Dear Friends,

We are a little late in getting this letter out but wanted to delay slightly, so we could include our report on the time we had in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The first teaching was the home Bible study in the Chaska area on Thursday, August 25th followed by a dinner and Bible study in the St. Paul area on Friday night. On Saturday the 27th , we had the all-day seminar at North Heights with well over 800 in attendance. Then on Sunday, we had the Sunday school and morning church services at the Bethesda church and then up to a small country church about 40 miles north of the Twin Cities for evening service. This little church was packed with well over a hundred people from ages 8 to 85 and it was such a pleasure to be able to teach.

Then on Monday morning we crossed the St. Croix River into Wisconsin and that afternoon began teaching the 3 day retreat that was sponsored by the Bethesda church. Our thanks to Pastor Mark Matychuk and his lovely wife Kathy for hosting this time of feasting on the word and enjoying such a good time with fellow believers. The music and singing was a little taste of heaven itself. We had about 100 resident campers and another 25 to 30 who came in from the Twin Cities area for the various sessions. As in past years, there were folks representing several different states and this year the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin were represented.

Bethesda church is moving to new facilities in the Prior Lake area, so if you are looking for a church that is Pauline, check them out. Their new address will be 15033 St. Highway 13 south, which is 1 mi. south of County Road 42. Their phone number is 952-226-6651.

If you write to us and would like a written response, please put your full name and address on your letter. Many times I have written a response only to find that I just have a first name on the letter and the envelope is no longer available. Also, due to the backlog of material that has been kindly sent, we are going to reluctantly request no more manuscripts, tapes, books, etc.

In our next letter we hope, by God's grace, to report on our cruise to Greece and Turkey.

Last, but not least, we have been remiss in not letting our audience know what a comfort and blessing Laura’s husband, Jerry, has been through her whole ordeal. For the first few weeks following the accident he was with her at the hospital 24 – 7. To this day he has been loving and attentive and Laura, as well as the rest of our family, is so thankful for him.

Indeed, what in the world is going on? 9-11, Afghanistan, Iraq, Madrid, London, tsunamis, earthquakes, Gaza, Katrina, Rita....

Matthew 16:1-3; "The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, "When it is evening ye say; it will be fair weather; for the sky is red. And in the morning, it could be foul weather today, for the sky is red and lowring. Oh ye hypocrites. Ye can discern the face of the sky, but can't you discern the signs of the times?"

We are not in the tribulation, for then all these horrors would be happening every day and all across the planet. What we are witnessing is but an infinitesimal preview of the tribulation. But, I feel these are all signs of the times leading to the man of sin, the anti/counterfeit Christ. As more and more of these catastrophes take place, the world will be looking more and more for a leadership figure. That is why we have been seeing so much finger-pointing. Never forget that the New Orleans disaster is nearly nothing compared to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and that those atom bombs were mere firecrackers compared to the hydrogen bombs of today. Can you imagine a city like Chicago leveled from one end to the other, with no fire or ambulance service, no hospitals, no power, etc? But by the end of the tribulation, the whole Earth will resemble Hiroshima.

We can praise the Lord that we will not be here for that devastation. The signs tell us that our trumpet call is getting closer every day and please remember that the apostle Paul never refers to this kind of holocaust for the body of Christ. Paul's scenario for the rapture is II Timothy 3:1-7; "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

Compare that with the following: Jeremiah 25:30-33; "Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout , as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord;" Isaiah 24:1-6; "Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned and few men left;" and Zechariah 14:1-4; "Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and the half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south." What a difference!

And what is the determining factor for being raptured "caught up"? Believe the gospel. I Thessalonians 4:13 & 14 says "For I would not have you to be ignorant (as most church people are) brethren concerning them who have died, that ye sorrow not even as others who have no hope (the lost). For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so them who died in Jesus will God bring with him." I Cor. 15:1-4 says the following; "Moreover brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, (from the ascended Lord) how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose ...."

NOTE FROM LAURA

I want to thank all of you who have kept me in your prayers and I wish that I could adequately express my sincere and deep appreciation for remembering me over such a long period of time. It has been a year since my accident and I wish that I could say I was doing better but as of yet can only report that my arms are continuing to strengthen slowly and my range of motion is improving in them a little each month. My fingers and the rest of me are still of no use and have no feeling but I can only praise the Lord each and every day that I have my arms, my mind, my eyes, ears and a mouth that can eat and talk. Most importantly, I am so blessed to have a family that loves me and is able to take care of me. I often think of those who have the great sorrow of losing someone they love or have someone they care about take the wide road that leads to destruction or those who have a debilitating or painful disease process or battle terminal illness. When I compare myself to those, I can only find gratitude to my Lord for making my cross such a light one. So again, thank you and please continue to keep us in your prayers.

NOTE FROM CHERYL

As the year 2005 winds down, we must again thank all of you who have faithfully sustained us by means of notes of encouragement, financial support and especially your prayers. Through you the Lord has seen us through the summer months which are typically difficult for churches and ministries.

We would like to recognize a few special people who have for years devoted much time and effort to the spreading of the gospel by helping this ministry with no compensation. Jerry and Lorna Pool have been transcribing the books almost since the beginning and without them, the hundreds of thousands (if not more) of the books that are being used in Bible studies and devotionals across the country wouldn’t even exist. Matthew McGee, along with the help of Robert Pennybaker, has made the material available online in both audio and written form. Kimberly Feldick has kept her hand in the ministry by editing the books. Nancy Lang has been involved since the onset and has helped in many ways over the years. The list of people who have been instrumental in starting and keeping the ministry going is a long one and the ones we have not mentioned will receive much richer rewards in Glory for their selfless efforts. Our love and thanks to you all.

In the previous newsletter, we asked you to let us know if you received duplicate mailings. Thank you for your response. Please keep writing the invoice number on your checks as this saves much time and greatly reduces the chance of us sending duplicate orders. Lastly, if you want to order products as Christmas gifts, please do so at least 6 weeks in advance and let us know they are for a gift. We will make every effort to meet your needs.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The following are questions that we are asked over and over again via phone calls and letters. We hope you find them helpful and informative.

We are often asked what type of Bible Les uses and what type of Bible is shown on the program. Les has used and highly recommended the Scofield Study Bible (King James Version) for many years and has learned much from it. The Bible that is shown on television belongs to Iris, and it is a Vernon McGee study Bible.

Most of you who have been watching or listening to the program for any length of time know that Les has had no formal Bible training. We are still often asked, however, where Les received his education. Most of his knowledge comes from years of study and teaching and using the above mentioned Scofield Bible. Les credits his ability to clearly teach scripture as a gift of the Holy Spirit and gives God the glory.

Many of you ask about how Les is recovering from his hip replacement surgery and his general health. Aside from the soreness and stiffness, his recovery process is going very well. He is in otherwise very good health and he and Iris so appreciate your continued prayers.

BIBLE FUN FACT

Who did Jesus call the Sons of Thunder?

In Mark 3:17 Jesus gave James and John the name Boanerges (Sons of Thunder) which comes from a Aramaic – Hebrew term, Kos, which meant "voice", so it was really the "voice of God".