Download PDF Dear Members: The time is approaching once again as we move towards an occasion and a decision that is the most important in our personal lives. Those of us who are baptized and became begotten Children of God—those of us who made at that time the lifelong commitment to be obedient to Him—will make the decision to take the Passover in a worthy manner. Yes, it is a choice, just as it was a choice we made to become baptized in the first place—just as God chose US to come out of this world, by revealing to us His perfect knowledge and His plan. That is why we are all here, because we have answered His calling (compare Ephesians 1:4-5; Romans 8:28-30). Has our life been easier since last year or has it been difficult at times? Have we encountered trials? Have we thought about giving up? For some of us, this may be our first Passover and for others, this could be our 10th or 20th or 30th and more. But the number of Passovers we have participated in doesn’t matter. What matters is what we do right now and how we prepare for the Passover evening […]

Download PDF Dear Brethren and Friends, As I write this letter, the UK is consumed with Brexit, with a country, families and politicians split on where their loyalties should lie. There has been, and still is, antagonism at all levels of society where even the politicians of all parties are not united within their own group. This all follows the result of the referendum on 23rd June 2016 where the result to leave the European Union was 52% against 48% who wanted to remain. Since that time, negotiations have been ongoing between the UK and the EU with a withdrawal scheduled to occur on 29th March 2019.  Many who have been following these events may now be tired of the wrangling, disputing, arguments, bickering, squabbling, in-fighting and general all round disagreeable altercations that have, and still are, taking place. It would be a waste of everyone’s time in this brief letter to try and re-hash the main arguments of both sides of the divide but, suffice to say, it is the biggest political development for many decades in the UK. Many are genuinely concerned about staying in the EU—or leaving it, as the people voted. Whatever happens, the UK will […]

Download PDF Dear Members, Co-Workers and Friends, “Expect the unexpected” is a saying commonly used as preparation advice for unpredictable circumstances and situations. Traveling to new places or beginning a new commitment in life that disrupts our current patterns are examples of events for which we might apply such advice. By expecting the unexpected, we can theoretically prepare ourselves to adapt when we need to change direction at short notice. However, in this age, applying the tenet of expecting the unexpected is exercised less and less. When life is going along according to normal routine without any plans for change or impending threat of disruption, are we in a position where we can adapt to the unexpected when we don’t expect it? Today, an increasing amount of action is based upon decisions rooted in predictability. The recent advent of artificial intelligence inherently involves predictability. From automobiles that can predict when a car in front of it is slowing down, to suggestions of what videos we might want to watch next, information about expected results in controlled contexts drive decisions that affect our lives. Surprisingly, a lot of this actually works! To an increasing degree, many of the circumstances in our […]