Closer To Heaven
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Our Sabbath School program has always been linked to the support of the Seventh-day Adventist Mission program. This video provides a little insight into this important work.
(0)Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/mission-spotlight-for-february-8/
Inside Story for Friday 7th of February 2025
By Andrew McChesney
American missionary Joanne (Park) Kim was walking to her rented apartment in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It was the dead of winter, and the midafternoon temperature was about minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 Celsius).
Then Joanne saw an intoxicated man lying on the sidewalk. She had been attacked by a number of drunken men over the past year in Mongolia, and she didn’t want to stop. What if he also attacked her? She started to walk past him, but then she stopped. A small voice seemed to say, “You can’t pass by.”
Image © Pacific Press
Joanne struggled with the idea of helping him. “Lord,” she said, “he weighs nearly twice as much as I do. How can I help him?”
She looked around. The street was empty. No other people were in sight.
Joanne looked at the stranger again. “If I walk by, he will die,” she thought. “His body will freeze in just a couple of hours.”
She saw apartment buildings all around. Each building had a small room on the first floor for a guard, so the entryway was fairly warm. The nearest building was about 1,000 feet (300 meters) away. “OK, Lord,” Joanne said. “I’ll get this guy over there.” Putting her arms under his, she prayed for strength and pulled. Somehow, she dragged him to the building. Placing him in the entryway, she stepped back and looked at him. A new feeling filled her heart. She felt compassion and pity.
This encounter marked a turning point in Joanne’s mission work. No longer did she harbor any ill feelings toward the attackers. Instead, compassion and pity washed over her. At last, she could love like Jesus.
Joanne went on to help plant the first Adventist church in Ulaanbaatar as a pioneer missionary with a supporting mission organization from 1992 to 1998. She returned in 2017, and she now serves as education and development director for the Adventist Church in Mongolia.
Even now, drunken strangers still attack her from time to time, but her love for God and His people is unshakable. “Satan does not give up,” she said. “He knew he could wear me down. But God gifted me with the Mongolian language and a change of heart. God loves even the drunk men who were attacking me all the time, so I need to love them and help them as best I can.”
You also can participate in the mission work in Mongolia through this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering, part of which will help open a recreation center where children can grow spiritually, mentally, socially, and physically in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
(2)Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-06-inside-story-you-can-t-pass-by/
Daily Lesson for Friday 7th of February 2025
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
“The word of God reveals His character. He Himself has declared His infinite love and pity. When Moses prayed, ‘Show me Thy glory,’ the Lord answered, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before thee.’ Exodus 33:18-19. This is His glory. The Lord passed before Moses, and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.’ Exodus 34:6-7. He is ‘slow to anger, and of great kindness,’ ‘because He delighteth in mercy.’ Jonah 4:2; Micah 7:18.
“God has bound our hearts to Him by unnumbered tokens in heaven and in earth. Through the things of nature, and the deepest and tenderest earthly ties that human hearts can know, He has sought to reveal Himself to us. Yet these but imperfectly represent His love. Though all these evidences have been given, the enemy of good blinded the minds of men, so that they looked upon God with fear; they thought of Him as severe and unforgiving. Satan led men to conceive of God as a being whose chief attribute is stern justice,—one who is a severe judge, a harsh, exacting creditor. He pictured the Creator as a being who is watching with jealous eye to discern the errors and mistakes of men, that He may visit judgments upon them. It was to remove this dark shadow, by revealing to the world the infinite love of God, that Jesus came to live among men.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, Pages 10, 11.
Discussion Questions
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(3)Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-06-further-thought-gods-love-of-justice/
Daily Lesson for Thursday 6th of February 2025
Scripture consistently teaches that “ ‘the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments’ ” (Deuteronomy 7:9, NKJV). His character of goodness and love was supremely demonstrated by Jesus at the cross (see Romans 3:25-26; Romans 5:8). According to Psalms 100:5, “The Lord is good; [H]is steadfast love endures forever, and [H]is faithfulness to all generations” (ESV; compare with Psalms 89:2). Thus, God can be trusted; He gives only good gifts to His children (James 1:17; compare with Luke 11:11-13). In fact, He bestows good things even on those who position themselves as His enemies.
Image © Rolf Jansson at Goodsalt.com
Matthew 5:1-48 describes God’s love as perfect love. Imperfect love is the love that loves only those who love you. But God loves even those who hate Him, even those who position themselves as His enemies. His love is complete and, therefore, perfect.
Though God’s love and mercy far exceed any reasonable expectations, it never overrides or contravenes justice. On the contrary, it brings justice and mercy together (Psalms 85:10). Likewise, the Bible exhorts us: “ ‘Observe mercy and justice, and wait on your God continually’ ” (Hosea 12:6, NKJV). As another version puts it, “Hold fast to love and justice” (Hosea 12:6, ESV; compare with Luke 11:42).
In the end, God Himself will bring about perfect justice. Romans 2:5 teaches that His “righteous judgment will be revealed” (ESV). Finally, the redeemed will sing: “ ‘Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been manifested’ ” (Revelation 15:3-4, NKJV; compare with Revelation 19:1-2).
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Isaiah 25:1 proclaims, “O Lord, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth” (NKJV). How can we learn to praise God, even in bad times? In what ways can your life itself be an offering of praise to God in a way that furthers justice in your sphere of influence? |
(1)Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-06-hold-fast-to-love-and-justice/
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/6-gods-love-of-justice-it-is-written-discussions-with-the-author/
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