Inside Story for Friday 13th of March 2026

Rene Tucaldo is chief financial officer of the 1000 Missionary Movement, whose headquarters in Silang, Philippines, were constructed with the help of a 1996 Thirteenth Sabbath Offering. Read the rest of the story next week.

On the Sabbath that Rene chose to go to church rather than to the office, he returned after sundown to the building where he lived and worked. A coworker handed him a letter from the boss. He had been fired.

Image © Pacific Press

Rene was shocked. He didn’t know what would happen next. As a foreigner working in a country hostile to Christianity, he wondered if he could stand firm for God if he were sent to prison or faced death.

He prayed, “Lord, is this the time for me to go home to the Philippines? If You want me to die here, it’s fine with me. Many people know I’m fighting for my faith.”

Early the next morning, he went to the office and emailed his boss. “I respect you,” he wrote. “You are my friend and big brother. I know we need to discuss the problems that I have caused when you come to the office.”

That night, his boss came to work. He seemed upset. Rene prayed, “Please help. Let my boss calm down. But if it’s Your will that I die, I accept it.”

Then the boss summoned Rene. Rene tried to stand up but couldn’t. His knees wouldn’t support him. He felt like he was dying.

With all his strength, he lifted himself out of his chair and walked awkwardly, hunched over, to his boss’s office. As he raised his hand to knock on the door, he heard a voice whisper, “Don’t be afraid. I am the true God. I am faithful to My promises.”

A moment later, he opened the door and saw his boss’s stern face. As he walked in, the voice whispered twice, “I am the true God. I am faithful to My promises.” With each repetition, the voice grew louder.

The boss handed two pieces of paper to Rene and said, “Choose one.” When Rene expressed bewilderment, the boss said, “One is a work contract. The other is a plane ticket.” Relieved, Rene prayed silently, “Thank You, Lord, it isn’t prison.” He chose the plane ticket.

But the boss said, “Read the contract first.”

Rene saw his pay would be doubled if he worked one hour on Saturdays. He chose the ticket again. As he wondered how he would pay for it, he heard the voice again, saying, “I am the true God. I am faithful to my promises.”

Rene returned home to the Philippines. On the plane, he prayed, “You say, ‘I am the true God. I am faithful to My promises.’ What is Your promise to me?” The voice whispered, “You won’t be able to use up all your money before you find a new job.”

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/26a-11-inside-story-facing-an-ultimatum/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=26a-11-inside-story-facing-an-ultimatum

Daily Lesson for Friday 13th of March 2026
Further Thought

“When the Spirit of God controls mind and heart, the converted soul breaks forth into a new song; for he realizes that in his experience the promise of God has been fulfilled, that his transgression has been forgiven, his sin covered.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

He has exercised repentance toward God for the violation of the divine law, and faith toward Christ, who died for man’s justification. ‘Being justified by faith,’ he has ‘peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Romans 5:1.

“But because this experience is his, the Christian is not therefore to fold his hands, content with that which has been accomplished for him. He who has determined to enter the spiritual kingdom will find that all the powers and passions of unregenerate nature, backed by the forces of the kingdom of darkness, are arrayed against him. Each day he must renew his consecration, each day do battle with evil. Old habits, hereditary tendencies to wrong, will strive for the mastery, and against these he is to be ever on guard, striving in Christ’s strength for victory. . . .

“The power of a higher, purer, nobler life is our great need. The world has too much of our thought, and the kingdom of heaven too little.

“In his efforts to reach God’s ideal for him, the Christian is to despair of nothing. Moral and spiritual perfection, through the grace and power of Christ, is promised to all. Jesus is the source of power, the fountain of life. . . . In our behalf He sets in operation the all-powerful agencies of heaven. At every step we touch His living power.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, Pages 476–478.

Discussion Questions

<–Thursday

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/26a-11-further-thought-living-with-christ/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=26a-11-further-thought-living-with-christ

Daily Lesson for Thursday 12th of March 2026

Paul’s concern for peace and harmony in the church appears clearly in the last verses of Colossians 3:1-25. We’ve already looked at God’s peace in some detail (see Lesson 7). Unlike the pax Romana, the pax Christi is not a peace imposed from the outside but is to “rule” us from within. That can happen only if Christ is in control.

