Closer To Heaven
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26 June 2025 | News from Scotland “Audrey Mutongi-Darko, founder of The No.1 Befriending Agency, has been awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) on May 23 in recognition of her outstanding work to combat loneliness and isolation among older people in Glasgow. Mutongi-Darko is also invited to attend a royal garden party, where she will […] Source: https://atoday.org/news-from-scotland-the-general-conference-southern-adventist-university-and-chicago/
Have you heard the term “lawnmower parenting”? It’s when we try to remove every obstacle from our children’s path—thinking we’re helping them. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0xImA-5EYw
Inside Story for Friday 27th of June 2025
By Laurie Denski-Snyman
Maria was happy when a homeowner invited her in to look at the books that she was selling in a non-Christian country in Southeast Asia. Maria pulled several health books from her bag, but the man stopped her.
“I see what you’re doing,” he said. “You’re bringing out the lighter, more neutral books first, and after I drop my guard, you’re going to bring out the Christian books that you really want me to see. I know your intentions, so share the Christian books first.”
Maria sent up a silent prayer. “Lord, please help me,” she said. “I don’t know what to say.” Out loud, she said, “I have several books on health and religion. I want to share whatever people want to see. If they have an interest in health, I share those books. If they have an interest in religion, I’m happy to share those books, too.”
The man rubbed his chin. “Let’s make a deal,” he said. “If I can ask questions about your religion and you can answer them, I’ll buy all of your books.”
Maria felt anxious. She took a deep breath and said, “I’m not wise enough to answer anything that you ask. I need help. May I pray first?”
The man agreed. Maria prayed out loud. She asked for wisdom and knowledge, and she ended the prayer in the name of Jesus.
Immediately, the man asked, “We say Jesus was a prophet, but you say He is a God. Why do you say that? How can a mere man become God?”
Without pausing, Maria said, “Many people think that Jesus only started to live when He was on earth as a baby, but He was around years before that. Jesus was part of the Godhead, and God sent Him to this earth in the form of a baby as a regular human being. Then Jesus was called to be a prophet, then He was called to be a sacrifice, and then He was called to be a high priest. So right now, He is interceding for our sins. Jesus is not just a prophet. He was called to be more than a prophet. He is a high priest—not just for me but for all who accept Him.”
The man put his head in his hands. “That is about the nicest thing I’ve ever heard,” he said.
That was his first and only question. With tears in his eyes, he bought every book that Maria had. As they bid each other goodbye, he said, “You really explained to me what I wanted to know. Now I look forward to reading all your books.”
Pray for Maria and other missionaries seeking to reach unreached people groups in the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, where this story took place. Maria is a pseudonym. Thank you for your Thirteenth Sabbath Offering this Sabbath that will help spread the gospel in the Southern Asia-Pacific Division.
(0)Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-13-inside-story-lets-make-a-deal/
Daily Lesson for Friday 27th of June 2025
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
“Every nation that has come upon the stage of action has been permitted to occupy its place on the earth, that the fact might be determined whether it would fulfill the purposes of the Watcher and the Holy One. Prophecy has traced the rise and progress of the world’s great empires—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. With each of these, as with the nations of less power, history has repeated itself. Each has had its period of test; each has failed, its glory faded, its power departed. While nations have rejected God’s principles, and in this rejection have wrought their own ruin, yet a divine, overruling purpose has manifestly been at work throughout the ages.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 535.
In Jeremiah 18:1-23, Jeremiah observes a potter doing what a potter does: molding and shaping whatever he is working on. It is this imagery, that of a potter molding his clay, that God uses to explain the principle of conditionality in biblical prophecy. And just to make sure we understand, the Lord speaks through Jeremiah, saying: “ ‘The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it’ ” (Jeremiah 18:7-10, NKJV).
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(1)Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-13-further-thought-images-of-the-end/
In un mondo che giudica, c’è qualcuno che ti abbraccia 🩷 Source: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/u9wdFyLArwo
Jesus is coming soon! The way this old world is going, it can’t be long now. There is a distress of nations, with suffering and death at every turn. But God is still on His throne, and we know how the story ends: Jesus wins the battle and returns to take us home! Despite the chaos and destruction we see, God calls us to trust in Him. He is working on our behalf. Every miracle and every victory of the gospel is a lesson in trust. My wife Kathy and I learned this early in life—and we’re still learning it today! One of our first experiences happened when we were just married and studying at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. We were at a crossroads—to trust in God, or to follow our own plans? That day, God worked a miracle we never forgot. It was the first of many more, and with each one, our faith was strengthened. God invites all of us to “Come see what the Lord has done, the amazing things He has done on the earth.” (Psalm 46:8) Here is a short video where I share several of those amazing things God is doing right now through Adventist World Radio. If we’re ever tempted to doubt as we see the devil at work, we need only review what God has done for us, and what He is doing all around the world. I love to see God at work—to see lives changed for the kingdom of heaven. And I especially love it when He uses Adventist World Radio to do it! Yours in the Blessed Hope, Duane McKey
President Sync ID Code MB01GFXGYVMKDUF Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCATpWdoDfY
Northern Luzon is buzzing with evangelism. Discover how AWR360° is spreading the everlasting gospel. Experience the mission in action. Learn more at https://awr.org. Watch the full report here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAaPGZVPlgk&t=1s #AWR360 #BroadcastToBaptism #AWRUpdates Source: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fhmLOy3TCRQ
"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:
https://wkf.ms/3DBuapQ Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8O0_OKuZ1k
ADVENTIST WORLD — The wait will soon be over for Walter Veith fans that need clarity on the approximate date of Christ’s second coming. The internet ministry personality promises to reveal the year at the upcoming General Conference (GC) Session. “We may not know the day or the hour but the year is not that […] Source: https://atoday.org/satire-walter-veith-to-reveal-year-of-second-coming-at-gc-session/
What does it truly mean to pray in the name of Jesus? In Part 3 of this brief series, we uncover the seventh key principle of effective prayer. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpvpcZs9q4U
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]
