Inside Story for Friday 22nd of March 2024

By Andrew McChesney

Sekule learned of two other Sabbath-keepers in the military: a lieutenant preparing for baptism and an older man born in a Seventh-day Adventist home. The Bosnian War was raging, and the lieutenant tried to convince Sekule that desperate times called for desperate measures.

“This is a special time, and you have to eat what you have,” he said. “You can practice your religion after you leave the military, but now you have to eat for your health.”

Sekule decided that the lieutenant wasn’t an Adventist. He was talking like Sekule’s unbelieving parents, and Sekule didn’t want to eat meat.

Sekule longed to meet the soldier born in an Adventist home. He wanted to ask for advice about what to eat, what to do if he were sent to the front, or just to pray together. He felt so alone.

One day, someone pointed out the Adventist to Sekule in the mess hall. Sekule watched as the man sat down with a plate of pork sausages and brown beans fried in lard, removed the sausages, and ate the beans.

A struggle broke out inside Sekule. He’s eating unclean food, he thought. Are you stupid? You’ve lost so much weight and you don’t have strength because you don’t want to eat anything. Look at him. He’s smart. When you leave the military, you can eat whatever you want.

Sekule took a step toward the serving line. Then he took another step. He wasn’t hungry—he was famished after eating only bread with tea for 20 days.

A few steps away from the food, he stopped. I won’t take it, he thought. If God died for me, I will be faithful to Him.

After a few months, spring arrived, and Sekule ate budding leaves on trees. He also ate grass that he knew was edible from his childhood.

Four months into his military service, he left the barracks to eat his first meal with a spoon. An Adventist pastor invited him to his home for a meal.

Not long after that, Sekule was sent to Serbia’s capital, Belgrade, to serve under the military’s top general. He was one of the best teleprinter typers in the country. His new barracks were located only a 20-minute walk away from a Seventh-day Adventist seminary. In his new role, he was allowed to leave the barracks whenever he wanted, and he ate vegetarian meals at the seminary nearly every day. Sekule believed God was rewarding his faithfulness.

Sekule enjoyed good health in the military. Never once did he fall ill. He lost only his hair. He entered the military with hair and left with none. He says it was as if God were saying, “If you are faithful to Me, I will take care of you. Yes, you will have problems. Yes, you lost your hair. But it is not a problem. I have a hat for you.”

Read about Sekule Sekuli´c's post-military life in the third quarter 2023 Mission quarterly available at bit.ly/adultmission. Thank you for your Sabbath School mission offerings that help spread the good news of Jesus’ soon coming in Montenegro and around the world.

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The post Inside Story: No Hair, but a Hat: Part 8 appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-12-inside-story-no-hair-but-a-hat-part-8/

Daily Lesson for Friday 22nd of March 2024

Read Ellen G. White, “How to Pray,” pp. 39–42, in A Call to Stand Apart.

Central to worship is the need for repentance, true repentance: “Repentance includes sorrow for sin and a turning away from it. We shall not renounce sin unless we see its sinfulness; until we turn away from it in heart, there will be no real change in the life.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

“There are many who fail to understand the true nature of repentance. Multitudes sorrow that they have sinned and even make an outward reformation because they fear that their wrongdoing will bring suffering upon themselves. But this is not repentance in the Bible sense. They lament the suffering rather than the sin. Such was the grief of Esau when he saw that the birthright was lost to him forever. Balaam, terrified by the angel standing in his pathway with drawn sword, acknowledged his guilt lest he should lose his life; but there was no genuine repentance for sin, no conversion of purpose, no abhorrence of evil. Judas Iscariot, after betraying his Lord, exclaimed, ‘I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.’ Matthew 27:4.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, pp. 22, 23.

“Although God dwells not in temples made with hands, yet He honors with His presence the assemblies of His people. He has promised that when they come together to seek Him, to acknowledge their sins, and to pray for one another, He will meet with them by His Spirit. But those who assemble to worship Him should put away every evil thing. Unless they worship Him in spirit and truth and in the beauty of holiness, their coming together will be of no avail. Of such the Lord declares, ‘This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoreth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me.’ Matthew 15:8-9. Those who worship God must worship Him ‘in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.’ John 4:23.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 50.

Discussion Questions

1. What is the worshiper’s greatest offering to God (Psalms 40:6-10; Romans 12:1-2)?
2. How are individual and communal worship related? Why do we really need both? How does each one enhance the other?
3. Many people understand worship to pertain only to prayer, singing of hymns, and study of the Bible and spiritual literature. While these activities are essential for worship, is worship limited to them? Give some examples of other forms of worship.
4. Ellen G. White wrote: “His service should not be looked upon as a heart-saddening, distressing exercise. It should be a pleasure to worship the Lord and to take part in His work.”—_Steps to Christ_, p. 103. How can worship of the Lord become a pleasure?

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The post Friday: Further Thought – Worship That Never Ends appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-12-further-thought-worship-that-never-ends/