Image © Lifeway Collection at Goodsalt.com

The language is very descriptive. It pictures the word of Christ making its home in us. That happens when we read the Bible attentively in order to listen and learn from God’s wisdom. Apparently, though the Greek text is somewhat ambiguous, music plays an important role in “teaching and admonishing one another” (Colossians 3:16).

But not just any music. Paul uses very specific terminology both here and in Ephesians 5:19: “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.”

Though we can’t be certain, it seems a distinction is made here between the existing Old Testament collection of psalms and a growing New Testament collection of hymns. “Spiritual songs” may be a more general term for any song of praise related to the spiritual life or the life of the church. The words of the songs are the means of teaching the truth and giving instruction on living the new life of a Christian. Many great hymns of the past few centuries have powerfully uplifting messages of hope and assurance, so needed in a world that so easily drags us all down.

Music’s influence is powerful. David’s playing of the harp had a soothing effect on King Saul (1 Samuel 16:23). But when David became his rival, Saul’s anger and resentment rose (1 Samuel 18:10-11). Calm classical music has been clinically shown to reduce anxiety, optimize brain function, increase relaxation, help with pain, and increase sociali­zation.

Who among us has not seen for themselves the powerful influence music, for good or bad, can have on our emotions and thoughts? Music—the right music—can be spiritually uplifting.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/26a-11-living-the-new-life/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=26a-11-living-the-new-life

Introduction: Does it matter how you live? Do your thoughts matter? Two weeks ago, we learned that if we maintain steadfast faith in Jesus, and we do not “shift” away from Him, we can be certain that we are saved from our sins. That makes us think that what we do does not matter as long as we do not turn away from Jesus. In Colossians 3, Paul tells us that what we do and think matters. We are not free to do whatever we want, secure in the idea that “God will forgive.” God will forgive, but that should not be the point of reference for our thoughts. Let’s jump into Paul’s teaching about how we should think and live our lives as children of God!

I. What Next?

A. Read Colossians 3:1. When Paul starts out with, “If then you have been raised,” what point is he making? Why is this important? (Paul is writing to those who have been saved by faith alone. He is not writing to those who are confused about whether their works are part of the key to their salvation.)

1. If you are secure in your salvation, what should we seek? What are the “things that are above?” (Heaven.)
2. If I told you to “seek heaven,” what would you do? How would you respond to me? (I would respond that I must put my faith in Jesus. But that does not seem to be the way Paul wants us to respond.)
3. Consider again Paul’s “If, then” statement. If you are saved by grace, then you should be thinking about acquiring (seeking) heavenly things. Is that how you understand it?

B. Read Colossians 3:2. Does this describe you? My initial reaction is that it does not describe me. I think about the things that are around me. I think about what I need to do, what I would like to do, and how I would like to improve things.

1. My second thought is that thinking about the things around me sets my mind on “things above,” at least to some degree. For example, I’m thinking right now about how I should best write this teaching outline. I’m currently in Michigan to help the future of Andrews University – an overtly Christian university. Does this satisfy Paul’s direction to think about things “above?” Or does the fact that Andrews and I are on earth mean this does not count?

C. Read Colossians 3:3-4. Paul uses another connecting word. He says “for” you have died – meaning died with Jesus when you were baptized. See Colossians 2:12. What does our death in Christ, and being “hidden” in what Jesus has done for us, have to do with where our mind is focused? (Being hidden in Jesus means that we are secure in Him. We can focus on something else.)

1. I’ve never started a business, but I assume that when the business starts the owner works completely on the basics of keeping the business open. What if a rich investor comes to the owner and says, “Don’t worry about keeping your doors open, I’ll take care of that. Instead work on how you can improve the business.” How would that refocus the thoughts of the owner?
2. Is this a fair analogy? That instead of being focused on defeating the sins in our life, we instead focus on bringing others to Jesus?

II. Kill It

A. Read Colossians 3:5. When I read this I think what I just wrote is wrong. Paul writes about dealing with specific sins. It sounds like Paul wants us to focus on the sins in our lives. Was I leading you in the wrong direction?

