by Lindsey Abston Painter | 3 July 2019 | I’ve always loved the Fourth of July. Everyone gets the day off from work or school. There’s a buoyant mood in the air. People prepare barbecues and pull out their swimsuits. Kids get to stay up late to watch fireworks and eat all the watermelon and […] Source: https://atoday.org/why-i-reject-american-exceptionalism/
News Briefs for July 3, 2019
News reports from Houston, Texas; Germany, Kinship, Avondale College and Montemorelos University. The Hon. Sheila Jackson Lee, the Adventist who serves as an elected member of the United States Congress from Houston, Texas, is profiled in this week’s edition of Newsweek magazine. She has been re-elected repeatedly and has served nearly 25 years as a […] Source: https://atoday.org/news-briefs-for-july-3-2019/
Four Great Reasons to Register For AT1 On The 4th Of July
We hope you have a fantastic time celebrating the 4th of July with family and friends. If you haven’t had the chance to do so yet, here are four great reasons to register for the brand new, October 4-6, Portland-based AT1 gathering over the holiday. #1 – Just as the 4th of July is about […] Source: https://atoday.org/four-great-reasons-to-register-for-at1-on-the-4th-of-july/
Pathfinder Camporee Will Gather 50,000 Adventists in Oshkosh
3 July 2019 | During the largest gathering of Adventists this year in the northern hemisphere, more than 50,000 people from all over the world will gather August 12 through 17 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for the North American Division (NAD) Pathfinder Camporee. The event happens every five years and uses the facilities of the Experimental […] Source: https://atoday.org/pathfinder-camporee-will-gather-50000-adventists-in-oshkosh/
Thursday: The Family Web of Humanity
With the arrival of sin, it did not take long for the world to break down further. Sparked by jealousy, misunderstanding, and anger, the first murder involved the first pair of brothers. When God questioned Cain about his sin, his reply is probably ironic and rhetorical—“Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen. 4:9)—and the answer implied by God’s initial question was, “Yes, absolutely, you are your brother’s keeper”.
Read Proverbs 22:2. What is implied in this apparently simple statement? What does it tell us about our relationship to our fellow human beings?
Cain slays Abel
Everyone we meet is one of God’s creatures, created in His image, and part of the network of relationships that connects us all in God’s creation, fractured and broken though it might be. “We are all woven together in the web of humanity. The evil that befalls any part of the great human brotherhood brings peril to all”. – Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 345. Like it or not, because of this common link, we have a God-given responsibility to God and to each other (see Matt. 22:37-39).
Throughout the Bible, the claim that God is our Creator is recurring. For example, it is one of the reasons given for remembering the Sabbath (see Exod. 20:11) and for worshiping God in the end time (see Rev. 14:7). It is also a primary motivation given for caring about others, for being concerned for the less fortunate.
We are all linked by the bond of our common origins in God. Whoever “oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God” (Prov. 14:31, NIV). How much clearer could that link be?
God as our Creator has a claim on us that demands our entire life, including our worship and our service and care for others. As difficult and frustrating and inconvenient as it might be at times, we are, indeed, our “brother’s keeper”.
| Why do you think God’s claims as Creator are such a recurring theme throughout the Bible? Why is this so important, and how should this reality affect how we treat others? |
Amen!
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