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Recipe – Brownies

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¼ cup canola oil (or soy butter)

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup raw sugar or date sugar

1 egg (or substitute)

3 Tbsp. milk (soy or nut)

½ tsp. sea salt

1 ½ tsp. pure vanilla

1 tsp. ground coriander, optional

½ cup carob powder

1 ½ tsp. Rumford baking powder (or 1 Tbsp. EnerG®)

2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Cream first three ingredients until smooth. Add next six ingredients. Beat well. Sift baking powder and flour; stir flour and nuts into mixture. Spread batter in 9″ x 9″ pan coated with non-stick spray. Bake 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Adapted from: A Good Cook … by Rosalie Hurd, B.S. and Frank J. Hurd, D.C., M.D., College Press, Collegedale, Tennessee, 2008, 624.

Food – Veganized Desserts

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Like any other diet, a vegan diet can be complete and balanced or incomplete and unbalanced. Unfortunately, vegan eating is not a guarantee of good health. We still need to pay attention to our choices, watch our portion sizes, limit junk and processed foods, and ensure adequate intake of a few nutrients not easily available from vegan foods. How might desserts fit in a complete and balanced vegan diet?

It wasn’t so long ago that vegan desserts were viewed at best as an amusing oxymoron and at worst as some sort of gastronomic punishment. Perhaps you have not felt well after eating sweet, sugary desserts and even suffered from stomachaches or became moody and exhausted. It makes so much sense that food and your health would be related. Without dairy, eggs, and processed sugar in your diet, you can feel really good. By giving all the desserts you have loved a plant-based makeover, you can veganize desserts!

Perhaps you remember the dark days, when vegan sweets were dry and brown and tasteless. A few years ago, I would have recoiled at the thought of a vegan dessert—no butter, milk, or eggs? But sometime in the last few years, that began to change. The reasons include everything from a growing awareness of organic, healthy eating to the rising number of people diagnosed with food allergies every year (the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network estimates that some 12 million Americans have food allergies) to advances in vegan baking techniques and aesthetics.

Now everyone with a real sweet tooth, including those who are lactose or gluten intolerant, reducing cholesterol, or simply prefer healthy, natural ingredients without sacrificing taste, truly can have their cake and eat it, too. One thing remains constant—if you want to sell someone on vegan dessert, it has to be delicious.

Not only do vegan desserts taste good and, yes, sometimes even better than their dairy-filled counterparts, but you probably won’t even know that what you’re eating is vegan unless someone tells you. You simply need to create the vegan desserts by translating conventional, non-vegan recipes and shun popular dairy-free substitutes like egg replacers in favor of ingredients like bananas and sweet potatoes (both of which replicate the thick moisture of eggs).

Baking Without Eggs

Applesauce: Add 1/4 cup in place of one egg. Holds things together and adds moisture. But to help things rise, might need to add more baking powder (about 1/2 teaspoon).

Banana: Use 1/2 banana, mashed, for one egg in sweet baked goods. Also add about 1/2 teaspoon extra baking soda.

Tofu: Use about 1/4 cup mashed silken tofu for one egg. Also add 1/4–1/2 teaspoon extra baking powder.

Prune Puree: Puree your own, purchase pureed prunes, or even use baby food prunes. Use 1/4 cup prunes plus 1/2 teaspoon extra baking powder for one egg.

Baking Powder: Add an extra 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 2 Tablespoons extra liquid to replace one egg.

Flaxseed: Grind 3 Tablespoons flaxseed to a very fine powder. Add 1/2 cup water and blend until mixture becomes thick. Use to replace two or three eggs.

Powdered Egg Replacer: A boxed powder mix available in natural foods stores. Just blend with water to replace eggs in a recipe.

Current Events – Two Sabbaths with Dateline Change

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The substitution of the laws of men for the law of God, the exaltation, by merely human authority, of Sunday in place of the Bible Sabbath, is the last act in the drama.” Testimonies, vol. 7, 141.

On the stroke of midnight Thursday night, December 29, 2011, the date shifted from Thursday to Saturday, December 31, 2011, in Samoa as its position in relation to the International Date Line (IDL) changed. Samoan time moved forward by a whole 24 hours, having skipped Friday, December 30, entirely. This change also marked the division in conviction of Seventh-day Adventists in Samoa—those who will continue to keep Saturday as their Sabbath and others who will now worship on Sunday as the new Sabbath.

