Closer To Heaven
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COLUMBIA, Md. – In a move that has raised eyebrows and lowered vaccination rates, the North American Division (NAD) of Seventh-day Adventists has unveiled the creation of the “PureBlood Union Conference,” a new administrative body dedicated exclusively to members who proudly reject vaccines in favor of “natural immunity and essential oils.” The announcement, made during […] Source: https://atoday.org/satire-new-union-created-for-anti-vaxxers-nad-announces-pureblood-union-conference/
Daily Lesson for Monday 28th of April 2025
It was during the Babylonian captivity, through the prophet Daniel, that God presented the most compelling descriptions we have of the relationship between His people and the kingdoms of this world. His people were no longer autonomous; they would now be reaping the consequences of their choices. (And, perhaps, learning from them?)
Image © Phil McKay at Goodsalt.com
At the end of the nineteenth century, many people were exuding a new confidence in human progress. The Paris Exposition (1900), for example, was a remarkable showcase of optimism about the future. Surely, with all of our technological and scientific advances, many of humanity’s worst problems would be at an end! As humanity entered the twentieth century, among many thinkers there was this great optimism that Enlightenment ideals—such as human perfectibility and the power of reason—would usher in a wonderful new era for humanity.
World War I, however, quickly shattered those dreams, and by the end of the twentieth century, we had lost more than 200 million people to warfare. We may have advanced in a technological sense, but certainly not in a moral one. To paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr., we have guided missiles but misguided men. And that’s a very scary combination.
Many students of prophecy have noticed that the metals in Daniel 2:1-49 move from most valuable to least valuable: gold devalues to silver, silver devalues to brass, and brass to iron, until we end up with only iron and clay.
Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, and other nineteenth-century thinkers attempted to convince us that humanity is somehow tracking upward—that we are evolving biologically and socially. And though in some ways human existence has improved (at least at a physical level), who actually looks ahead to the future of this world, as it is now ruled and governed, with much optimism about peace, security, and prosperity?
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Jesus warned, “ ‘And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. . . . For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places’ ” (Matthew 24:6-7, NKJV). Despite these warnings, how can we draw comfort from knowing that we have been warned beforehand about them? |
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"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer" (Matthew 21:22, NIV).
Tag someone in need of prayer, and kindly share your prayer requests here:
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“Io vi lascio pace; vi do la mia pace. Io non vi do come il mondo dà. Il vostro cuore non sia turbato e non si sgomenti”. 📖 Giovanni 14:27
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💌 Apri la porta del tuo cuore
🗣 Speaker: Bianca Stoian Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uY0Wi7CYwk
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1.
It is not essential to the exercise of faith that the feelings should be wrought up to a high pitch of excitement; neither is it necessary, in order to gain the hearing of the Lord, that our petitions should be noisy, or attended with physical exercise.
It is true that Satan frequently creates in the heart of the suppliant such a conflict with doubt and temptation that strong cries and tears are involuntarily forced from him; and it is also true that the penitent’s sense of guilt is sometimes so great that a repentance commensurate with his sin causes him to experience an agony that finds vent in cries and groans, which the compassionate Saviour hears with pity. But Jesus does not fail to answer the silent prayer of faith. He who simply takes God at His word, and reaches out to connect himself with the Saviour, will receive His blessing in return.100The Signs of the Times, May 31, 1877 (The Spirit of Prophecy 2:321, 322).
Faith is not feeling…. True faith is in no sense allied to presumption. Only he who has true faith is secure against presumption, for presumption is Satan’s counterfeit of faith.
Faith claims God’s promises, and brings forth fruit in obedience. Presumption also claims the promises, but uses them as Satan did, to excuse transgression. Faith would have led our first parents to trust the love of God and to obey His commands. Presumption led them to transgress His law, believing that His great love would save them from the consequences of their sin. It is not faith that claims the favor of Heaven without complying with the conditions on which mercy is to be granted. Genuine faith has its foundation in the promises and provisions of the Scriptures.101Gospel Workers, 260.
To abide in faith is to put aside feeling and selfish desires, to walk humbly with the Lord, to appropriate His promises, and apply them to all occasions, believing that God will work out His own plans and purposes in your heart and life.102Fundamentals of Christian Education, 341, 342.
