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Issue Number: 599 – April to June 2012a very great extent used for the publication ofmaterial that is wholly repugnant to the truthsof the Word of God. The television and eachof the other forms of mass media that are soprevalent today are also to a very great extentused to promote that which is evil: little is usedfor the advance of the apostolic directive ofthe Apostle Paul, ‘Finally, brethren, whatsoeverthings are true, whatsoever things are honest,whatsoever things are just, whatsoeverthings are pure, whatsoever things are lovely,whatsoever things are of good report; if therebe any virtue, and if there be any praise, thinkon these things’ (Philippians 4.8). Today, sadly,the Bible has been replaced in so many areas ofsociety by corrupt communications.The church is likewise a divine institution, ‘thepillar and ground of the truth’ (1 Timothy 3.15),of which the Lord Jesus Christ is the all-gloriousHead and King. And yet, how little concernthere appears to be among many of thosewho profess to be office-bearers and membersof ‘the church of the Living God’ (1 Timothy3.15) that the body of Christ be truly governedand regulated, not by the will of man or thetraditions of the past, but by the expressedWord of its Master and Lord. Solemnly, manysuch bodies could better be described as‘synagogues of Satan’ (Revelation 2.9), soexceedingly great is their dreadful departurefrom the Truth of God. Today, sadly, in manychurches the Bible is no longer the sole voiceof undisputed authority, but has given wayto pragmatism and the egocentricity of itsmembers and leaders.When the Lord brought Eve to Adam in theGarden of Eden, the first family unit wasinstituted. Today, little value is placed uponthe wonderful institution of the family or evenupon the bond of marriage, the Scripturalunion of one man to one woman. In toomany cases, young women with husbandsor ’partners‘ appear to be more concernedwith the advance of their professional careersthan they are with fulfilling the God-ordainedrole as a wife and mother. Men, for the mostpart lacking in Biblical leadership, are alsoto be blamed for the godlessness of manyhomes: homes where there is no family altar,no reading of the Word of God and no comingbefore the Most High to implore His favourand blessing upon parents and children. Manyof the Lord’s people also have to grieve overtheir own families and the way their childrenhave departed from the way in which theywere brought up. Today, sadly, the central placethe Bible should have in the home is largelyreplaced by the television and other sources ofworldly entertainments.Whilst recognising that very many believersin our supporting base will be seeking to liveout every part of their lives according to theprinciples of God’s Word, the question must beasked: what is the answer to the lamentableand solemn state of affairs described above? Itis—and can only be—the blessing of AlmightyGod once again upon His own Word as it istranslated, published, distributed, read andpreached among the peoples of the nations ofthe world!As we look around us today, the situationmay appear very discouraging. And it wouldbe so if we were to leave out of our thinkingGod and the glorious revelation that Hehas given of Himself in His Word! We haveevery reason to look up and forward withconfidence. The Almighty, the Lord of Hosts, isGod, reigning supremely over all. Everythingis subject unto Him! Therefore, in all the manydifficult and perplexing situations in whichthe Lord’s people find themselves, they are toconfide in the wonderful truths relating to theglory of their Lord declared throughout theHoly Scriptures. In Psalm 46.1, the Psalmist,speaking in the name of the people of God,states, ‘God is our refuge and strength, a verypresent help in trouble’. Later in the samePsalm, the Lord exhorts His people, ‘Be still, andknow that I am God: I will be exalted amongthe heathen, I will be exalted in the earth’; towhich words of confidence and comfort, weare instructed to respond, ‘The LORD of hosts iswith us; the God of Jacob is our refuge’ (Psalm46.10,11).We, therefore, urge all our members andfriends to join with us, prayerfully andpractically, beseeching the King of Zion at theThrone of Grace that it may please Him to bless5