Letters to the Editor (February 2025)

I thoroughly enjoy The Tidings magazine with the variety of articles it presents.

Nicaragua

I thoroughly enjoy The Tidings magazine with the variety of articles it presents. I recently finished reading the November 2024 edition. I would like to submit the following comments relating to the Nicaragua article. 

I was amazed to read that Bro. Kevin was in Nicaragua in July of 2024, a matter of weeks before I was there. My daughters and I supported a “working mission,” or “build,” as it is called, organized by Christadelphian Meal A Day of Americas (CMAD). This build is collaborated with a company called Blue Energy in Bluefields, Nicaragua. This project was at least the second year it has been organized. 

The trip was purely a “hands to the work” mission without any formal Bible studies or preaching. I suppose some may have an issue with this. However, the many conversations and prayers shared have already created a relationship and laid some groundwork for future direction by the Word. The people we met are generous and loving and are keen to talk about the Creator of the heavens and earth. The ground is fertile and certainly prepared!

There were at least fifteen of us, from four different countries, who donated our time for the week and worked hard physically. The larger percentage of the team were thirty years and younger, with four “seniors.” It was a great team of disciples who were keen to assist the local communities create healthy and sustainable living environments. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to add to this good work already started by adding the Word of Life?

My daughters and I were blessed to be able to participate, and grew from our service to our Lord with this experience. I would lovingly encourage those involved with the CBMA and the CMAD to collaborate and put their hands together toward this good work in Nicaragua.

Debbie Goodwin,
Sussex Ecclesia, NB

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General

Thanks to both you and Bro. Bill Link, in particular, for your articles in the latest edition of The Tidings.

I am so grateful for these articles addressing our typical attitude toward Israel and the temptation to deify everything that the secular nation does. It does us no credit in terms of witness. Too often, I hear words and prayers from brethren that appear to praise everything Israel does in its own military might.

My one “ponder” in your own article is how we can better understand the dynamic that God causes other nations to fight against Israel, yet then He punishes them for doing so. There is a human capriciousness here that surely cannot be of God, and I feel there is a lesson here for us yet to fully grasp. I am trying to understand what must be a nuance of Scripture, perhaps born of the same discussion as to whether God Himself causes suffering.

So far, my own thoughts have centered around the degree to which God exercises control in our own lives. The constant cliche “God is in control” that I often hear seems to leave no room for human self-will.

Gordon Dawes,
Ware Ecclesia, UK

Editor: Thank you, Bro. Dawes, for this question. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the minor prophets provide a handful of reasons for the destruction of the nations that were used by God to humble and conquer Israel. In some cases, such as Babylon, it was due to their pride, exalting themselves as having accomplished the victory by themselves. In Jeremiah 51:11, we are also told that it was in vengeance for what they did to the temple. Others were condemned because of their excessive cruelty to Israel, which went beyond the bounds of conquest. God often used these nations to accomplish His will, but this did not give them license to abuse His people. Even as they were being corrected in due measure, God was faithfully correcting them and had not abandoned them. He heard their groanings.