Category / Sabbath School Lessons

by In Light Of The Cross

Does the Bible Teach About a Secret Rapture?

“Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.” Matthew 24:40-41 NLT

Many people have used this passage to suggest a secret rapture, where people will suddenly just disappear and be taken to heaven. Growing up, I occasionally saw bumper stickers, warning that in case of rapture this car will be unmanned. But when you read this passage in context you will see no hint of a secret rapture.  *Unlike the secret rapture theory, the Sabbath is found in the Bible and has been taught and observed in the Bible and throughout history. The secret rapture was never taught before 1830 and is not found in the Bible.

Let’s take a look at the entire context of the passage in Matthew 24.

“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. “Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left. Matthew 24:37-41 NLT

In the days of Noah the people who were swept away or “taken away” as other versions describe, were the wicked people, not the righteous. Jesus tells us it will be the same when He comes. So the ones taken in the field and at the mill are not the righteous, they are the wicked! They are taken away from the presence of the righteous and destroyed, just like in the days of Noah. So, Jesus is telling us that two men will be in the field; one will be taken and destroyed, just like the tares that are bundled up and destroyed in Matthew 13:30 while the wheat remains in the barn. By saying the other man is left, Jesus means that man is left alive and not destroyed. In Matthew 13:38 Jesus says the field is the world. That tells us that the one who is taken is destroyed while the one who is left inherits the new earth. (See Matthew 5:5 and Revelation 21:1-5.)

Luke makes it even more clear that those who are taken are not taken to heaven, but rather are taken to destruction like those left to be eaten or destroyed by vultures.

I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.” And they answered and said to Him, “Where, Lord?” So He said to them, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” Luke 17:34-37 NKJV

Neither Matthew or Luke give any hint of a secret rapture. After all, when the wicked were swept away in the flood that was no secret. The whole world at that time saw what was happening. The eight who remained and took over the earth knew what was going on the whole time also. There were no secrets either way.

Far from being a secret the entire world will know.

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. Revelation 1:7 NKJV

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NKJV

Yes there will be a rapture when we are taken up, but it will be no secret. Why is it so important that

everyone sees Jesus coming instead of the righteous just secretly disappearing? There are many reasons, but I am sure that Satan does not want to have to face the music. He would rather avoid that confrontation when Jesus comes as King of kings and Lord of lords. But there is no avoiding it. One day,

As I live says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God. Romans 14:11 NKJV

When the great controversy is finished, the entire universe will declare that God is love. And that is a truth that Satan would rather cover up and keep secret, but he won’t be able. The whole world will see Jesus coming, and He will take home with Him all those who have accepted His love into their lives. Let’s accept Him into our hearts now so that we will greet His coming with joy.

*By the way the secret rapture rapture was never even taught until the theory was invented by John Darby around 1830. The Sabbath truth was re-discovered around the same time. 

You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.

by In Light Of The Cross

We all Need Mercy

Just a few years ago, I was meeting a friend from church at the bank to handle some church business. I parked my car in what I thought was a secluded area of the parking lot away from the other cars. My friend followed behind in her car, and for reasons I still do not know, sideswiped the back of my car as she parked next to my car! All she did was scrape some of the paint, but I was upset by the senseless destruction. There was no reason! She could have parked anywhere else where she would have had plenty of room, but no! She had to park right next to my car, and then hit it. She said she was sorry and would pay for it. But as I kept playing the scenario over in my mind it just upset me that what happened to my poor car was so needless and senseless. It never should have happened. 

Later that night I called my lifelong friend back home so I could vent. (After all I wasn’t going to gossip about it to my church family or anyone who knew her.) I told my friend back home all the tragic details but assured her my friend would pay for it. After listening, my friend replied, “William do you remember when I bought my brand new red Pontiac Fiero not long after we graduated from high school?” I replied, “Oh no! I remember now! Don’t remind me.” My friend still continued, “Remember at church while it was still new, you parked next to me and side scraped it as you left church ? Do you remember how you offered to pay to fix it, but I knew you didn’t have the money so I just forgave you?”

Thanks Collin’s Classic Auto for permission to use this image.

