Closer To Heaven
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Comments of the Week April 20-26, 2026 “Fundamentalism, and the literalism that comes hand in hand with it, is the great evil of the last century” -David Johnson on Is Science Bad When It Disagrees With the Bible? Comments on Our Relationship with God Doesn’t Depend on What We Do on Sabbath, Does It?; Questions […] Source: https://atoday.org/comments-of-the-week-apr20-26/
Daily Lesson for Monday 27th of April 2026
Although Mark 1:35 is just one verse, we can learn so much here from Jesus’ example. Long before the sun came up, He removed Himself to a solitary place of quiet so He could be with His Father. Can you imagine the scene—Jesus, sitting by the Sea of Galilee or on the side of a hill, praying and communing with His Father before the world around Him woke up? Although this verse describes Jesus’ commitment to prayer, we clearly see that it was a priority for Him. No doubt this time was what gave Him strength to face all that He endured. If Jesus needed this to start every day, how much more do we?
God tells us, “ ‘Seek My face,’ ” and He hopes our response will be “ ‘Your face, Lord, I will seek’ ” (Psalms 27:8, NKJV).
Image © Providence Collection at Goodsalt.com
Do you have a place you can go each morning to be with God? Perhaps you can find a chair by a window, a quiet spot outside, or even the kitchen table, where you can come daily to sit at the feet of Jesus to learn from God’s Word. Sitting at the feet of Jesus is the best place to be (Luke 10:39-42). By forming a daily habit of going to a certain place to spend time with God, you’ll be more likely to return there each day. Don’t become discouraged when you miss a day here or there, because emergencies arise, and you may not be able to spend time with God. But try not to let too much time pass without spending time with God. Remember that having an abiding relationship with God is a daily decision, one that you can start again, today, if you choose to.
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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/26b-05-a-place/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=26b-05-a-place
Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class on May 2, 2026.
Photograph by William Earnhardt
Central Theme: Whether you experience a thriving daily Bible study time or your Bible sits mostly closed on a bookshelf, the reality is that we can all develop stronger Bible study times with God. This week, we’ll explore some practical ways to study the Word of God better.
Read in Class: John 15:1-8 and Mark 1:35.
Study: What do these passages tell us about the importance of time spent with God? Why should we also find a good place to spend time with God in prayer and Bible study?
Apply: During the past week, how much time have you spent in prayer and Bible reading? What does your answer tell you about changes you might have to make in your priorities?
Share: Some people have a goal of how many chapters they should read a day, while others may have a goal for how many minutes they spend in God’s Word. Please share your thoughts with the class on measuring our Bible study by time or by chapters. Can we become legalistic by measuring our time? Should we just look for new revelations that may come sooner on some days than on others? What about meditating on a verse instead of hastily reading a bunch of verses? Please share your thoughts.
Read in Class: Psalm 119:15-16, 105.
Study: Even if you don’t have to be a scholar to study the Bible, how can you study the Bible deeply?
Apply: What are some ways you get the most out of your Bible study time? How do you decide which passages to read? Do you meditate on those passages, or even journal, or share your thoughts on a passage on social media? Do you highlight certain passages? Do you pray over certain passages?
Share: The Holy Spirit gives all of us fresh revelations from our study in God’s Word. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve given a Bible study to someone and they’ve taught me something new I hadn’t seen before. It’s always good to reinforce what we have learned by sharing it with others. Can you share with the class something you have learned in your personal Bible study lately?
Read in Class: Isaiah 50:4.
Study: What is this verse telling us about having a relationship with God and how it can impact our relationship with others?
Apply: Read Isaiah 55:11 and consider its meaning. What are you studying at the moment? With whom could you share this?
Share: Which Bible translations have you found to be the most helpful in your Bible study? Do you use multiple versions? See why it’s good to use multiple Bible translations.
Read in Class: Psalm 119:103-104 and Isaiah 55:1-13.
Study: What does it mean that “through your precepts I get understanding?” Why is this idea important in grasping what Bible study does for us? What does the Lord give to those who come to Him, to “eat” from His Word? What is His invitation to you here? What is His challenge? What is His promise?
Apply: What are concrete ways you can “seek the LORD while He may be found” (Isa. 55:6, NKJV)?
Share: How do we make sure our own ways or opinions are not blocking our growth and progress in Bible Study?
Mission: Have you ever thought about hosting a small growth group Bible study in your home? Would now be a good time to start?
A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.” So he divided to them his livelihood. Luke 15:11, 12. (Read Luke 15:11-32.)
It was to answer the accusation of the scribes and Pharisees to the effect that Jesus chose the companionship of sinners that He spake the parables concerning the lost sheep, the lost silver, and the prodigal son, and in these presentations showed that His mission to the world was not to make miserable, not to condemn and destroy, but to recover that which was lost…. These were the very ones that needed a Savior….
The prodigal son was not a dutiful son, not one who would please his father, but one who desired his own way…. The tender sympathy and love of his father were misinterpreted, and the more patient, kind, and benevolent the father acted, the more restless the son became. He thought his liberty was restricted, for his idea of liberty was wild license, and as he craved to be independent of all authority, he broke loose from all the restraint of his father’s house, and soon spent his fortune in riotous living. A great famine arose in the country in which he sojourned, and in his hunger he would fain have filled himself with the husks that the swine did eat….