Sunday worship will continue uninterrupted for the majority of the Christian community, even though the day Samoans call Sunday will have moved from the first day of the week to the seventh. For Seventh-day Adventists, who observe the biblical Sabbath, the change presented challenges because of the longstanding association of Saturday with the seventh day of the week. As its name suggests, one of the distinguishing features of the Seventh-day Adventist faith is its observance of the biblical Sabbath, which, according to Scripture, is on the seventh day of the week.

Until the change, the seventh day of the week fell on Saturday, as it did everywhere else around the world. When Samoa repositioned the IDL, it also reallocated the days of the week so that the seventh day of the week will fall on Sunday instead of Saturday. The numbering of the weekly cycle remains as before, but the names of the days have changed. In line with biblical precepts, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Samoa will continue to observe the biblical Sabbath on the seventh day of the weekly cycle, irrespective of the change of name to Sunday.

Saturday in Samoa, December 31, 2011, went down in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist church as the beginning for Seventh-day Adventists in Samoa to have two Sabbaths, as the next Sabbath for the Samoa Mission was Sunday, January 1, 2012, while the Samatau Seventh-day Adventist Church, and others that have maintained their conviction, worshiped on Saturday, December 31, 2011, instead. One member of the Samatau church stated, “There is no intention for us to change religion or to set up a new church. The only difference is that, church members at Samatau Seventh-day Adventist Church will continue to worship on Saturday while others in Samoa will now worship on Sundays.”

For many Seventh-day Adventists in Samoa, Sunday will coincide with the biblical Sabbath, the day of worship as commanded by Scripture.

Resources: “Seventh Day Adventists in Samoa will have two Sabbaths with dateline change,” Samoa News, December 28, 2011, www.samoanews.com; “Calendar Shift Doesn’t Alter Seventh Day, Samoan Church Says,” Adventist Review, January 26, 2012, www.adventistreview.org.

Health – The Mysteries of Life

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The Vital Spark

The vitamin is the vital spark, which vitalizes all the food elements and sets them at work. Without this they are slow to move and act.

It is like building a fire in your fireplace. You may lay all of the materials ever so carefully but there will be no fire until you apply the spark—the match. No amount of wishing will take the place of that vital spark.

Mysterious forces

In nature there are mysterious forces at work that cause action, another name for growth, which is one manifestation of life. The plants are composed of elements in the soil, but the soil has no power or ability to assemble itself into forms of potatoes, cabbages, strawberries, peaches, corn, apples, beans, or nuts. Other powers and forces not found in the soil must be associated with its elements to cause them to work and arrange them into the various forms of vegetation, which will aid in sustaining the life which is within humans and animals. Among these mysterious forces is the vitamin.

To explain: Plant a bean, which is last year’s dirt (it grew from dirt last year), and beside it plant a pebble, another lump of dirt. Water and watch. Soon the insides of the bean begin to move, then the interior will move so much that it bursts the shell, cracks the soil, sends up leaves, blossoms, and soon you have more beans. But nothing will ever happen inside that pebble! It will never grow! If it would, evolution might be true. The bean contained something which the pebble did not—it contained every earthly element, plus vitamins.

Likewise, not one of these elements will ever stir in your body to cause growth or activity any more than in a bottle or in the dirt of your garden unless that mysterious vitamin and other forces be associated with them to make them move and go to work.

The vitamin is necessary to the growth of all plants. It also makes boys and girls grow. Without it all food is as dead as the dirt in your garden, and to eat food without vitamins is almost comparable to eating dirt. You may make sure of an ample supply of calcium in the rations, but if vitamins are not present, no bones or teeth will ever be made. And thus it is with all of the other elements.

Vitamins—Where?

The vitamins are present in all seeds—the grains, legumes, and nuts. They are in the fruits, leaves, and roots. They are in all vegetation. They are one of the essential factors of growth.

As in all plants, so it is in animals. The life and growth of all animals depend upon the vitamins found in seeds, fruits, leaves, and roots. The vitamins function in some way as an activating principle, which sets going the processes that develop energy, power and activity. All animals are dependent upon this life principle to sustain their lives. A monkey fed a good ration but with vitamins removed, died in ninety days.

As in plants and animals, so it is in man. His life and growth depend upon the vitamins found in all vegetation. They are as necessary to the daily food as any other element. …

We Always Had Them in Natural Foods

No vitamin has been discovered or ever will be found that has not been in natural foods since the dawn of time; no scientist can discover anything which God did not set in operation thousands of years ago. When He made man and commanded his rations to grow out of the earth, He provided for all of man’s necessities. My confidence in my Creator is complete, and I am free to say that scientists will never find a nutritional need of the human body that is not met by natural foods—whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, and nuts.

