Category / Sabbath School Lessons

by In Light Of The Cross

Proverbs in Light of the Cross: Do I Really Need to Know God’s Will For My Life?

I am writing from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?  Proverbs 20:24 NLT
While many people ask why God does not show them His will for their lives I have come to a simple conclusion. He does not need to.

He hath showed thee, O man, what [is] good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?  Micah 6:8

 

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.  Proverbs 3:5-6

 

Every fall as recent high school graduates start choosing their college classes, I hear the question, “What does God want me to do with my life?”  Regardless if someone is planning on college or going straight into the workforce I sometimes hear people saying, “I wish God would tell me what He wants me to do.”

 

Even as we get older we often wish we had a direct phone line to God to get specific directions on which road to take in life. So why doesn’t God give us specific directions? It is not very complicated but actually very simple. God can work out His plan for our lives without ever telling us what it is. Maybe it’s best that God not spell out for us the future as we often would like. When Jesus met Peter He simply bade him “come and follow me.” Suppose Jesus had spelled it all out for him from the start. Suppose at the very beginning He had told Peter, “Come follow me and you will suffer public humiliation by denying me, and then end up being crucified upside down on a cross.” Peter would have run away! After Jesus’ resurrection Jesus gave Peter a hint as to what would happen, yet only gave Peter the little information Peter needed for that time. Peter simply followed Jesus day by day and once Peter’s life was over it was a wonderful testimony extolling the great power and love of God.

 

As I look back on my life, I can see how God has worked out His plan for my life without telling me what was going on. In my early twenties I was delivering business forms. I started dating a young lady who went to a small church near where I lived. To get closer to her I left the larger SDA church I had grown up in and joined her little SDA church. Things did not work out for us romantically and she moved away. For some reason I was too proud to admit that I had changed churches just for her so I stayed in that little church. Not long after that, a couple of new Literature Evangelists became a part of our church. They persuaded me to become an L.E. Then came a pastor to that small church who wanted a Bible Worker. The church hired me as the Bible Worker. When the pastor moved to Texas he invited me to go to Texas with him where I did Bible work there. After having been a Bible Worker for several years in Texas, a friend from church who worked at UPS invited me to go to work there to help supplement my income. Good thing I did because right after I went to UPS the churches I was doing Bible work for could no longer afford to pay my salary. So UPS became my regular job for a few years.

 

In 2004 my sister in Tennessee had heard about an available Bible Worker position in Tampa. I thought I had been rooted in Texas. I sent my resume to the church in Tampa and even though I thought I would never leave Texas. One thing after another worked out for me to come to Tampa. I love my job. I love my church family here, and of course I love the area! More importantly others feel God is using me here as His humble Christian servant.

 

While many people my age glory in their past, I tell people the current few years of my life have been the best years of my life. Looking back now, I can trace how God lead me here, beginning with a small church in Oklahoma that I was attending even though the reason for me going there was no longer there. God used that small church to help me start my ministry and get to the beautiful place I am today.

 

I find it interesting that I have never really had to find a job. They all have found me. Even the delivery job I had was presented to me, I did not find it. The L.E. position, Bible worker jobs, and even UPS were all offered to me. God has worked out every aspect of my life and for the most part without telling me at all what was going on or what His plan was.

 

So if you don’t know God’s plan for your life, I say “Don’t worry about it.” God knows and He can make it all work out without telling us at all what is going on. Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount not to worry about tomorrow. He can turn our lives into something beautiful if we will only, “do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God.”  Micah 6:8 

by In Light Of The Cross

If God Wasn’t Watching Would You Still be Good?

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good. Proverbs 15:3 NLT

When I was a little boy, way back in the nineteen hundreds, I remember singing the song in cradle roll, “Oh be careful little eyes what you see, oh be careful little eyes what you see. For the Father up above is looking down in love. Oh be careful little eyes what you see.” You may remember the song then went on about ears being careful what they hear, and hands being careful what they do, since we all know God is watching us.

It is a sobering reality, that God is watching us.