1. If a person put to death those evil things Paul mentions, would it free the mind to think and plan about advancing God’s kingdom? (Think back to verse 3 which says that you have “died.” Paul says that we need to give the same fate to these listed sins. We need to make them dead.)
2. Can you see a way to focus on making these sins “dead” and still set our minds on heavenly things? (Part of focusing our minds on heaven and advancing the kingdom of God is not focusing our minds on bad things. In that sense we “put to death” the “earthly.”)
3. Look at the list of sins in verse 5. What do they have in common, other than being sinful? (They are “desire” sins. They are something that you want, many of which are tied to sexual desire.)

a. Consider this example. You meet a very attractive member of the opposite sex. Is your first reaction, “How can I get her/him to like me?” Or is it “How can I get her/him to like the gospel?”

b. Does this illustrate how we can focus on heavenly things while at the same time killing these sins of desire?

4. Notice that covetousness is called “idolatry.” How do you explain that? It is not bowing down to some figure. (This is another great illustration of the contrast between setting our minds on heavenly things and setting them on sins  of desire. To covet something is to want what belongs to another. The sin is to scheme how to get that thing for yourself. A focus on heavenly things would be a scheme to create things that advance the kingdom of God.)

B. Read Colossians 3:6. Why do these “desire” sins cause judgment to come? (If the Christian is focused on satisfying his desire, and not advancing the kingdom of God, there is no reason for God to wait further to return.)

C. Read Colossians 3:7-9. Look at this new list of sins. These are not “desire” sins. What are they? What is their common thread? (They are sins that break people apart.)

1. Is this an argument for trying to avoid insulting others? (Something about believing that you know the truth causes strong opinions. I do not think there is anything wrong with strong opinions, but we must be emotionally intelligent in the way we share.)
2. I was just questioned about an article I wrote (not in GoBible) in which I took a “wrecking ball” approach to an opposing view. Should we always be very careful not to offend? (I’ll let others decide upon the merits of my approach in that article. But I see a difference in arguing ideas and concepts pushed by other groups, and debating with another person. Look at what Paul is doing here: he is writing about killing certain ways of thinking.)

III. Heal It

A. Read Colossians 3:10-11. Is Paul still on the subject of avoiding breaking people apart? (Yes, he is now writing of attitudes that bring us together. If we see that all these different groups are together in Jesus, it changes our attitude about differences.)

B. Read Colossians 3:12. What is common to these attitudes? (They heal differences. Having these attitudes help to avoid disputes.)

1. But what if your opinion is right? (Two things. Being right is important and the morally right thing should not be compromised. But are you sure that you are right? How would “humility, meekness, and patience” affect how graciously you hold your view?

C. Read Colossians 3:13. When we consider the cost of forgiving a person who has wounded us, what should we contemplate? (How much Jesus has forgiven us. And what His forgiveness cost Him.)

D. Read Colossians 3:14. How does love “bind” us together? (You give more latitude to those you love – at least you should.)

E. Read Colossians 3:15. If you are not in conflict with others, is your life more peaceful? (Of course. That is what Paul is offering us, a more peaceful life.)

1. How important is Paul’s last point in this verse, the admonition to be “thankful.” (This attitude is the opposite of coveting. I think being grateful is incredibly important to a peaceful life.)

F. Read Colossians 3:16. What practical guide do we have for living a more peaceful, heaven-focused life? (Doing what you are doing right now, which is dwelling in God’s Word. Learning and teaching God’s Word.)

G. Read Colossians 3:17. Is this a heaven-focused life? That whatever we do, we do it in the name of Jesus?

1. How, exactly, would you do that? (You should look for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and you should ask yourself, “What is the Christian thing to do here?”)

H. Friend, do you have a better idea now about how to focus your mind on heavenly things? Why not ask the Holy Spirit, right now, to help you in that transition?

IV. Next week: Living With Each Other.

Copr. 2026, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/11-living-with-christ-colossians-31-17-teaching-outline/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=11-living-with-christ-colossians-31-17-teaching-outline

What does it mean to be a new man/woman in Christ? Join the Hit the Mark panel as they discuss Sabbath School Lesson 11 – Living With Christ. It’s the fastest hour of the week! 

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/living-with-christ-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=living-with-christ-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school