To prepare people for eternal life.
Anna Schultz ¼ cup pineapple chunks
¼ cup blackberries
¼ cup chopped apple
¼ cup peeled orange sections
¼ cup grapes
4 wooden skewers
Wash fresh fruits. Dress each skewer, alternating with different fruit.
8 cherry tomatoes
1/8 cup pineapple chunks
1/8 cup cucumber chunks
1/8 cup baby carrots
3 Tbsp. soy dressing
4 wooden skewers
Dress each skewer, alternating with different vegetables. Dip or spread dressing on each kebab.
When you think of summer weekends, what food pops into your mind? When you think of eating on the road, is fast food the first thing you think of? This summer, don’t eat foods that will leave you feeling depleted, bloated, and tired. Making better food choices will have a positive impact on your leisure time. Healthy food and plenty of water will sustain your energy levels, fuel your muscles, and help you recover quickly. The food you eat on the road will serve as your traveling repair kit.
Healthy eating starts where you stop – If you’re on the road and stop at a fast-food joint, your food choices will be limited to fast food. But if you stop at a grocery store that offers whole or healthy foods—fruits, bagged carrots, nuts, hummus—or a supermarket that features a salad bar, you quickly expand your choices (and reduce junk-food temptations).
Eat frequently, and in smaller amounts – Eating small amounts of healthy foods throughout the day sends a signal to your brain that the food supply is plentiful, so it’s okay to burn through those calories quickly. Limiting your calorie load at a single sitting also gives you lots of energy. Eating too much at one sitting can make you sluggish and sleepy.
Eat plenty of protein – Eating the right amount of complete protein for your weight and activity level stabilizes blood sugar (preventing energy lags), enhances concentration, and keeps you lean and strong. A complete protein for vegetarians is a grain plus a legume (such as whole grain bread with nut butter, or corn tortilla with beans).
Pack snacks so you’re not skipping meals – Often when we’re traveling, we don’t have access to food at regular intervals. The problem is, your body responds as if it’s facing a food shortage and your metabolism slows way down to prevent you from starving. To keep your mind and body humming, pack healthy snacks in your car or backpack. Examples are almonds, raw vegetables and hummus, soy yogurt and berries, fresh and dried fruit.
Avoid “feel bad” foods – These are foods you crave, but after you eat them you feel sick or depleted. When you’re on the road, it’s particularly essential to avoid foods that drain your energy and deflate your mood.
Drink lots of water – Yes, water is a food. The body needs water for virtually all of its functions. Drinking plenty of water will flush your body of toxins, keep your skin fresh, and help you eat less. It will also help you avoid travel lag, symptoms of overexposure to the heat or sun, and junk-food cravings. Believe it or not, many of the unhealthy cravings we experience on the road can be satisfied with a refreshing drink of pure water. www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/what-to-eat
Try cutting up fresh fruit and vegetables beforehand and leaving them nearby and handy as you travel.
When God made the animals He gave each of them some special abilities. The dog, who has been a great helper to man, was given a very sensitive nose and the ability to smell out tracks and trails to find animals or things that are lost.
Some years ago, a great French statesman named Gambetta was traveling from Paris to his home in the country by horseback. The night was so dark that he could hardly see his horse’s head, so he was traveling very slowly.
Suddenly the horse reared. A man who had been bending down on the road felt the horse’s nose touch him, and started up. As soon as Gambetta saw what had happened, he said, “You stupid fellow! You were nearly killed.”
“I wish I had been.”
“Why so?”
“I am a poor workman. My master told me to go to the village to get some money which was due to him. I was paid in gold, and I put the money in my pocket. I did not know that there was a hole in it, but I find that all the gold has fallen out. I cannot hope to find it all again this dark night, and I dare not go back without it.”
“Have you one coin left?”
“Yes, here is the only one left me.”
Gambetta untied a dog which was under the carriage, held the coin to his nose, and said, “Go seek, Tom.”
Off Tom ran, with his nose close to the ground so as to smell the footsteps of the man, and in a minute he came back with a coin in his mouth. Again and again he ran away into the darkness, and each time he returned bringing another coin with him.
