Closer To Heaven
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Suelo ser una persona optimista, pero admito que últimamente me he sentido algo deprimido. Además de algunas preocupaciones en el ámbito familiar, los acontecimientos en la Iglesia Adventista de mi país me han hecho preguntarme hacia dónde se dirige el adventismo holandés. Gran parte de mi inquietud se debe a los acontecimientos en la arena […] Source: https://atoday.org/como-podemos-seguir-creyendo-que-dios-tiene-el-control/
When people leave Adventism, many describe something unexpected: relief. Not bitterness. Not rebellion. Relief. Relief from constant self-monitoring. Relief from the low-grade anxiety of never quite measuring up. Relief from having to translate every doubt into a moral failure. Relief from feeling like salvation was always one misstep away from review. That should stop us […] Source: https://atoday.org/why-do-people-leave-adventism-relieved-and-why-dont-we-want-to-hear-that/
Daily Lesson for Sunday 28th of December 2025
Philippians and Colossians are called Prison Epistles because they were written while Paul was in prison (the others are Ephesians and Philemon). Most commentators think they were written while Paul was in Rome, about a.d. 60–62 (see Acts 28:16).
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Paul has given his life in service to Jesus Christ. If that service includes being a prisoner, he is ready. Paul describes himself as “an ambassador in chains” (Ephesians 6:20, NKJV). He had been on missionary journeys, raising up churches and training workers for the Lord. He may have asked, “Why am I here when I could be doing so much more without these chains?” Paul was also imprisoned later, when he wrote 2 Timothy, which is considered a Pastoral Epistle. So at least five books of the New Testament were written while he was in prison.
In none of the prison epistles does Paul mention exactly where he was imprisoned; thus, some have suggested either Ephesus or Caesarea. But there is no biblical evidence that Paul was ever imprisoned in Ephesus. Caesarea might seem a more likely possibility, except there is no apparent threat to Paul’s life in this city. There definitely is that threat, however, by the time Philippians was written (see Philippians 1:20, Philippians 2:17).
This epistle gives us some other clues as to where Paul was at the time of his imprisonment. First, there was a praetorium. This can refer to a provincial governor’s official residence, like the one in Jerusalem, where Jesus was examined by Pilate (Matthew 27:27, John 18:33), and in Caesarea, where Paul was imprisoned (Acts 23:35). But Paul clearly uses this term not of a place but in reference to people. He says “the whole palace guard” became familiar with the gospel (Philippians 1:13, NKJV). In Rome, these were elite soldiers, about fourteen thousand, who protected the emperor and guarded his prisoners.
Second, Paul also sends greetings from the believers in “Caesar’s household” (Philippians 4:22). This indicates that Paul was a prisoner in Rome and in contact with those who served the imperial household.
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How do we learn to make the best of whatever tough situation we find ourselves in? Why is that not always easy to do? |
Adventism knows how to prepare for persecution. We’ve diagrammed it, preached it, illustrated it for children, and rehearsed it for generations. One day, pressure will come from the outside. Laws will change. Faith will be tested. The remnant will stand. But what if that story has distracted us from a quieter, more immediate threat? Fragility. […] Source: https://atoday.org/what-if-persecution-isnt-our-problem-fragility-is/
Daily Lesson for Sabbath 27th of December 2025
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Read for This Week’s Study
Ephesians 3:1; 2 Corinthians 4:7-12; Acts 9:16; Philemon 1:15-16; Colossians 4:9; Philippians 1:1-3; Colossians 1:1-2.
Memory Text:
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4, NKJV).
An Adventist pastor, imprisoned on false charges, spent nearly two years behind bars. Though at first greatly perplexed, he realized the prison was his God-given mission field. When his fellow prisoners learned that he was a pastor, they asked him to preach. He did, and he gave out literature too. He even baptized prisoners and conducted Communion services.
“At times,” he admitted, “it was difficult ministering in the prison, but there was also joy, especially when you saw prayers answered and lives changed.”
Paul wrote Philippians and Colossians from prison (see Philippians 1:7, Colossians 4:3). In fact, in Philippi itself, after Paul and Silas were unjustly accused, the jailer put “their feet in the stocks” (Acts 16:24, NKJV). At midnight, they were “praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25, NKJV; emphasis supplied). Truly they knew how to “rejoice always.”
This week we’ll look at the circumstances that Paul faced. He saw a larger purpose for what happened to him, and perhaps we can learn from him when we, as we inevitably do, face our own trials.
*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 3.
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