Just a couple weeks ago, I read where a family going through the drive thru at a fast food restaurant, was accidentally given a sack with that day’s deposit money instead of their food! They realized later, when they opened their bag, that instead of it being filled with french fries and burgers, it was filled with over two thousand dollars in cash! The family returned the money, saying that they were Jehovah Witnesses and they knew God was watching them. They remind me of my Jehovah Witness friend in Texas, who is a very honest caring person. I applaud our Jehovah Witness friends for their integrity.

Even though they say the returned the money because they knew God was watching, I imagine, being the wonderful people that they are, that they would have returned the money even if He wasn’t. I mean, do we only do good because God is watching? If so isn’t that very legalistic and works orientated, to only do good so long as there is a God Who watching and waiting to reward our good behavior and punish our bad behavior?

Jesus is telling a story in Matthew 25:34-40 NLT.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink?  Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!”

I am compelled to believe that not only did these people not have a clue they were helping Jesus, I also sense they were helping the needy with no clue that there would be any reward whatsoever. Their response tells me they were not expecting a reward of any kind. They seem to be surprised that Jesus even knew about any of this. Its not that they don’t know God sees everything, but while they were helping others, they had mercy on their mind and not a video recorder preserving their good deeds to be replayed and rewarded.

Jesus gives us this illustration to let us know, we should work for Him out of love for His great sacrifice, and not for a reward from God watching our every move.

When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’?  No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.” Luke 17:7-10 NLT

I believe those Jesus commends in Matthew 25 felt they were simply doing their duty out of love, and never considered themselves candidates for any type of reward in this life, or the hereafter.

Join millions in studying the book of Proverbs online here.

by In Light Of The Cross

Proverbs in Light of the Cross; Can People Who Don’t Belong to My Church Denomination Be Wise Too?

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Listen to my instruction and be wise. Don’t ignore it. Proverbs 8:33 NLT

Is there a chance God tried to share His wisdom with us, be we rejected it because we didn’t like the Vessels He used?

Sure Isaiah 8:20 tells us if they speak not according to the law there is no light in them, but we need to be careful we don’t misunderstand and go overboard here. Isaiah was speaking specifically about spiritualism, and was making the point that when people contradict the Scripture there is no light in their contradiction.

Whatever men may speak that is not in harmony with that Word has “no light” in it. -Nichol, Francis D.: The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Volume 4. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1978; 2002, S. 144

So Isaiah was not telling us that if someone was not a Jew that there was nothing that could be learned from them. As a matter of fact, when Jesus was born, gentile kings came looking for Him while the “church leaders” were ignorant of His advent. Here is what Ellen White, co-founder of the Adventist Church had to say.

These learned teachers would not stoop to be instructed by those whom they termed heathen. It could not be, they said, that God had passed them by, to communicate with ignorant shepherds or uncircumcised Gentiles. They determined to show their contempt for the reports that were exciting King Herod and all Jerusalem. They would not even go to Bethlehem to see whether these things were so. And they led the people to regard the interest in Jesus as a fanatical excitement. Here began the rejection of Christ by the priests and rabbis. From this point their pride and stubbornness grew into a settled hatred of the Saviour. While God was opening the door to the Gentiles, the Jewish leaders were closing the door to themselves. –Desire of Ages, Pages 62-63

Have we tuned out a message from God because we were prejudiced against the person God used, and felt our theology was superior to theirs?

And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. Acts 17:11 NLT

In united States elections you can vote for different individuals on the ballot for each office, or you can just just check one box and vote straight Republican or straight Democrat. If you vote straight for one party you don’t have to do any research on the candidates. Do we do this in the church? Instead of searching the Bible for ourselves do we just subscribe to whatever church we belong to, or our local pastor? Instead of searching the Bible to see if what was said is true, do we just go by who said it? If my church said it then it must be right, and if another church said it, then it must be wrong? If we are we are making the same mistake the church leaders made in Christ’s day! The Jews were God’s chosen people, but the gentiles had a few things to teach them as well about Jesus. The Bereans did not accept or reject what Paul taught based on what they thought about him, but based on whether or not he agreed with Scripture.