Immediately I realized out of all my friends on earth God directed me to call this particular friend,-the only friend whose car I have ever damaged the exact same way it just happened to me! A friend since early childhood who freely forgave me and never held a grudge. As a matter of fact in the 35 years since I side swiped her car in the church parking lot, she never mentioned it once. That is until I told her that I was having trouble forgiving someone who did the exact same thing to me. Then she had to remind me that I had been forgiven so I must forgive also. It was like the forgiving master telling his unforgiving servant,

Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Matthew 18:33 NLT 

I found it was a lot easier to forgive someone once I realized I had to be forgiven for the exact same thing. It  was good that my friend forgave me and forgot about it, but when my other friend accidentally did the same thing to my car I should have remembered on my own, how freely I had been forgiven, and then freely forgave my friend. 

For example, Jonah was upset with God for being merciful on such a wicked city, forgetting that the same mercy that spared Nineveh was the same mercy that provided the fish to save him. Jonah should have rejoiced that the same mercy that saved him also saved a wicked city. Maybe Jonah forgot about the mercy that had been shown him. 

When we remember all the things we have been forgiven it makes it so much easier to forgive others. 

You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.

by In Light Of The Cross

Twice Mine

So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation. Genesis 2:1-3 NLT

I can imagine God walking Adam and Eve through the garden that very first Sabbath. Having been created the day before, Adam and Eve didn’t need a physical rest after a long week. As God showed them all His created works that first Sabbath, they rested in the fact that it was God who made them and not they themselves. See Psalms 100:3

When God had finished our creation He rested and gave us the Sabbath as a sign that He created us. We mark a year by the sun. We mark a month by the moon. We mark a day by the earth’s rotation. What do we have to mark a week? The Sabbath, which takes us to creation and reminds us that we have a Creator.

“It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30 ESV

When Jesus finished the work of our redemption He again rested on the Sabbath, this time in a tomb.

Be careful to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you from generation to generation. It is given so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. Exodus 31:13 NLT

The Sabbath is not only a sign of God’s power to create, but also a sign of His power to redeem and to make us holy.

An old story tells of a little boy who had built a wooden sailboat and took it down to a creek by his home. He had tied a string to it so he could watch it float, and then reel it back in, but the string broke. His boat went sailing down the creek and out of sight.

Photo by Andrew Neel on Pexels.com

A few days later when the boy was walking with his father downtown, he saw his boat in a toy store window. “That’s my boat!” The boy exclaimed. He went inside and told the store keeper that it was his boat. But the store keeper informed him that, since he had no way to verify the boy’s story, if he wanted the boat back, he would have to pay for it.

After working for several weeks at extra chores the boy earned the money to buy his boat back. He walked out of the store, clutching the boat to his heart and was overheard saying, “Little boat you are twice mine. First I made you. Then I bought you.”

Today the Sabbath is a sign from God that we are twice His. Once, at creation He made us, then on the cross He bought us.

You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.

by In Light Of The Cross

The Lost art of Thinking

Be still, and know that I am God; Psalm 46:10 NKJV

I have a friend I meet every week before prayer meeting at the Mexican restaurant in town. Sometimes I run a few minutes late and find her just sitting there waiting on me. I’ve suggested to her,

“Bring a book or read something on your cell phone, so you have something to do while you wait. I feel bad for wasting your time.”

She told me,

“I love to just sit and think.”

Photo by Gary Barnes on Pexels.com

When she said that, I remembered reading a short note in a Reader’s Digest issue a few years ago. It was about how we always have our cell phones to entertain us while we stand in line at the store or wait for the doctor at his office. Because of this we no longer have time to just pause and think. The idea was that it is good to just pause, stop and think for a while. After all, before cell phones I had a brain. I guess it would be okay to turn everything else off for a while and just use my brain. My friend at the restaurant sure seems to enjoy it. 

I guess I do too. Often when I go to bed I enjoy listening to my Bible app on audio. However something in the Scripture will get my attention and I have to make a choice. Keep marinating in that one thought, or keep up with the rest of the audio narration. I have learned to pause the audio and just think about a certain thought for a while. Same while I am searching Scripture for myself. I have learned not to measure the quality of my personal Bible study by minutes or chapters, but rather by new ideas and fresh revelations. Sometimes it may take an hour and other times just a second to gain a new idea or revelation. (That does not mean I stop studying after just one second!) I have learned to take a moment and meditate on a passage instead of feeling like I have to finish the rest of a section of Scripture. 

