Closer To Heaven
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Southwestern Adventist University has named Dr. Nelu Nedelea as its 27th president following a vote by the university’s Board of Trustees on May 21. Nedelea, who currently serves as system vice president of Mission and Ministry for Mercy, one of the largest Catholic health systems in the United States, will take office on July 15, […] Source: https://atoday.org/southwestern-adventist-university-names-nelu-nedelea-as-27th-president/
Miles de adventistas del séptimo día se reunieron en el Estadio Nacional Zimpeto de Maputo, Mozambique, el 23 de mayo para concluir Impact Mozambique 2026 con un servicio de adoración, bautismos y compromisos renovados con la misión. Así lo recoge un artículo de Adventist Review, realizado por Marcos Paseggi. La celebración contó con cantos alegres, […] Source: https://atoday.org/impact-mozambique-2026-termina-con-bautismos-masivos-y-el-compromiso-renovado-con-la-mision/
Inside Story for Friday 29th of May 2026
Watch a YouTube video of Tarsis at: bit.ly/Tarsis-IS.
Tarsis Gomes, a 19-year-old student, received a monthly allowance of 50 Brazilian real (worth US$50 at the time) from his father. After giving 5 real for tithe and 5 real for offering, he had 40 real left for university expenses.
One Sabbath, after giving tithe and offering in church, a friend named Nivaldo asked Tarsis for help buying new tires for his wheelchair. Tarsis didn’t hesitate. “Sure, I’ll give you twenty real,” he said.
Then a second friend, Jairo, also asked for help. He sang with an a cappella group called Communion that was touring churches in Brazil, and they needed money for lodging. “Sure, I’ll give you twenty real,” Tarsis said.
He forgot that he needed 23 real to cover university fees that month.
Image © Pacific Press
A few days later, Tarsis got in line at an ATM to withdraw money for his university fees. His sister, who also was a student, stood with him. It was then that he remembered that he had promised the 40 real that remained after tithe and offering to his two friends. He began to talk to God. “Why did You allow me to make those promises?” he asked, bowing his head sadly. “How can I help people if I don’t study? What will Father say to me?”
At that moment, he sensed God was saying, Look up at the ATM. He raised his eyes and saw money sticking out of the ATM’s cash dispenser slot. Then someone approached the ATM and withdrew money, but the banknote remained in the slot. He couldn’t believe it. He prayed, “Lord, if three people use the ATM and don’t see that money, then I’ll know that it’s for me.”
The next three people in line withdrew money, but the banknote remained.
With a prayer, Tarsis boldly cut in line and walked up to the ATM. Reaching out his hand, he pulled a 50-real banknote out of the slot. All eyes fell on him. His sister later said it looked like he pulled the money out of thin air. One moment there was no money in the slot, and the next it was in his hand.
Tarsis couldn’t believe it. He was shaking. The next second, his sister was beside him, asking, “Where did you find that money?”
“Right here,” he said. “It was just sticking out of the ATM.”
“No way,” she said. “If it had been there, I would have taken it myself.”
Tarsis, now a 42-year-old military police officer in Recife, Brazil, has been asked why God provided 50 real and not more. He replies, “Because I didn’t help more people. If I had offered to help more people, God would have given me more.” To him, the 50 real made perfect sense: 5 real for tithe, 5 real for offering, and 40 real for his friends.“We do not become poor when we help people,” he said. “God is the One who sustains us. Be faithful.”
Daily Lesson for Friday 29th of May 2026
Further Thought:
It shouldn’t surprise us that the topic of the law can be such a twisted and misunderstood one, given that Satan’s ultimate challenge against God was about His law.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
Some in Jesus’ day thought that He had come to do away with the law, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Jesus shone light on the law and God’s beautiful character, and He came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17-18) to show us what God is like.
“Only as a reverence for God’s Holy Word was cherished in the hearts of the people, could they hope to fulfill the divine purpose. It was regard for the law of God that gave Israel strength during the reign of David and the earlier years of Solomon’s rule; it was through faith in the living word that reformation was wrought in the days of Elijah and of Josiah. And it was to these same Scriptures of truth, Israel’s richest heritage, that Jeremiah appealed in his efforts toward reform.”—Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, Pages 465, 466.
Discussion Questions
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Summary: Our lives are infected with sin, which separates us from God. However, God invites us to know and love Him with all of our mind, heart, soul, and strength. When we do this, we’ll naturally have more love for others. Such love for God and others is captured in God’s law, which was given to protect and preserve our relationships with Him and those around us. God’s law is a beautiful reflection of His character, and when we understand His law, our relationship with Him will grow stronger.
Much of our energy today is spent worrying about whether the church will survive. We analyze membership trends, debate retention versus accession, measure the depth of conversion, and diagnose the pressures of post-postmodern culture—a world suspicious not only of institutions, but even of the idea that any single story can claim authority. We ask whether […] Source: https://atoday.org/trying-to-preserve-adventism-is-ensuring-its-demise/
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