What Vitamins Do

It appears that vitamins assist in the maintenance of every life process and the normal conditions of every cell in the body. This, then, includes every organ, gland, tissue, nerve, bone, and tooth; the eyes, skin, hair, blood, digestive juices and all other fluids—everything that can be named in the body.

Certain vitamins promote growth; some contribute to the health of the skin and mucous membrane and glands throughout the body; others maintain nerve vitality; some sustain the health of the capillaries; still others assist them in building bones or aid digestion or reproduction or coagulation, and so on at length. This is marvelous indeed. …

Vitamin A

“Vitamin A is essential for life, health, and growth. It is indispensable for the maintenance of normal epithelium.” “The parts of the body which are built of epithelial tissues are the skin and its appendages, the hair and the nails, the sweat glands and the oil glands, the mucous membranes of the nose, mouth, sinuses, throat, trachea, bronchial tubes, and air sacs of the lungs. The enamel of the teeth, the salivary glands, the mucosa of the esophagus, the stomach and all its glands, the liver, the pancreas, the tubules of the kidney, the kidney pelvis, the ureters and bladder, all the ductless glands of the body, the nervous system, the brain and spinal cord, are also governed in their development, structure, and function by vitamin A. For these reasons a deficiency of vitamin A produces a host of diseases—over ninety main types with many more subtypes, and many infections which are enabled to gain entrance to the body because of the breakdown of the entrance barrier presented by the skin and the mucous membranes.” G.K. Abbott, M.D., in Life and Health, May 1940, 17.

Cells Degenerate

When vitamin A is deficient, the cells flatten, become hard and horny with a tendency to slough off. They then lose all power of normal function. As an example, tear gland cells cannot produce tears and the eyes will be dry. Again, the mucous membrane in all the places mentioned above will be unable to secrete its accustomed fluid.

Bacteria Find an Open Road

Furthermore, healthy mucous membrane does not allow bacteria to pass through into the blood, but as this deficiency of vitamin A continues, these cells slowly lose their power to stop bacteria and then may follow infections of many kinds like those of the respiratory tract, broncho-pneumonia, inflammation of the intestine, infection of the kidneys, gall-bladder, reproductive glands, and so on throughout the body.

We have heard much about glands for a number of years, but we are now learning more about how to maintain their vitality for more years. But to do so, we cannot wait until their vitality is gone. Vitamins are pre-eminently necessary.

Thus we could go up and down within the body and at every turn find marvelous activities upon which life depends, and which cannot continue without the various vitamins. These elements are not here by accident. They have all been planned and provided by a Master Mind. If we would know the plan and use the elements that the Creator has provided for us, it would help us to have the health He intended us to have.

But here is the mischief; the vitamins have been removed from ever so many of our staple foods upon which we live from youth up, and this is one of the reasons why men and women are going to pieces so often after age forty.

Excerpts from Abundant Health, Julius Gilbert White, Northwestern Publishing Association, Buckley, Washington, 1951, 63–72.

Children’s Story – Ellen Meets James

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Ellen Harmon was just a teenager when God called her to serve Him. After much anguish and prayer, she accepted that call, dedicating her entire life and will to God. As His chosen servant, she didn’t want to do anything outside of His will. Though she was weak and often ill, due to a tragic accident, when she was nine, whenever God told her to do something, she obeyed. Often she had no idea how she could obey, but with complete trust in God she did His bidding and He always gave her the strength to fulfill His command.

Ellen had no thought of marriage during these early years. Convinced that Jesus was coming soon, she devoted all her time and energy to preparing herself and spreading the good news to others. She felt that there was no time for marriage. So, unwed, Ellen prayed, obeyed, and traveled for God.

Well, God had a wonderful surprise in store for Ellen. One day she was invited by a neighbor and his sister to travel with them to Orrington, Maine, a town one hundred fifty miles away. This neighbor, William Jordan, had borrowed a horse and sleigh and needed to return them to their owner, a minister named James White. Elder White was having trouble with some people caught up with fanaticism, and William hoped that if Ellen accompanied them she might help them overcome their fanaticism.

How Ellen struggled. Was it really her duty to go? As she earnestly prayed for God’s guidance, she was convinced that He wanted her to go. Soon the three were gliding over the snow on their way to Orrington, James White, and the fanatics. What a time was in store for them! After a journey requiring nearly two days they arrived tired, ready for a good night’s rest. Ellen barely noticed the young minister to whom she was introduced.