I am a Seventh-day Adventist Christian. My church has a message about sanctification not found in many other churches. However, one day I went to a Methodist church to hear a friend of mine sing in her choir. After the choir sang, a black woman stood up to preach. She spoke on Ephesians, and how the first half of Ephesians is about justification and us in Christ. The second half of Ephesians, she explained is about sanctification and Christ in us. She went on to preach the most powerful sermon I have ever heard on sanctification. I have “borrowed” her sermon numerous times, and received comments about what a wonderful “Adventist” sermon it was. The people did not know, I got this wonderful “Adventist” sermon from a black Methodist woman! (I add the exclamation mark, not because it surprised me that God used a black Methodist woman, but it will surprise some who are prejudiced by either three adjectives.)

I sat there in that Methodist church Sunday, feasting on every word she spoke, not concerning myself with whether or not she was black or white, male or female, Adventist or Methodist, but like the Bearans I just checked if what she was saying was Biblical- and it was!

Only listening to certain people with “approved labels” is not wise. It is prejudiced. Wisdom is listening to what is being said instead of who is saying it.

Study the Sabbath School lesson guide on the book of Proverbs here.

by In Light Of The Cross

Proverbs in Light of the Cross; The Perils of Being a Creative Thinker

 

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.Proverbs 2:2 NLT

In grade school, my teacher was talking about the possibility of solar powered cars. A sincere question came to my mind. I raised my hand and asked, “How would these cars run in the dark?” My teacher was angered by my question. I can’t recall if she actually called it a stupid question, but she sure made me feel stupid! She told me that, obviously, there was a battery that stored power for night time, and then said I should stop thinking of stupid questions.

I was hurt. I thought I had asked a good question. (I just now took a moment to Google it, and it appears I am not the only person who has ever asked that question.) Tuning your ears to wisdom and concentrating on understanding can take you outside of the box. I have learned a lot of people don’t like to think outside the box.

I have had several people over the years tell me that they love my sermons and writings because I make them think of things they have never thought of before and see things in a different light. People call that creative thinking. It’s a good thing, but it comes with risks. When some people say, “I never thought of it that way before” they mean that is brilliant. When others say, “I never thought of it that way before” they mean that is stupid!

My grade school teacher is not the only one who has ever treated me that way. I have paid people what I thought were sincere compliments, only to have them snap back and call me a smart aleck or worse. I felt stunned, wondering how in the world did they turn that into an insult? I have raised ideas in church meetings only to have people laugh at me.

I first served as a head elder of a church when I was 22, and some people thought I was too immature to be a head elder. I probably was. Probably still am. Some of my ideas they thought were silly. For example, I started prayer meetings at 7:23. Why such an odd time? Because that way people would not have a hard time remembering if it was 7:00 or 7:30. 7:23 sticks out in the brain. Plus who says you have to start at 7:00, 7:15 or 7:30? Since then I have noticed how many sporting events and things start at 7:07 and other “odd” times.

My point is that a lot of ideas some people find laughable, others find brilliant. So I am happy when people tell me I make them think outside the box. I think the box should be thrown away.

I am not comparing myself to Jesus, but He lived outside the box Himself. Off-beat ideas like praying for God to bless your enemies, going the extra mile, and a little child being the greatest, really had people thinking in ways they never had before. But with a little wisdom and understanding, people realized He was not so crazy after all.

I’m writing this just to let those who think outside the box know they are not so crazy. God created us in His creative image. We see His creative thinking both in creation and in the plan of redemption. Therefore when we “let this mind be in us, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5) we will have minds that think creatively like Jesus.

So, no matter how stupid a teacher may have made you feel, keep up the creative thinking. Keep asking creative questions. I have learned that when some people are asked a good question they can’t answer, pride won’t let them say they don’t know. Instead they try to minimize the question, and make it look like a silly question that should not be asked, when in reality it is was a great question that warrants an answer, maybe even a creative answer.

