Signs and Wonders

By Dimitry Bagal

While studying Isaiah in the Adult Bible Study Guide a few quarters ago, one verse particularly caught my attention: “Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 8:18, NKJV). The verse seemed to be about me. My wife and I already had a child, and we were waiting for the birth of our second. I thought, “‘Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me!’ It would be great to also have signs and wonders from God!”

Image © Pacific Press

Thinking about the verse, I remembered reading about God’s wonderful intercession in the lives of Adventists who, with faith alone, managed to raise significant funds for mission projects. I prayed, “Lord, I also would like to make a donation. I even have a good occasion: the birth of my second child. Please give me an idea of how much I should donate, with Your help, as a sign of my gratitude for a good pregnancy and smooth birth, and let me know who should get the donation.”

Almost immediately I felt impressed to raise 1,000 euros (about U.S.$1,185). The amount seemed unattainable for someone with a limited income like me in Germany. I prayed, “Lord, it’s Your goal, so You have to make sure that the money comes from somewhere. You know that my salary is insufficient to put anything aside. All I can promise is to pray daily and put aside any money that I may receive in addition to my salary.”

Every day, I prayed that the Almighty would somehow make it possible to reach the goal of the 1,000 euros. In less than a month, I already had received about half of the amount. An elderly couple unexpectedly gave me 200 euros for helping them move into their new home. Then an Adventist businessman gave 200 euros when my wife and I, in an effort to be hospitable, put up two of his employees in our home for the night. After that, a married couple transferred 50 euros, unannounced, to our bank account. A month before the baby was born, I already had the 1,000 euros.

The birth of Maranatha Yessenia was smooth and fast on May 4. I parked in front of the hospital at 8:37 a.m., and she was born 20 minutes later. The funds went to a mission project.

The Lord made it possible to reach His donation goal. Blessed with my wife and two children, I can truly say, “Here am I and the children whom the Lord has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts!”

Thank you for supporting mission projects through the weekly Sabbath School mission offering, the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering, and the Annual Sacrifice Offering.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

Amen!(6)

The post Inside Story: Signs and Wonders first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post Inside Story: Signs and Wonders appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/inside-story-signs-and-wonders/

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Temptation and Fall,” Pages 52-62 and “The Plan of Redemption,” Pages 63-70, in Patriarchs and Prophets; “The Knowledge of Good and Evil,” Pages 23-27, in Education.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

In recent years, studies have been done on what is called Near Death Experiences (NDEs). What happens is that people “die,” in that their hearts stop beating, and they stop breathing. However, they then come back to life, but with fantastic stories of floating into another realm of existence and meeting a being of light. Some even talk about meeting long-dead relatives. Many people, even Christians, who don’t understand the truth about death, believe that these stories are more proof of the immortality of the soul. However (and this should be the clearest warning that something is amiss), most who have these experiences claim that the spiritual beings whom they had met during the NDEs gave them comforting words, nice statements about love, peace, and goodness. But they hear nothing about salvation in Christ, nothing about sin, and nothing about judgment. While getting a taste of the Christian afterlife, shouldn’t they have gotten at least a smidgen of the most basic Christian teachings along with it? Yet, what they’re taught sounds mostly like New Age dogma, which could explain why, in many cases, they come away less inclined toward Christianity than they were before having “died.” Also, why did none of the Christians, convinced that their NDEs were a preview of the Christian heaven, ever get any Christian theology while there, as opposed to a big dose of New Age sentimentalism? The answer is that they were being deceived by the same one who deceived Eve in Eden, and with the same lie, too. (See lesson 11.)

Discussion Questions:

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Amen!(2)

The post Friday: Further Thought ~ Death in a Sinful World first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/friday-further-thought-death-in-sinful-world/