The next morning after worship, Elder White and his visitors decided to visit a family living near town. Upon arriving, they were surprised to find several other sleighs in the yard. They inquired, “Are you having a meeting today?”

“No,” came the reply, “several people have simply shown up at the same time.” Ellen remembered God’s promise that He would prepare the way for her to share His messages.

Those present were invited to hear Sister Ellen speak. As she stood to speak, a shout of “Glory Alleluia” was heard. People began clapping their hands, shouting, and jumping up and down. Ellen was dismayed. Earnestly she asked if anywhere in the Bible Jesus and His disciples behaved in this way, and she reminded them that He was their example. Then James shared from the Bible that God is a God of order and not confusion and that He speaks in “a still small voice” [1 Kings 19:12]. He told them that it was Satan leading them to behave like they were so the neighbors would be turned away from God’s truth.

From that home they visited other families and companies. They sometimes met with strange ideas, and always Ellen and James would share truth from the word of God. At one time they arrived after the meeting was started. Someone inside saw them coming and quickly went to the door and locked it. But, “In the name of the Lord,” Ellen opened that locked door and entered. What a scene met their astonished eyes. On the floor lay a woman crying pitifully. She was warning the others not to listen to or believe Ellen Harmon or her visions. Trusting in God, Ellen knelt by her side and commanded the evil spirit to leave the woman. Quietly the woman stood up and sat down. With no further disturbance Ellen spoke to the gathered company of Jesus who calls His followers to be good, pure and sensible.

Day after day they traveled, visiting homes, sharing God’s message and rebuking the fanatical beliefs being taught. In many places peace was being disturbed and God’s message damaged by noisy, rowdy, pretended Christians. Neighbors in one place had even complained to the police. At another town, two guards were posted to prevent any preacher from holding meetings. As the messengers of God approached this place, they prayed earnestly for the Lord to shield them as they passed the guards. Quietly they glided right past. It was as if God had blinded the guards to the sleigh carrying His servants.

As time passed the fanatical ones were rebuked and quieted. The meetings became quiet and happy. At their last meeting in Orrington, God gave Ellen a vision telling her to leave quickly, that her work there was done. Though the meetings were quiet, spies had been tracking them, and they were in danger.

Early the next morning, Ellen, Jordan and his sister left. They later learned that officers had gone to James’ home searching for him. James and a friend were arrested, whipped and thrown into jail. They were accused of being part of the noisy disturbances.

James, in thinking of their travels and troubles, worried about Ellen, young, weak and alone. But not a thought entered his head that one day he would be a lawful protector and companion to her. But indeed that is exactly what happened. James asked Ellen to be his life companion. He felt that together they would be a stronger witness for the Lord. “Besides,” he exclaimed, “I love you. I’ve been praying about this.”

Ellen, though she respected and admired this earnest Christian, wanted only the Lord’s will. “James, I also will pray that the Lord may make His will known to us.” Quietly and patiently they asked the Lord’s guidance in this most important decision. To their joy, they recognized the Holy Spirit guiding them to join their lives in God’s service. When they were certain that it was God’s will, and not until then, they were married.

There was no fancy wedding. There is no record of invitations, bridesmaids, or even a wedding gown. No, there was important work to be done. Every penny was needed for telling the world of Jesus’ soon return. In harmony with God and with one another, theirs was indeed a blessed and happy union, as will be all unions where God’s will reigns.

Keys to the Storehouse – The Angels’ Report

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Angels of God have been commissioned to this earth as “ministering spirits” (see Hebrews 1:14) to present “to us the righteousness of Christ, justification by faith, the exceeding great and precious promises of God’s word, free access to the Father by Christ, the comfort of the Spirit, the well-grounded assurance of eternal life in the kingdom of God. …

“In heaven it is said by the ministering angels: The ministry which we have been commissioned to perform we have done.

  • “We pressed back the army of evil angels.
  • “We sent brightness and light into the souls of men, quickening their memory of the love of God expressed in Jesus.
  • “We attracted their eyes to the cross of Christ.
  • “Their hearts were deeply moved by a sense of the sin that crucified the Son of God.
  • “They were convicted.
  • “They saw the steps to be taken in conversion;
  • “They felt the power of the gospel;
  • “Their hearts were made tender as they saw the sweetness of the love of God.
  • “They beheld the beauty of the character of Christ.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 317, 318.

What a most wonderful ministry the angels carry out and with great joy are able to report! As I read, excitement filled my heart and I praised God. Then read the following:

“But

  • “With the many it was all in vain. [It was unsuccessful, without effect.]
  • “They would not surrender their own habits and character.
  • “They would not put off the garments of earth in order to be clothed with the robe of heaven.
  • “Their hearts were given to covetousness.
  • “They loved the associations of the world more than they loved their God.” Ibid., 318.