Long before cell phones and Bible apps I was aware of a passage in the book, Steps to Christ, encouraging us to keep our Bible with us. Today I forget that we used to keep books with us before cell phones. So its not like we were totally without “data” before cell phones. Yet I just realized recently there was something I missed in this passage, when I read it back in the day,

Keep your Bible with you. As you have opportunity, read it; fix the texts in your memory. Even while you are walking the streets you may read a passage and meditate upon it, thus fixing it in the mind. –Ellen White, Steps to Christ, Page 90. 

Silly me only picked up on the idea of always having your Bible handy so you could read whenever there is any “down time.” But that is not the actual counsel here. The passage also talks about meditating on Scripture. This resonates with my friend saying she does not always need a book or cell phone to read. She enjoys thinking. The passage is not telling us to read our Bible all the time whether in actual book form or tablet. Either way the message is, put your book or tablet down and think. As a matter of fact let’s read what was written just before the passage we just read,

But there is but little benefit derived from a hasty reading of the Scriptures. One may read the whole Bible through and yet fail to see its beauty or comprehend its deep and hidden meaning. One passage studied until its significance is clear to the mind and its relation to the plan of salvation is evident, is of more value than the perusal of many chapters with no definite purpose in view and no positive instruction gained. –Ellen White, Steps to Christ, Page 90. 

Even when reading the Bible it does well for us to stop and quietly think for a while. Now please check out this passage that was written long before cell phones and tablets. To me it just goes to show that there is nothing new under the sun. Same issues just different modes of the same old habits. 

Even fiction which contains no suggestion of impurity, and which may be intended to teach excellent principles, is harmful. It encourages the habit of hasty and superficial reading, merely for the story. Thus it tends to destroy the power of connected and vigorous thought; it unfits the soul to contemplate the great problems of duty and destiny. -Ellen White, Counsels to Parents, Teachers and Students, Page 383.

I remember reading an article in a business magazine telling bosses not to get onto their employees for just relaxing at their desks doing nothing for a while. They may be brainstorming and that may be when they get their best ideas. I can relate to that. I often get my best ideas for church ministry when I am driving down the road lost in thought or just relaxing on my day off. All this goes back to the brief thought in Reader’s Digest so long ago, or my friend at the restaurant. Its okay to put your book or tablet down and just think for a while. Its more than okay. Its crucial. Its not just okay, it is crucial to be still and know that I am God-Psalm 46:10.

Well I’m going to stop writing so you can…you know….just relax and think for a while. Enjoy! 

by In Light Of The Cross

Depression: Is it Time to ask for Help?

Photo by Fredrick Eankels on Pexels.com

Posted on  by William Earnhardtavatar

Just a few months ago I shared a story about a plane crash where around 80 people were killed. The whole ordeal could have been avoided if only proper communication and understanding had taken place. Some say the cockpit should have communicated more clearly. Others agree the ATC should have listened better. I feel for both sides because I have been on both sides. 

I rarely if ever get sick. Apparently God has blessed me with a good immune system. I am also a happy person. I rarely if ever get depressed. My friends talk about how happy I am all the time. A father once jokingly told his family that the reason I am always is happy is because I am single and have no kids. Or at least I hope the family took it as a joke. Having a family should make one happy not sad. Just the same it has occurred to me that God must have also provided me with an immunity to depression. I rarely ever get depressed and when I do it does not last long at all. 

So how does that help me feel for both sides? Like the ATC, I don’t always detect depression in others, though I have gotten better over time. I am a very punctual and responsible person. So when others are late, or just flake out on a commitment, my first thought used to be that they were just undependable people. It never occurred to me until recently that they were fighting depression.

Years ago I was working with a very small church school that hired a new principal from out of state. He accepted the job but when it came time, he never showed up. He never responded to our calls until, finally, we had to scramble to replace him at the last minute, realizing he was not communicating any more. I was very offended that a professional would behave in that manner – not showing up for  work or even communicating. Later we finally found out that he was going through a family crisis and was very depressed. Once he finally contacted us, he was very sorry for the situation. Of course we had replaced him by then, but I learned that depression can affect anyone. And not everyone who flakes out is a flake. Often they are depressed and don’t know what to do about it. I get that now.

