Daily Lesson for Sunday 11th of January 2026

Although Paul was no criminal, this was not the first time that he had been imprisoned, and he was no stranger to persecution. To the Corinthians, he detailed his sufferings up to that time: “In prisons more frequently, in deaths often. 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” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27, NKJV).

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But lest we think these sufferings were uppermost in his mind, Paul immediately adds, “besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:28, NKJV).

Like Jesus, who spared nothing to save us, Paul was willing to “spend and be spent” for the sake of fellow believers (2 Corinthians 12:15, NKJV). But, paradoxically, the more a person’s actions resemble that of Jesus, the less they are loved or appreciated by some. “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). But faithful Christians remain perhaps the most powerful way to glorify God and to reveal the truth of the gospel (compare Philippians 1:7). “Paul’s patience and cheerfulness during his long and unjust imprisonment, his courage and faith, were a continual sermon.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 464.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/26a-03-christ-will-be-magnified/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=26a-03-christ-will-be-magnified

Daily Lesson for Sabbath 10th of January 2026

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Read for This Week’s Study:

Philippians 1:19-30, 1 Corinthians 4:14-16, 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, John 17:17-19, Micah 6:8, Acts 14:22.

Memory Text: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21, NKJV).

Death, we’re often told, is just part of life. That’s a lie. Death is the opposite of life, the enemy of life. Death was no more built into life than wreckage was built into a car. Paul emphatically says that Christ died to “destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Although ready to die for Christ, Paul was confident of his long-term fate. The most important thing for him in the meantime was, by his own life or death, to honor Christ and to preach the gospel to as many as possible. Perhaps that is one reason we have so many epistles bearing his name. Through his writings, he could reach many people and places, including places that he himself had never visited.

Life is short, and it is vital to make the biggest impact possible for God’s kingdom within the span of the years that God grants us. No small part of that impact has to do with our encouraging “the unity of the faith.” As we shall see beginning this week, this theme was one important reason for Paul’s writing to the Philippians.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 17.

Sunday–>

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/26a-03-life-and-death/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=26a-03-life-and-death