Dear Brothers and Sisters: 

    As we watch our nation in a religious and moral downgrade, which fills our hearts with sorrow, let us ever call to mind the words of the great apostle Paul, “Who maketh thee to differ,” and be very, very thankful to God that we are not a part of the church’s apostasy and this nation’s reprobation; that we have been snatched out of darkness and death and translated into the kingdom of light, the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Colossians 1:13).  In our sorrow, let us be thankful, very thankful!

    Look at the words John Newton has left us: “While we lament the growth and pernicious effects of infidelity, and see how wicked men wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived; what gratitude should fill our hearts to Him, who has called us out of the horrid darkness in which multitudes are bewildered and lost, into the glorious light of His Gospel!  Faint are our warmest conceptions of His mercy.” 

    Let us pray for one another and encourage one another as we see “That Day” approaching (See Heb. 12:23-27 & Matt. 7:7-11).