Meanwhile I can also identify with the cockpit crew. Like I said, I rarely every get depressed and it has been over 20 years since my little outburst. I finally recently told you all about. I seem to have a good immunity against depression, and my friends, and even students at the school where I help, comment about how upbeat I seem to be all the time. I have never not shown up for work. I have never flaked out on a date, agreement or assignment. I have never failed to communicate if I am late or plans have changed. But rare as it may be, there have been times when I sure felt like it! Over the last 50 plus years, there have been times I wanted to jump in my car and just run away somewhere – anywhere! There have been times I wanted to dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it. There have been times I wanted to find a deserted island and move there. Now if you’ve known me for a long time, you are probably shocked reading this. That is because I never communicated it. You never saw it. I acted like everything was okay, and, within time, before I acted out the feeling passed over. Usually all it took for me was a good night’s rest or phone call with a trusted friend, and everything was right in the world again. My rare depressions were never chronic but they were enough to help me understand why people do the things that they do. In other words, while I have never accepted a new job and then never shown up, I do understand how that might happen. I understand that depression makes people do things no one understands. 

Obviously my rare depressions were situational and temporary. I understand many people have chronic depression which takes place even on the most beautiful of days for no apparent reason. When chronically depressed people actually carry out irresponsible and foolish acts, I can still relate, because just because I have never carried out an irrational action does not mean I have have never felt like it. I have felt like it! The good news is that there is help for all of us. God understands even when no one else does. As a matter of fact there are some pretty pathetic psalms in the book of Psalms. Some of them make me wonder how they ever even made it into the Bible. Some of them seem to offer no solution as David just expresses his pathetic emotions. Then, again, maybe that is why they are in a collection of inspired writings – to let us know even inspired people sometimes have irrational feelings and emotions. 

Come quickly, Lord, and answer me, for my depression deepens. Psalm 143:7 NLT 

Of course we all know God is our number one source of joy and peace. However God said it was not good for people to be alone, which is why He created a community for Adam. We need community too. Sometimes we need to go ahead and call professionals in the community to help us with depression. Abide Counseling is a group of trained Adventist professionals who are trained to use Bible principles for dealing with and overcoming depression. They can even help you online in the privacy of your own home. They can work with your budget.

It has been a stressful and isolating last couple of years for most people, and does not seem to be getting better. Some of us have been isolated. Some of us are grieving the loss of a loved one(s) during isolation.  Help is available, and Abide Counseling is a safe and biblically sound resource for finding hope, peace and meaning.

The Abide Counseling website also has several helpful and encouraging blog posts concerning depression and anxiety. I encourage you to explore their blog post section and find some help and encouragement. 

We owe it to ourselves to get the help we need to have the joy and peace God wants us to have. We owe it to others to be sensitive and caring for others who may be battling depression. 

You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.

by In Light Of The Cross

Even With bad Breaks we are More Than Conquerors

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 NKJV 

In John 8:1-11 Some men with terrible motives and intentions seduced a woman and dragged her to Jesus  to see if He would condemn her or even allow her to be stoned to death. As evil as their intentions were what they inadvertently did was they brought a woman to the feet of Jesus where she found salvation. As terrible as it was, and believe me it was not Jesus’ idea for them to do her that way, but in the end Jesus turned things around to work out in her favor and to God’s glory. 

Terrible things happened to Jesus. Satan worked through evil men to make the Son of God a degraded spectacle on the cross. yet through it all Jesus became the Savior of the world. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that the one who was so despised, rejected and degraded is Lord. In the process a multitude that no one can number will be saved.

The Father’s presence encircled Christ, and nothing befell Him but that which infinite love permitted for the blessing of the world. Here was His source of comfort, and it is for us. He who is imbued with the Spirit of Christ abides in Christ. The blow that is aimed at him falls upon the Saviour, who surrounds him with His presence. Whatever comes to him comes from Christ. He has no need to resist evil, for Christ is his defense. Nothing can touch him except by our Lord’s permission, and “all things” that are permitted “work together for good to them that love God.” Romans 8:28.- Ellen White, Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, Page 71. 

