After returning from the Portland, Oregon, conferences and the Tacoma, Washington, family weekend a few days ago, we were very excited to see visible progress on the construction of the new Video Recording Studio. Construction started about three weeks ago. The steel structure is up and the ceiling trusses are being welded into place. The concrete walls of the building are being poured off-site and will be delivered for installation in a few weeks.

The studio fund now stands at $841,000—of which the excess over the $719,000 construction cost will go towards equipment and on-camera set expenses, estimated to be about $200,000.

We have been looking at various set designs that will make our studio look significantly larger and give us greater flexibility with our media products. We pray that our Beyond Today video production and output will reach a new level of professionalism and impact as a result.

You can see progress reports on Beyond Today's Facebook page and Twitter feeds at: https://www.facebook.com/BeyondTodayTV/ and https://twitter.com/UCGmedia

Thank you for your prayers and support for this facility to preach the gospel more effectively!

Today we are flying to East Texas for the next set of Council of Elders meetings starting Monday and continuing through Thursday. From there, we will travel to Southern California for the next set of four Personal Appearance Campaigns.

Coping in a World Gone Mad

Last week, America was rocked again with the news that a teenager—who was described as "strange, troubled and depressed" by associates and suffering from mental health issues—took an Uber ride to the Florida high school from which he earlier had been expelled. Unchallenged, despite being previously reported to the FBI as a possibly dangerous future school shooter, he then opened fire in the corridors of the school. The aftermath? Seventeen students and teachers lay dead with 16 more wounded.

Dreadful news like this shocks and saddens us in the Church, even though we know that appalling acts like this are prophesied in the Bible. Words cannot adequately describe the horrific nature of such terrible deeds.

Since the tragic 2014 Sandy Hook school shootings, more than 400 people have been shot in some 239 violent school shootings, with 138 of these students, teachers and others outright killed. It has become so tragically common that school administrators and teachers must now prepare and train for "shooter" events. It reflects nothing less than an unraveling society gone mad.

Why does this happen—and what can we in the United Church of God do about it? The rapid decaying of American society is taking a terrible toll, and we must understand why and where it is leading.

Columnist Peggy Noonan courageously declared in the Feb. 17 Wall Street Journal, dramatic and sweeping changes in the moral fabric of America have all but devastated the country in the last four decades.

Noting that America is "experiencing what appears to be a mental-health crisis," she openly asked what many lack the courage to ask: "What has happened the past 40 years or so to produce a society so ill at ease with itself, so prone to violence?"

Here is her answer: "We know. We all say it privately, but it's so obvious it's hardly worth saying. We have been swept by social, technological and cultural revolution" (emphasis added). Why is that a problem? According to Noonan, this godless revolution over the past 40 years annihilated the once-stable family structure. Today, destabilized fatherless sons and daughters now turn to a tidal wave of online porn, violent video games, illegal drugs and more to self-medicate their anxiety. Torn asunder, too many youths lead empty lives that they increasingly perceive as utterly meaningless.

Amidst this horrendous decay of family and society, we in the church possess life-saving access to a spiritual oasis. As the world increasingly crumbles around us, we confidently know the future of humanity. We know that in a real sense, all of what we're seeing is but the beginning of sorrows for those who reject the truth of the Bible.

And, thank God, we hold the blessed assurance that all of this madness will one day be swallowed up in victory—the establishment of the long-awaited coming of the Kingdom of God!

While we understand that critical knowledge of what is to come, events like what happened in Florida rightly grieve us. As the prophet Ezekiel affirmed, we "sigh and cry" over such horrible events (Ezekiel 9:4). I cried as I looked at the photos of those murdered—young people with life, careers and family ahead that will never be realized. It is time for us not only to cry but also to cry aloud about what has brought this horror on.

And I am personally further grieved when I see prominent figures tragically mock what could bring about true and lasting change. As you may have read, following the Florida disaster, popular secular humanist and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson contemptuously tweeted that "the power of Prayer is insufficient to stop bullets from killing school children." Many thousands expressed outrage at his comment.

The truth? Such futile secular thinking underscores why we suffer such disasters as what happened in Florida! To see such rubbish online is sobering. It shows how far our society has descended. Regarding such nonsense, the apostle Paul is clear: "Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done" (Romans 1:28, New Living Translation).

The rejection of moral principle and the substitution of relativistic quasi-pseudo values is destroying human societies.

We must protect ourselves from the tragic thinking that Paul describes. The Bible warns that cunning deception represents a major weapon in the arsenal of our adversary.

What should we be doing?

In these increasingly dangerous times, Paul provides us with some excellent and critical direction: "Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power" (Ephesians 6:10, New Living Translation, emphasis added throughout).

How do we do this? Paul continues: "Put on all of God's armor, so that you will be able to stand firm... against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in high places" (Ephesians 6:11-12).

What is the promise from God if we do this? "After the battle you will still be standing firm" (Ephesians 6:13).

When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He gave them rock-solid specifics of what you and I should be praying for every day: "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one" (Matthew 6:13, NKJV).

Every day we must pray for God to protect us and our children from sore trials and deliverance from the "evil one."

As we prepare our minds for the Passover and the spring Holy Days, read and study and meditate deeply on all of Ephesians 6:10-18. We live in perilous times, but we need not be engulfed by anxiety. As we do our part, we can confidently know and trust that God will do His part.

As we examine ourselves (1 Corinthians 11:28), let us also be sensitive, compassionate and prayerful about what this deceived world is going through. There are many families in pain and we should remember them.

While others may agonize over how tragedies like Florida could happen, we have the comforting knowledge to understand how the god of this age has blinded the world (2 Corinthians 4:4). As people suffer as a result of this blindness, whether in Florida, Syria, the Congo or any other strife-torn land, let us compassionately pray for God's will to be done, asking for relief for those tragically afflicted.

And as American and other societies continue to decay and spiral away from the truth of God, let us fervently pray with renewed passion: "Thy Kingdom come!"