Oh, what sad statements by the angels who anxiously minister for each of their charges. I pray that it is with great joy that the angels return with a good report and that none of us finds the garments of earth more desirable than the robe of heaven. How tragic it will be and what a terrible loss it will be when we each face eternity if the invitation has been rejected.

“Sad will be the retrospect in that day when men stand face to face with eternity. The whole life will present itself just as it has been. The world’s pleasures, riches, and honors will not then seem so important. Men will then see that the righteousness they despised is alone of value. They will see that they have fashioned their characters under the deceptive allurements of Satan. The garments they have chosen are the badge of their allegiance to the first great apostate. Then they will see the results of their choice. They will have a knowledge of what it means to transgress the commandments of God. …

“The days of our probation are fast closing. The end is near. To us the warning is given, ‘Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.’ Luke 21:34. Beware lest it find you unready. Take heed lest you be found at the King’s feast without a wedding garment.” Ibid., 318, 319.

Father, walk with me this day that my heart will not be drawn away from heavenly places. I choose to surrender my habits and character to you and to put off the garments of earth in exchange for Your heavenly garments. Remove the love of the world from my heart and replace it with the love of Jesus.

Q&A – The Unpardonable Sin, Is There any sin that cannot be forgiven?

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God is love and it is His will that all would accept His invitation of mercy. However, this world cannot continue in the state it is in and His mercy will reach its limit. The sin against the Holy Ghost is to reject to the uttermost all the means of salvation in Christ Jesus, the only name given under heaven among men whereby we can be saved. (See Acts 4:12.)

The apostle Paul said, “Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” Hebrews 10:29.

We are told: “There are none so hardened as those who have slighted the invitation of mercy, and done despite to the Spirit of grace. The most common manifestation of the sin against the Holy Spirit is in persistently slighting Heaven’s invitation to repent. Every step in the rejection of Christ is a step toward the rejection of salvation, and toward the sin against the Holy Spirit.

“In rejecting Christ the Jewish people committed the unpardonable sin; and by refusing the invitation of mercy, we may commit the same error. We offer insult to the Prince of life, and put Him to shame before the synagogue of Satan and before the heavenly universe when we refuse to listen to His delegated messengers, and instead listen to the agents of Satan, who would draw the soul away from Christ. So long as one does this, he can find no hope or pardon, and he will finally lose all desire to be reconciled to God.” The Desire of Ages, 324, 325.

“Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.” Matthew 12:31.

“Whatever the sin, if the soul repents and believes, the guilt is washed away in the blood of Christ; but he who rejects the work of the Holy Spirit is placing himself where repentance and faith cannot come to him. It is by the Spirit that God works upon the heart; when men willfully reject the Spirit, and declare it to be from Satan, they cut off the channel by which God can communicate with them. When the Spirit is finally rejected, there is no more that God can do for the soul.

“It is not God that blinds the eyes of men or hardens their hearts. He sends them light to correct their errors, and to lead them in safe paths; it is by the rejection of this light that the eyes are blinded and the heart hardened. Often the process is gradual, and almost imperceptible. Light comes to the soul through God’s word, through His servants, or by the direct agency of His Spirit; but when one ray of light is disregarded, there is a partial benumbing of the spiritual perceptions, and the second revealing of light is less clearly discerned. So the darkness increases, until it is night in the soul.” God’s Amazing Grace, 215.

It is not an enviable position to be in this world without hope or pardon and to lose all desire to be reconciled with God. There is a line that can be crossed from which there is no return. Only God knows when that is. There is no more time to waste; maybe the next invitation will be your last!

Inspiration – Preparation of the Soil

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Throughout the parable of the sower [Luke 8:5–8], Christ represents the different results of the sowing as depending upon the soil. In every case the sower and the seed are the same. Thus He teaches that if the word of God fails of accomplishing its work in our hearts and lives, the reason is to be found in ourselves. But the result is not beyond our control. True, we cannot change ourselves; but the power of choice is ours, and it rests with us to determine what we will become. The wayside, the stony-ground, the thorny-ground hearers need not remain such. The Spirit of God is ever seeking to break the spell of infatuation that holds men absorbed in worldly things, and to awaken a desire for the imperishable treasure. It is by resisting the Spirit that men become inattentive to or neglectful of God’s word. They are themselves responsible for the hardness of heart that prevents the good seed from taking root, and for the evil growths that check its development.