The Faith I Live By p. 122
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Charlie who recently broke his hip. Pray also for Susan who is needing surgery for a paraoesophageal hernia. Rose
—-My late son’s mother in law has a nephew named David who is 17. He had a mishap on a trampoline and injured his C-6 vertebrae (neck). He came through over 12 hours of surgery okay. He is said to be in good spirits, but still serious condition. He has some feeling in his upper body, but so far none in his lower body. Doctors think he may never walk again. Please keep him and family in prayers. Aleta
—-Sarah got an accident through sleep walking , she walked straight to the road in a sleep and the car hit her. After a week of her getting an accident through, her husband introduced another wife claiming he can’t wait for this one to heal in order to make love thus abandoning her. One Adventist lady tries to take food to her sometimes and puts a stone and two sticks to hold the bones. She needs prayer and God’s help. John
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Dear Friends,
When I was a teenager, I lived about a mile or two from the library. I had a book that was due that day, that I had not quite finished reading. I decided that if I read the book as I walked, I would have it done by the time I got there. It took a few blocks before I could walk in a fairly straight line without watching where I was going.
Soon I became so absorbed in those last few chapters, that I was lost to my surroundings. Suddenly, I heard the squeal of brakes. Startled, I looked up from the book I was reading. Within a foot of me was a big, black car. The driver inside looked scared at first then angry. All I could say was “I’m sorry.” Closing my book, I continued walking. I would wait until I got to the library to finish it.
So, it is in our day-to-day lives. Life is a mad rush to acquire the latest gadgets to make our life happier, but those things leave us empty. We can even get so occupied with the mundane duties of life, that time passes quickly and old age is upon us. We look back and wonder where the time has gone. Truly life is as James tells us. “For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” James 4:14 It seems like only yesterday that we were young and full of hopes and dreams for the future. How we wish we had at the beginning asked ourselves the question, “What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36
May we heed the advice of Isaiah, “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Isa 55:6, 7
Rose
To learn of the Allusions, Images and Symbols in Bible Prophecy, we are really in great need of saying to God
Give Me The Bible – Hymn 272 so we are able to learn with His abundant help. This will be our theme for this, the second quarter of Bible Study, 2025.
As we have already looked at just a few verses from Revelation, it is now time to start delving into the book of Daniel, with a start on chapters 2 and 7, this week. Here we are able to look
back at our pre-1985 SDA Hymnal and sing the old
Number 497 – Dare To Be A Daniel. With this one in mind we can still include one from last week in our current SDA Hymnal,
Once To Every Man And Nation – Hymn 606.
Daniel chapter 7 encourages us to
Hail Him, The King Of Glory – Hymn 202, particularly in verse 2. From here, we are then able to go forward and have a solid foundation, so let us
Build On The Rock – Hymn 531.
Just as “the remnant church was born in the New World (USA)”, as the Bible said would happen, we can once again say
For Your Holy Book We Thank You – Hymn 277.
Ellen G White’s statement on Friday ends so beautifully, reminding us to sing
When We All Get To Heaven – Hymn 633.
Please continue to search the scriptures this week to be blessed and to bless others.
To learn unknown hymns, you will find the accompaniment music for each one at: https://sdahymnals.com/Hymnal/
Another great resource is for when there is a hymn you wish to sing but can’t find it in your hymnal. Go to https://www.sdahymnal.org/Search and in the search bar type a special word in that is in the hymn. I am sure you will be amazed at the help you will be given.
2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
(0)Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/5-the-nations-part-2-singing-with-inspiration/
Lesson 5: The Nations, Part 2………………………………………………………………….
IntroductionIn a world that celebrates knowledge and curiosity as the highest virtues, it’s almost provocative to suggest that not all knowledge is good for us. Yet this was the lesson God intended for the first humans in Eden: true freedom is not found in limitless insight, but in trust and obedience. In this lesson we discover why the first commandment—to abstain from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil—was not a restriction but a protection.
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Bible Study
Question 1: What was the first commandment, and why was it so important?
In Genesis 2:9–17, God gave Adam and Eve a clear instruction: they could eat freely of every tree in the garden—except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That command wasn’t an arbitrary obstacle but an act of love. God sought to shield them from knowledge that would lead not to wisdom but to suffering, mistrust, and death. True wisdom begins with trusting God’s judgment, not grasping at whatever piques our curiosity.