In half an hour the workman had all his money again. Thanks to the cleverness of the dog and the kindness of his owner, he was able to go on his way once more with a light heart.
Tom’s master was so pleased with his dog that the next day he bought him a new collar, and had the date marked on it in memory of his clever act.
This case showed the great keenness of scent in the dog, for a coin is very small and not likely to smell strongly. Many other true stories are told, which show what a wonderful power of smell God gave to dogs.
Storytime Treasury, compiled by P. G. Temple, Harvestime Books, Altamont, Tennessee 37301.
While laboring at Thessalonica, Paul had so fully covered the subject of the signs of the times, showing what events would occur prior to the revelation of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven, that he did not think it necessary to write at length regarding this subject. He, however, pointedly referred to his former teachings. ‘Of the times and the seasons,’ he said, ‘ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them’ (I Thessalonians 5:1–3).” The Acts of the Apostles, 258–260.
“The high point of Jimmy Carter’s [United States] presidency occurred on Monday, September 18, 1978. While Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin looked on from the balcony, Carter briefed a joint session of Congress on the success of their thirteen-day summit at Camp David, Maryland. Stopping twenty-five times for applause, he described the first peace treaty between Israel and one of its Arab neighbors, as well as a framework for further progress toward peace in the Middle East. ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be the children of God’ (Matthew 5:9), an emotional Carter intoned, capping two weeks of high-risk diplomacy that ended in historic achievement.
“When Jimmy Carter entered the White House in 1977, the situation in the Middle East was highly unstable, the product of four wars since the establishment of Israel on May 14, 1948. A formal state of war still existed between Israel and its neighbors, including Egypt, bent on reclaiming the Sinai territory seized by the Israelis in 1967. Millions of Palestinian Arabs chafed under Israeli control in the West Bank and Gaza territories, also annexed during the Six Day War in 1967. www.pbs.org
Pope Francis extended an invitation Sunday [May 25, 2014] to the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to travel to the Vatican for a “peace initiative,” after earlier calling for a two-state solution to the intractable conflict. …
The Palestinian side has accepted the invitation and … the Israeli President’s office said that he welcomed the invitation. …
The Pope called on all sides to pursue a path to peace together and not take unilateral actions to disrupt it.
“I can only express my profound hope that all will refrain from initiatives and actions which contradict the stated desire to reach a true agreement, and that peace will be pursued with tireless determination and tenacity,” he said. www.cnn.com
Have you ever noticed that the word DeatH is mostly EAT? The thought that diet is directly related to one’s health is no longer confined to a few once labeled “fanatics.” There are more and more scientific studies that validate the belief that the cause of most disease can be traced to what a person eats and his/her lifestyle.
The ten leading afflictions that caused death in the United States in 1995 are here listed, beginning with the leading cause: heart and blood vessel disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, accidents, pneumonia/influenza, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, suicide, liver cirrhosis, kidney failure and others. Various forms of media have made us aware of the harmful effects of certain foods that lead to heart disease and cancer, but these facts are not really new. Note the physicians quoted in Abundant Health, by Julius Gilbert White (Health and Character Education Institute), a book written in 1951:
“The two chief causes of disease are food and drink.” Dr. Mikkel Hindhede, Denmark.
“Ninety per cent of all conditions outside of acute infections, are directly traceable to diet.” Dr. Osler, English physician.
“I believe I would not be far out of the way to say that diet may be said to be a factor in every disease to which many are heir.” Dr. Harvey W. Wiley.
Most diseases are related to what we eat. The book, Becoming Vegetarian, written by three registered dietitians examines the evidence that links diet to disease. “The Standard American Diet, which on occasion has been referred to as SAD, has been ‘on trial’ for its potential link to hundreds of millions of deaths in the United States” (page 11). Thousands and tens of thousands of pages of research have been submitted on both sides, examining the connection between diet and degenerative diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) delegated a panel of nutrition experts from around the world to assess the strength of this evidence. As a result, a 200 page paper “Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases,” was made public in 1990. The summary of that research reads: “Medical and scientific research has established clear links between dietary factors and the risk of developing coronary artery disease, hypertension, stroke, several cancers, osteoporosis, diabetes and other chronic diseases. This knowledge is now sufficiently strong to enable governments to assess national eating patterns, identify risks and then protect their population through policies that make healthy food choices the easy choices.” Ibid., 12.
