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God Directs Our Service

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And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day. Isaiah 58:10.

As we see the necessities of the poor, the ignorant, the afflicted, how often our hearts sink. We question, “What avail our feeble strength and slender resources to supply this terrible necessity? Shall we not wait for some one of greater ability to direct the work, or for some organization to undertake it?” Christ says, “Give ye them to eat.” Use the means, the time, the ability, you have. Bring your barley loaves to Jesus.

Though your resources may not be sufficient to feed thousands, they may suffice to feed one. In the hand of Christ they may feed many. Like the disciples, give what you have. Christ will multiply the gift. He will reward honest, simple reliance upon Him. That which seemed but a meager supply will prove to be a rich feast.—The Ministry of Healing, 49.

Our hearts are to be so filled with the love of Christ that our words of thanksgiving shall warm other hearts. This is service that all can perform, and the Lord accepts it as offered to Himself. He makes it efficacious, imparting to the earnest worker the grace that reconciles man to God.

May the Lord help His people to realize that there is earnest work to be done. May He help them to remember that in the home, in the church, and in the world they are to work the works of Christ. They are not left to labor alone. The angels are their helpers. And Christ is their helper. Then let them labor faithfully and untiringly. In due season they will reap, if they faint not.

The Christian pilgrim does not yield to his desire to rest. He moves steadily forward, saying, “The night is far spent; the day is at hand.”—Testimonies for the Church 8:18.
With God at Dawn p. 279
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Prayer Requests
—-Please be praying for my in home nursing agency. There is so much miss communication and lack of professionalism. It has come to the point of learning how to access my port myself besides every Monday when I have labs. Victoria
—-Please continue to pray for Dr. Tan who is hospitalized with covid. Pray for his wife as well. Rose
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Dear Friends,

Over the years, I have always been warned my children never to put any liquid near or on my piano. Often they thought I was just too fussy. One evening some years ago, a plastic glass of water accidentally that had been left on the piano got tipped over all over Esther’s piano keys. In horror, she saw water beginning to run out of the underside of the keyboard. Almost instantly, the water soaked into the wood causing the keys to swell and stick. Esther was heartsick. I suggested that she try her blow dryer. but there was just too much water. It did no good. She called a repairman who was able to help somewhat, but it never was as good. Suddenly the rule of no water on or near the piano seemed like an important rule. Never again did they think that I was too fussy.

Just as I had a rule in our house about no liquid near my piano to keep my piano from being wrecked, so our Great Creator has given us rules that will keep us from wrecking our life. By obeying His commandments, we find happiness and well-being. Paul tells us, “the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” Rom 7:12 Indeed, “the law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.” Psa 19:7-11

When we break God’s Law, we find ourselves in an even bigger mess than water spilling on a piano. Our lives become just as broken as was Esther’s piano. How much we need the Heavenly Repairman to dry our tears, fix our swollen and broken pieces, and put us all together again. Praise God! We have such a One! Even though some scars remain, if we allow Him too, as we behold Him through His Holy Word, we will be “changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Cor 3:18

“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” Jude 24, 25
Rose

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rosesdevotional/~3/AdKujPXldgA/god-directs-our-service.html

Tuesday: A Thousand Times More Numerous

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After the long trek in the wilderness, Moses, speaking for the Lord (he was a prophet, though, indeed, more than a prophet), said: “See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers — to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — to give to them and their descendants after them” (Deuteronomy 1:8).

Notice, however, what comes next.

Read Deuteronomy 1:9-11. What is the significance of these words, especially in light of the fact that, in a real sense, they were being punished by God for the rebellion at Kadesh Barnea?
Christ and National Speakers

Image © Review & Herald Publishing from GoodSalt.com

Here we see another example of the graciousness of God. Even amid the wilderness wanderings, they were blessed: “Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; They lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell” (Nehemiah 9:21).

And Moses, again showing his love for his people, asked God to multiply them a thousand more times than God already had done!

Read Deuteronomy 1:12-17. As a direct result of God’s blessing upon them, what happened, and what steps did Moses take to deal with the situation?

Thus, even when the Lord was so powerfully present among them, there was the need for organization, for structure, for a system of accountability. Israel was a qahal, an organized assembly (see Deuteronomy 31:30), a precursor to the New Testament ekklesia, Greek for “church” (see Matthew 16:18). And though working in a different context, Paul was never far from his Jewish roots, and in 1 Corinthians 12 we see him clearly delineating the need for qualified people to assume various roles for the proper functioning of the body, just as we see here in Deuteronomy and the qahal in the wilderness. The church today, as the qahal back then, needs to be a unified body with people fulfilling various roles according to their gifts.

