Closer To Heaven
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25 March 2o24 | Dear Aunt Sevvy, Recently I sat through a sermon where the pastor used the Bible story of King Josiah and Hulda the prophetess to explain Ellen White, and to justify her public and sometimes condemnatory “testimonies” to individuals. It seemed to me that in his need to defend Ellen White, he […] Source: https://atoday.org/is-everything-about-the-adventist-church/
Bernard “Bernie” Bernacki, a man who meticulously planned his vacations down to the brand of non-dairy yogurt he’d pack, was starting to sweat through the one dress shirt he had bothered to pack. He’d envisioned idyllic days in the Philippine countryside – exploring rice terraces, haggling for hand-woven baskets, and maybe even trying karaoke. Instead, […] Source: https://atoday.org/satire-tourist-adventist-crushed-when-asked-to-preach-upon-arrival-at-church/
Daily Lesson for Tuesday 26th of March 2024
Read Psalms 126:1-6. What gives strength and hope to God’s people? What is being said here, in this context, that we can apply to our own lives today?
The Lord’s miraculous deliverances in the past are an inexhaustible source of inspiration for God’s people and their source of hope for the future. The past deliverance was so great that it could be described as a dream-come-true experience (Isaiah 29:7-8). Notice that the generation that praises the Lord in Psalms 126:1-6 for His past deliverance of His people from captivity (Psalms 126:1) is presently in captivity (Psalms 126:4).
Image © Ideals Collection at Goodsalt.com
Yet, the past joy and relief are relived through songs and appropriated in present experience. The new generations keep biblical history alive by counting themselves as present among those who saw the events firsthand. Thus, a living faith cherishes God’s great deeds for His people in the past as something that the Lord has done for us and not simply things that the Lord did only for them (the past generations of believers).
In fact, the memory of the past spurs renewed hope for the present. The image of “the streams in the south” (Psalms 126:4) is a powerful metaphor of God’s acting suddenly and powerfully on behalf of His people. The very south of Judah was an arid desert region. The streams were formed suddenly and filled with rushing waters after heavy rainfalls during the rainy season. The early and late rains played a crucial role in the success of the agricultural year (Deuteronomy 11:14, Deuteronomy 28:12). Similarly, the image of sowing in tears and reaping in joy (Psalms 126:5-6) is a powerful promise of divine leading from a difficult present to a happy future.
The end of the harvest season was the time when the ancient Hebrew pilgrimages brought the fruits of the season to God’s temple in Jerusalem (Exodus 34:22,26). The harvest motif provided a potent spiritual lesson to the people at that time. Just as the hard labor of sowing and caring for the fields, orchards, and vineyards is rewarded with the joy of a plentiful harvest, so the present trials of God’s people will be crowned with the joy of salvation at the end of time. The image of the great harvest points to God’s restoration of His kingdom on earth at Christ’s second coming (Amos 9:13-15, Matthew 9:37). Here, too, however, the theme of waiting arises. As with the harvest, we must wait to see the fruit and results of our labor.
Dwell on some times when you clearly and unmistakably saw the Lord working in your life or in the lives of others. How can you draw hope from those experiences for whatever you might be going through now?
(0)The post Tuesday: Bringing in the Sheaves appeared first on Sabbath School Net.
Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-13-bringing-in-the-sheaves/
Can God Use Pigs To Preach His Message? Ep.12 #AWR #Preach #Message #Evangelism #Jesus #short Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78alDu5hk-A
Daily Lesson for Monday 25th of March 2024
Read Psalms 131:1-3. What does this psalm teach us about our relationship with God?
God’s people live in a world that afflicts the faithful, a world full of temptations and hardship for almost everyone. A refreshed conviction that he is a child of God and dependent on God for his life consoles the psalmist and brings him to confess that his pride has no value.
Image © Graham Braddock at Goodsalt.com
The deceitfulness of pride is that it causes the proud to become self-centered and unable to look beyond themselves. The proud are thus blinded to the higher reality of God.
In contrast, the righteous lift their eyes to God (Psalms 123:1-2). The acknowledgment of God’s greatness makes them humble and free from self-seeking and vain ambition. The psalmist confesses that he does not seek “great matters” and “things too high” (Psalms 131:1). These expressions describe God’s works in the world that are beyond human comprehension. Modern science has shown us that even the “simplest” things can be incredibly complicated and far beyond our understanding, at least for now. In fact, there’s a great irony: the more we learn about the physical world, the greater the mysteries that appear before us.
Meanwhile, the metaphor in Psalms 131:1-3:2, “like a weaned child with [its] mother” (NKJV), is a powerful image of one who finds calmness and who is quieted in the embrace of God. It points to the loving relationship a child has with its mother at various stages in that child’s young life.
Through weaning us from insubstantial ambitions and pride, God introduces us to the nourishment of solid food, which is to “do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (John 4:34, also Hebrews 5:12-14). The childlike trust depicted in Psalms 131:1-3 is mature faith that has been tried and tested by the hardships of life and has found God to be faithful and true to His Word.
The psalmist’s attention at the end rests on the well-being of God’s people. Ultimately, we are called to use our experience with God to strengthen His church. That is, from what we have learned, personally, of God’s faithfulness and goodness, we can share with others who, for whatever reason, still struggle with their faith. Our witness about Christ can even be within the church itself, where many need to know Him for themselves.
“ ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven’ ” (Matthew 18:3, NKJV). What is Jesus saying to us here? What does this idea entail?
(1)The post Monday: Peace of a Weaned Child appeared first on Sabbath School Net.
Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-13-peace-of-a-weaned-child/
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