Closer To Heaven
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by Robert Crux | 7 January 2025 | Throughout history people of faith have been conflicted by their moral imperative to be the church militant, while at the same time abiding by a moral imperative not to impose Christianity on people by force. Christianity in the United States has long been rooted in voluntary evangelism […] Source: https://atoday.org/confusing-revenge-with-justice/
Examine how AWR radio broadcasts provide a lifeline of support and inspiration for Frédéric's family in a remote village. Learn how these programs foster community and growth. Like, subscribe, and engage with us in the comments! #SpiritualGrowth #AWRConnection #RuralLivelihoods #awr #adventistworldradio #short Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFbTllEkTSo
January 7, 2025 | In a press release from the campus, “Andrews University (AU) has received a grant of $6,326,735 from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Ministry in Rural Areas and Small Towns Initiative. The initiative aims to provide resources to help churches in rural areas and small towns enhance the vitality of their ministries […] Source: https://atoday.org/press-release-andrews-university-receives-major-grant-from-lilly-endowment-inc/
Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, John C. Peckham, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson.”
(0)Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/2-covenantal-love-it-is-written-discussions-with-the-author/
Daily Lesson for Wednesday 8th of January 2025
God’s love is everlasting and always unmerited. However, humans can reject it. We have the opportunity to accept or reject that love, but only because God freely loves us with His perfect, everlasting love prior to anything we do (Jeremiah 31:3). Our love for God is a response to what has already been given to us even before we asked for it.
Image © Providence Collection at Goodsalt.com
God’s love always comes first. If God did not first love us, we could not love Him in return. While God created us with the capacity to love and to be loved, God Himself is the ground and Source of all love. We have the choice, however, whether we will accept it and then reflect it in our lives. This truth is exemplified in Christ’s parable of the unforgiving servant (see Matthew 18:23-35).
In the parable, we can see that there was no way the servant ever could have repaid what he owed the master. According to Matthew 18:1-35, the servant owed his master 10,000 talents. One talent amounted to about 6,000 denarii. And one denarius was what an average laborer would be paid for one day of work (compare with Matthew 20:2). So, it would take an average laborer 6,000 days of labor to earn one talent. Suppose, after accounting for days off, that an average laborer might work 300 days per year and, thus, earn 300 denarii in a year. So, it would take an average laborer approximately 20 years to repay one talent, which consisted of 6,000 denarii (6,000/300 = 20). In order to earn 10,000 talents, then, an average laborer would have to work 200,000 years. In short, the servant could never repay this debt. Yet, the master felt compassion for his servant and freely forgave his huge debt.
However, when this forgiven servant refused to forgive the far smaller debt of 100 denarii of one of his fellow servants and had him thrown in prison over the debt, the master was moved with anger and rescinded his merciful forgiveness. The servant forfeited the love and forgiveness of his master. Although God’s compassion and mercy never run out, one can finally reject, even forfeit, the benefits of God’s compassion and mercy.
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Think about what you have been forgiven and what it cost you to be forgiven by Jesus. What should this tell you about forgiving others? |
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