What a wonderful promise that nothing can touch us but what infinite love permits, and all these things work together for our good if we love God. Without ever reading Romans 8;28 or this passage from Mount of Blessing I just shared, Joseph realized that all the bad breaks he endured worked out to develop his character so he could save lives. Instead of being bitter and resentful Joseph saw even the bad breaks and evil intentions of others were working to his advantage. Not only did Joseph forgive his brothers for selling him into slavery but instead of blaming them he said it was actually God who did it- and He did it for the good of others. 

But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. Genesis 45:5 NKJV

Not only did Joseph not blame his dysfunctional family for all the bad breaks in his life, but he refused to acknowledge them as bad breaks. Instead he realized through all of the evil intentions of his dysfunctional family and even Potipher’s wife’s terrible accusations God was working to refine his character in order to get him exactly where he needed to be in order to save many lives. 

When bad breaks come our way instead of blaming others for our situation lets trust God the same way Jesus and Joseph did. Let’s share in their hope and encouragement. Surely God is working out something wonderful in our lives. 

Christ rejoiced that He could do more for His followers than they could ask or think. He spoke with assurance, knowing that an almighty decree had been given before the world was made. He knew that truth, armed with the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit, would conquer in the contest with evil; and that the bloodstained banner would wave triumphantly over His followers. He knew that the life of His trusting disciples would be like His, a series of uninterrupted victories, not seen to be such here, but recognized as such in the great hereafter.-Ellen White, Desire of Ages, Page 679.

Instead of being resentful and bitter over supposedly bad  breaks lets bask in the love of God! God’s great love is working through our tribulations and persecutions making us more than conquerors. 

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39 NKJV 

You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.
by In Light Of The Cross

I Have Questions About the Story of Joseph

Like many people I talk to, the story of Joseph is one of my favorite stories. He survives a dysfunctional environment and rises to the throne. His story gives us so much encouragement. For example, I love how Judah illustrates true repentance when he says,

And now, my lord, I cannot go back to my father without the boy. Our father’s life is bound up in the boy’s life. If he sees that the boy is not with us, our father will die. We, your servants, will indeed be responsible for sending that grieving, white-haired man to his grave. Genesis 44:30-31 NLT 

Judah tells Joseph he would rather die a slave in Egypt rather than break his father’s heart. What a beautifully accurate picture of repentance. 

I love it when Joseph tells his brothers,

But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. Genesis 45:5 NLT 

Now here is some profound theology. Joseph is not blaming his dysfunctional family for all of his problems in life! He realizes how his dysfunctional family played right into God’s hands to get him exactly where he needed to be. Years ago someone 1200 miles away called me with a job offer. As it turned out one of my coworkers knew the person who called me. I told a pastor friend, “I wonder if my coworker gave my name to the person who called, just to get rid of me?” The pastor wisely replied, “If so it doesn’t matter what the motives of  your coworker are. Joseph’s brothers had poor motives but they still got Joseph to the throne. God will work everything out for your good.” 

I could go on and on but  through the years I have also come up with some questions and I am wondering if you can help me? Some of these questions may seem more pertinent and some maybe just curious but I still would be interested in knowing what you think about them, so thank you for indulging me. 

If I put myself in Joseph’s sandals I’m thinking as soon as I got free I would go find my father. Once Joseph got on the throne do you think he made any attempts to contact his father? He knew he was in Canaan somewhere. According to this story there were obviously such a thing as spies. If I was Joseph I would have commissioned someone to do a little detective work and find my dad. Do you think Joseph tried anything like that?

Before we feel too sorry for Joseph do you think he may have actually enjoyed being away from his brothers?  As much as he loved his father, as far as his brothers go I think he may have enjoyed being free from all that dysfunction. Could Egypt have actually been a haven for Joseph long before he even came to the throne? Could Joseph have been just as happy to get away from them? 

