Dear Friends in Faith,
     We are thanking God for all of you who join in fellowship with us with reliance on the living God Who is the Saviour of all mankind, especially of us who are beieving.
     In this respect, we have been very encouraged by the letters we’ve received by those of you who get our newsletter. One person wrote: “I am always so glad to hear from you. The truths that we have learned are so precious! I am so thankful each day for the presence and blessings of our God.” And another: “There are only a very few around understanding the things we are enjoying. But we have a great expectation.” Concerning the sufferings we wrote of in a prior newsletter one wrote: “What comes to mind is Jesus’ words about casting pearls before swine because they will be trampling them and tearing you. But the day is coming when all will rejoice over such welcome news.” And finally this couple wrote: “M and I thank God for your newsletters, keeping us up to date on things and enriching our lives. And what a splendid opportunity we have to download tracts and articles from your web site to enclose with our letters and share with others that enjoy fruitful conversation.”
     We are looking forward to the meetings August 12-14 in Waterloo, Ontario (phone Dan Kraemer: 519-744-4844). This is a highlight of the summer, but we will surely be missing the presence of our longtime friend, Leila Watts, who was put to repose on June 19.

Tony writes: So often we hear from our other brothers in Christ that do not understand our view of the success God will have in saving all mankind due to what Christ did. They say like a well-worn mantra: “but you have to choose!” But what is well worth thinking about, and which I think should be pressed is, what about God’s choice? Even if we did have a choice to make outside the realm of God’s control in our salvation, does not God’s choice of us predate ours? And if His predates ours, can we not conclude that ours is the result of His, if indeed there was one made by us? Being chosen before the disruption (Eph.1:4; Gen.1:2) comes to mind. Since God chooses the stupid and weak ones of the world (1 Cor.1:27,28), should this not lead us to believe that we, being stupid and weak, did not choose Him? If, in the common scenario, God just sits in heaven and twiddles His thumbs until we “hopefully” make the right decision to choose Him, how, based upon this scenario, could God “be disgracing the wise and strong of verses 27 and 28? If it were all “up to us,” it would seem that the glory of disgracing the wise and strong would be ours and not His. We’d get all the glory.

Dean writes: The Concordant Version of the “Latter Prophets,” Isaiah through Malachi, was sent to the printer in late July. For this I am very thankful, only wishing it had not taken so long. To mention all who have worked on this project would fill several of these newsletters. But the project began with a vision outlined by Vladimir Gelesnoff (1877-1921), carried forward by A. E. Knoch (1874-1965) with extensive assistance from E. H. Clayton (1887-1972). Herman H. Rocke undertook a thorough review of the work from about 1960 to his death in 1996, having brought me into this project in 1972. Tony handled the job of typesetting, and Jim Coram tended to the final paging out and printing arrangements for this and other recent installments.
     In the coming months, I would like to share more about the way in which the “Old Testament” has taken on new meaning to me as it is read in light of the evangel given to Paul and the truth of universal reconciliation with God through the blood of the cross of the Son of His love. More on this later.

Yours in God’s grace and peace,
Tony Nungesser and Dean Hough