By Ocrhain Matengu

People came in a seemingly constant procession to look pityingly on 2-year-old Akurious in the hospital in Katima Mulilo, Namibia. The boy had been ill for months, and the people wept as they saw his terrible pain.

Image © Pacific Press

“The hospital is failing us,” one told Akurious’ parents. “You should consult with the witchdoctor.” “God will understand,” said another. “Just do it.”

After the last visitor left, Father turned to Mother. “What should we do?” he said. “Maybe the people are right. Jesus will understand.”

Mother couldn’t bear to see her only child in pain. She agreed.

The witchdoctor declared that witches had cast an evil spell on the boy and that he would recover with traditional medicine. The parents bought the witch doctor’s medicine and gave some to the boy daily. But the more medicine they gave, the worse he got. Father began to pray earnestly. “Lord Jesus, I know I’ve made a mistake,” he said. “I departed from Your saving grace. Speak to me, Lord, for the sake of my child. You healed lepers and made the blind to see and the lame to walk. Do that for my child, too.”

A short time later, Father had a dream. As he slept, he heard a voice call him by his name, Modesty. “Modesty! Modesty! Modesty!” the voice said. “This is My child. Why have you tainted him with evil spirits? I don’t want you to be involved with any witchdoctors if you want him to live.”

Shaken, Father got up and threw away the traditional medicine. He remembered hearing a Seventh-day Adventist physician give health presentations at camp meeting, and he took the boy to him. The physician diagnosed Akurious with pneumonia and tuberculosis and sent him to a hospital where he could treat him. Father continued to pray, and Mother joined him. They placed their full trust in Jesus. Akurious (pictured) now is 22.

Akurious’ parents, Modesty and Rebecca Kakula, went on to have four children. But with the birth of each child, they refused to take part in the traditional ceremony that townspeople hold for newborns. Instead, they took their babies to the Seventh-day Adventist Church to be dedicated to Jesus.

Dear reader, pray for people who sincerely accept Jesus but struggle to forsake traditions fully. These people end up with two levels of religion: a theoretical religion based on the Bible and a practical religion grounded in culture. They embrace Bible teachings but, when faced with real-life challenges, revert to tradition. Seventh-day Adventist missionaries seek to contextualize the gospel to facilitate personal Christian growth among these people and to help them realize that traditional practices don’t work. Thank you for your mission offerings that help spread a contextualized gospel around the world.

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

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Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The First Great Deception,” Pages 531-550; “Can Our Dead Speak to Us?” Pages 551-562, in The Great Controversy.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

“Upon the fundamental error of natural immortality rests the doctrine of consciousness in death — a doctrine, like eternal torment, opposed to the teachings of the Scriptures, to the dictates of reason, and to our feelings of humanity. According to the popular belief, the redeemed in heaven are acquainted with all that takes place on the earth and especially with the lives of the friends whom they have left behind. But how could it be a source of happiness to the dead to know the troubles of the living, to witness the sins committed by their own loved ones, and to see them enduring all the sorrows, disappointments, and anguish of life? How much of heaven’s bliss would be enjoyed by those who were hovering over their friends on earth? And how utterly revolting is the belief that as soon as the breath leaves the body the soul of the impenitent is consigned to the flames of hell! To what depths of anguish must those be plunged who see their friends passing to the grave unprepared, to enter upon an eternity of woe and sin!” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 545.

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

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The post Friday: Further Thought ~ The Fires of Hell first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/friday-further-thought-fires-of-hell/