SS Thoughts #20: #Small Moments=BIG Difference!

(Adapted from the Cornerstone Sabbath School Teacher’s Edition Q1 2015)

Motivational speaker/author Eric Fellman talks of meeting a Chinese couple in Hong Kong. “I was taken to meet a man in his 60’s who was recently released from prison. His smile was radiant, but his back was bent. A woman of about the same age came in to serve tea. I couldn’t help noticing how they touched and lovingly looked at each other. My staring did not go unnoticed, for soon they were giggling”.

“What is it?” I asked my friend. “Oh nothing,” he said with a smile. “They just wanted you to know they’re newlyweds”.

They had been engaged when he was studying at a Seminary, but before their wedding Chinese Communists arrested the students. For 30 years his fiancée was allowed to visit him just once per year. Each time, following their brief minutes together, the warden told the man, “You may go home with your bride, if you will renounce Christianity.” Year after year the man replied: “No. With all that Jesus has done for me, how could I betray Him?”

For Fellman this was a crucial defining moment—one that made a BIG difference! He had felt impressed to carry Bibles and religious literature into China, but was afraid to distribute them. In his own words: “The next day I crammed my suitcases with Bibles and training literature for Chinese Christians. And as God had planned, my suitcases were never inspected”.

The lives of Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 21,22), give at least 2 more examples of crucial defining moments:

    1.    They decide to “help” God with His promise to make of Abraham a great nation—by having Abraham bear a child with Hagar. This was a lack of faith for which the world is still paying—in the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

   2.    God extends grace in giving them Isaac, but calls Abraham to sacrifice this only child. This time Abraham passes the test. His faith is unwavering, and only God stops him from killing the boy, instead providing a ram as a substitute.

What about our own crucial defining moments? Can we say with certainty that we can pass the test/s? With God’s help we can. The Lord will provide. Jehovah Jireh…… And interestingly, this often-used term is the name of the place where the ram was caught in the thicket!

E. G. White, in The Desire of Ages, reminds us, “Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us, of which we know nothing”........

[Comments welcomed]

SS Thoughts #19. Perfection: A Myth?

Over the course of history, many things have been built by man with the intention of being perfect….. but were not:

1.     The Titanic was supposed to be unsinkable, but sank—with great loss of lives—on its maiden voyage.

2.     The Hubble telescope was built in the 1970's at a cost of about 2 billion dollars, and launched into space. Its mission was to take pictures of the universe from space, but it sent back no pictures. Its construction was faulty, and another 1.5 billion dollars was spent for repairs. In fact almost 10 billion dollars have been wasted to tell us what we already know – God created the heavens and the earth, and hung the stars in place.

God, who alone is perfect, created a perfect world—a paradise where everything was ‘very good’. Indeed the entire week of creation was perfect, with a perfect day of rest and God-communing time at the end. 

Unfortunately, the first man and woman chose to exercise their free will—in clear rebellion against God—and suffering and death entered our world. God sent a flood, and only Noah’s family was saved in an ark – built on God’s perfect specifications. And at the end of the flood, a perfect rainbow was formed, as a sign, a hope, a promise, that the earth would never again be destroyed by water.

Yes, our world is imperfect, sin-sick, and full of injustices, but it won’t always be this way. We have the blessed hope of Christ’s return, when the earth will be restored to how it was in the beginning. It will be perfect with “no more sickness, nor death, nor crying, nor pain”, (Rev. 21:4).

Adding 3 lines from one of my favorite hymns - O love that will not let me go - #76 SDA Hymnal: 

      "I trace the rainbow through the rain,
      And feel the promise is not vain
      That morn shall tearless be."

Aren’t you looking forward to that day?

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SS Thoughts #18: Tired Waiting?

Imagine this….. You take a little seed, plant it and water it—for a whole year…. and nothing happens. The second, third and fourth year you continue to water it… and nothing happens. Not even one tiny green shoot. You are beginning to feel frustrated and discouraged! The fifth year you still continue to water the seed…. and suddenly the tree sprouts and grows 90 feet in 6 weeks!!

This is the story of the Chinese bamboo. Its seeds lie dormant in the ground for 4 years, before springing to life in the 5^th year and growing faster than any other tree in the forest. Moreover bamboo plants stand together to support each other, and their roots are also intertwined for support. In fact a group of bamboo (or other) trees growing like this is called a stand!! (See picture below)

Life is much like trying to grow a Chinese bamboo – it is often discouraging. It seems like you are praying and praying for answers, or direction…. and nothing happens. It feels like you are reaching out to others about Jesus for sooooo long…. and nothing is happening. And you are sooooo tired of these cold-hearted people! Keep watering. Or you are the person opening your heart to the message, but others say you are making a mistake. Don’t listen…. Keep drinking in that living water.

Remember what it takes to grow a Chinese bamboo….. Do not give up. Perhaps you should triple or quadruple your efforts. Just when you might feel like giving up could be the time when you will see the results. And it will be the right time – it will be God’s time……

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SS Thoughts #17: Too Much on Your Plate?

Scriptures have shown that when God needs people for His service, He does not look among the idle, but among those who are active and busy in different types of work. For example:

1. David was busy taking care of his father's sheep when he was chosen to be king.
2. Simon Peter and Andrew were busy casting nets into the sea when they were called to be Christ's disciples, and fishers of men.
3. Moses was busy running away from Pharaoh when he was called to lead the Israelites out of bondage!

What if YOU are the next one called? Would you say you are too busy? Would you say your plate is full? Think about this…. God can do it without us. He can make the rocks cry out and the donkey speak!! But He wants us to be disciples – involved in helping to win souls for His kingdom. “Discipleship is obedience to the call of Jesus to abide in Him, to do what He bids, and to be for His sake the salt and light in this world”. (Teacher’s Adult SS Lesson, Q2 2015, p.48)

What’s holding you back??? Technology has made global communication soooo much easier, e.g. using FB*, WhatsApp, etc. Do not let busy-ness stop you from telling others about YOUR Jesus and all He has done for YOU. After all, if you don’t tell them, how will they know?

(*Based on figures extracted from “the Estimator”, there are more than 900 million Facebook users across 211 nations. If FB were a country, it would be the 3^rd largest country in the world. China has the world's largest population (1.4 billion), followed by India (1.3 billion). The next most-populous nations – the United States, Indonesia, Brazil and Pakistan – combined have less than 1 billion people. Jul 11, 2014)