The garden of the heart must be cultivated. The soil must be broken up by deep repentance for sin. Poisonous, Satanic plants must be uprooted. The soil once overgrown by thorns can be reclaimed only by diligent labor. So the evil tendencies of the natural heart can be overcome only by earnest effort in the name and strength of Jesus. The Lord bids us by His prophet, “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.” “Sow to yourselves in righteousness; reap in mercy.” Jeremiah 4:3; Hosea 10:12. This work He desires to accomplish for us, and He asks us to co-operate with Him.

The sowers of the seed have a work to do in preparing hearts to receive the gospel. In the ministry of the word there is too much sermonizing, and too little of real heart-to-heart work. There is need of personal labor for the souls of the lost. In Christlike sympathy we should come close to men individually, and seek to awaken their interest in the great things of eternal life. Their hearts may be as hard as the beaten highway, and apparently it may be a useless effort to present the Saviour to them; but while logic may fail to move, and argument be powerless to convince, the love of Christ, revealed in personal ministry, may soften the stony heart, so that the seed of truth can take root.

So the sowers have something to do that the seed may not be choked with thorns or perish because of shallowness of soil. At the very outset of the Christian life every believer should be taught its foundation principles. He should be taught that he is not merely to be saved by Christ’s sacrifice, but that he is to make the life of Christ his life and the character of Christ his character. Let all be taught that they are to bear burdens and to deny natural inclination. Let them learn the blessedness of working for Christ, following Him in self-denial, and enduring hardness as good soldiers. Let them learn to trust His love and to cast on Him their cares. Let them taste the joy of winning souls for Him. In their love and interest for the lost, they will lose sight of self. The pleasures of the world will lose their power to attract and its burdens to dishearten. The plowshare of truth will do its work. It will break up the fallow ground. It will not merely cut off the tops of the thorns, but will take them out by the roots.

Christ’s Object Lessons, 56, 57.

God is So Good!

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It was a Thursday afternoon and I was tired after another busy week. As I drove home from a day of Bible work at Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, I considered not knocking on doors. I told myself, “God can’t use you today; you’re too tired, so go home and study some literature for training purposes.”

After arriving home and eating an orange, the impression came upon me to go out for a few hours. I prayed to God for the Holy Spirit to lead me where to go. I reached my destination and finished reading chapter 7 in Colporteur Ministry about our need for total dependence on God. I recommitted my life to Him and prayed for forgiveness and strength, and told Him that I was totally dependent on Him. Asking again for the leading of the Holy Spirit, I started out. It was going so well that I ran out of a certain book and had to return to my car to re-stock. Not wanting to waste time walking back to where I had left off, I decided to go around the other side of the block and noticed a woman walking ahead of me looking quite ill. A few houses later I knocked on her door.

She was interested in a book I had dealing with depression, for she was still grieving the loss of her partner who had died a year ago. A social worker was helping her with the depression, but she had no money to purchase the book. As she began to close the door, I reached into my bag and pulled out a pocket Signs of the Times called Hope for Troubled Times. I held it out to her and said, “Here’s a little bit of encouragement.”

“Signs of the Times!” she exclaimed. “You’re a Seventh-day Adventist.” I said yes, and she invited me in. She told me that she was part of the Stolen Generation (the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Federal and State government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments between 1869 and 1969) and was sent to live with foster parents who were Seventh-day Adventist. She had fond memories of this family and her upbringing under their care. “This is an answer to my prayers. God has heard my prayers. I’ve been praying for so long for God to send someone to my door,” she said as she broke down in tears.

“Do you have any books by Sister White?” she asked. I showed her the Ellen White books I had with me. She picked up The Desire of Ages and held it close. She told me how she still reads the Bible and pointed to an open Bible in the room. She was in need of God’s help and that morning opened her Bible to read, and it opened to the Beatitudes. She began to read from Matthew 5:3–12: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (verses 3, 4).

She was very emotional and told me that she had HIV, and because of it, her family and friends had rejected her. Alcohol was a problem for her, and she said my visit had stopped her from going out to drink. Instead, she was going to stay at home and read her new books.

I prayed with her. She held my hand to her face, and I could feel her tears stream down onto my hands. It was very emotional.

I also gave her the book, The Ministry of Healing, and she asked for my mobile phone number so we could meet again soon. She told me that it would be her birthday the next week, and I was surprised to discover that we shared the same birthday, October 13. She would turn 49 and I 29. We were both amazed at the afternoon’s events and of the mercy of our loving Saviour, and we planned to visit the following week to celebrate our birthdays. The books that I gave her were more than compensated for when the Lord blessed me with sales of other books throughout the rest of the afternoon.