When the brothers started telling Jacob all the strange questions the ruler was asking about the family, and especially his interest in the father and the little brother, do you think Jacob may had some fatherly instinct that helped him read between the lines and get a clue as to what was actually going on? Especially since Joseph’s body was never found? Not even skeletal remains an animal may leave behind? I could be way off, but as I read the story lately I get a hunch Jacob may have been figuring things out before it was actually spelled out for him. I know it would also take a lot of intuition to connect the dots but intuition is a thing. What do you think? 

Our imagination should never be placed above a plain “Thus saith the Lord” but I believe these stories are also written to leave room for a healthy imagination. I believe the stories come to life and are more real to us when we read with a healthy imagination that stays within the realms of the information Scripture provides. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. 

You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.

by In Light Of The Cross

God Will Definitely Give you More Than you can Handle

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

You may listen to the podcast version here.

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NLT 

When Jesus places his yoke upon us He is not giving us a burden, He is giving us a support system. 

I have heard it said that God will never give us more trials or burdens than we can handle. I disagree. God will definitely give us more than we can handle, but He will never give us more than He can handle. This is where the yoke of Christ comes in. His yoke is meant to carry our burdens. He gives us rest as we work in His strength instead of our own weakness. Paul writes about a time when he was given a trial from God in which he did not have the ability to endure. 

We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.  And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety. 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 NLT 

Here we see Paul was crushed and overwhelmed beyond his ability to endure. Paul stopped relying on his abilities to endure and instead relied upon God. God saved Paul. Paul’s confidence is not in himself but in God. Paul also mentions the prayers of others helped get him through. Paul was given more than he could handle but thanks to God and his church family he endured. God does not expect us to overcome in our own strength. God invites us to unite our weakness to His strength. We do this when we take His yoke upon us. 

Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NLT 

Have you ever endured a trial so great you don’t even have a clue how you survived? That’s because you survived by grace. I remember when my fiancée left me, I lost my  old job and my new job was very hard for me to catch on to. I remember everything was going wrong every time I turned around. I remember crying out to God, “Give me one break, just one break!” It seemed the most simplest things would not go right. Everything became hard and complicated and impossible. I also remember crying out to God, “I’m not asking you to make it easy. Just make it possible!” During this time my car kept breaking down, and after the umpteenth  time it broke down in the middle of an intersection, I could not handle it anymore and I started yelling and cursing at the top of my lungs things no child of God should ever say! I won’t tell you exactly what I yelled but I will say when I hear someone else curse and swear when they are pushed beyond their limit I am totally unfit and unqualified to judge them. All I’m qualified to do is throw my arms around them and hug them.

I couldn’t catch a break. I was pushed way beyond what I could handle. There was no way out on my own. But you know what? I’m not sitting in the middle of the intersection with a broken down car now. I now have a car that’s paid for and very dependable. I have a job that I love. No I haven’t found the love of my life yet, unless you want to consider the love of my life being my job, the place I call home and all my wonderful family and friends in my community and around the world. Years ago I was sitting in the middle of an intersection with a broken down car, no money, no love life, no way to survive. And with the attitude I now had I did not deserve to survive.  I gave hope up and began to curse. But yet, with no hope and no strength I did survive. I survived because of one word. Grace. 

God gave me more than I could bear. And while I had given up and thrown in the towel and was cursing life, Jesus came and threw His yoke around me and pulled me out of my pit of despair. I can’t even credit my faith because I had no faith! It was all one word. Grace. 

God gave me more than I could handle. But that’s okay. I survived. Obviously He handled it all for me. The yoke Jesus gives us is not a burden. It is a support system. It’s grace. 

You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.

by In Light Of The Cross

When Self Confidence is Shattered

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

When I read in Wednesday’s section of this week’s lesson that David’s self confidence was shattered, it reminded me of a conversation I had years ago with a man who was studying eastern religions.  He asked me about my faith so I told Him I believed in Jesus. “But this faith in Jesus leads you to believe in yourself, right?” He asked. “No.” I said. “It actually makes me not believe in myself at all. Only in Jesus.” The young man didn’t even try to hide his scowl, and as to this date has not wanted to hear any more about my faith. Apparently believing in oneself is very important to this young man, but how can I believe in myself, when I know all too well what Paul confessed?

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. Romans 7:18 NKJV

Hard for me to believe in something where nothing good dwells.

