December 2023 Newsletter

THE PLAN

God loved lost humanity so much that He sent Jesus, His unique Son, so that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life. Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but came so that the world through Him might be saved.

THE SAVIOR KING CAME LONG AGO

Long ago angels announced wonderful news to shepherds on a dark night in the Judean hills: a Savior who is Christ the Lord is born (Luke 2:9). This is no ordinary baby. He is the Lord, and he will actually save people from their sins. Jesus the Savior King is born.

Around the same time Magi came from Babylon to Jerusalem with an amazing question, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His Star in the East, and have come to worship Him.”

Suddenly Herod, the ruler in the land of Israel, was filled with consternation. He wanted eliminate any rival ruler in order to maintain his own empire, so he asked the Jewish leaders where the Messiah was to be born.

They answered correctly and with great confidence because they believed that God would fulfill what He had promised many years before (unlike believers who claim prophecy is undecipherable because it has been debated by so many people over the years). These Jewish students of God’s Word knew the answer. They knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). The verse they quoted indicated that this Messiah would be a very powerful person because His origins are from the days of eternity (NASB95).

Herod responded by secretly calling the Magi and inquiring very carefully from them when the Star had appeared. He instructed them to go to Bethlehem, search diligently for the young Child, and bring him word again so he could go and worship Him too. Herod's malicious plan was to kill this Messiah while He was a weak little child.

The Magi found the infant Jesus, bowed in worship, and presented their gifts; but being warned by God they departed for their homeland by a different way, and never returned to Herod.

In a rage, Herod sent soldiers to Bethlehem, and slaughtered all the male babies from two years old and under. In spite of all that Herod could do, Jesus grew, always doing the will of His heavenly Father, and as King of the Ages, freely bestowing blessing on everyone who received Him.

THE SAVIOR KING DID THE MOST SHOCKING THING

Jesus voluntarily gave up His life, dying forsaken on the Cross, so that any former rebels who believe in Him could have eternal life, and live with Him forever in glory.

THE SAVIOR KING IS COMING SOON

The events of the past year have been unsettling to many people. They see chaos erupting all over the world, and hateful behavior tolerated and even encouraged. No longer is it just “bad news in faraway places,” but bad news at home, with evil and ugliness exhibited in shocking ways.

Satan, the god of this fallen world, is inspiring evil men to remake God’s world according to their own agenda, crushing anyone who refuses to comply. They utilize pervasive deception, distortion, and suppression of any information that could interfere with their ambitions.

The message of the New Testament teaches us how to live during these disturbing events and rampaging deceptions that are engulfing our world. As believers we must live now with the attitudes and actions that will characterize us when we are living with Jesus in Heaven.

By studying all of what God has told us in the entire Bible, we can know with certainty what will happen. We cannot know the exact timetable, but we can see things happening that fit precisely with what God foretold about a future global empire. The world stage is being set for the Great Tribulation and the coming Gog-Magog war.

The writings of the Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians outline the end-time scenario. God will judge the world by allowing Satan to bring forth his masterpiece, the Antichrist. He will be a man with insightful solutions to incredible adversities, promising worldwide peace and prosperity without any need to obey God’s commands.

But before this greatest human Deceiver of all history appears, Jesus will remove His own ambassadors by snatching the church to heaven—a glorious exodus that could happen at any moment.

There is no sign that can pinpoint when this exodus will occur, but we know that it will be before the Antichrist is revealed, a Satan-indwelt man who will be the most vicious and deceptive empire-leader of all history. His diabolical career will be terminated only when Jesus the King visibly appears to the whole world and eliminates the possibility of evil to ever rule again.

The most important thing we can do now is to know Christ, and make Him known, pointing people to choose Christ before the disasters of the Great Tribulation come crashing onto our world.

RAY & RHODA UPDATE FOR 2023

In May 2023, a church provided airfare for us to fly to Michigan to give a seminar especially for young people. We emphasized that since no one is born married, God obviously intends for everyone to be single during the first part of their life, and they should maximize the value of this part of life by vigorously pursuing how they can serve God effectively as single persons.

Anyone interested in that material can select the topic on our website called “Maximizing the Opportunity of Youth,” and download sermons for free.

Also, on our website you can see how to obtain books that we have written giving insights that we are making available in written from: An expanded edition of Divine Design for the Family, a book on end-time prophecy, Jesus Christ Delivers from Dazzling Deception, and a missionary book for children that our two oldest daughters wrote and illustrated many years ago, Word of God Priceless Treasure.

Our website includes contact information for anyone who would like to contact us. We request that our friends clearly identify themselves by their full name and where and when we met them (not merely “John” or “Mary”—we have met many people in various places with such names; help us know who we are talking to). It will be a joy for us to discuss details about what is happening in your life and ours. If we happen to be absent when you call, leave us a voice message with a number and time we can call you back.

Rhoda and I encountered some additional health issues in 2023. We both had strep throat and the lingering side effects took about six weeks till we felt back to normal. Rhoda had shingles and is coping with extended pain because of it.

We rejoice that we can be together and help one another in these matters. In August 2023 we celebrated 51 years of marriage.