Closer To Heaven
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Support for the mission activities of the Seventh-day Adventist church has always been part of the Sabbath School program. This video is Mission Spotlight for this week.
(0)The post Mission Spotlight for January 1 appeared first on Sabbath School Net.
Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/mission-spotlight-for-january-1/
It's the end of another difficult year brought about by the COVID pandemic, unstable religious and political situations, natural disasters, and many more. As challenging as it has been, it's good to reflect on ways we can face this new year with confidence. On January 3, 1900, Ellen White wrote a letter to Brother and Sister Sisley in Australia: "I greet you this morning with a 'Happy New Year.' Another year, with its burden of record, has passed into eternity. We know not what that record is, and cannot know till the judgement. But a new year has commenced, and I feel like dedicating myself anew to God—soul, body, heart, and strength. A new page is turned. What shall be the record of this new year? What shall be its revelations in the history of the world? What shall be its revelation in our individual history?" (Lt2, 1900) While we can't predict what will happen this coming year, we can control our individual history. One way is by dedicating ourselves "anew to God—soul, body, heart, and strength." By doing so, we choose to follow the biblical commandment to love God "with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength," as recorded in Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Mark 12:30. Verse 31 continues, "This is the first commandment, and the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself.'" This command is still relevant for us today. But what does it mean to "love your neighbour as yourself"? It reminds us of the story of the good Samaritan who helped the man in need. Like him, we should also help relieve the suffering of the people around us. But we are called to do more. Ellen White wrote in the Review and Heard, February 5, 1884: "Dear brethren and sisters, when you become imbued with the missionary spirit, when you learn to love your neighbors as yourself, you will not be content to see souls perishing all around you without doing all you can to save them." But we can't do this by ourselves. Zechariah 4:6 says, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit." For such a time as this, let us show love to our neighbours by proclaiming God's final messages of love to the world—the three angels' messages—proclaiming the everlasting gospel, worshipping God as our Creator, and recognizing that the time of His judgement has come. And let us receive the seal of God rather than the mark of the beast. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-AfcY2Nzz8
Marriage usually is a joyful time when families celebrate. But Khome and her husband, Eung, only suffered in their remote village in Laos.
Image © Pacific Press
Khome, who belongs to the Laven people group, was the daughter of a spiritual medium. She had been groomed from childhood to take her mother’s place. But she found the Lord and gave her life to Him against her mother’s will. Even worse, she married a Christian man from another people group. Everyone seemed to oppose their marriage — even the evil spirits.
One day, an evil spirit appeared to Khome and laughed at her. Khome quickly knelt down and prayed. Rising, she tried to walk to her Bible to read it. The Bible lay only a few steps away, but her feet felt so heavy that she could hardly move. Her feet seemed to be stuck in the ground. As she struggled to walk, she prayed, “God, protect me. God, protect me.” Finally, she reached the Bible and opened it. After reading a few passages, she prayed in the name of Jesus, and the evil spirit left.
The struggle with evil forces continued for years, but Khome and Eung worshiped God faithfully in their home. Their parents, siblings, and neighbors expressed open hatred for them. Someone reported them to the authorities on false charges of wrongdoing. When police officers arrived to detain the couple, they were met by mysterious, powerful figures in front of the house. The officers fled in fear. A second attempt to arrest the couple failed when the police officers were frightened away by the sight of two mysterious figures inside the house. Word spread that the couple had special supernatural guardians, and people began to respect them.
Meanwhile, the couple shared their faith with family and neighbors. They helped others at every opportunity and, although desperately poor themselves, assisted those who were even more impoverished. Slowly, people began to come to them for help. The sick and demon-possessed sought healing. One by one, people accepted God, and the couple’s home became a house church. Khome’s sister resisted the gospel for some time, but one night she saw a bright light shining in Khome’s house. The next day, she asked her sister how she had light when nobody in the village had electricity. Khome did not know what to say. She had been asleep with her husband. The sister accepted Jesus.
Today, Eung and Khome are shining the light of God among the Laven people of Laos. Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help open an elementary school in the country. Please pray for the school project, Eung and Khome, and the precious people of Laos.
Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org
(1)The post Inside Story: Surprise Guardians appeared first on Sabbath School Net.
Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/inside-story-surprise-guardians/
David A. deSilva explains clearly why the early Christians suffered persecution: “Christians adopted a lifestyle that … would have been considered antisocial and even subversive. Loyalty to the gods, expressed in pious attendance at sacrifices and the like, was viewed as a symbol for loyalty to the state, authorities, friends, and family. Worship of the deities was something of a symbol for one’s dedication to the relationships that kept society stable and prosperous.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
By abstaining from the former, Christians (like the Jews) were regarded with suspicion as potential violators of the laws and [as] subversive elements within the empire.” — Perseverance in Gratitude (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000), p. 12.)
“For the disheartened there is a sure remedy — faith, prayer, work. Faith and activity will impart assurance and satisfaction that will increase day by day. Are you tempted to give way to feelings of anxious foreboding or utter despondency? In the darkest days, when appearances seem most forbidding, fear not. Have faith in God. He knows your need. He has all power. His infinite love and compassion never weary. Fear not that He will fail of fulfilling His promise. He is eternal truth. Never will He change the covenant He has made with those who love Him. And He will bestow upon His faithful servants the measure of efficiency that their need demands. The apostle Paul has testified: ‘He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. … Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.’ 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.” — Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, pages 164, 165.
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(1)The post Friday: Further Thought ~ The Letter to the Hebrews and to Us appeared first on Sabbath School Net.
Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/friday-further-thought-letter-to-hebrews-and-us/
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Young people from across the North New South Wales (NNSW) and South Queensland (SQC) Conferences recently participated in the first ever Youth Rush Australia—a new initiative funded by the Literature …… Source: https://adventist.news/en/news/young-people-share-hope-through-new-literature-evangelism-program
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Isabelle Silva, Miguel Camacho, and Gabriela Barbosa are the names of the bronze medalists of the Brazilian Robotics Olympiad 2021. Fifth-year students at Colégio Adventista de Imperatriz (CADI), in M…… Source: https://adventist.news/en/news/adventist-education-students-win-bronze-medal-at-the-brazilian-robotics-olympiad
“I’d do it all over again” said Pastor Paul Tompkins as he reflected on forty years of dedicated and faithful ministerial service.
On 31 December 2021, Pastor Paul works his last day as a paid minister of the Seventh-day Adventist church, after a life in continuous service from 1981-2021. Of this time, Paul has spent the last five years of his life working in Scotland, where he and Dawn remain and look forward to spending active and fulfilling time in retirement.
Anyone who knows Paul, will…Source: https://adventist.uk/news/article/go/2021-12-30/a-life-in-ministry-remembered/
News reports from Australia, Brazil, Romania, Southern Adventist University and the United States. “Controversy” Gets Animated An animated film about “The Great Controversy” has won numerous awards. Attila Peli, director of Hope Media Romania, who also directed and wrote the script for the film, said his main motivation was to make the Great Controversy accessible […] Source: https://atoday.org/news-briefs-for-december-30-2021/
Intercer is a website with biblical materials in Romanian, English, Hungarian and other languages. We want to bring the light from God's Word to peoples homes. Intercer provides quality Christian resources...[Read More]
