Closer To Heaven
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12 March 2026 | The United States Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Ohio has released the final report of a several year investigation into a volunteer religion teacher and youth minister in the Worthington, Ohio Seventh-day Adventist Church and the church’s church school, Worthington Adventist Academy. Andrew Brown, 51, of Columbus, possessed a […] Source: https://atoday.org/worthington-ohio-church-had-prolific-child-porn-volunteer/
12 March 2026 | News from the South American Division In 2026, the South American Division (SAD) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church celebrated its 110th anniversary. Established in 1916, the regional administrative office aids the church’s work in eight countries across South America, including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. This Division coordinates initiatives in […] Source: https://atoday.org/news-briefs-from-the-south-american-division-advent-mission-colombia-ghana/
Inside Story for Friday 13th of March 2026
Rene Tucaldo is chief financial officer of the 1000 Missionary Movement, whose headquarters in Silang, Philippines, were constructed with the help of a 1996 Thirteenth Sabbath Offering. Read the rest of the story next week.
On the Sabbath that Rene chose to go to church rather than to the office, he returned after sundown to the building where he lived and worked. A coworker handed him a letter from the boss. He had been fired.
Image © Pacific Press
Rene was shocked. He didn’t know what would happen next. As a foreigner working in a country hostile to Christianity, he wondered if he could stand firm for God if he were sent to prison or faced death.
He prayed, “Lord, is this the time for me to go home to the Philippines? If You want me to die here, it’s fine with me. Many people know I’m fighting for my faith.”
Early the next morning, he went to the office and emailed his boss. “I respect you,” he wrote. “You are my friend and big brother. I know we need to discuss the problems that I have caused when you come to the office.”
That night, his boss came to work. He seemed upset. Rene prayed, “Please help. Let my boss calm down. But if it’s Your will that I die, I accept it.”
Then the boss summoned Rene. Rene tried to stand up but couldn’t. His knees wouldn’t support him. He felt like he was dying.
With all his strength, he lifted himself out of his chair and walked awkwardly, hunched over, to his boss’s office. As he raised his hand to knock on the door, he heard a voice whisper, “Don’t be afraid. I am the true God. I am faithful to My promises.”
A moment later, he opened the door and saw his boss’s stern face. As he walked in, the voice whispered twice, “I am the true God. I am faithful to My promises.” With each repetition, the voice grew louder.
The boss handed two pieces of paper to Rene and said, “Choose one.” When Rene expressed bewilderment, the boss said, “One is a work contract. The other is a plane ticket.” Relieved, Rene prayed silently, “Thank You, Lord, it isn’t prison.” He chose the plane ticket.
But the boss said, “Read the contract first.”
Rene saw his pay would be doubled if he worked one hour on Saturdays. He chose the ticket again. As he wondered how he would pay for it, he heard the voice again, saying, “I am the true God. I am faithful to my promises.”
Rene returned home to the Philippines. On the plane, he prayed, “You say, ‘I am the true God. I am faithful to My promises.’ What is Your promise to me?” The voice whispered, “You won’t be able to use up all your money before you find a new job.”
Daily Lesson for Friday 13th of March 2026
Further Thought
“When the Spirit of God controls mind and heart, the converted soul breaks forth into a new song; for he realizes that in his experience the promise of God has been fulfilled, that his transgression has been forgiven, his sin covered.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
He has exercised repentance toward God for the violation of the divine law, and faith toward Christ, who died for man’s justification. ‘Being justified by faith,’ he has ‘peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Romans 5:1.
“But because this experience is his, the Christian is not therefore to fold his hands, content with that which has been accomplished for him. He who has determined to enter the spiritual kingdom will find that all the powers and passions of unregenerate nature, backed by the forces of the kingdom of darkness, are arrayed against him. Each day he must renew his consecration, each day do battle with evil. Old habits, hereditary tendencies to wrong, will strive for the mastery, and against these he is to be ever on guard, striving in Christ’s strength for victory. . . .
“The power of a higher, purer, nobler life is our great need. The world has too much of our thought, and the kingdom of heaven too little.
“In his efforts to reach God’s ideal for him, the Christian is to despair of nothing. Moral and spiritual perfection, through the grace and power of Christ, is promised to all. Jesus is the source of power, the fountain of life. . . . In our behalf He sets in operation the all-powerful agencies of heaven. At every step we touch His living power.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, Pages 476–478.
Discussion Questions
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March 12, 2026 | The Central Seventh-day Adventist Church now has closure regarding the vandalism of their church building late last month. Congregants arrived for Sabbath service with homophobic and antisemitic slurs and symbols graffiti-ed on the church’s exterior, utilities box, and mailbox. After a search of the perimeter, which estimated the damage at $20,000, […] Source: https://atoday.org/suspect-charged-in-san-francisco-church-vandalism-case/
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