Over a hundred years ago, a noted health educator, Ellen White wrote, “Intemperate eating is often the cause of sickness.” The Ministry of Healing, 235. In another book, Counsels on Diet and Foods, 141, she wrote that man is “digging his grave with his teeth.”
Let’s look at a few of these health problems, such as cancer, heart attacks/cardiovascular, diabetes, and arthritis and see just how diet does affect these diseases.
Many cancer patients experience gastrointestinal symptoms. Cancer can be the result of cells being destroyed due to poor blood. Example of foods causing poor blood: processed meats, sugar, refined flours, and fats.
Blood flow can be impaired as a result of certain kinds of food, and heart attacks can be caused by stress.
Example of foods that impair blood flow: fried foods, and the use of too much free flowing fats and salt.
The pancreas is over worked as a result of our diet and one example is trying to digest refined foods.
Example of refined foods: processed foods and refined sugars and starches such as white bread, white flour and white flour products, and white sugar.
One cause of arthritis is obstruction in the body from waste matter and uric acid build up.
Example of problem foods: red meats, excessive sugar, caffeine, soft or cola drinks, chocolate and not enough water.
So we see that the wrong kinds of foods or an over consumption of certain kinds of foods can cause DIS-EASE.
God’s Plan From S.A.D. Standard American Diet to G.L.A.D. God’s Life Activating Diet, 9, 10.
Satan counterfeits the attributes of the Lord. His counterfeit of faith is presumption, which is so deceptive that each of us needs a true faith based on the Word so they will not be fooled. “That so-called faith in Christ which professes to release men from the obligation of obedience to God, is not faith, but presumption.” Steps to Christ, 61.
In The Desire of Ages, 126, we are told the following: “But faith is in no sense allied to presumption. Only he who has true faith is secure against presumption. For presumption is Satan’s counterfeit of faith.
The heart is deceitfully wicked and man’s feelings cannot be trusted. Daily study of God’s word accompanied with prayers to heaven must be made with a request for a heart cleansing. Plead with God as did David in Psalm 139:23, 24 when he said, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” For those who in sincerity pray this prayer, God will help identify any presumptuous thought.
“There are those who profess holiness, who declare that they are wholly the Lord’s, who claim a right to the promises of God, while refusing to render obedience to His commandments. These transgressors of the law claim everything that is promised to the children of God; but this is presumption on their part, for John tells us that true love for God will be revealed in obedience to all His commandments.” The Acts of the Apostles, 562.
We fall for the devil’s counterfeit when we presume upon God’s word while we do not walk by faith with Him in obedience. Thus the prayer of David should also be our prayer: “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.” Psalm 19:13.
| FAITH | PRESUMPTION |
| Faith claims God’s promises, and brings forth fruit in obedience. | Presumption also claims the promises, but uses them as Satan did, to excuse transgression. |
| Faith would have led our first parents to trust the love of God, and to obey His commands. | Presumption led them to transgress His law, believing that His great love would save them from the consequence of their sin. |
| Genuine faith has its foundation in the promises and provisions of the Scriptures. | It is not faith (but presumption) that claims the favor of Heaven without complying with the conditions on which mercy is to be granted. |
The treatment of the barren fig-tree by the Saviour of the world, shows how all pretenders to godliness will be treated. He pronounced upon it His withering curse, and left it seared and sapless, rejected by God (Matthew 21:19). This tree represents the Jews, who refused to respond to the love of Christ. Despite all the privileges and opportunities granted them, they brought forth only briers and thorns—no fruit to the glory of God. This blighted tree was a parable to the house of Israel—a most impressive lesson. It is also a lesson to the professed followers of Christ in every age. Reaching through all time, it speaks in unmistakable language to all formalists and boasters of godliness who stand forth to the world with high profession, but are utterly devoid of that vital piety which alone God recognizes as fruit.
There is a decided lack of piety among us as a people. The true burden of the work for the salvation of souls does not rest upon us as it should. Like the barren fig-tree, many flaunt their foliage-covered branches before the Lord, proudly claiming to be his commandment-keeping people, while the heart-searching God finds them destitute of fruit.
