Turning the Other Cheek

By Rick McEdward

Omar, a university student in the Middle East, desperately needed a job, but he wasn’t ready to do anything to get hired. During a job interview, he openly told the company representative that he could not work on Saturdays because that was his holy day. The company representative did not blink.

Image © Pacific Press

“That’s fine,” he replied. “We don’t need you.”

It was true. National unemployment was so high that the company really didn’t need Omar. Many people were looking for work, and it would be easy to find someone willing to work on Saturdays.

Sadly, Omar left the company’s office. Omar was a new believer who, just days earlier, had given his life to Christ. He had mingled with believers for six years and searched the Bible before making his decision. After the job rejection, he bought a three-wheeled cart with a plan to make money by selling simit, a circular bread covered with sesame seeds.

Omar’s Sabbath-keeping friends were touched by his faithful stand for Jesus and began to pray for him.

A few days later, Omar announced excitedly that the company had called him back and offered him the job with Saturdays off. He was so excited that he decided to find at least one person a day to tell about Christ.

Sipping a drink at a local café a few days later, he and an elderly man began to talk about religion. Omar shared his journey from his family’s traditional holy book to the Bible and the incredible peace that he had found.

As Omar left the café, a man who had overheard the conversation from a nearby table followed him. “I can’t believe that you could say such things!” the man yelled. “Are you not ashamed? You grew up in our country and know better!” The man began to beat Omar with his fists.

Later that day, when a Sabbath-keeping friend video-called Omar, he was greeted by a large, swollen eye and an even larger smile of joy. “You could have called the police!” the friend said. “Yes,” Omar said. “But I remembered that Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek.”

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also” (Matthew 5:38-39, NKJV).

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

Amen!(0)

The post Inside Story: Turning the Other Cheek first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post Inside Story: Turning the Other Cheek appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/inside-story-turning-other-cheek/

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Gethsemane,” Pages 685-697; “Calvary,” Pages 741-758, in The Desire of Ages; “Repentance,” p.27, in Steps to Christ.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

“I saw that all heaven is interested in our salvation; and shall we be indifferent? Shall we be careless, as though it were a small matter whether we are saved or lost? Shall we slight the sacrifice that has been made for us? Some have done this. They have trifled with offered mercy, and the frown of God is upon them. God’s Spirit will not always be grieved. It will depart if grieved a little longer. After all has been done that God could do to save men, if they show by their lives that they slight Jesus’ offered mercy, death will be their portion, and it will be dearly purchased. It will be a dreadful death; for they will have to feel the agony that Christ felt upon the cross to purchase for them the redemption which they have refused. And they will then realize what they have lost — eternal life and the immortal inheritance. The great sacrifice that has been made to save souls shows us their worth. When the precious soul is once lost, it is lost forever.” — Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 124.

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

Amen!(0)

The post Friday: Further Thought ~ He Died for Us first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post Friday: Further Thought ~ He Died for Us appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/friday-further-thought-he-died-for-us/

You can view an in-depth discussion of He Died for Us in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. Click on the image to view: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXMofnNzaPo&w=560&h=315]

With thanks to

Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

Amen!(0)

The post 6: He Died for Us – HopeSS – Video Discussion first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post 6: He Died for Us – HopeSS – Video Discussion appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/6-he-died-for-us-hopess-video-discussion/

Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, Dr. Alberto Timm, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson, “Resurrections before the Cross.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMu3rSMjWhA&w=560&h=315]

Amen!(0)

The post 6: He Died for Us – It is Written – Discussions with the Author first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post 6: He Died for Us – It is Written – Discussions with the Author appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/6-he-died-for-us-it-is-written-discussions-with-the-author/

Read 1 Corinthians 1:18-24. What is Paul saying about the cross, and how does he contrast it with the “wisdom of the world”? Why, even today, when “materialism” (the idea that all reality is only material, which means there is no God or supernatural realm of existence) dominates “the wisdom of the world,” is the message of the cross so important?

The cross of Christ is the very center of salvation history. “Eternity can never fathom the depth of love revealed in the cross of Calvary. It was there that the infinite love of Christ and the unbounded selfishness of Satan stood face to face.” — Stephen N. Haskell, The Cross and Its Shadow (South Lancaster, MA: Bible Training School, 1914), p. v.

Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com

While Christ was humbly offering Himself as a ransom for the human race, Satan was selfishly engulfing Him in suffering and agony. Christ did not die just the natural death that every human being has to face. He died the second death, so that all those who accept Him will never have to experience it for themselves.

In regard to the meaning of the Cross, there are several important aspects that we should remember. First, the Cross is the supreme revelation of God’s justice against sin (Romans 3:21-26). Second, the Cross is the supreme revelation of God’s love for sinners (Romans 5:8). Third, the cross is the great source of power to break the chains of sin (Romans 6:22-23; 1 Corinthians 1:17-24). Fourth, the Cross is our only hope of eternal life (Philippians 3:9-11; John 3:14-16; 1 John 5:11-12). And fifth, the Cross is the only antidote against a future rebellion in the universe (Revelation 7:13-17, Revelation 22:3).

None of these crucial truths about the cross can be discovered by the “wisdom of the world.” On the contrary, then, as now, the preaching of the cross is “foolishness” to worldly wisdom, which often doesn’t even acknowledge the most obvious truth there could be: that a Creator exists (see Romans 1:18-20).

The Greek word for “foolishness” is linked to the English word “moron”; that is, the preaching of the cross is “moronic” according to the “wisdom of the world.” Worldly wisdom cannot know Jesus or the salvation that He offers us through His substitutionary death on the cross.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

Amen!(0)

The post Thursday: The Meaning of the Cross first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post Thursday: The Meaning of the Cross appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/thursday-meaning-of-cross/