To God be the glory, great things He has done!

Michael Beumer is a young man who was raised in a Christian home but, like many other youths in Australia, drifted away in his teenage years. He came to experience the emptiness of worldly pleasure and the Lord, not forgetting him, recently brought him back into the sheepfold after many years. Now Michael is on fire for the Lord, working part time as a Literature Evangelist in Perth, Australia. This is just one of the exciting experiences he has had while working for the Lord and knocking on doors to seek and save those who are lost.

The Warp and the Woof

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Thus says the Lord [Who is speaking? What does He say?]: ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness [grace], justice and righteousness [the law] on earth; for I delight in these things,’ declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:23, 24. NASB

“Mighty truths have been committed to human agencies, truths which, when unfolded, quicken into activity the minds of men and women who are in the darkness of error, and call to them, ‘Come; for all things are now ready’ [Luke 14:17]. The knowledge of truth is the great power of God unto salvation to all who believe. The atoning sacrifice, the righteousness of Christ, is to us the vital center of all truth. In the cross of Calvary, mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other. The law and the gospel are in perfect harmony; they are interwoven as the warp and the woof.” The Review and Herald, September 29, 1891.

The last expression in this quote caught my attention, and since I was not familiar with it, I decided to look it up. In the craft of weaving, the warp yarn is the vertical yarn. The weft or woof yarn is woven through the warp yarn to create the cloth.

To illustrate, let’s consider the law as the warp yarn, and the gospel, the true gospel, as the woof yarn. Neither can function independently of the other. If you were to remove all the warp yarn, there would not be any fabric; in fact, all that would be left is a pile of loose, tangled, useless yarn. In just the same way, if the law is removed from faith, there is no foundation, no basis, no cloth of faith left. And the same is true of the woof yarn. Remove it and again there is nothing left but loose yarn, nothing left that can be used as fabric. So it is with the law. Without the gospel, the true gospel, there is no foundation, no basis for our faith. There is no salvation.

Now let’s take this illustration one step further. Let’s say that the weaver used only half thickness yarn, or damaged, frayed yarn for the warp yarn. The fabric would be weak and unable to stand up to regular use. So it is with the law. If only part of the law is used, the fabric of our faith will be weak and unable to endure the test.

By the same token, even if there is a complete law, without the gospel, it produces a legalistic religion, the husk without the kernel. What a perfect illustration of the wending and weaving together of the law, and the gospel is presented in the “warp and woof” of the weaver’s craft. (And I need to emphasize here that it is crucial, eternal life or eternal death, to understand that there is a false gospel and to study out what is the true and what is the false.)

From the original meaning of warp and woof, another meaning, a metaphorical meaning, has evolved based on the initial usage. The expression “woof and warp” (“warp and weft”) is sometimes used metaphorically as one might use the word “fabric.” To give an illustration of this usage, if I were to speak of “the warp and woof of a student’s life,” what I mean is “the fabric of a student’s life.” The expression is used as a metaphor meaning the underlying structure on which something is built.

In this metaphorical meaning we find a very accurate representation of what the law and the gospel are to faith. They are the very basis, the very foundation of faith; the very basis of the mediation of Jesus on our behalf in the heavenly sanctuary. As Jesus is ministering in the heavenly sanctuary, let’s think a moment. If there was no law, there would not be any need of His ministration. And what if there was a law, but there was no gospel. Jesus would not be ministering on our behalf. The two are irrevocably twined together, and the two form the very fabric, the warp and the woof of our faith.

Now let’s return to The Review and Herald quote. The continuation provides an explanation of what the law and the gospel does for us.

“They [that is, the law and the gospel] shed a flood of light amid the moral darkness of the world, stimulating, renovating, sanctifying, all who will believe the truth, all who will gladly and gratefully accept the light coming from the throne of God.” Ibid. That is quite a statement. Do you want stimulating, renovating and sanctifying light shed in your life? Well, this statement explains where to find it and that is through the law and the gospel, the warp and woof of our faith.

“Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness [grace, in the gospel], justice and righteousness [the law] on earth; for in these I delight,’ declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:23, 24. NASB For in what does the Lord delight? Yes, the law and the gospel. Why would the Lord delight in these things? It is because, as we read earlier, “They shed a flood of light amid the moral darkness of the world, stimulating, renovating, sanctifying, all who will believe the truth.” This is and has been the purpose of God and of Jesus since sin first entered the world.

