-out and repercussions will be seen and felt in the UK for some time to come; particularly, as the country removes itself from the EU – something that the Church of God had forecast many years ago and now it has come to pass.   In addition, it will probably not be the last time that momentous events can happen so quickly.   We may well have had a preview of things to come, and now is not the time for spiritual slumber.

Let us continually remember Luke 21:36: “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”   It may be much sooner than many people think!

I had a friend in college who liked to say that “nothing is hard, but some things take more time.” It doesn’t take a whole lot of effort to find counter-examples to this aphorism, but I still find it to be a helpful reminder when encountering things that appear to be big and difficult to deal with. When we approach difficult challenges by taking one step at a time, and breaking down big jobs into tiny tasks, this statement becomes true. Huge accomplishments are made by taking incremental steps. For example, the goal of writing a book might be a daunting task for most people. Yet, books are only collections of chapters, chapters are collections of paragraphs, paragraphs are collections of sentences, sentences are collections of words, and words are collections of letters. And even preschoolers can put a few letters together. Big things that cannot be handled in their entirety tend to be merely an accumulation of many little things that can be easily handled piece by piece.

The life of a Christian involves setting our sights on the difficult and challenging way of life, which is so contrary to the common ways of the world. Jesus Christ provides us with some great advice on how to set our life’s goals in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Truly, living a life that is completely obedient to God is extremely difficult, and even impossible to do without the Holy Spirit of God working within us. Yet, this is what Christians are called to do. We are called to live a life that rejects the carnal nature of being human, which leads to sin, and choose instead to continuously increase in godly obedience. This is such a difficult thing to do, that only one man has ever been able to be successful in this task, without ever making a mistake!

If we are doomed to fail in our endeavor to live a life without sin, why would we want to choose such a difficult path? Why would we even try? The answer is that it is the only way to reach the goal of living an eternal life in God’s Family. As Jesus says, it is the only way that leads to life. The gift of life, and the reward for our efforts invested now, are promised to have value beyond anything imaginable. With this in mind, we should not ask ourselves why we should bother living a difficult life; but rather, why would we choose to give up such a great opportunity when God is faithful to grant us success? (compare 1 Corinthians 1:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:3). Yes, the Christian life is inherently difficult, but worth it in the end.

Knowing that we are called to live a life that is difficult, what do we need to do to equip ourselves to endure until the time of judgment? The answer is that we need to keep our focus on our ultimate goal, and conduct our lives by taking care of the little things. If a life of complete faithful obedience to the Christian way of life is our goal, the opportunities that are presented to us in each immediate moment are where we take action. We can only really work on what’s within our grasp.

Even though it is helpful to us in a practical way to do the work of our lives in little pieces, there’s more to it. These little things are where we will be judged as well. In Luke 16:10 we are reminded, “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.” The little things that we encounter day by day are never too small to pay attention to. They matter a great deal. God very seriously considers how we take care of matters that might seem insignificant to us. How we work with them is an indicator of how we’ll handle the big responsibilities that are promised to us as a reward. Do we act dismissively towards the matters that are “too insignificant” to treat with godly reverence? Or do we consider that each moment is our chance to score another incremental victory in our calling to overcome sin? We must focus on the little victories if we want to claim the big one.

There is no doubt that living a life as a convicted Christian is a difficult challenge to take on. But is it too hard? Absolutely not! When we take the time and effort to live a Christian life with each moment, this seemingly impossible task of overcoming sin will become a tremendous success.

Prophetic developments are speeding up. The Brexit; a rigged political system in the USA;Donald Trump’s rising popularity; new presidential elections in Austria; attempts to establish a United States of Europe and to create a European army; increasing terrorist attacks and wars all over the world; terrible weather conditions; the spread of immorality; the preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom of God in all the world as a witness…  the list of significant biblical events seems to be endless.

Jesus Christ told us that we must observe the signs of the times, which would indicate to us when His return is near (Matthew 24:32-33; Luke 21:29-31).

However, some engage in unfounded speculations. They feel that there must be first a seven-year contract between the “beast” (a military leader) and other nations (the candidates for those other nations vary; some claim it would be Arab nations; then they say it would be the State of Israel; and finally, they even think it could be a combination of Israel and Arab countries). They are also waiting for the arrival of a “king of the south,” “a Mahdi,” who is supposed to unite Arab nations under his lead. Or they wait for the appearance of a red heifer as a “necessary step” towards building a third temple.

Interestingly enough, the Bible does not predict any of this. For instance, there is no prophetic requirement for a seven-year contract. But following their misguided concept, even IF the “beast” would arrive in 2016 and such a treaty would still occur within that year, Christ could not come back prior to 2023. At the same time, we are NOT suggesting either that Christ WILL come back within less than seven years.

