A young author writes this book, and I recommend it to those who are experiencing challenges in their lives. It will give you hope, inspiration, the desire to accomplish your dreams, and knowledge of resilience.
Resilience by Dahlia Allen is very revealing. It tells the life story of a young Jamaican woman, formerly a dress designer, who experienced different challenges in her life. Despite the turbulence, she held firmly to Adventism, knowing that God would carry her through and that she…Source: https://adventist.uk/news/article/go/2024-07-25/2080/
The Infinite Cost of Freedom
by Mark B. Johnson | 25 July 2024 | There was war in heaven (Rev. 12:7). This is one of the most startling texts in the Bible. So startling that brilliant theologians like Martin Luther could not imagine it was true. So startling that many Christians still cannot accept it. But it reveals something amazing: […] Source: https://atoday.org/the-infinite-cost-of-freedom/
The Great Controversy: The First Great Deception – Part 2
What happens after death and how do our beliefs about it shape our understanding of God's character? This week, join Pastor Ted Wilson, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, as he continues with part two of chapter 33 of The Great Controversy by Ellen White. In this episode, dive into the mysteries of life, death, and divine truth and discover the essence of God’s character behind it all. Watch to learn more. 🔗 Read The Great Controversy by Ellen White at https://greatcontroversyproject.org/. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxKttm1qqlM
Inside Story: Sparks Over the Sabbath
Inside Story for Friday 26th of July 2024
By Andrew McChesney
Father wasn’t worried when Mother got baptized after attending Seventh-day Adventist meetings at their town schoolhouse in Armenia.
Father wasn’t worried when his daughter, Anush, and her sister started going to Adventist summer camps. He even drove them to camp.
Father also wasn’t worried when Anush, as a 17-year-old university student, decided to get baptized and join the Adventist Church.
But he was furious when the university called to complain that Anush was skipping classes on Sabbath. Students missed classes for various reasons, and the university didn’t mind that Anush wanted to keep the Sabbath. The problem was that other students kept their reasons to themselves, but Anush unabashedly announced her absence as a matter of religious liberty.
“If she doesn’t want to go to class, then she doesn’t have to go to class,” a university administrator told Father. “But why does she have to make a big deal about it? She is hurting the university’s reputation.”
Father was appalled. He felt like his daughter’s faith was reflecting badly on the family. He reprimanded her when she came home.
“Why did you have to announce that at the university?” he asked. “If this is the way that things are going to be, I forbid you from going to church.”
He also prohibited her from getting baptized.
“I’m responsible for protecting you,” he said. “When you are older, you can make your own decisions. But for now, I’m your guardian.”
Anush didn’t argue. Armenia is a largely patriarchal society where a father’s word is law. But she wondered where the line was between the fourth and fifth commandments. Could she go to church and honor Father at the same time? She had decided before God to get baptized, but she worried that Father might forbid Mother from going to church if she insisted. Mother suggested that Anush wait. She found support for a delay in Numbers 30:3-5, which says if a daughter makes a vow while living in her father’s house, and her father approves, then God accepts it. But if the daughter makes a vow that the father overrules, then God releases the daughter from the vow.
“I think God supports the decision to wait to get baptized,” Mother said.
Anush waited. It was a difficult four years at the university. She believed that Father was a good man who only wanted the best for her. But she also longed to go to church and get baptized. She found joy in the baptism of a classmate, a woman who had learned about the Sabbath when Anush refused to study on that day. The classmate became Anush’s first soul for Christ.
Part of last quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering went to open a center of influence for families like Anush’s in Yerevan, Armenia. Thank you for helping spread the gospel with your offerings. Next week: Father changes his mind about Anush’s baptism.
(0)Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24c-04-inside-story-sparks-over-the-sabbath/
Friday: Further Thought – Parables
Daily Lesson for Friday 26th of July 2024
Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘The Sower Went Forth to Sow,’ ” Pages 33–61, in Christ’s Object Lessons.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
“True holiness is wholeness in the service of God. This is the condition of true Christian living. Christ asks for an unreserved consecration, for undivided service. He demands the heart, the mind, the soul, the strength. Self is not to be cherished. He who lives to himself is not a Christian.
“Love must be the principle of action. Love is the underlying principle of God’s government in heaven and earth, and it must be the foundation of the Christian’s character. This alone can make and keep him steadfast. This alone can enable him to withstand trial and temptation.
“And love will be revealed in sacrifice. The plan of redemption was laid in sacrifice—a sacrifice so broad and deep and high that it is immeasurable. Christ gave all for us, and those who receive Christ will be ready to sacrifice all for the sake of their Redeemer. The thought of His honor and glory will come before anything else.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, Pages 48, 49.
Discussion Questions
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(0)Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24c-04-further-thought-parables/