Question 2: How does the Eden prohibition help us understand why some insights can be dangerous?
Today many have encountered knowledge they wish they’d never had: violent images, harmful gossip, manipulative tactics. Such “knowledge” wounds others and subtly wounds our own hearts in ways that can’t be undone. Eden reminds us: not everything we could know should be pursued.
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Spiritual PrinciplesObedience preserves life. God’s commands are not burdens but guardrails for our souls.
Not all curiosity is healthy. Some doors, once opened, cannot be closed again.
True freedom means trusting God’s wisdom more than our own desires.
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Practical ApplicationBe mindful of what you consume—online, in conversation, in reading. Not every piece of “information” serves your soul.
When faced with a tough decision, ask: “Does this knowledge help me serve God, or just feed my pride?”
Practice saying “no” to content that threatens your purity, your peace, or your trust in God.
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ConclusionEden isn’t lost. Even today God invites us to walk in the “garden” of our lives—guided by trust and obedience, not unchecked curiosity. Each time we choose to trust His wisdom, we rebuild a piece of Eden in our hearts.
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Thought of the DaySome doors remain closed out of love. True freedom begins not where everything is allowed, but where God protects our hearts.
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Illustration – “The Forbidden Door”Title: The Forbidden Door — Learning Trust in the Digital Age
Munich, Spring 2023.
A light rain pattered against the university library’s windows long after the lecture hall had emptied. In a dusty study carrel, two students remained: Lisa, a computer science major, nervously scrolling on her laptop, and Elias, a theology student, absorbed in a worn Bible.
Lisa leaned forward, whispering, “You won’t believe what I found.” She slid the laptop toward Elias.
He peered at the screen. “What is it?”
“A hidden file on our university network,” she said, excitement in her voice. “It’s encrypted, but I cracked the code. It supposedly contains explosive info about professors and secret research.”
Elias frowned. “And you want to open it?”
Lisa shrugged. “Just out of curiosity. Knowledge is power, right?”
Elias closed his Bible and turned to Genesis 2: “ ‘…but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you must not eat, for on the day you eat of it you shall surely die.’ ”
Lisa gave a wry smile. “You’re comparing a file to Eden’s tree?”
“Maybe it’s not so different,” Elias replied calmly. “Some knowledge changes not only what you know, but who you become.”
Outside, the rain intensified as Lisa quietly shut her laptop.
“I never want to be part of something I’ll regret,” she murmured.
Two weeks later, the university was in turmoil. Someone had opened that “secret” file and leaked details that sparked scandal—but also destroyed innocent lives. Careers were ruined. Friendships shattered. Trust evaporated.
Lisa stood with Elias on the library steps.
“I’m glad I didn’t click,” she said softly.
Elias nodded. “Sometimes trusting God’s protection is better than any information.”
That day, Lisa truly understood why God set a boundary in Eden: it wasn’t about withholding knowledge, but about safeguarding the heart from harm.
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Story Takeaway:True freedom isn’t the absence of rules, but trust in God’s wisdom. Sometimes obedience spares us scars we can never heal.
April 27, 2025
DAILY BIBLE READING
Genesis 11 – The Tower of Babel, the Confusion of Languages, and the Genealogy from Shem to Abram══════════════════════════════════════════════
Bible Text – Genesis 11 (King James Version)1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
3 And they said one to another, “Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.
4 And they said, “Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”
5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
6 And the Lord said, “Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
9 Therefore is the name thereof called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.10 These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:
11 And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.
12 And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:
13 And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.
14 And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:
15 And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years.
16 And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan.
17 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,
18 And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,
19 And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,
20 And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.
21 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest unto Sephar a mount of the east.
22 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.
23 And these are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.
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Explanation & Context══════════════════════════════════════════════
IntroductionGenesis 11 tells how, in pride and self-sufficiency after the Flood, humanity built the Tower of Babel. Instead of obeying God’s command to fill the earth, they clamored to make a name for themselves. God intervened, confusing their language and scattering them, bringing diversity and dispersion. The second half of the chapter traces the line of Shem down to Abram—setting the stage for God’s unfolding plan of salvation.