Keep up the creative out-of-the box thinking. People loved Jesus for it. People have told me they love me for it, and they will love you too!

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

by In Light Of The Cross

What’s So Different About a New Believer’s Sabbath School Class?

I am writing from the beautiful Tampa Bay area, where my New Believers Sabbath School class loves to have class at parks near the beach sometimes.

I am writing from the beautiful Tampa Bay area, where my New Believers Sabbath School class loves to have class at parks near the beach sometimes.

 The Sabbath school should be one of the greatest instrumentalities, and the most effectual, in bringing souls to Christ.-Ellen White, Counsels on Sabbath School Works, Page 10

A few seasoned Adventists think of Sabbath School as a place where they like to “spar” and debate with their fellow seasoned Adventist friends about the 144,000 being a symbolic or literal number, or whether Jesus came with a prelapsarian nature or postlapsarian nature. Surprisingly enough, that is not the purpose of Sabbath School. The purpose of Sabbath school is to introduce people to Jesus who do not know Him.

While the worship service is orientated for believers, the Sabbath School is designed for evangelism. There were no Sabbath Schools as such in Bible times. Seventh-day Adventists got the idea for Sabbath School from the protestant Sunday Schools which began in Great Britain in the 1780’s as a way to teach poor children to read and learn the Bible.*  As the Bible Worker for the Tampa First Seventh-day Adventist Church, I lead out in our New Believer’s Sabbath School class. The sole purpose of this class is to lead new believer’s or seekers to Jesus.

What Makes a New Believer’s SS Class Different From All The Rest?

1. Curriculum: While we have at times used the regular SS quarterly, when it is based on themes for evangelism, we mostly use lessons to help introduce people to Jesus and basic Bible teachings. our class has enjoyed the In Light of the Cross Study Guides, which are also available with the New Living Translation and inSpanish. These lessons present our basic Bible teachings in the light of the cross, and avoid legalism while preserving Bible standards. I have heard from other churches in Florida as well as a few around the world telling me these lessons have been greatly appreciated in their classes for new believers. I developed the New Living Translation edition, when I realized how many of my immigrant Bible students were having trouble reading English, let alone 17th century English. We have also used the Growth Group Dialogues by Pastor Denis Sand.

2. Setting: While Sabbath Schools are not found in the Bible home churches are. We try to give our classroom a home feeling, with comfortable chairs or couches. We sit in a circle, which encourages members to feel comfortable sharing questions related to the study. When you sit in rows with the speaker up front, it makes people feel like they are in the worship service, and should not talk or ask questions. I have visited churches where the Sabbath School was is the sanctuary, and I left feeling like I heard two sermons and had no Sabbath School.

3. Conversation: We begin each class with the members sharing one high, which is something good that happened that week, and one low, which is something not so good that happened that week. Or we just ask for praise reports and prayer requests. I have assigned a member to write down the prayer requests and e-mail them to the class in the middle of the week to remind us to keep praying for them. At one time we had a praise team leader who led out in a couple of songs before our study time, but they left us to start their own young adult class which is growing by leaps and bounds. Often times we will use ice breaker questions to lead into the study. This does not detract from the study time. People learn more from a study when they feel like they are a part of it, and have invested themselves into the lesson. Conversation time is important to the study. Jesus did not learn about His interests while He was lecturing them, but rather while He was visiting with them. Earlier this year I was holding a prophecy seminar, which was basically a lecture. I invited my prophecy seminar members to join a Bible study growth group I was starting, and am I glad I did! The prophecy members mentioned how much better we were all getting to know and understand each other in the Bible study group. That never would have happened in the prophecy class where I lecture, and yet it’s very important to understand people’s backgrounds and ways of thinking when discussing something as crucial as Prophecy. So now you can see why conversation time is so important in a new believer’s Sabbath School class. So what happens when a new believer becomes a seasoned believer? We have a spiritual gifts Sabbath school class where the teacher gives my new members an invite when they are not so new anymore. This helps them find where they are best orientated to serve in the church. I like the teacher of the next class inviting them instead of me, as I could never ask someone to leave my class. I love them too much and of course we always remain friends! Now some take the invite, others, after baptism go looking for a new class on their own. Still others remain in my class as mentors and even co-facilitators. I think it is important to keep some seasoned members in my new believer’s class to help mentor the new ones.

