Closer To Heaven
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by Reinder Bruinsma | 31 December 2024 | In my native Dutch language we wish people either a “happy” or a “blessed” new year. There’s an origin story about this difference: those with a Protestant heritage prefer the term “happy,” while people with a Roman Catholic background opt for “blessed.” I like both of these […] Source: https://atoday.org/the-blessings-of-a-new-year/
Witness the miraculous changes in Mindoro as AWR's message of hope touches lives amid the NPA's prolonged insurgency. Broadcasting since 2017, AWR has been a beacon of light for many. How does the power of radio influence communities in conflict? Watch this compelling narrative and hit the like button if you're moved by stories of resilience. Don't forget to subscribe! #HopeAndSalvation #MiracleStories #MindoroJourney #awr #adventistworldradio #short Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqOd7rQ_sJU
Dear Adventist Today Supporter, I’m writing to provide an important update regarding our year-end fundraising campaign. After posting yesterday’s update, we discovered additional donations that had come in through the mail but were not included in our initial count due to a processing error. We apologize for this oversight. With these contributions now accounted for, […] Source: https://atoday.org/important-update-exceeding-our-year-end-fundraising-goal/
Daily Lesson for Wednesday 1st of January 2025
God not only loves people of His own free will, but He also invites them to love Him in return. That God grants them the ability to freely choose whether they will accept or reject His love is apparent in (among other places) Christ’s parable of the wedding banquet.
Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com
In Christ’s parable of the wedding banquet, a king arranges a marriage for his son and sends out his servants to “ ‘call those who were invited to the wedding,’ ” but “ ‘they were not willing to come’ ” (Matthew 22:2-3, NKJV). More than once the king sent out his servants to call them, but they ignored his call and, even worse, seized his servants and killed them (Matthew 22:4-6).
Later, after dealing with those who had murdered some of his servants, the king told his servants, “ ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding’ ” (Matthew 22:8-9, NKJV). After another episode of a man without a wedding garment being cast out, signifying the need to receive a wedding garment from the king to attend the wedding banquet, Jesus closes the parable with the cryptic but highly meaningful phrase, “ ‘Many are called, but few are chosen’ ” (Matthew 22:14, NKJV).
What does this mean? Those who are finally “chosen,” the “elect,” are those who have accepted the Lord’s invitation to the wedding. The term translated “call” and “invite” throughout the parable is the Greek term kaleo (to call, invite), and what determines who is finally “elect” (eklektos) is whether one has freely accepted the invitation.
In fact, God calls (that is, invites) everyone to the wedding feast. However, any one of us can refuse God’s love. Freedom is essential to love. God will never force His love on anyone. Sad to say, we can reject having a love relationship with God.
The “elect” are those who accept the invitation. For those who love God, God has prepared things more wonderful than anything that we could possibly imagine. Once again, it all comes down to the question of love and the freedom inherent in love.
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What about your life reveals that you have accepted the wedding invitation and have come appropriately clothed? |
(0)Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-01-many-are-called-but-few-are-chosen/
The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has announced a sweeping new policy banning all forms of movement during Sabbath song service. The initiative, dubbed “Statuesque Sabbath,” aims to eliminate what church leaders are calling “distracting kinetic worship.” Elder Rigid Stockstill, chair of the newly formed Committee on Motionless Melodies, explained the rationale behind the decision: […] Source: https://atoday.org/satire-all-movement-banned-during-adventist-song-services/
Intercer is a website with biblical materials in Romanian, English, Hungarian and other languages. We want to bring the light from God's Word to peoples homes. Intercer provides quality Christian resources...[Read More]