But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Romans 7:23-24 NKJV

Romans 7 knows me all too well. But there is hope! Not in me, but in Jesus.

I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. Romans 7:25 NKJV

My mind wants to serve God but my flesh wants to serve sin. So what is the solution? Paul shares the solution in chapter 8. Many agree that Romans 7 describes the unconverted man while Romans 8 describes the converted man.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1-4 NKJV

Jesus took my flesh with nothing good in it and crucified it. Now I can walk in the spirit and the law of love can be fulfilled in me.

And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:24 NKJV

In the physical world one must be born before they can die. In the Spiritual world one must die before they can be born.

For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. Galatians 5:17 NKJV

When the Spirit wars against the flesh is it the good things or the bad things we cannot do? Which is stronger? The Holy Spirit or the flesh? The previous verse makes it obvious.

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16 NLT

So if I walk in the Spirit I have victory over the flesh. Why do I need victory over my flesh? Why can’t I believe in my own flesh like my friend wanted me to? Let’s examine the works of the flesh and see how many of them are good things to believe in.

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21 NKJV

Eeeww! I didn’t find anything good in there, did you? No wonder Jesus had to crucify my flesh on the cross, and I must die to selfishness daily. See 1 Corinthians 15:31 and Luke 9:23. You may ask how does one die daily? I don’t think we can on our own. We must be crucified with Christ. See Galatians 2:20. As we behold Jesus emptying Himself on the cross, the Holy Spirit empties us of self too.

For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. Galatians 6:13-15 NKJV

It’s impossible to look at the cross and glory in my flesh.

“When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.” -Isaac Watts

“What is justification by faith? It is the work of God in laying the glory of man in the dust, and doing for man that which it is not in his power to do for himself. When men see their own nothingness, they are prepared to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. –Ellen White, Faith I Live by, Page, 111

Now that my glory is laid in the dust, look at what is possible.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:22-26 NKJV

When the Holy Spirit fills me, this fruit shows up in my life. This is not my works! We saw earlier how disgusting all my works are. No, this fruit is not the results of my works. It is the result of the Holy Spirit living in me and producing His own fruit.

When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing. –Ellen White, Desire of Ages, Page 676

See why I told my friend the answer is not for me to believe in myself?

For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, Philippians 3:3 NKJV

“The circumcision” are those like Abraham, who stopped trusting his flesh to produce the fruit that only the Holy Spirit can produce. God had Abraham put away the part of the flesh he was trusting in so He could trust God’s promises instead. I pray God will give me another opportunity to talk to my friend again, so I can explain all that is possible when we stop believing in ourselves and believe in Jesus. Then again, the Holy Spirit can have anybody explain that to him. What the Holy Spirit does in me He can do in anyone. After all, it’s not me working. It is the fruit of the Spirit.

by In Light Of The Cross

The Love of Self Causes Unrest

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Jesus was always at peace. According to Mark 4:38, even in a violent storm at sea He was sleeping peacefully in the back of a boat. How do you have that kind of peace and rest even amidst a raging storm? The amazing thing is Jesus offers us this same peace that allows us to find rest even when the storms of life rage on. 

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. John 14:27 NLT 

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NLT 

Jesus offers us a peaceful rest that has nothing to do with the stock market, interest rates, red blood cell counts, or even if our best friend is speaking to us or not. Jesus gives us peace by placing us in a right relationship with God. When we are at peace with God nothing else matters. 

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Romans 5:1 NLT 

Jesus was at perfect peace and had a perfect relationship with His Father because their was no hint of selfishness in His life. 

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Philippians 2:5-8 NLT 

I have heard it said, the love of self is what causes unrest. It is selfishness that causes the anxiety that destroys our peace. The roots of restlessness are the roots of selfishness. The roots of rest and peace are the roots of selflessness. When Jesus gives us His peace He gives us His selfless attitude. We are no longer worried about being number one. We are no longer in turmoil, restlessly fretting that someone else may get that bigger slice of the pie that we wanted for ourselves. Our pride that made us worry about what others think about is gone. The peace and rest Jesus gives us helps us to forget about self and relax as we enjoy our relationship with God. When we are in a right relationship with God we can claim this promise,

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Isaiah 26:3 NLT 

You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.