4. Social: The new believer’s class is a family. We study together, pray together, and socialize together. The New Believer’s class is for all ages. We have socials where teens and senior citizens are playing games together and forming friendships that flow over into Bible study. One week, when I was preaching elsewhere and no adults would volunteer to teach the class, I had a middle school girl lead out. When I came back the next week, I found out that she had brought muffins for everyone and led out in a tremendous Bible study presentation. Suddenly I was not the most popular teacher anymore as she could teach and bake! Outside of class we go to classical concerts together, ball games and enjoy lunches and get togethers in each others homes.

If your church does not already have a class for new believers or seekers, you may ask God if He wants you to start one. Why not talk to your pastor and Sabbath School superintendent about it today? But remember, all Sabbath Schools are intended to be used to win souls for Jesus. Are you making sure your class is seeker friendly and winning souls for Jesus?

*http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/asktheexpert/whendidsundayschoolstart.html

by In Light Of The Cross

What does a Relationship With Jesus Look Like?

I am writing tonight from beautiful and historic St. Augustine Florida.

I am writing tonight from beautiful and historic St. Augustine Florida.

A member of my New Believer’s Sabbath School class, in the Tampa First Seventh-day Adventist Church, had been struggling with getting Sabbaths off at work so she could observe the Bible Sabbath. She told me she had to work on Sabbath, and I would gently tell her that she did not have to work. She had a choice and was choosing to work. Consequences be what they may, she had a choice.

Recently I was giving a Bible study to the 7th and 8th graders at our church school, on the second coming, when we came to this verse,

The sky was rolled up like a scroll, and all of the mountains and islands were moved from their places. Then everyone—the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person—all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive? Revelation 6:14-17 NLT

I told my students how sad it would be, for us to be hiding from the One who died for us when He came! How can we make sure we aren’t the ones running from Jesus? The students answered wisely, we must have a relationship with Jesus. I asked them to describe what a relationship with Jesus looks like. They gave some good answers, like prayer and Bible study. “Is that all”, I asked? I shared 1 John 2:4 NLT,

If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.

While prayer and Bible study are crucial, that alone does not define a relationship with Jesus. John tells us, knowing God (having a relationship) involves obedience.

Jesus said,

If you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments. Matthew 19:17 NLT

The commandments are relational. The first four define our relationship with God and the last six define our relationship with family and friends. This is why John said if we say we have a relationship with God but do not obey the commandments we are lying.

My Sabbath School class member finally exercised faith, and told her boss she must have Sabbaths off. It was granted. A couple of weeks ago things were busy at the store where she works. Her boss offered her a store gift card and sales bonuses if she would come in to work on Sabbath. As much as she needed the money, she answered “No. I will be in church Sabbath.” She gave her testimony that Sabbath in class. It did my heart good to see faith growing her relationship beyond just reading the Bible to actually doing what it said.

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

by In Light Of The Cross

When Should Someone Ask To Be Anointed?

 

I am writing tonight from beautiful Panama City Beach, Florida.

I am writing tonight from beautiful Panama City Beach, Florida.

Several years ago, a family form Central America, brought their toddler to Tampa, Florida for medical treatment, because she was not developing and was having seizures. The doctors did not have much to offer. After one of my Wednesday morning community Bible studies at the church, we had an anointing service for the baby. Months later when the family returned to the area, they told me their little girl never had another seizure after the anointing service. The Holy Spirit had delivered their daughter from the seizures. They are still living in Central America and have not returned to Florida for several years now, but the last I heard, the little girl was still having developmental problems but no seizures.

The family said they’re very fond of me after that Wednesday morning, but it obviously had nothing to do with me. Millions of people have been healed after an anointing service, not because of the person doing the anointing or the oil, but because of the Holy Spirit’s healing power. So the fact that God has healed millions without my help shows He really did not need my help this time either.