Though we sometimes hear people rail against “organized” religion (what would they prefer, “disorganized” religion instead?), the Word of God, especially the New Testament, acknowledges no other kind but an organized one.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

Amen!(0)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SabbathSchoolNet/~3/uvr_MlY7_K4/

Patricia Marruffo Elected as Executive Secretary of Southeastern California Conference

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Patricia Marruffo was elected as one of the top administrative officials of SECC. The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists vote in 2015 restricted ordination to men only, and typically, senior leadership positions require ordination credentials. The SECC territory has more than 70,000 members and contains two Adventist universities: Loma Linda University and La Sierra University. […] Source: https://atoday.org/patricia-marruffo-elected-as-executive-secretary-of-southeastern-california-conference/

Monday: Fulfilled Prophecy

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Despite some of the error that modern science tries to promulgate as truth (such that our universe by itself arose from “absolutely nothing” or that all life on earth arose by chance from simple chemicals), science has nonetheless given us some astonishing insights into God’s creative power. The harmony, the balance, the precision of many aspects of the natural world, even in its fallen state, continue to astound those who study them.

And if God can be so precise with physical things, He certainly would be precise with spiritual things, as well. Hence, in the opening verses of Deuteronomy, we can see more of God’s incredible precision.

Read Deuteronomy 1:1-6. What is the prophetic significance of the fact that Deuteronomy 1:3 talks about the “fortieth year”?
The Gospel Spread after AD34

Image © Justinen Creative Goodsalt.com

After the fiasco, when Moses sent spies from Kadesh Barnea to check out the land, and the people rejected the call to take the land — what happened? They were told that they would not enter into the Promised Land as they had hoped. And for how long would they wait before entering? “According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection” (Numbers 14:34).

Hence, Deuteronomy takes up the story of God’s people in the fortieth year, exactly as God had told them. In other words, God’s prophetic Word is as trustworthy as God Himself, and what we see here in the opening verses of Deuteronomy is more evidence of that trustworthiness; that is, God will do what He says and will do it when He says that He will do it.

Of course, this isn’t the only prophetic time period that was fulfilled as God had said. Looking back from our vantage point today, we can find in Daniel 9:24-27, for instance, the time period for Jesus, fulfilled just as the Lord had said. We can see that the “time and times and half a time” (Daniel 7:25; see also Revelation 12:6, Revelation 12:14; Revelation 13:5) has been fulfilled in history, as well as the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14.

And besides the precise time elements, the prophecies of Daniel 2, 7, 8, which so precisely and accurately predicted world history, have given us overwhelming evidence of God’s foreknowledge, control, and trustworthiness.

We can see that the Lord faithfully fulfilled these past prophecies just as predicted. Why should this give us confidence that we can trust Him on the things He said would come that are yet in the future?

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

Amen!(0)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SabbathSchoolNet/~3/491_6EJVSJk/

2: Moses’ History Lesson – Teaching Plan

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Key Thought: Just as Israel was to enter the promised land, Moses gave them a history lesson, remember what the Lord has done for you in the past. This should also mean something to us as we prepare to enter the promised land.
October 9, 2021

1. Have a volunteer read Exodus 32:29-32.

  1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
  2. What does this show about the character of Moses and why God was able to use him?
  3. Personal Application: Most people want to be leaders in concern for themselves, while God picked a leader who was concerned for others above himself. Do you see this kind of leadership in your church? Share your thoughts.
  4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “Why would Moses risk his own eternal life for the Israelites who had rebelled against him, accused him, didn’t listen to him, and constantly complained about his leadership?” How would you respond to your friend?

2. Have a volunteer read Deuteronomy 1:9-11.

  1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
  2. What is significant about the fact that this is mentioned as the fortieth year?
  3. Personal Application: Why would Moses want Israel to multiply so much when he just said that they were too much for him to handle? Share your thoughts.
  4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “How can you be so sure of the prophecies you mention that are supposed to happen in the future?.“ How would you respond to your relative?

3. Have a volunteer read Numbers 14:11-20.

  1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
  2. What reasoning did Moses use in interceding for the people with God?
  3. Personal Application: How are we to bring about the manifold wisdom of God to the world? Share your thoughts
  4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Why did God put up with the Israelites in the wilderness? Why didn’t He just destroy them all and start over like He did at the flood?” How would you respond to your friend?

4. Have a volunteer read Genesis 15:1-16.

  1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
  2. How do we understand God’ purpose in destroying whole cities including men, women, and children in Israel’s march across the area?
  3. Personal Application: How do you respond to someone who says that God is love and He doesn’t destroy anyone?” Share your thoughts.
  4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

Amen!(1)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SabbathSchoolNet/~3/bpoUTbBv2GQ/

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