He had no one now to say: “Do not do that, for you will do injury to yourself. Do this, because it is right.” … Starvation stared him in the face, and he joined himself to a citizen of the place. He was sent to do the most menial of work—to feed the swine. Although this to a Jew was the most disreputable of callings, yet he was willing to do anything, so great was his need….
He is suffering keen hunger, and cannot fill his want, and, under these circumstances he remembers that his father has bread enough and to spare, and resolves to go to his father…. Having made this decision, he does not wait to make himself more respectable…. “When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” …
The home looks just as it did when he left it; but what a difference there is in himself…. The father does not give him a chance to say, “Make me as one of thy hired servants.” The welcome he receives assures him that he is reinstated to the place of son.—Signs of the Times, January 29, 1894.
From the Heart p. 127
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Prayer Requests
—-update and request—Harley came through his pacemaker fine. He went home and told his mother that he needed to go to the hospital. His chest felt like it was on fire. The hospital said that he may have to go to a bigger hospital out of town. M
—-Please pray for our president. Jerry
—-I am asking for your prayers right now for my dad, Larry. His condition has taken a serious turn today. He is running a high fever and his blood pressure has dropped significantly. The doctors are moving him into the ICU at this moment. Aaron
—-My son is in a psychiatric hospital with extreme paranoia. Please pray for him Anonymous
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Dear Friends,
When my grandfather, Ed Harmon, moved to Washington, DC to learn the bookbinding trade, he fell in love with a beautiful, young lady by the name of Rose Muderspach. She returned his love. They were quite the opposite in many ways. He had many “rough edges” from all the years he spent as a hobo wandering up and down the East Coast; yet his heart was tender and he craved someone to really care for him. She was beautiful inside as well as outside and could have won the affections of any of the young men in the area; but she looked past Ed’s roughness and saw the softness within.
Sadly, sometime after they started courting, Rose contracted tuberculosis and died. All of Ed’s hopes and dreams died with her. All of their plans came to an end. He was devastated. He thought that he could not go on. Everything around him reminded him of her. As soon as he finished his apprenticeship with the Review and Herald Publishing Association, he left the area. Unfortunately, he never again found someone that could take the place of his first love.
Just as my grandfather lost his first love through her death, so we can lose our first love through carelessness that causes us our spiritual life flicker and die, and we settle for a lesser relationship. Our religion then becomes only an unsatisfying routine, yet we hold onto it and assure ourselves that all is well. (Matt 7:21-27)
God’s Holy Word speaks of this losing of our first love. In His message to the seven churches, our Dear Saviour says, “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” Rev 2:1-5
How our Loving Saviour yearns for us to return to that first love experience. He pleads, “Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.” Mal 3:7 With tears in His eyes, He laments. “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. Matthew 15:8 “As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?” Eze 33:11
May we, therefore, be diligent to keep our love for God alive, to put Him first in our life, to center our thoughts and affections upon Him, to commune with Him, to meditate upon His goodness, to so live that others will be drawn to His Great Heart of Love is my prayer. Amen.
Rose
Daily Lesson for Sunday 26th of April 2026
Have you ever set your alarm a little earlier than usual in order to wake and read your Bible? Have you ever struggled to drag yourself out of bed and then looked at the clock and thought, I have 15 minutes before I need to begin the day. I better hurry! Have you ever gone through the motions of having a brief prayer or skimming a chapter, only to find your conscience appeased but your heart unsatisfied with the result before you rushed into the day?
“There is but little benefit derived from a hasty reading of the Scriptures. One may read the whole Bible through and yet fail to see its beauty or comprehend its deep and hidden meaning.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 90.
Image © Pacific Press at Goodsalt.com
While there are indeed blessings that come from reading the Bible—like drinking from a fire hydrant (lots and fast)—it is possible to read the Bible through quickly and miss so much. God gave us His inspired, precious Word so that we would come to know more about Him (and, in the process, more about ourselves, too). When we take time to see the indescribable, beautiful character of God and the ways He has interacted with humanity throughout history, we can only love Him more. The record of His interactions is right there in our hands—but we must find time, and take time, to know God through reading His Word (Acts 17:11). Consider the following suggestions:
Ask God to place a desire in your heart for Him. Claim the promises in Jeremiah 29:13 and Psalms 37:4. Invite Him to wake you up earlier than usual or to free up some time in your day to do so.
Surrender your time to God. Yes, you’re busy, and there are so many urgent things to do. But time with God is invaluable. Go to a quiet place by yourself and read Psalms 46:10. Read the words or sing to God the hymn “I Surrender All.” Think about the areas of your life that may not be surrendered and offer them to God.
Spend time with God even when you may not feel like it. Just as it takes a conscious choice and an action plan to be healthy (exercise, eat well), it takes a conscious choice to have a close relationship with God. Remember that new habits can take at least 21 days to form, and we can never succeed without the Holy Spirit’s help.
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Read again John 15:1-8. What is Jesus telling us about abiding in Him, and why is this so crucial to our faith? |
Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/26b-05-time/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=26b-05-time
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