While their daughter’s sickness was not unto death, they still asked for an anointing. Some have the idea you have to be on your death bed in order to ask for an anointing. James did not ask, are any of you about to die, but is anyone sick?

Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. James 5:14-15 NLT

While we are counselled that,

It cannot be our duty to call for the elders of the church for every little ailment we have, for this would be putting a task upon the elders. –Ellen White, Pastoral Ministry, Page 223

Still there is nothing in the Bible or Spirit of Prophecy telling us to wait until we are on our deathbed before calling the elders, as if it is a last rite instead of an anointing for healing. I have even had family members call me to anoint their loved ones who were incoherent, while the KJV makes it even more clear that the person who is sick is actually supposed to request the anointing, for healing. It is not a “last rite.”

“Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church…”James 5:14 KJV

Again James asks, “Are any of you sick?” not “Are any of you about to die?” We don’t need an anointing for every scrape and bruise, yet it is our privilege to call upon and claim God’s promises at the first sign of something serious.

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

by In Light Of The Cross

When Job Prayed for his Friends

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

I am writing today from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.James 5:10-11 NLT

You know how you can read the same Bible story a hundred times, and then one day something in that story jumps out at you that you had never seen before? James acknowledges that we all know the story of Job, and how he was faithful in suffering, and in the end God restored to him what he lost. Of course the children could not be replaced, but thank God they too will be restored one day. See 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. While I knew the story well, it wasn’t till just a few months ago that something jumped out at me.

When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before!” Job 42:10 NLT

What jumped out at me, was that, all this happened, “When Job prayed for his friends,” who were not exactly the best sources of comfort and encouragement. Still, praying for his friends is what improved Job’s own life.

Ironically Moses, who wrote the book of Job, had his own run in with those who were less than comforting and encouraging. In Numbers 12, Moses’ own sister Miriam rebels against Moses’ leadership instead of encouraging him. She is struck with leprosy and immediately Moses cries,

“O God, I beg you, please heal her!” Numbers 12:13 NLT

God healed her when Moses prayed for her. I wonder if Moses remembered Job’s life turning around for the better when he prayed for his friends, when he prayed for his sister? Either way the outcome is the same. There are wonderful blessings in store for those who pray for others, and especially when we pray for those who have been less than comforting and encouraging to us.

Remember, not only did God turn Job’s life around for the better, but He did it when Job prayed for his friends.

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

by In Light Of The Cross

I am the Rich Person James is Talking About

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. Your gold and silver are corroded. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment. For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. James 5:1-4 NLT

King David heard a story about oppression and became very angry about it, until Nathan told him, “You are that man!” Like King David, I have to admit, for years whenever I read James 5:1-4, I thought I was among the poor that God’s justice would vindicate. I have lost money to dishonest and greedy people. I compared myself to those who had more. Then I realized there are many who consider me rich! With almost 7 billion people on the planet, there are only 1 billion cars.* This does not mean that 1 out of 7 people owns a car, because there are many people and companies who own many cars, meaning there are over 6 billion people who do not own a car. So if you own a car, even if its a 1980 Ford Pinto, you have something over 6 billion earthlings do not have. The other night when you got sick in the middle of the night and had to run to the toilet down the hall, you may not have realized what a luxury that midnight run was. Over two billion people don’t have a toilet to run to in the middle of the night. ** So their experience with sickness may be a little different than yours. The other night I got a headache and my bones became a little achy, so I took a hot bath and presto! Headache disappeared and my bones felt brand new. Again, a hot bath would not be an option for billions of people. What a luxury!

Now when I read James 5, I realize I am one of the rich people James is talking to. But how could I be holding back the wages of the workers in the field? I don’t even own a field. How about the gospel workers in God’s field? Do I return an honest tithe and offering? If not then I am cheating the field workers of their wages just like James says. Do I give an honest tip to the waitress, hairdresser or the boy who carried my grocery bags to the car? If not, I am the cheater James is talking to. I could go on but I think you get the point.

