Daily Lesson for Tuesday 2nd of September 2025

On three occasions, the Israelites fervently declared that they would obey God (Exodus 19:8; Exodus 24:3,7). Obedience is important, even if the Bible teaches that we humans are weak, broken, fragile, and sinful. This sad truth has been revealed not only through the history of ancient Israel but through the history of all His people.

How, then, are we enabled to follow God faithfully?

Image © Kevin Carden at Goodsalt.com

The good news is that what God commands, He empowers us to do. The help that is not inside of us comes from outside, enabling us to do what God requires. It is His work. In the core of his theological summary in Ezekiel 36:26-27, the prophet Ezekiel makes this point very clear. Only God can perform a heart transplant, and He does so by removing our heart of stone and replacing it with a sensitive heart of flesh. As Joshua reminded his audience: “ ‘You are not able to serve the Lord’ ” (Joshua 24:19, NIV).

We can decide to follow God; that is our role. We have to make the choice, the moment-by-moment choice to surrender to Him. And that is because we do not have the power to fulfill even our conscious choice to serve Him. But when we give our weakness to God, He will make us strong. Paul says: “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10, NKJV).

Notice the divine “I” in Ezekiel 36:24-30: God gathers, cleanses, removes, gives, puts, and moves you to carefully keep His law. What He is doing, you will do. He identifies with you, and if you associate closely with Him, His doing will be your doing. The unity between God and you will be dynamic, powerful, and lively.

Again, the emphasis in this passage is on God’s doing. The literal translation reads: “I will give my Spirit in you, and I will do that you will walk in my statutes and keep my laws, and you will do.” God commands people to obey and then gives the power to obey. What God requires of His people, He always helps them to do. Obedience is God’s gift (not just our performance or achievement), just as justification and salvation are His gifts too (Philippians 2:13).

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25c-10-power-to-obey/

Exodus points us to a wonderful conclusion with the Israelites being bound for the Promised Land, hence our theme hymn for the quarter being 
We Are Bound For The Promised Land – Hymn 620.

 The practical terms we are given on Sabbath afternoon are “studying His Word”:
Hymn 272 – Give Me The Bible and “praying”: 
Hymn 684 – Hear Our Prayer, O Lord. In the end of the study introduction, “we obey Him”: 
Hymn 590 – Trust And Obey.

We find on Sunday “The Book and the Blood” instructs us that God “is love”: 
Hymn 349 – God Is Love, then tells us that our “help comes only from above, from the power of God’s grace”: 
Hymn 109 – Marvellous Grace and “from His Word: 
Hymn 272 – Give Me The Bible and 
Hymn 273 – Lord, I Have Made Thy Word My Choice, “and from the Holy Spirit”: 
Hymn 269 – Come, Holy Spirit.

“We have to make the choice, the moment-by-moment choice to surrender to Him” says Tuesday: 
Hymn 507 – Moment By Moment and 
Hymn 309 – I Surrender All. Having done this, Paul says: “When I am weak, then I am strong” in 2 Cor 12:10 
Hymn 339 – God Is My Strong Salvation.

 The building of the Sanctuary has the Israelites giving of their best  voluntarily: 
Hymn 572 – Give Of Your Best To The Master.

Scripture tells us on Thursday “that God would fill a person with the Spirit of God” and we may request this today: 
Hymn 269 – Come, Holy Spirit. The “sign between God and His people that the Lord makes them holy”, “God’s Sabbath is presented” so 
Don’t Forget The Sabbath – Hymn 388 all because 
We Love Thy Sabbath, Lord – Hymn 390

Please continue to search the scriptures this week to be blessed, and to bless others.

To learn unknown hymns, you will find the accompaniment music for each one at: https://sdahymnals.com/Hymnal/

Another great resource is for when there is a hymn you wish to sing but can’t find it in your hymnal. Go to https://www.sdahymnal.org/Search and in the search bar type a special word in that is in the hymn. I am sure you will be amazed at the help you will be given.

 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/10-the-covenant-and-the-blueprint-singing-with-inspiration/

Daily Lesson for Monday 1st of September 2025

After the firm reestablishment of the covenant with God, Moses again climbed Sinai. In the beginning of this climb, Moses was not alone. He had the excellent company of 73 Israelite leaders. For the leaders, this was the pinnacle experience: they saw God (theophany), and twice the text underlines this amazing reality. It was also a time for the leaders, by eating together, to seal the covenant with God. This was a banquet, and the God of Israel was their Host. These leaders were deeply honored by God.

Image © Educational Concepts Collection at Goodsalt.com

In the Middle East during biblical times (and to a certain extent today), eating together was a high experience, great honor, and privilege. It offered forgiveness and formed a bond of friendship. It implied being there for each other and staying together in times of crisis and problems. By eating together, they promised each other, without words, that if something should happen to one party, the other would be obliged to come and help. To be invited to a meal was a special treat that was not extended to everyone.

Meanwhile, to refuse an invitation was one of the worst kinds of insults. This insight helps us to understand the stories in the New Testament in which Jesus Christ was heavily criticized for eating with sinners (Luke 5:30). When believers celebrate the Lord’s Supper, they also establish this close bond with other believers who are sinners like themselves. During this meal, we celebrate the forgiveness and salvation that we have in Jesus (see Matthew 26:26-30, Mark 14:22-25, 1 Corinthians 11:23-29).

Tragically, some of the men who had gone up with Moses later fell into sin and lost their lives (see Leviticus 10:1-2,9). Even though they had such a deep experience with God there, they were not transformed or converted by that experience. What a powerful lesson about how possession of truth and sacred privileges does not automatically mean conversion. Having experienced what they did, these men should have been the last ones to have done what they would later tragically do.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25c-10-seeing-god/

Daily Lesson for Sunday 31st of August 2025

The living God of the Bible is the God of relationships.

Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com

The important element for our Lord is not a thing or an agenda but the person. Thus, God pays close attention to people, and the primary purpose of His activities is to build a personal relationship with humans. After all, a God who “is love” would have to be a God who did care about relationships, for how can there be love without relationships?

Jesus said: “ ‘And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself’ ” (John 12:32, ESV). God is interested not only in our ethical behavior, right doctrine, or in a set of proper actions, but, above all, in a personal, intimate relationship with us. Both Creation institutions (Genesis 1:1-31; Genesis 2:1-25) are about relationship: the first about the vertical relationship with God (the Sabbath) and the second about the horizontal relationship between humans (marriage).

The ratification of the covenant at Sinai was to reinforce the special relationship that God wanted to have with His people. In the ceremony, the people twice shouted that they would obey God in everything that He required. “Everything the Lord has said we will do,” they proclaimed (Exodus 24:3, NIV). They meant it, too, but they did not know their brokenness, fragility, and lack of power. The blood of the covenant was sprinkled on the people, indicating that only by Christ’s merits was Israel able to follow God’s instructions.

We do not want to accept that our human nature is fragile, weak, and thoroughly sinful. We have an inherent tendency toward evil. To be able to do good, we must have help from outside ourselves. This help comes only from above, from the power of God’s grace, from His Word, and from the Holy Spirit. And even with all this at our disposal, evil still comes so easily to us, does it not?

That’s why a close personal relationship with God was as essential to the people then, at Sinai, as it is to us today.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25c-10-the-book-and-the-blood/

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.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/mission-spotlight-for-august-30/