We boast of our advancement in the truth; but our works do not correspond with our profession. We are sadly deficient in spirit, energy, and life. Leaf-covered trees are plenty, but they are destitute of fruit. The fearful condition of lukewarmness and unfaithfulness which would exist in the last days was described by the great apostle in these words:
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come; for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away” (II Timothy 3:1–4).
We learn from the Sacred Record that this tree, upon which hung not a redeeming cluster of fruit, was clothed with green foliage. Notice the words. “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” The doom of the fruitless fig-tree has an application to individual professors who manifest the natural tendencies of the unrenewed heart, and contradict their faith by their daily life. They do not represent to the world the character of Christ, because they have not Christ in them.
Our Saviour never turned away from the truly penitent, no matter how great their guilt. But He hates all hypocrisy and vain display. He addressed with the most severe and unqualified reproof the Pharisees and hypocrites represented by the fig-tree covered with green foliage, but destitute of fruit.
Fruitless professors, sad indeed is your fate; for the open sinner stands in a more favorable position in the sight of God. The blight of God’s curse is upon that class who hide the deformity of their lives under a profession of godliness. John, that bold, undaunted reprover of sin, who came to prepare the way for Christ’s first advent, thus addressed the multitude that flocked to hear him: “Therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” (Matthew 3:10). Terrible words! And as we see the many who profess to be God’s commandment-keeping people, whose lives show that they do not the will of our Father which is in Heaven, we can come to only one conclusion—that in the doom of the fig-tree which bore no fruit, and upon which fell the withering curse of God, they may read their own fate.
The compassion and tender love of Jesus for those for whom He died, is without parallel. But when His love and mercy are insulted, when His life and example are misrepresented by those professing to be His followers, severe retribution will surely follow. Christ has bought man with an infinite price. Soul, body, and spirit—all that constitutes the man—is the rightful property of our Saviour; and when He sees the body, the temple of the soul, defiled and degraded by indulgence of appetite and lustful passion, and the heart polluted and defiled by sin—when He sees the soul which was the purchase of His blood, proving a curse rather than a blessing to the world, He dooms it as He did the fig-tree, and it becomes a fearful monument of His righteousness and avenging wrath.
Jesus is wounded and insulted by His professed follower whose unconsecrated lives disgrace their profession. He would purify the temple courts of the soul; but if His efforts to warn and reprove are not heeded, his forbearance and compassion will be changed to severity and judgment.
The Review and Herald, January 11, 1881.
Spiritual disorders are similar to physical disorders in that both have consequences. The disorder that affects the spiritual life is sin. However, there is one specific sin that, if indulged, will cause a separation from God and produce much contagious unruly behavior. What is this one sin?
“The sin which is indulged to the greatest extent, and which separates us from God and produces so many contagious spiritual disorders, is selfishness.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 132.
Once this sin is indulged, the spiritual life is in danger of death. “There can be no returning to the Lord except by self-denial. Of ourselves we can do nothing; but, through God strengthening us, we can live to do good to others, and in this way shun the evil of selfishness.
“We need not go to heathen lands to manifest our desire to devote all to God in a useful, unselfish life. We should do this
“Right in the common walks of life is where self is to be denied and kept in subordination. Paul could say: ‘I die daily’ (I Corinthians 15:31). It is the daily dying to self in the little transactions of life that makes us overcomers. We should forget self in the desire to do good to others.” Ibid.
If you are suffering from this spiritual disorder and its many side effects, you must mourn the consequences, confess and repent toward God and then, by His grace, begin to bless others.
“God positively enjoins upon all His followers a duty to
“In doing for others, a sweet satisfaction will be experienced, an inward peace which will be a sufficient reward. When actuated by a high and noble desire to do others good, they will find true happiness in a faithful discharge of life’s manifold duties. This will bring more than an earthly reward; for every faithful, unselfish performance of duty is noticed by the angels and shines in the life record.” Ibid.
Do you want your life record to shine? Ask God to remove the shadow of selfishness and bring spiritual order to your life.