Withholding money which rightfully belongs to others is not the only form of oppression. How about when we snub someone from our social circle because they don’t conform to our beliefs or opinions? That is emotional oppression! How about when we sneer at the kid who just let the ball go in the other goal, costing our kid’s team the game? That’s emotional oppression. So you don’t have to be a millionaire to be oppressive.

No matter what my losses in life have been, I am still the rich person James is warning in James 5.

If God is for us, who can ever be against us?  Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Romans 8:31-32 NLT

If I give my bread to someone who never pays me back that is okay. My Father will give me all the bread I need. If I love someone who never loves me back that is okay. My Father gives me all the love I need. Whenever the Bible gives warnings to the rich, I know those warnings are for me personally. Nathan woke David up by saying, “you are that man!” When I read James 5 the Holy Spirit woke me up by saying, “You are that man!”

You may study this week’s SS lesson here.

*http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/08/23/car-population_n_934291.html

**http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/impact/water-sanitation-hygiene?gclid=Cj0KEQiAneujBRDcvL6f5uybhdABEiQA_ojMglo4kAT0afufxpjEU4q0va_pKJZXhX7eZB8yElpImHEaAjY78P8HAQ

by In Light Of The Cross

God Knows My Heart

I am writing tonight from beautiful Tulsa Oklahoma.

I am writing tonight from beautiful Tulsa Oklahoma.

While I love being with friends, it does not bother me to be alone. Being alone does not make me lonely. Being misunderstood makes me lonely.

In a youth group I asked the young people what specific things do others not understand about you that you wish they did. An ordinarily quiet group suddenly became very vocal. Everyone wants to be understood. Well not all the time. Sure, when our motives are pure we wish people could understand us, but not so much when our motives are selfish.

That’s why persecution can be so valuable. When we keep on doing good even when our motives are maligned and we are not rewarded, it lets us know we are doing good out of love, and not just for a pat on the back.

While we may find solace in the fact that God truly understands us  and knows our hearts, is that really good news? I mean – deep down, are we all really goodpeople? Paul tells us in Romans 7:18 that there is nothing good deep down inside him. 1 Samuel 16:7 tells us that, while man looks at appearances, God looks in our heart. And that’s not always good news.

When I was in the third grade, I hated diagramming sentences. I had learning disabilities, which only meant I needed to try harder. My class would receive an assignment to diagram 20 sentences. Well, after 10 I got tired. So, one day after deciding that 20 sentences was just too much, I just circled random words as nouns, verbs and pronouns, and then on the back of the paper I wrote “I did my very best, I did my very best” over and over until the entire page was filled. My teacher showed the paper to my mother and said, “We are pushing little William way too hard. Look how hard he is trying and how frustrated the poor little guy has become. He is doing his very best!”

Confession: I was not doing my best at all! I wanted everyone to think I was doing my best, so they would leave me alone and let me be lazy! All those wonderful promises about God understanding us and knowing our hearts only meant God understood me better than anyone else, and what God understood was that I could do a lot better.

I hear a lot of people use the term “God understands” to automatically mean He knows we have the best of intentions. Not so. Sure He understands when we have good intentions, but He also understands when we have evil intentions.

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Jeremiah 17:9 NLT

Could this be why James 1:26 says, “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself…?”

Sorry, but there is no biblical support for the idea that God knowing our hearts means that He understands how good we really are. In fact I find just the opposite. This is why John tells us,

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 1 John 1:8-9 NLT

If we stop trying to fool ourselves and others by pretending to have pure motives all the time, Jesus will forgive us for being so full of self, and He will cleanse us from the selfish motives hidden deep within the heart.

I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you… Ezekiel 36:26 NLT

While I get frustrated and lonely when people don’t understand my good intentions, I’m quite relieved when they think I have good intentions while being selfish.

Only God knows my heart, and when He reads my heart, what does He think? He does not see any good in it. It’s so bad He wants to throw my heart away and give me a brand new one. More than finding solace in the fact that God knows my heart, I find solace in the fact that He can change my heart to be like the heart of Jesus.

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