Twin Surprises in Finland

By Andrew McChesney

Simo Vehkavuori, a young literature evangelist in Finland, got a surprise as he went house to house in Lapland. When he rang the doorbell at one house, a woman opened the door and, seeing him outside, exclaimed, “I want to order that set of 10 Bible stories from you!” Simo didn’t even have time to tell her that he was selling books, much less mention that he had Arthur Maxwell’s set of 10 Bible Story books for children.

Image © Pacific Press

“You might be surprised why I’m ordering the books so quickly from you,” the woman said. “During the night, God gave me a dream, and in the dream He showed your face and said, ‘This man will come to your house. Order from him a 10-volume set of Bible Story books.’ That’s why I was ready to order right away.”

Another time, Simo stopped by a local business and offered the owner a copy of Ellen White’s The Great Controversy. “We don’t understand anything about this book,” the owner said. “But our daughter is the principal of a religious school. She will be here tomorrow. Can you come back?”

Simo told his twin brother, who was selling books with him in the town, about the appointment. “Please pray,” he said.

When Simo returned to the business, the owner introduced him to his daughter. The woman exploded in anger when she learned that Simo was a Seventh-day Adventist, and she harshly criticized the Adventist Church.

When she finished, he asked for permission to speak. “Dear principal,” he said, “You cannot imagine what a great God we serve in the Adventist Church! I want to follow the God whom we can serve wherever He leads. “

The woman looked surprised. “Young man, if God means so much to you,” she paused and turned to her mother, “Mother, can you give me some money? I want to buy all the books that this young man has.”

Simo prayed with the woman and her parents. Returning to the room where he was staying with his brother, he found his brother on his knees. He excitedly told his brother about God’s miraculous intervention.

Simo, now retired, smiled joyfully as he told Adventist Mission about witnessing God’s presence as he worked to fulfill the church’s mission. “It was an inspiring thing for me to see that God is behind His work,” he said.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

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Further Thought:

 “When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another.’ Thus Christ on the Mount of Olives pictured to His disciples the scene of the great judgment day.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

And He represented its decision as turning upon one point. When the nations are gathered before Him, there will be but two classes, and their eternal destiny will be determined by what they have done or have neglected to do for Him in the person of the poor and the suffering.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 637.

“As you open your door to Christ’s needy and suffering ones, you are welcoming unseen angels. You invite the companionship of heavenly beings. They bring a sacred atmosphere of joy and peace. They come with praises upon their lips, and an answering strain is heard in heaven. Every deed of mercy makes music there. The Father from His throne numbers the unselfish workers among His most precious treasures.” — The Desire of Ages, p. 639.

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

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Read Job 1:8. How was Job described by God Himself?

That’s pretty good, having even God call Job “perfect” and “upright” (Job 1:8), so perfect and upright that no else on the earth at that time could equal him. Again, these are God’s own words, verbatim, about Job.

Image © Lars Justinen Goodsalt.com

Even after Job faced one catastrophe after another, God repeated what He had first said about Job, that there was no one else on earth like him, perfect and upright and so forth, except that then a new element was added. Job was still all these things, “although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause” (Job 2:3, NKJV).

And though we get a powerful glimpse of Job’s perfection and uprightness in how he refused to let go of God despite all that happened and despite his unfortunate’s wife’s taunt, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9, NKJV), the book reveals another aspect of Job’s life before the drama here unfolded.

Read Job 29:12-16. What is depicted here that gives us even more insight into the secret of Job’s character?

Perhaps what’s most insightful here are Job’s words, “And I searched out the case that I did not know” (Job 29:16, NKJV). In other words, Job didn’t simply wait, for instance, for some beggar in rags to approach him for a handout. Instead, Job was proactive in seeking out needs and then acting on them.

Ellen G. White suggested, “Do not wait for them [the poor] to call your attention to their needs. Act as did Job. The thing that he knew not he searched out. Go on an inspecting tour and learn what is needed and how it can be best supplied.” — Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 151. This is a level of money management and stewardship of God’s resources that is beyond the practice of many of God’s children today.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

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Is this True, Somewhat True, or False? Helping the less fortunate is a mandatory part of the life of a Christian. Join us as we discuss Lesson 7, Unto the Least of These.

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Zacchaeus was a wealthy Jew who had made his money by working as a tax collector for the hated Romans. For that, and because he and other tax collectors exacted more tax than was really due, Zacchaeus was hated and called a “sinner.”

Image © The Classic Bible Art Collection – Formerly Standard Publishing at Goodsalt.com

Zacchaeus lived in Jericho, which sat on a trade route with much business commerce. The meeting of Zacchaeus and Jesus was not a coincidence. Zacchaeus had apparently come under spiritual conviction and wanted to make some changes in his life. He had heard about Jesus and wanted to see Him. Word must have gotten out that the group Jesus was traveling with would arrive in Jericho that day. Jesus needed to pass through Jericho from Galilee, on His final trip to Jerusalem. Christ’s first words to Zacchaeus revealed that, even before entering the town, Jesus knew all about him.

Read Luke 19:1-10. What were the differences between this rich man’s experience with Jesus and that of the rich young ruler?

Zacchaeus and the rich young ruler had some things in common. Both were rich; both wanted to see Jesus, and both wanted eternal life. But here the similarities stop.

Notice that when Zacchaeus said that he would give “half of my goods” (Luke 19:8) to the poor, Jesus accepted this gesture as an expression of a true conversion experience. He didn’t say to him, Sorry, Zac, but like with the rich young ruler, it’s all or nothing. Half is not going to cut it. Why? Most likely because, though Zacchaeus surely liked his wealth, it wasn’t the god to him that it was to the rich young ruler. In fact, though we don’t know what Jesus specially said to him, Zacchaeus is the one who first speaks about giving money to the poor. In contrast, Jesus had to tell the rich young ruler specifically to give it all up; otherwise it would have destroyed him. Though Zacchaeus, like any wealthy person, needed to be careful about the dangers of wealth, he seemed to have had it under better control than did the rich young ruler.

“When the rich young ruler had turned away from Jesus, the disciples had marveled at their Master’s saying, ‘How hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!’ They had exclaimed one to another, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Now they had a demonstration of the truth of Christ’s words, ‘The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.’ Mark 10:24, Mark 10:26; Luke 18:27. They saw how, through the grace of God, a rich man could enter into the kingdom.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 555.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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