“Every act of our lives affects others for good or evil. Our influence is tending upward or downward; it is felt, acted upon, and to a greater or lesser degree reproduced by others.
Father: Remove the sin of selfishness and its shadow from my life. Allow me to live by Your holy principles so that my life can be used to influence others to a saving knowledge of truth and any evil influence be put to death. Amen.
When the Fourth of July is mentioned, most people think of the flag, food, and fireworks. Few, very few, think of its significance in the fulfilment of Bible prophecy.
While prophecy does not specifically mention the birth date of this nation, it does indeed mention the birth—a fact that most students of prophecy recognize from Revelation 13:11: “And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.”
Though prophecy does not mention the specific date of this nation’s birth, it does give clues as to the approximate point in history. As the pioneers of our faith studied the Scriptures, they determined that this two-horned beast was indeed the United States. Uriah Smith wrote in his classic Daniel and the Revelation, “The struggle of the American colonies for independence began in 1775. In 1776, they declared themselves a free and independent nation. In 1777, delegates from the thirteen original States … in Congress assembled, adopted Articles of Confederation. In 1783, the War of the Revolution closed with a treaty of peace with Great Britain, whereby the independence of the United States was acknowledged, and territory was ceded … . In 1787, the Constitution was framed, and by July 26, 1788, it was ratified …; and on the 1st of March, 1789, it went into effect. The United States thus began… . Thus we come to the year 1798, when this nation is introduced into prophecy.”
Further confirmation of the United States in prophecy occurs in the book that Ellen White deemed to be the one that should be the most widely distributed of all her writings, The Great Controversy:
“… The beast with lamblike horns was seen ‘coming up out of the earth (Revelation 13:11).’ Instead of overthrowing other powers to establish itself, the nation thus represented must arise in territory previously unoccupied and grow up gradually and peacefully. It could not, then, arise among the crowded and struggling nationalities of the Old World—that turbulent sea of ‘peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues’ (Revelation 17:16). It must be sought in the Western Continent.
“What nation of the New World was in 1798 rising into power, giving promise of strength and greatness, and attracting the attention of the world? The application of the symbol admits of no question. One nation, and only one, meets the specifications of this prophecy; it points unmistakably to the United States of America. Again and again the thought, almost the exact words, of the sacred writer has been unconsciously employed by the orator and the historian in describing the rise and growth of this nation. The beast was seen ‘coming up out of the earth’; and, according to the translators, the word here rendered ‘coming up’ literally signifies ‘to grow or spring up as a plant.’ And, as we have seen, the nation must arise in territory previously unoccupied. A prominent writer, describing the rise of the United States, speaks of ‘the mystery of her coming forth from vacancy,’ and says: ‘Like a silent seed we grew into empire.’ (G. A. Townsend, The New World Compared With the Old, 462). A European journal in 1850 spoke of the United States as a wonderful empire, which was ‘emerging,’ and ‘amid the silence of the earth daily adding to its power and pride.’ The Dublin Nation. Edward Everett, in an oration on the Pilgrim founders of this nation, said: ‘Did they look for a retired spot, inoffensive for its obscurity, and safe in its remoteness, where the little church of Leyden might enjoy the freedom of conscience? Behold the mighty regions over which, in peaceful conquest, … they have borne the banners of the cross!’ – Speech delivered at Plymouth, Massachusetts, December 22, 1824, 11.” The Great Controversy, 440, 441.
Unmistakably the United States has existed in the mind of God since eternity, for the role it has played in the past, continues to play today, and will play in the future of the great controversy between Christ and Satan is clear in the unfolding of that controversy.
What role has the United States played in prophecy in each of these eras—the past, present, and future? Again we turn to the writings of our pioneers for understanding.
“In that grand old document which our forefathers set forth as their bill of rights—the Declaration of Independence—they declared: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’ And the Constitution guarantees, in the most explicit terms, the inviolability of conscience: ‘No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.’ ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.’ ” The Great Controversy, 295.
