Daily Lesson for Saturday 20th of January 2024

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Read for This Week’s Study

Psalms 139:1-18; Psalms 121:1-8; Psalms 17:8; Matthew 23:37; 1 Corinthians 10:1-4; Hebrews 4:15-16.

Memory Text:

“The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles” (Psalms 34:17, NKJV).

Again and again, the Psalms highlight the truth that the Sovereign Lord, who created and sustains the universe, also reveals Himself as a personal God who initiates and sustains a relationship with His people.

God is close to His people and to His creation, both in heaven and on earth (Psalms 73:23,25). Though He “has established His throne in heaven” (Psalms 103:19, NKJV) and “rides on the clouds” (Psalms 68:4, NKJV), He also is “near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth” (Psalms 145:18, NKJV). The Psalms unswervingly uphold the truth that the Lord is the living God, who acts on behalf of those who call upon Him (Psalms 55:16-22). The Psalms are meaningful precisely because they are prompted by, and are addressed to, the living God, who hears and answers prayers.

We should remember that the proper response to the Lord’s nearness consists in a life of faith in Him and of obedience to His commandments. Nothing short of this faith and obedience will be acceptable to Him, as the history of Israel often revealed.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 27.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-04-the-lord-hears-and-delivers/

Inside Story for Friday 19th of January 2024

By Andrew McChesney

Pedro was shocked at the greeting that he got when he returned from church services in Mozambique.

“Don’t go back to the Seventh-day Adventist church,” his sister said. “It’s not a good church because it has false prophets. If you go again, you can’t live here anymore.”

Worrisome thoughts filled Pedro’s head. Family problems in his hometown, Beira, had forced him to move 700 miles (1,140 kilometers) to his sister’s house in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo. Because he was new to town, he had missed a few worship services as he searched for an Adventist church. Now he had found a church, worshiped there for the first time, and returned home to find that his sister didn’t want him to go again.

Pedro prayed and kept going to church.

His sister stopped sharing her food with Pedro. She hoped that hunger would cause him to change his mind. But church members gave him food to eat.

Pedro thanked God for His care and kept going to church.

One Sabbath morning, as he was preparing to leave for church, his sister told him not to return.

“Are you still refusing to listen and insisting on going to your church?” she asked. “You don’t want to live here anymore because you don’t want to comply with the house rules.”

Pedro was sad but not discouraged. He realized that he wasn’t caught in a conflict with his sister but in a spiritual struggle between Jesus and Satan. He remembered Paul’s words in Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (NKJV).

He went to church and asked the pastor and church members to pray for him. When he returned home later that day, he was kicked out.

A friend allowed Pedro to stay with him for two nights. Then a church member gave Pedro a job as the caretaker of his house in exchange for room and board.

Today, Pedro still works as a house caretaker, he is free to worship God every Sabbath, and he believes that God is working on his sister’s heart. Their friendship has been restored, and she no longer insists that he stop going to church on Sabbath. Pedro hopes that one day she will accept the whole Bible truth and learn to appreciate the inspired writings of Ellen White.

“I put on the armor of God,” he said. “I fought and won, and ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’ ” (Philippians 4:13).

Thank you for your Sabbath School mission offerings that help spread the good news of Jesus’ soon coming in Africa and around the world.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-03-inside-story-i-fought-and-won/

Daily Lesson for Friday 19th of January 2024

Read Psalms 86:5,15; Ellen G. White, “God’s Love for Man,” pages 9–15, in Steps to Christ. How does the truth that God is love help us better understand the various descriptions of God and His deeds in the Psalms?

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

This week’s study focuses on some key descriptions of God and His activities, which establish the world and render it firm and secure. The psalmists appeal to God, who is the Creator, King, Judge, covenantal Savior, and Lawgiver. The roles in the world that God occupies are further reflected in God’s various other names and titles, including Shepherd (Psalms 23:1, Psalms 80:1), Rock of Salvation (Psalms 95:1), and Father (Psalms 68:5, Psalms 89:26). In the world we can be secure and safe, even amid the turmoil of the great controversy, because God is sovereign and faithful in all He does and says. Although these theological themes are by no means exhaustive, they are suggestive of the various ways in which God reveals Himself in the Psalms.

As we continue to study the Psalms, it is important to remember to read the Psalms in the light of God’s character of love and grace and His plan to save and restore the world. “The more we study the divine character in the light of the cross, the more we see mercy, tenderness, and forgiveness blended with equity and justice, and the more clearly we discern innumerable evidences of a love that is infinite and a tender pity surpassing a mother’s yearning sympathy for her wayward child.”—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 15. In the Psalms, even when the people face God’s judgment for their rebellion, they continue to call upon God because they know that God’s anger is only for a time, but His mercy is everlasting (Psalms 103:8).

Discussion Questions

1. Why is understanding the reality and prevalence of the great controversy crucial in helping us understand that despite God’s ultimate rulership and sovereignty, there is still much turmoil and suffering in our world? Why is the great controversy motif so helpful to us?
2. How should the belief in God as Creator shape our understanding of ourselves and our relationship with the rest of creation? What happens when the people stray from that truth (Psalms 106:35-42)?
3. What was wrong with the idols of the nations in biblical times (Psalms 115:4-8)? What about modern idols? Why are they just as dangerous to our walk with the Lord?
4. How should God’s people live knowing that God’s judgment begins with His people? How does God judge His people and to what end?

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Is this True or False? One can have doubts, fears, and worries even while believing God is sovereign. Join us as we discuss Lesson 3, The Lord reigns.

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Daily Lesson for Thursday 18th of January 2024

The Lord’s supremacy in the world as the Sovereign Creator, King, and Judge has theological implications for the reliability of His testimonies. The testimonies (Hebrew ‘edut, “decree,” “law”) refer to the body of laws and ordinances with which the Lord governs the religious and social life of His people (Exodus 32:15).

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They are “very sure” (Psalms 93:5), reflecting the stability and permanence of God’s throne and the world that God created and sustains (Psalms 93:1-2). The Hebrew word translated as “sure” (the English word amen derives from this word) conveys the notion of reliability, faithfulness, and firmness (2 Samuel 7:16, 1 Chronicles 17:23). God’s laws are unchangeable and indestructible.

God vouches for the integrity of His promises and commands. God’s faithfulness is both wholly reassuring in guaranteeing the unchangeable character of His rule and wholly demanding in asking the people’s responses of trust and obedience to God.

At the same time, the lack of justice in the world is poetically described as a shaking of earth’s foundation (Psalms 18:7, Isaiah 24:18-21). God’s law instructs the people in the way of righteous life that can withstand God’s judgment. The righteous, thus, shall not be shaken because they are firmly rooted in God’s law, which provides stability and security, and their hearts are steadfast (Hebrew kun, also, means “be firm,” “be secure”) in the Lord (Psalms 112:1,6-7). Nothing causes those who keep God’s law to stumble (Psalms 119:165), which signifies God’s protection and guidance in life (Psalms 1:2-3,6).

God’s Word is depicted as the lamp to the psalmist’s feet, and so, it protects him from the enemies’ hidden snares (Psalms 119:105,110). Great peace, which is enjoyed by those who love God’s law (Psalms 119:165), obviously does not result from a total absence of trials (Psalms 119:161). It rather derives from abiding in God’s presence and having a wholesome relationship with Him.

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