What is to be our relation to this stimulating, renovating, sanctifying light; the law and the gospel?

Speaking in reference to what John the Revelator was shown on the Isle of Patmos, we are told: “Here are themes worthy of our contemplation … . Behold the life and character of Christ [is not Jesus’ life and character the gospel?], and study His mediatorial work. [Remember, for mediatorial work there must be law and gospel.] Here is infinite wisdom [do you want to be wise?], infinite love [the gospel], infinite justice [the law], infinite mercy [grace]. Here are depths and heights, lengths and breadths, for our consideration. …

“We desire to lead the people to understand what Christ is to them and what are the responsibilities they are called upon to accept in Him. As His representatives and witnesses, we ourselves need to come to a full understanding of the saving truths gained by an experimental knowledge.

“Teach the great practical truths that must be stamped upon the soul. Teach the saving power of Jesus, ‘in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.’ Colossians 1:14. It was at the cross that mercy and truth met together, that righteousness and truth kissed each other. … Tell it over and over again. We may become the sons of God, members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King. Let it be known that all who accept Jesus Christ and hold the beginning of their confidence firm to the end will be heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ ‘to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.’ I Peter 1:4, 5.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 59, 60.

Then the quote continues by speaking of the third angel’s message being given with power and intensifying in power with the “loud cry” of Revelation 18.

Let’s spend just a little time looking at the third angel’s message in Revelation 14. In the first part, verses 9–11, we simply find a warning to all who reject the messages of the first two angels. They are the ones who will receive the mark of the beast. But I want to focus on verse 12 which says, “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Who are the saints? It says they are the ones who keep His commands [the law] and the faith of Jesus [the gospel]. How beautiful is this theme, this golden thread of the law and the gospel weaving through the entire Bible. This theme is also known as the plan of redemption, the plan of salvation; God calls it, “My covenant.”

The very essence of the law and the gospel are summed up in these few sentences from Patriarchs and Prophets, 63. See if you catch the warp and woof of the law and the gospel illustrated here. “Divine love had conceived a plan whereby man might be redeemed. The broken law of God demanded the life of the sinner. In all the universe there was but one who could, in behalf of man, satisfy its [that is, the law’s] claims. Since the divine law is as sacred as God Himself, only one equal with God could make atonement [the gospel] for its transgression. None but Christ could redeem [the gospel] fallen man from the curse of the law and bring him again into harmony with Heaven.” Isn’t that beautiful? Isn’t that what the law and the gospel are all about, restoring man to harmony with heaven?

“Our message is a life-and-death message, and we must let it appear as it is, the great power of God. We are to present it in all its telling force. Then the Lord will make it effectual. It is our privilege to expect large things, even the demonstration of the Spirit of God. This is the power that will convict and convert the soul.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 61.

Here is another beautiful explanation of how the law and the gospel are intertwined in a beautiful whole. “The law and the gospel are in perfect harmony. Each upholds the other. In all its majesty the law confronts the conscience, causing the sinner to feel his need of Christ as the propitiation for sin. The gospel recognizes the power and immutability of the law. ‘I had not known sin, but by the law’ (Romans 7:7), Paul declares. The sense of sin, urged home by the law, drives the sinner to the Saviour. In his need man may present the mighty arguments furnished by the cross of Calvary. He may claim the righteousness of Christ; for it is imparted to every repentant sinner.” God’s Amazing Grace, 15.

There is one more quote that at first may seem to be on a different topic, but is very relevant. We have lost our foothold regarding truth. We have lost the tight weave of the warp and woof of our fabric of faith. We have lost this golden thread, the law and the gospel woven through Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, and we must rediscover this present truth.

This quote from the Spirit of Prophecy gives much needed warning and counsel in this regard. Testimonies to Ministers, 30 says, “We have many lessons to learn, and many, many to unlearn. God and heaven alone are infallible. Those who think that they will never have to give up a cherished view, never have occasion to change an opinion, will be disappointed. As long as we hold to our own ideas and opinions with determined persistency, we cannot have the unity for which Christ prayed.”

We are running out of time. We are at the end of the end of time. Jesus is coming, soon. The message we so desperately need, the very same message that “turned the world upside down” in the apostles’ day, the message that is the warp and woof of the fabric of our faith is that of the law and the gospel; the plan of redemption. Time is short; awake and realize the dire situation and study deeply into the mysteries of the warp and woof of our faith, the law and the gospel.

Brenda Douay is a staff member at Steps to Life. She may be contacted by email at: brendadouay@stepstolife.org.