“…The Constitution [of the United States] guarantees to the people the right of self-government, providing that representatives elected by the popular vote shall enact and administer the laws. Freedom of religious faith was also granted, every man being permitted to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience. Republicanism and Protestantism became the fundamental principles of the nation. These principles are the secret of its power and prosperity. The oppressed and down-trodden throughout Christendom have turned to this land with interest and hope. Millions have sought its shores, and the United States has risen to a place among the most powerful nations of the earth.” The Great Controversy, 441.
Until recent years, these principles that have made this country the great nation that it is have allowed it to become the most prosperous nation on earth, but prophecy does not end there.
“And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.” Revelation 13:15.
“By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 451.
“When the protection of human laws shall be withdrawn from those who honor the law of God, there will be, in different lands, a simultaneous movement for their destruction. As the time appointed in the decree draws near, the people will conspire to root out the hated sect. It will be determined to strike in one night a decisive blow, which shall utterly silence the voice of dissent and reproof.” The Great Controversy, 635.
“The same masterful mind that plotted against the faithful in ages past is still seeking to rid the earth of those who fear God and obey His law. Satan will excite indignation against the humble minority who conscientiously refuse to accept popular customs and traditions. Men of position and reputation will join with the lawless and the vile to take counsel against the people of God. Wealth, genius, education, will combine to cover them with contempt. Persecuting rulers, ministers, and church members will conspire against them. With voice and pen, by boasts, threats, and ridicule, they will seek to overthrow their faith. By false representations and angry appeals they will stir up the passions of the people. Not having a ‘Thus saith the Scriptures’ to bring against the advocates of the Bible Sabbath, they will resort to oppressive enactments to supply the lack. To secure popularity and patronage, legislators will yield to the demand for a Sunday law.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 451, 452.
Despite these ominous and foreboding prophecies, God’s people can take great comfort in His inspired promises.
“The eye of God, looking down the ages, was fixed upon the crisis which His people are to meet, when earthly powers shall be arrayed against them. Like the captive exile, they will be in fear of death by starvation or by violence. But the Holy One who divided the Red Sea before Israel, will manifest His mighty power and turn their captivity.” The Great Controversy, 634.
As prophetic events unfold, those who have studied prophecy can take great comfort. Recognizing fulfilment of prophecies past provides assurance that prophecies future will also be fulfilled, and that God’s people—those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus—will indeed stand without fault before the throne of God.
As we observe the 238th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, let us reflect on the role of the United States in prophecy and give praise and thanksgiving to our loving Father for having given us understanding of that role—especially as we see the final events transpiring that tell us that the meeting of time and eternity are drawing nigh.
We often hear today that we are living at the end of time. If there is a church or a group of people that should really understand, it is the Seventh-day Adventist people. We have the Bible and have been blessed with the Spirit of Prophecy. If we heed the instruction as never before and pay attention to the message of truth, we will not be ashamed when Jesus returns.
It would be worthwhile to meditate, not only on the time in which we are living, but also to enquire into the special message that the Lord has for each one of us. The question that each of us should be asking is, Who shall stand and what is required of me? We know that Jesus is at the door and we claim to be the people proclaiming the Advent of Christ to this earth. But, are we ready ourselves for this momentous event? Who can stand while this earth is to experience the greatest catastrophic judgments that prophecy has declared will take place just prior to Jesus’ coming? It will be a time such as never been seen before.
Every day we hear about calamities, earthquakes and chaos around the world. We are told: “All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8). The Lord is getting ready to shake up this whole earth. He is sending these warnings now for those who know about this truth and to get busy and warn those who are unaware that the door of opportunity will soon be closed. Time has been extended for a little while for those men and women who have not yet received the truth. Time is short. The Lord is about to do great things and He needs to have a people. He needs to have a church that will be ready to stand up for truth through these trying times.
A very well-known text is Revelation 6:16, 17 which says, “And [they] said to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” According to Revelation 6, there will be two groups of people when the Lord comes. The first group, His church, those whom He has purified, will be standing to welcome their Saviour coming in the clouds of heaven. The second group, a great multitude, will be calling on the rocks to fall on them. This second group has not made the necessary preparation of repentance and turning from sin. They cannot bear to be in the presence of a holy Lord.
