13 July 2022 | by Andreas Bochmann I rarely use the King James Version as an English Bible translation these days. But self-control and self-discipline (the usual modern English translations) sound a bit too much like a fitness studio to me, and don’t quite catch the idea of the word “Besonnenheit” which Bonhoeffer would have […] Source: https://atoday.org/atss-andreas-bochmann-on-st-louis-dietrich-bonhoeffer-and-having-a-sound-mind/
Body of Missing Adventist Doctoral Student Recovered from Mountain Slope
Jeffrey Dale, an Adventist doctoral degree student, was reported missing on June 30, 2022, as he was attempting to reach the summit of Mount Jefferson. His body was found more than 1,800 feet down the mountain from the point he was last seen, indicating he likely fell during his climb. A GoFundMe page was created […] Source: https://atoday.org/body-of-missing-adventist-doctoral-student-recovered-from-mountain-slope/
Thursday: Trial by Fire
There was a young man whom we’ll call Alex. He had come out of a very troubled youth: drugs, violence, even some time in jail. But then, through the kindness of a local church member (whom Alex had stolen from), Alex learned about God and gave his heart to Jesus. Though he still had his problems and struggles, and though elements of his past still lingered, Alex was a new person in Jesus. He loved God and sought to express that love by obeying His commandments (1 John 5:1-2). At one point, Alex felt impressed that he should be a minister. Everything pointed to it. He was answering God’s call, no doubt about it.
Image © Pacific Press at Goodsalt.com
At college things went well at first. Then one thing after another went awry, and his life began coming apart. His source of money started to dry up; a close friend turned against him, making accusations about him that were false but that damaged his reputation. Next, he kept on getting sick; no one knew what it was, but it impacted his studies to the point where he was afraid that he was going to have to drop out of school completely. On top of it all, he was fighting fierce temptations with drugs, which were readily available in the local community. At one point he even fell in that area. Alex couldn’t understand why all this was happening, especially because he was sure that the Lord had led him to this school to begin with. Was Alex wrong about that? If so, was his whole experience with God a huge mistake? Even the most basic elements of his faith were coming under doubt.
Imagine that, amid this crisis, Alex comes to you and asks for advice. What would you say? What experiences of your own have you had that could help someone like him? What Bible verses would you use? How helpful might the following verses be in such a situation? Proverbs 3:1-35, Jeremiah 29:13, Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Hebrews 13:5.
| Almost all who follow the Lord have had crises during which they’ve been tempted to doubt the Lord’s leading. The important thing in such situations is to cling to the promises, recount God’s leading in the past, and pray for faith and endurance. The Lord will never give up on us. The question for us is: How do we not succumb to the temptation to give up on Him? |
Amen!
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Reinder Bruinsma Reviews “Ostriches and Canaries”
Ostriches and Canaries: Coping with Change in Adventism 1966-1979 (Westlake Village, CA: Oak and Acorn Publishers, 2022). Reviewed by Reinder Bruinsma | 12 July 2022 What follows is more a personal reaction than a formal book review. Because reading Gilbert M. Valentine’s newest book Ostriches and Canaries—Coping with Change in Adventism 1966-1979 was an intellectual feast […] Source: https://atoday.org/80559-2/
How a Tree Made Life Sweet Again
And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they [were] bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD showed him a tree, [which] when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I [am] the LORD that healeth thee. Exodus 15:23-26 KJV
Why did God have Moses put a tree in the bitter water? How did a tree make the water sweet? In 1 peter 2:24, Peter refers to the cross as a tree.
Photo by Maurice Ashton
who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. 1 Peter 2:24 NKJV
In a world of hate and bitterness, Jesus died on that tree to save us from a bitter world. Sin has caused suffering and bitterness but Jesus was lifted up on the cross to make our lives sweet again. I and many others believe this is why Moses used a tree to make bitter water sweet again.
If life has made you bitter, Jesus is offering living water that can make your life sweet again.
Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 14:13-14 NKJV
I would like to invite you to find the sweet life through fellowship with Jesus and other believers, by finding a Christ-centered Bible based church in your area. You can find one here.
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