The truth is, we do NOT know when Christ will return (Matthew 24:42). Even He does not know; and neither do the angels (Mark 13:32). It is within the Father’s SOLE prerogative, authority and discretion to DECIDE when that time has arrived (Acts 1:7).

It is so important that we do not lose focus. As we have preached time and again, we must live in a way that we are always spiritually ready for Christ’s return (Matthew 24:44). (After all, we could die tonight, and we had better be ready when we die). At the same time, we are to live our lives as if we had many more years ahead of us. Over the centuries, many Christians made the big mistake of giving up God’s Way of Life when their expectancy of Christ’s return at a given date did not materialize; or they ceased from fulfilling their physical responsibilities for themselves and others (including their children), thinking that because Christ would come back soon, they did not have to prepare anymore for the future.

Christ gave us many admonitions, showing that we must continue with our physical duties until the very end, while of course never neglecting our spiritual obligations.

Christ said that the servant is blessed whom his master, when he comes, will find him doing his job (Matthew 24:46). He told us that two will be in the field, apparently working, while one is taken, and the other one is left behind (Matthew 24:40). He told us that two women will be grinding at the mill, when one is taken and one is left behind (Matthew 24:41).

He told us to use the talents and abilities which God gave us; rather than hiding them (Matthew 25:24-30).

Paul gives us the timeless command to work when we want to eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Proverbs 21:25 tells us that the “desire of the lazy man kills him, For his hands refuse to labor,” and Proverbs 31:27 adds that the “virtuous woman” “does not eat the bread of idleness.” We are given the timeless truth that a good person will leave an inheritance for his children and grandchildren (Proverbs 13:22; compare 2 Corinthians 12:14), and that he will help his needy parents (Mark 7:9-13). These are ONGOING obligations, and there is no time limit for these commands. Rather, we are told that WHATEVER our hands find to do, we must do it with all of our might (Ecclesiastes 9:10; compare also Ecclesiastes 11:1, 6).

We must never make the mistake of trying to predict the exact time of Christ’s return, or to invent man-made prerequisites which “must” be fulfilled first. We must never cease from fulfilling our physical obligations, because of our personal conviction that Christ will return very soon. We are not to worry about the future with anxious thoughts. Rather, we are to seek God’s Kingdom and God’s righteousness first (Matthew 6:25-34), but if we fail to fulfill our physical responsibilities, we have become worse than an unbeliever and have denied the faith (compare 1 Timothy 5:8). If we develop a mentality of thinking, “Now is not the time,” then this will surely contribute to our spiritual and physical downfall.

History has been made and prophecy is being fulfilled before our eyes.  A week before the June 23, 2016, referendum in Great Britain, I was asked by someone I know, who is not in the church, what I thought about the Brexit and if the United Kingdom would vote to stay or leave the EU.  I answered him, saying that I believe they will decide to leave, if not on June 23, then sometime in the future, although I hinted at the great possibility that it would happen on June 23.  He didn’t necessarily agree with me and then brought up all kinds of explanations for his belief that they would vote to stay.

A day before the referendum, he asked me again if I thought that the Brexit would happen, but now he added if I would “bet on it.”  I gave him the same answer, and this time I added the reason why I was so convinced that they would ultimately leave, without placing a bet, as it would prove to be an unfair outcome on his end.  Since I knew that he didn’t really believe in the Bible, I told him what I believed and that based on biblical prophecy, the UK leaving the EU would happen.  However, it wouldn’t end there.  I explained to him that out of the present EU, very powerful core European countries would emerge. He also wondered how the stock market would be affected, and I merely responded to be prepared.

What we in the church have been saying for years is coming to fruition, and we have been able to back it up BECAUSE we understand biblical prophecy.  We have produced videos, messages and literature for many years, warning about Great Britain leaving the EU and ten European countries or groups of nations emerging that will unify and become militarily strong (compare Daniel 2:42). These ten nations or groups of nations will only rule for a short time, and they will give their power and authority to a charismatic political personage – the “beast” (Revelation 17:12-13), who will also work together with a religious figure, called “the false prophet.” Our free booklet, “The Ten European Revivals of the Ancient Roman Empire,” explains all of this in great detail.

Now that we see more and more how prophetic situations are developing in the world, we must ask ourselves just how prepared we are, for we are accountable for ourselves and others. Do we have our priorities straight or are we “delaying” the return of Christ?  Would we be ready if the great tribulation was to occur very soon, or do we need to make changes so we can be counted worthy to escape all these terrible events that will occur during the great tribulation?  Are we close enough to God and do we place Him first?  These are important questions that we need to ask ourselves because the future is also dependent on us!