What a shameful day it is going to be for the majority of the world who have rejected the gospel invitation and for those who have professed belief in God yet failed to obey His teachings. Many who have preached and taught others about this saving truth who do not endure to the end will be included in this second group, the sad great multitude. Make sure that you are found in the group that will receive the Lord in glory when He comes. We are told that the rocks and the mountains that were a refuge for God’s people in the day of trouble will now be those rocks and mountains that are sought as a hiding place for the great multitude that will not be ready for the coming of Christ.
We need to find out how to have the victory. A secret for victory is found in 1 John 2:28, 29: “And now little children, abide in Him, that when He shall appear we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at his coming.” John here writes to the Christian people at the end of the first century but his message applies to the end of the Christian era. Here, at the end of time, John reminds us and calls us little children and in very clear language, presents to us that we must abide in Him. The great tragedy of the majority of God’s professed people is that we have not learned the secret of abiding in Christ.
Abiding in Christ is the secret for victory for those who welcome Christ in the clouds of heaven. The lesson must be learned by experience and not merely by intellect. Remember, the majority will be ashamed when Christ comes because throughout their lives they believed they would go with Christ when He comes; but instead, they cry for the rocks and the mountains to hide them. They have neglected to learn what it means to abide in Him, daily consecrating their lives to Him, enquiring of His will, living His life and making Him Lord of their lives.
The rest of the verse says, “Ye know that He is righteous, ye know that everyone that does righteousness is born of Him.” Righteousness is a word that is often debated, even among Adventists. A righteous person will do the right thing in the eyes of God. He has learned how to do the right thing by abiding in Christ. The word abide is so important in the word of God that it repeats in chapter 15 of the book of John time after time. We must discover the practical meaning of this experience in our lives.
The failure of living in victory can be simply traced to not abiding in Christ, for in Him there is no failure. Jesus is coming for His friends. He is coming for a church, a group of people that have learned to surrender totally to Him, trusting in His promises. He will know them, for they are like Him.
One must ask himself, Do I know Jesus? Am I known by Him, or is the relationship I have with Him restricted to coming to church on the Sabbath? Is Jesus a daily companion? Is He involved in every decision I make? Do I share my heart with Him, my joys as well as my cares? Here lies the secret of abiding. The Bible says, “At that day, he shall know that I am in My Father and ye in Me and I in you.” John 14:20. Jesus offers a relationship between Himself and the Father and the Father and us, and the result will be abiding in His presence.
Often we are very loose with modern-day language and tend to believe that we can abide by just spending some time with someone. You may think you know your family members by abiding with them. But in Biblical language the term means far more. It is to have constant communication with God.
“Abiding in Christ means a constant receiving of His Spirit.” The Desire of Ages, 676. The Biblical dictionary says that the word abide in Greek or Hebrew is a constant communion. It is such a close communion that in our modern day language we would say a 24/7 communion with Jesus.
That will be the experience of the church for which Jesus returns, the church that will not be ashamed when He comes. The people who make up that church will be waiting to see their Lord, the One Who has been their constant companion through all of their stormy trials. As the branches of the vine constantly draw the sap from the living vine, the channel of communication between heaven and earth must be continually open. The One Who created us knows best how to direct our every decision. As we cling to Jesus we receive from Him by faith the strength and perfection of His own character, the beauty of His grace.
Jesus becomes our daily friend, One that will never leave us or forsake us. Through His grace we receive forgiveness for our sins and the invitation to have constant communion with Him. Because of His grace we receive the strength and perfection of His own character in our lives.
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.” John 15:4. As a result of abiding in Christ we receive fruit. If we want to bear fruit, abide in Him. The reason the fruits of righteousness are not being seen is because we have not learned or have not discovered the secret of a Christian life, which is to abide in Christ and constantly receive of His Spirit. Jesus says, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” Verse 5.
Verse 6 tells us what will happen if we do not abide in Him: “If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch” to be burned. It is now that we must learn to walk with Him and constantly receive of Him His Holy Spirit to enable us to bear many fruits.
In addition to the fruit is new power in our prayers. Jesus says, “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” John 15:7. There is a condition to having our prayers heard and answered. Jesus says, “If ye abide in Me.” Abiding in Jesus is the condition to be receiving constantly of His grace in our lives. Maybe this is the reason that often times we feel our prayers go no further than the ceiling and we do not receive answers or experience the beauty of joy and real communion with Him.
