In this episode, Pastor Ted Wilson talks about the end of time and if we are really living in the last days of earth's history. A well-known and respected research organization, the Pew Research Center, once conducted a survey asking people if they believe in the "end times." Based on the results, two of five Americans affirmed their belief. Also, 55% of U.S. adults, even those claiming to be atheists, believe Jesus will someday return. This belief in the second coming of Christ is one of our core beliefs as Seventh-day Adventists. We believe in His imminent, visible return as much as we trust in His promise: "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:1-3, NKJV). Christ's second coming is the ultimate hope of the ages—the hope that burns within our hearts and is the climax of history. While no one can predict its specific date, the Bible has given us signs pointing to the time just before Jesus' return. That time is now! Realizing its nearness, the urgency of proclaiming the three angels' messages comes into focus. The cry must go out to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people: "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and springs of water" (Revelation 14:7, NKJV). To proclaim those messages, we must receive, believe, and be revived by them. They shine through us as light to others as they become part of us. This is our commission from God, as given in Revelation 14. As we look forward to another year, Ellen White gives us this inspired counsel: "With the commencement of this new year, you should dedicate yourselves to God. Now give yourself to Him, soul, body, and spirit, to do His will. Let all selfishness…all your faults, and besetting sins die with the old year. Begin this new year to the glory of God. Pray to Him, morning, noon, and night, to give you a meek and humble spirit, a mild temper, an affectionate disposition. Live as you have never lived before. Begin this new year with new feelings, fresh desires, and a strong determination to glorify God" (Youth's Instructor, January 1, 1856). Are you willing to give yourself wholly to God? Are you willing to be used by Him in these last days of earth's history to share His final message of redemption, love, and judgment as proclaimed in the three angels' messages? Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSQQOqlb77w
Inside Story: Influential Juice Bar in Fuji
Influential Juice Bar in Fuji
Wailoaloa Beach is a popular tourist destination known for affordable lodging, restaurants, and especially bars and night spots in Nadi, Fiji. But when COVID-19 struck, many small cafes, fast food outlets, and restaurants lost business along the beach. One such place was the Bamboo Resort.
Image © Pacific Press
Sensing an opportunity, three local Seventh-day Adventist churches teamed up with Bamboo Resort to open Bitu Wellness Bar, a juice bar offering health and wellness programs such as free biometric screenings, exercise programs, fat-loss challenges, and personalized meal plans. The bar, whose name bitu means “bamboo” in the local language, quickly gained popularity among the locals, who streamed in for healthy fresh juices daily.
Church members prayed that the bar would serve as a center of influence to encourage Fijians to take a more wholistic approach toward health in a region where people struggle with lifestyle diseases, particularly diabetes. The bar — supported by the South Pacific Division’s 10,000 Toes campaign, a recipient of a 2019 Thirteenth Sabbath Offering — also sought to raise awareness about healthy alternatives to alcohol.
But then a second wave of COVID-19 struck Fiji, and the authorities ordered that the Bamboo Resort shut down along with the juice bar. For two weeks, customers called daily to find out when and where the juice bar would reopen. What happened next surprised everyone.
A married couple who managed the neighboring Beach Escape Resort had watched crowds pouring in and out of the Bamboo Resort daily and had noticed that more people visited the juice bar than the liquor bar. They also noted with satisfaction a decrease in alcohol-related incidents on their street.
The couple contacted church members and offered the use of their liquor bar and other premises as a wellness hub. Church members initially declined the offer, not wanting to offer fruit juice in the same place as alcohol, but the managers explained that they wanted to stop selling alcohol altogether.
Alcohol was cleared out, and bar equipment was replaced with juicing machines, blenders, and fruits, vegetables, and herbs. The Bitu Wellness Bar was up and running again.
Church members expressed amazement at the marvelous way that God leads. The juice bar has not only influenced the patrons of the Bamboo Resort, but it also has transformed the Beach Escape Resort into a center of influence that is bringing hope and healing to the community.
Thank you for your 2019 Thirteenth Sabbath Offering that supported the South Pacific Division’s 10,000 Toes campaign in Fiji and other South Pacific countries. Thank you for planning a generous Thirteenth Sabbath Offering this quarter to support new projects to spread the gospel in the South Pacific Division and beyond.
Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org
Amen!
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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/inside-story-influential-juice-bar-in-fuji/
Friday: Further Thought ~ All Things New
Further Thought:
Read Ellen G. White, “The Controversy Ended,” Pages 674-678, in The Great Controversy; “The Earth Made New,” Pages 133-145; “Heaven Is a School,” Pages 146-158; “It Will Not Be Long,” Pages 159-166; “Heaven Can Begin Now,” Pages 167-176; “The Music of Heaven,” Pages 177-184; “A Call for Us to Be There,” Pages 185-192, in Heaven.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
“The cross of Christ will be the science and the song of the redeemed through all eternity. In Christ glorified they will behold Christ crucified. Never will it be forgotten that He whose power created and upheld the unnumbered worlds through the vast realms of space, the Beloved of God, the Majesty of heaven, He whom cherub and shining seraph delighted to adore — humbled Himself to uplift fallen man; that He bore the guilt and shame of sin, and the hiding of His Father’s face, till the woes of a lost world broke His heart and crushed out His life on Calvary’s cross. That the Maker of all worlds, the Arbiter of all destinies, should lay aside His glory and humiliate Himself from love to man will ever excite the wonder and adoration of the universe.” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 651.
“The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate, in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 678.
Discussion Questions:
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Amen!(0)
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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/friday-further-thought-all-things-new/
14.ALL THINGS NEW – ON DEATH, DYING, AND THE FUTURE HOPE | Pastor Kurt Piesslinger, M.A.
Series ON DEATH, DYING, AND THE FUTURE HOPE with Pastor Kurt Piesslinger, M.A.
14.ALL THINGS NEW
The new earth is full of glory.
Memory Text: Revelation 21:5 – Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.
Content:
14.1 A new heaven and a new earth
You cannot imagine this glory but it will be real.
14.2 In the temple of God
The heavenly sanctuary is the center of the universe.
14.3 In the presence of God
We will be close to God forever.
14.4 No more death and tears
Death is a conquered enemy.
14.5 His name on their foreheads
What a privilege to be close to the king of the universe.
14.6 Summary
Everything will be new, even the planet earth. Unbelievable!
My God bless you today and always.
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14.6 Summary – ALL THINGS NEW | Pastor Kurt Piesslinger, M.A.
Series ON DEATH, DYING, AND THE FUTURE HOPE with Pastor Kurt Piesslinger, M.A.
14.ALL THINGS NEW
The new earth is full of glory.
Memory Text: Revelation 21:5 – Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.
14.6 Summary
Everything will be new, even the planet earth. Unbelievable!
My God bless you today and always.
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Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/14-6-summary-all-things-new-pastor-kurt-piesslinger-m-a/