People who don’t know the truth and who don’t understand biblical prophecy and the actual significance of what is happening now in the world, will be caught off guard, as more and more prophetically described events start to take place in the near future.  We, however, who KNOW the truth and who UNDERSTAND what the Bible is saying, MUST continue to be on guard, for Christ warns that “if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you” (Revelation 3:3).  Paul also expounds upon this in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-10 where he says, “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.  For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.  You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.  Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.  For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.  But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.  For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.”

Interesting times are indeed ahead of us, and we are witnessing “a change in the making.”  We must continue to watch and pray always that we “may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36).

What happens when your life is repeatedly moving into a different direction than where you want it to be—when you expect to find answers and more questions appear? Have you ever wished you could see into the future and be able to navigate through life’s ups and downs?

As human beings, we constantly make plans and try to affect the outcome of our lives for the best. We are always trying to come up with the right solutions for our problems and seeking answers. As long as humans have been here, this has been the case. It is easy to become distracted by our own wants, desires and ambitions. It is easy to get caught up in concentrating on ourselves while missing the fact that our lives hold such importance for all of us.

Do we believe that God the Father and Jesus Christ have seen us before time began? Do we accept that the words we read in our Bibles are true? If so, then we need to read and come to fully understand and put into practice what we claim to believe. First we read in Ephesians 2:10 that we are “created in Jesus Christ…” We have been given a new hold on life (also note 2 Corinthians 5:17-18). But this verse doesn’t just stop there. It continues: “… for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” The primary object here is that we should be living our lives in a holy way. This is explained so many times. Romans 6:4 tells us that we are called to “newness of life.” Ephesians 1:4 says that we have been chosen “before the foundation of the world” to be “holy and without blame.” God prepares beforehand for each of us particular good works, and the time and way which He sees best. By His providence, God brings about opportunities for good works, and makes us ready for their performance (John 15:16; 2 Timothy 2:21). He wants us to walk in them—not to “be saved” by them. Works do not justify, but a just man works (Galatians 5:22-25).

So how do we accomplish this goal, when life is throwing rocks at us left and right—when everything seems stacked against us? Does it seem then that God really cares? Does He answer us at all?

There can only be one answer!

God dares us to do something in Malachi 3:10. This passage involves the aspect of tithing. Also think about other areas of our lives. The principle of this Scripture applies in so many ways. God says: “… try Me NOW in this.” Don’t wait until it is convenient. Try it out and see if it works, if I won’t bless you for tithing. What if we took this challenge and applied it to bible study; prayer; meditation; helping out at Church services; volunteering time and effort to help promote the Word of God; in any situation, really.

These are ALL areas where we can apply this challenge. God wants to see the character that develops in us as we go through trials, while applying and being obedient to His rules and laws. If we do this, then God tells us in 2 Corinthians 9:8 that if we have good works then He can and will bless us. But if we think that we will be blessed at all times without having to grow spiritually, then there is still much to learn.

James 4:17 equates the good or evil that we do with the life that we choose to live. Notice, it says that everyone should seek the Lord’s Will. However, this is not just a one-time occurrence. Rather, it applies consistently, as it does with tithing or any of the above-mentioned activities. We don’t pray just one time for something and when nothing happens decide that we stop praying because God didn’t answer. Instead, it is just the opposite. We are commanded to pray “always” (Ephesians 6:18) and “without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). If we fail to study God’s Word and pray for His help, how can He answer? Do we see the waterfall effect if we start failing in one area?

Consistency has to be our key—consistency in doing the right thing. We must have consistency in faith that God knows what is best for our individual situations; knowing that He will allow tests and trials to see where we stand in respect to our desire to have a relationship with Him. How can we expect God to answer if we half-heartedly go through the steps and motions of bible study and prayer? Psalm 23 lays out David’s deep respect and love for God and his relationship with God. Notice in this chapter the day-to-day reliance David had on God. He equated EVERYTHING as coming from God. He constantly was evaluating his life and seeking God’s Will in everything he did. He did this so he could come to the point where he would be able to see more clearly God’s point of view on things. And for this, God loved David dearly.

This is the type of reliance we need to establish in our relationship with God if we want to understand our lives better and where we are headed. Without this type of reliance and consistency on our part, we will be lost as to where we are on a daily basis. We will lose sight of what it is that God is trying to accomplish with each of us.

Try God! Put Him first in everything—in prayer, in thought, in deed and in action. If we start developing this mindset in our lives, dramatic changes in our thoughts and attitudes will occur, and God will be able to use us more easily because we seek His Will.