Abiding in Christ results in receiving many fruits of righteousness. It will become second nature to do the things that are pleasing to God instead of doing things that please the flesh. We need His Spirit to perfect our characters. Often is heard the cry of many of our own brethren, “No, it is impossible for us to live a perfect life, because, after all, we are human.” When they are told that through the grace of God it is possible to walk in the perfect path to heaven they mock, “O, so you think you’re perfect already!” No, but one thing we can do, because of His grace, is to keep aiming for that goal. Jesus promised that if we continue to abide in Him, “I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one.” John 17:23.
This statement is deeper than we at first might think. Jesus says that He can make us one also with Him and the Father. That is one of the greatest privileges that a human being can receive, but it is only possible as we abide in Him. That is the secret. We must abide in Him constantly, when we go to church and when we sit down in our homes. Remember, the Biblical language means a constant receiving of the grace of God into our heart and into our lives. Only then will we discover the secret of having a life of many fruits, having our prayers answered. Sin will be broken in our lives and have no more power over us and we will be overcomers as many have been in times past.
Paul says to walk in the Spirit. This is possible only by God’s grace and by what Jesus has done for us in shedding His blood at Calvary. If we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, we will be dead to the flesh, to our sinful nature, and walk in the Spirit. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1. This means they are walking with Christ, their only hope and salvation. He is the Lord of their lives, to Whom they give their will. They no longer walk after the flesh but after the Spirit.
In Romans 8:10, Paul says, “And if Christ be in you …” This word if is a powerful little two-letter word. Paul said if I want to walk after the Spirit, I am no longer walking in the flesh; Jesus must be in me.
This means that Christ takes control of your heart, your mind and your whole life. The body will be dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. This new heart experience makes a person ready for translation to heaven. With His Spirit in our life we walk as He walked and live His life. “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.” I John 2:6.
How did Jesus walk? He went around doing good. He did only the will of His Father who sent Him. He taught us how to love each other. Study His life in the gospels, for that is to be our example.
When a person is not abiding in Christ, then you will see the opposite. Without Christ, man is a reprobate. Paul said, “Examine yourselves.” We are not told to examine our pastors, our elders or our husbands or wives. Our first duty or responsibility to the Lord, is to examine ourselves. “Examine yourself whether you be in the faith, prove your own selves.” In other words, Paul is saying that you claim to be a Christian and that you are abiding in Christ, so prove it! “Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” II Corinthians 13:5. “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27.
This is a mystery, but that mystery has been revealed. There are many people who have never known what it is to receive the grace of God. Having been raised a Roman Catholic, I attended the Catholic Seminary because that was all my family ever knew. It was only by God’s grace that I was brought into this light. The Bible presents to us the most beautiful news a human being can hear. Not only are we called to be sons and daughters of the kingdom, but we are called to reflect His character in a perfect way, and it is all by His grace.
Two choices—abide in Christ and allow His Spirit to direct, or become a reprobate. “If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” John 15:6. Unfortunately, the majority of God’s professed people will be found in that group of people that are represented as the branches that will be cut off. Pray that you will be found among the remnant who will not be ashamed when Jesus comes, but will receive an abundant blessing.
The Seventh-day Adventist movement has been described in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy as a movement because it is describing a group of people that are moving forward, marching forward and upward to heaven.
“Sinners inquired with weeping: ‘What must I do to be saved?’ ” The Great Controversy, 369. At this critical hour of earth’s history this should also be our enquiry.
“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.” II Peter 1:10, 11. We are not to make somebody else’s calling sure, but our own! Soon Jesus will ask, “What have you done with My grace that is sufficient for you?” What will be your answer?
Jesus said, If you abide in Me you will never fail. What a promise!
Raphael Perez is pastor of the Eternal Gospel Church and editor of The Eternal Gospel Herald. He has been engaged in a campaign for over 20 years promoting the Three Angels’ Messages throughout the United State and abroad through printing, billboards, radio, prison ministry, foreign missions, full-page newspaper advertisements, and television. He may be contacted by email at: eternalgospel@att.net.