Inside Story for Friday 23rd of February 2024

By Andrew McChesney

Two weeks after Sekule’s baptism, the Bosnian War erupted. Sekule fled his boarding high school in Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and went into hiding for 15 days.

When he returned to the dormitory to retrieve his possessions, he found the building had been torched by soldiers. A small library of religious books that he had collected while seeking to find truth had been dumped in the middle of his room and set on fire. He had lost everything. He returned to his home village in Montenegro.

News that Sekule had joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church did not sit well with his family. Father could not understand why he had stopped eating meat and took him to a physician. Mother thought a spell had been cast on her son and sought help from someone who practiced black magic. When their attempts failed, they sent Sekule to the military. It was 1992, and the Bosnian War was raging. To enlist a son was to send him to war.

In those days, families threw big celebrations for newly enlisted soldiers. Sekule’s parents planned his party for a Sabbath in December. Two hundred guests were expected. But Sekule went to church.

When the winter sun set around 4 p.m., he returned home. He didn’t know what to expect. He thought that the house would be filled with relatives from across the country and beyond. He thought he would face criticism for not only arriving late to his own party but also for showing disrespect as the eldest grandson.

He found his grandfather on the front porch.

“Did the people come?” Sekule asked.

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“No one knows why.”

Then people started coming. Sekule asked them, “Why are you coming now?”

They all replied in the same way: “Somebody told us to come after 5 p.m.”

“Who told you?” Sekule asked.

No one knew.

At that moment, Sekule understood that God would protect him. He went to the military.

Sekule Sekuli´c is an affluent entrepreneur and faithful Seventh-day Adventist in Montenegro. Read more of his story next week. Thank you for your Sabbath School mission offerings that help spread the good news of Jesus’ soon coming in Montenegro and around the world.

(1)

The post Inside Story: Sabbath Farewell Party: Part 4 appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-08-inside-story-sabbath-farewell-party-part-4/

Daily Lesson for Friday 23rd of February 2024

In these modern times, obtaining wisdom seems not to be so desirable as achieving happiness. People would rather be happy than wise. However, can we truly be happy and live a fulfilled life without godly wisdom? The Psalms clearly say that we cannot. The good news is that we are not asked to choose between wisdom and happiness. Godly wisdom brings genuine happiness.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

A simple example from the Hebrew language can illustrate this point. In Hebrew, the word “step” in plural (’ashurey) sounds very much like the word “happiness” (’ashrey). Although we miss this association in English translations, it conveys a powerful message: “steps” holding to God’s path lead to a “happy” life (Psalms 1:1, Psalms 17:5, Psalms 37:31, Psalms 44:18, Psalms 89:15, Psalms 119:1). In the Bible, neither wisdom nor happiness are an abstract concept, but a real experience.

They are found in relationship with God, which consists of revering, praising, finding strength in, and trusting God. Psalms 25:14 says that “the secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant” (NKJV).

“Thank God for the bright pictures which He has presented to us. Let us group together the blessed assurances of His love, that we may look upon them continually: The Son of God leaving His Father’s throne, clothing His divinity with humanity, that He might rescue man from the power of Satan; His triumph in our behalf, opening heaven to men, revealing to human vision the presence chamber where the Deity unveils His glory; the fallen race uplifted from the pit of ruin into which sin had plunged it, and brought again into connection with the infinite God, and having endured the divine test through faith in our Redeemer, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, and exalted to His throne—these are the pictures which God would have us contemplate.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 118.

Discussion Questions

1. How can God’s Word become the source of one’s delight and not merely instruction? How is feeding on God’s Word related to abiding in Jesus Christ, the Word (John 1:1; John 15:5,7)?
2. What happens when people consciously and constantly reject God’s teaching (Psalms 81:1-16, Psalms 95:1-11)? Why do you think that happens?
3. Why can the way of the wicked sometimes appear more desirable than the counsel of the righteous (Psalms 141:1-10)? That is, how do we deal with the apparent fact that oftentimes the wicked seem to be doing very well?

(1)

The post Friday: Further Thought – Wisdom for Righteous Living appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-08-further-thought-wisdom-for-righteous-living/

Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, Dragoslava Santrac, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson, “The Lord Reigns.”

<

(0)

The post 8: Wisdom for Righteous Living – It is Written – Discussions with the Author appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/8-wisdom-for-righteous-living-it-is-written-discussions-with-the-author/

View an in-depth discussion of Wisdom for Righteous Living in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris.  
Click on the image below to view the video:

With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

(0)

The post 8: Wisdom for Righteous Living – HopeSS Video Discussion appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/8-wisdom-for-righteous-living-hopess-video-discussion/

Daily Lesson for Thursday 22nd of February 2024

Of the many blessings promised to those who revere the Lord, peace is perhaps one of the greatest. Psalms 1:1-6 depicts the righteous by a simile of a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruits in season and whose leaf does not wither (Psalms 1:3; Jeremiah 17:7-8; Ezekiel 47:12).

Image © Jim Howard at Goodsalt.com

This simile identifies the source of all blessings, namely, abiding in God’s presence in His sanctuary and enjoying uninterrupted and loving relationship with God. Unlike the wicked, who are portrayed as chaff, with no stability, place, and future, the righteous are like a fruitful tree with roots, a place near God and eternal life.

Psalms 128:2, 3 evokes the blessings of the Messianic kingdom, where sitting under one’s own vine and fig tree is a symbol of peace and prosperity (Micah 4:4). The blessing of peace upon Jerusalem (Psalms 122:6-8; Psalms 128:5-6) conveys hope in the Messiah, who will end evil and restore peace in the world.

“In the Bible the inheritance of the saved is called ‘a country.’ Hebrews 11:14-16. There the heavenly Shepherd leads His flock to fountains of living waters. The tree of life yields its fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for the service of the nations. There are ever-flowing streams, clear as crystal, and beside them waving trees cast their shadows upon the paths prepared for the ransomed of the Lord. There the wide-spreading plains swell into hills of beauty, and the mountains of God rear their lofty summits. On those peaceful plains, beside those living streams, God’s people, so long pilgrims and wanderers, shall find a home.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 675.

The New Testament describes the fulfillment of that hope in Christ’s second advent and the creation of the new world (Matthew 26:29, Revelation 21:1-27). Therefore, while the righteous receive many blessings in this life, the fullness of God’s favor awaits them when God’s kingdom is fully restored at the end of time.

(0)

The post Thursday: Blessings of Righteous Living appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-08-blessings-of-righteous-living/