In late July of 2013, a hiker by the name of Geraldine Largay disappeared off the Appalachian Trail. She had completed over 1000 miles of the 2168 mile Appalachian route. While searching commenced within days of her not reaching a waypoint, the emergency responders never located Geraldine. In October of 2015, a forester located a body which was later identified as Geraldine. According to a journal and unsent text messages, Geraldine survived 22 days after becoming lost. Before succumbing to hypothermia, she wrote in her journal, “When you find my body, please call my husband George and my daughter Kerry.”

Each of us is traversing a similar trail both physically and spiritually. It is fraught with dangers that can ultimately leave us in ruin. Satan, as Peter warns, “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The allure propagated by Satan to draw us away from light and into the darkness has left its toll on God’s Church. But our small numbers and outward weakness is by no means indicative of God’s failure. Paul quite succinctly defined the cause of man becoming spiritually lost, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

Being aware of our proclivities for failure is important in building strength to overcome. It is in the small spiritual victories that God is testing and ultimately rewarding us. Christ showed just how important these small triumphs are in building the basis for an eternal life in the Family of God, “His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord’” (Matthew 25:21).

Geraldine, according to one of her texts, left the well-trodden path to relieve herself, became disoriented, and never found her way back. That innocuous act, maybe when she was tired or not fully paying attention to her surroundings, caused her tragic death. Paul warns us of falling into an attitude of complacency, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Galatians 6:9).

We know that trials will befall us. But the path before us will never grow unclear or hard to follow unless we make it so. God is testing each of us, not to cause our failure but to lead us to salvation. We follow a path to freedom, to an eternal reward promised by God.

Some people just think better than other people do!

However, this isn’t an evaluation based on the intellect associated with a high IQ. Rather, this kind of thinking has to do with thoughts that are good as opposed to those which are evil.

Primarily, society judges itself based on actions, but more and more there are attempts to influence and even govern what a person thinks. Proof of this is found in the staggering moral changes now taking place. Behavior once deemed as sinful is now thought of as acceptable.

Our thoughts are not private to us alone. While other people may not be able to know what we think, God does (compare 1 Chronicles 28:9)! Judgment against mankind before the flood went beyond their actions, it included how people thought:

“Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).

The great challenge for Christians is to bring “…every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). That is possible because we have the gift of God’s Holy Spirit. Furthermore, “…we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

These spiritual resources must be developed as we grow in our calling. We must learn to think as God thinks (compare Matthew 5:48). The apostle Paul addressed this goal by showing us how we should think:

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

Given this standard, what do YOU think?

For the last two years a robin had been building her nest on the top of a climbing clematis plant on the corner of my front porch.  It was somewhat of an ideal location–not too high from the ground so when the baby robins left the nest they did not injure themselves, and it was also under the cover of the eves so it never rained on the nest. It was shaded, so it never got too hot, and the mother robin was used to us going in and out of the front door and sitting on our rocking chairs on the porch.

This spring we had to cut back on the clematis and dispose of the nest which had been there for two years. When the robin returned to find no clematis plant or nest to occupy, she was not deterred but built a nest about six feet away on the downspout of my gutters. It is approximately the same height and a bit closer to where we sit on our rockers, which does not bother her.

In the due course after sitting on her eggs and subsequently hatching two baby robins, I was fascinated while rocking on the porch at how much care she and the male robin had for their babies. They would work as a team in feeding them, each bringing worms for them. At times, when she was on the nest keeping the babies warm, he would show up with a worm, give her a portion and feed the rest to the young robins.

I was impressed by the dedication, focus and teamwork they tirelessly kept in order to feed those young birds and keep them warm. I thought, what an example of teamwork, dedication to a cause, and unity of goal, which they exemplified to feed the young robins to the point they could leave the nest and take care of themselves. This brings to mind the Scripture in Psalm 133:1: ”Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!”

We as a church have been given the responsibility to get a message of hope out to a dying world. This gospel is the only hope for mankind. When we work together in unity and focus on the task at hand, then we can and must complete the task we have been given.

As to the robins, what happens to them? They go south for the winter and return again to carry on the teamwork in the spring to bring forth new baby robins, feed and care for them till they can take care of themselves and repeat this process till they die. That’s dedication, teamwork and unity of task.

If we remain faithful in the task we have been given collectivity as a church to work together in unity and focus on the job at hand, our reward is almost incomprehensible. For our dedicated teamwork, we get to live as members of the ruling God Family for eternity. If we die before Christ returns, we get to be resurrected into that very same Family with the same reward. How good and how pleasant it really is for brethren to work together in unity.