Closer To Heaven
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Yo asistí a la Academia Union Springs en el norte del estado de Nueva York, exactamente en medio del «distrito ardentista» de mediados del siglo XIX. En ese lugar surgieron nuevas religiones (incluido el adventismo), el espiritismo y otras corrientes religiosas. James y Ellen White vivieron en Rochester durante tres años en la década de […] Source: https://atoday.org/esta-tierra-es-mi-hogar/
Daily Lesson for Sabbath 22nd of August 2026
Image © Pacific Press
2 Corinthians 1:3-14, 2 Corinthians 2:17, 2 Corinthians 4:2, 1 Corinthians 16:5-7, 2 Corinthians 7:5-13, 2 Corinthians 2:5-17.
Memory Text:
“For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you” (2 Corinthians 2:4, NKJV).
The apostle Paul didn’t always have it so easy. Besides jail and the life-threatening situations he faced, Paul also wrote: “From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:24-28, NKJV).
What we see in his letters to the Corinthians is some of the “deep concern” that Paul had for this church. Yet, amid it all, his love for them never failed, just as Christ’s love for us never fails us. In fact, it was from Jesus that Paul learned to love the churches in a way that reflects the love that Jesus has for us (2 Corinthians 5:14; see 1 Corinthians 11:1).
Scripture repeatedly commands care for the foreigner and treats the stranger with the same dignity as the native-born. Official church statements in North America reinforce that: human worth is not determined by paperwork, churches and schools should remain welcoming, and policies that drive people into fear of worship contradict the gospel’s call to one humanity […] Source: https://atoday.org/should-adventists-support-mass-deportation/
20 August 2026 | This weekend, the North Pacific Union Conference is holding its constituency meeting. Though many requested the union conference grant its local conferences permission to ordain women, as several other union conferences have done, its executive committee instead chose to send the decision back to the General Conference in its next session […] Source: https://atoday.org/as-the-npuc-constituency-meets-a-member-asks-on-womens-ordination-are-we-leaders-or-laggards/
Inside Story for Friday 21st of August 2026
The names of the author, characters, and location have been withheld.
My wife and I prayed earnestly that God would help us establish a home church in the veiled country where I serve as a witness. We knew only foreigners would attend initially, but we had faith that God would send us local people whose hearts He had been working on. It took some time, but He provided!
I met Salman one day when I ordered a taxi service. As he drove me to my destination, we started a conversation that soon diverted to religious topics. He shared that he had become a Christian two years ago after searching online for answers to his spiritual questions.
Salman and I slowly formed a friendship. One time, I asked him whether he was part of a community of believers or had Christian friends. I was shocked when he said he had never met a Christian before! My wife and I felt compelled to invite him to our home worship gatherings, and he began attending regularly. We were delighted that when he married, he brought his wife, and she, too, fell in love with Jesus.
One day, Salman decided to tell his brother Faisal about his love for Christ. To his surprise, Faisal told him he was already a Christian! He explained that he also sought answers to spiritual questions online and gave his heart to Jesus.
Salman told Faisal about our home church, and Faisal joined our group. He had no doubt that God had brought us together. He had recently visited a church seeking Christian fellowship, but the leader told him not to return because it was forbidden for people of Faisal’s faith to be there. We praised God for helping us provide a place of belonging for Faisal.
After two years of silence and prayer, Salman and Faisal decided to tell their family about their newfound faith. By the grace of God, their parents accepted their decision, but other family members turned their backs on them.
Please pray that Faisal and Salman and his wife will continue to grow in their relationships with Jesus and that my wife and I will experience many more Spirit-led encounters with God’s children in this closed country.
We call a country veiled when we have withheld its name to protect the lives and ministry of frontline workers serving there. To learn about Global Mission’s church-planting ministry, visit bit.ly/GMPioneers.
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