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Commentary
1. Building Babel and the Confusion of Languages (vv. 1–9)
Humanity unites to build a monument to their own glory.
God sees the danger of collective pride and confounds their speech.
The scattering that follows is both judgment and a protective measure against greater evil.
2. The Genealogy from Shem to Abram (vv. 10–26)
Each descendant is listed until the line reaches Abram.
This prepares the reader for God’s special covenant with Abraham and Israel.
3. Abram’s Origin and Journey (vv. 27–32)
Abram is introduced as from Ur of the Chaldees.
Hints of his calling appear: a move toward Canaan under his father Terah’s leadership.
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SummaryGenesis 11 exposes the pride of humanity seeking autonomy from God. God’s intervention brings both judgment and a new order. The genealogy underscores that despite human rebellion, God’s plan presses on through a faithful line culminating in Abraham.
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Message for Us Today
What can we learn from Genesis 11?
Pride leads to dispersion: When we glorify ourselves, we lose our unity and direction.
God ordains diversity: The variety of languages and cultures stems from God’s sovereign action and is part of His design.
God’s redemptive plan prevails: Even in human rebellion, God advances His story of salvation.
Walk by faith: Like Abram, we are called to follow God’s voice, even when the way ahead is unclear.
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)
Today, God invites us to glorify His name—not Babylon’s—by living in faith and obedience.
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April 27 – May 3, 2025 WEEKLY SPIRIT OF PROPHECY READING Ellen G. White │ Patriarchs and Prophets – Chapter 2 The Creation Read online here
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IntroductionChapter 2 unfolds the wonder of Creation in all its beauty:
The earth was formed in perfect harmony, and humanity is God’s crowning work—created in the image of the Creator.
This chapter not only describes the origin of the earth and of Adam and Eve, but also emphasizes the special blessing of the Sabbath and God’s institution of marriage.
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Commentary 1. The Beauty of the Created World
The earth came from God’s hand without swamps, deserts, or jagged mountains.
Every plant, animal, and landscape reflected God’s love and wisdom in harmonious unity.
2. Humanity as the Crown of Creation
Adam and Eve were made in God’s image, endowed with high intelligence, free will, and noble character.
There was no process of evolution—humanity sprang directly from God’s creative act.
Humans were appointed stewards of creation, embodying God’s glory in both form and function.
3. The Institution of Marriage
Eve was given to Adam as an equal helper—not subordinate, but a partner of equal worth.
Marriage was instituted by God Himself as a sacred, lifelong union.
4. The Garden of Eden
Eden was a specially prepared dwelling place—a glorious natural sanctuary.
At its center stood the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
5. The Institution of the Sabbath
After six days of creation, God rested on the seventh day, blessing and sanctifying it.
The Sabbath was given to humanity as an eternal memorial of Creation.
This day of rest was meant for reflecting on God’s work and renewing our relationship with Him.
6. Humanity as a Moral Being
God tested Adam and Eve’s loyalty with the command regarding the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Obedience was to be voluntary and motivated by love, not compulsion.
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SummaryChapter 2 reveals how perfect and beautiful God’s original creation was:
Adam and Eve lived in a world without death, pain, or suffering, surrounded by divine abundance.
The Sabbath and marriage were instituted as special gifts for humanity.
God sought a voluntary, loving relationship with His creatures, founded on trust, obedience, and shared delight in His work.
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Application for Today What can we learn from Chapter 2 for our lives?
Stewardship of Creation: The world around us testifies to God’s love—we are called to preserve it.
Our Identity in God: We are not accidents; we are intentionally created and deeply loved by our Maker.
Value of Work and Community: Labor, marriage, and Sabbath rest are divine gifts intended for our well-being.
Freedom through Obedience: True life and joy are found in willingly following God’s good commands.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8)
Today God invites us to marvel at His works, honor His wisdom, and find true fulfillment in communion with Him.
Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/27-04-2025-genesis-chapter-11-believe-his-prophets/
How can we learn to be better leaders? 2 Samuel 5 begins the story of one of the world's greatest leaders–King David. From what you know of King David, what qualities made him a good king? Leave a comment! Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtM06Nxo_8s
Please join us for an inspiring worship service with the Pathfinder teams participating in the 2025 PBE finals. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGYdTEf-a7w
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